Editing Courses Seeking Academic, Non-Fiction and Fiction Service Clients

Courses in copyediting and developmental editing being taught this spring by assistant professor Adam Pope are searching for clients for student service learning projects. As part of the courses (offered at the graduate and undergraduate level), students work with clients to perform copy edits and developmental edits on texts as part of their learning in the course.

Pope's courses have performed these edits for several years now, and students are always excited to work with professional clients. Space is often limited, so please don't hestitate to reach out with your text and goals. Edits are returned based on when and where they fit into the scheduled curriculum, so this service learning work isn't ideal for texts that need immediate feedback.

Copy editing services are available for academic articles, conference proposals and short non-fiction and fiction pieces. A text that is ready for a copy edit would primarily be complete and in need of a check of the final text's polish, completeness and fit to a house style. These edits will be performed by graduate and undergraduate editors.

Developmental editing services are available for academic articles, conference proposals, longer non-fiction and fiction pieces, as well as proposals for manuscripts. A text that is ready for a developmental edit (also called comprehensive editing) should be earlier in the writing process at a point where the author wants feedback on the shape of the text, the flow of ideas and the general structure and topical details involved. These edits will be performed by undergraduate editors.

If you have a text that needs immediate feedback, Pope coordinates freelance editing services performed by graduate students and faculty in the Department of English.

These courses are offered as part of the rhetoric and writing concentration/minor in the Department of English and as part of the Graduate Certificate in Technical Writing and User Experience Design.