Copy editing guide

Table Of Contents

Grammar #

  • Do not use “her or his” or other related gendered terminology; use “they” instead
  • Avoid contractions or only use them sparingly, depending on if the project is more formal or informal

References/Citation Style #

General:

  • If the SME does not have a preferred citation style, use APA

Reference list:

  • Reference lists are included at the end of the chapter (usually before the media attributions)
  • Format:
    • H2 header
    • Alphabetize
    • Hanging indent

Textboxes #

  • The most commonly used textboxes are Learning Objectives, Exercises, and Standard ones
  • Textbox headers are H3 headings, centred

Figures #

Figure captions:

  • All figures are numbered; usually based on the chapter number and the order the figure appears in (e.g., Figure 1.1 is the first figure in Chapter 1)
  • Figure captions include figure number, description, author, source (if different from author), and license (hyperlinked)
    • E.g., Figure 1.1 Cats sleep most of the day (Ihsan Adityawarman/Pexels) Pexels License

Alt text:

  • All non-decorative images should have alt text
  • Keep alt text as short as possible; if a longer description is required, use the Long Description section

Media attributions:

  • The media attributions list is included at the end of the chapter (after the reference list)
  • H2 header, Bulleted list
  • Includes the figure number, original title, author, source, and license
  • Can include an intro sentence if a lot of images are made by the SME

Example:

Unless otherwise specified below, all images were created by the author, Jane Doe, under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.

License options include:

Videos #

  • Videos can be embedded in the page, but should also include an intro line and a QR code for print versions
  • Unless otherwise specified, the intro line should be: “Watch the video “” by [channel]([year]):”

Tables #

General:

  • Tables are numbered based on the chapter and the order the table appears in (e.g., Table 1.1 is the first table in Chapter 1)
  • Header cells are title case
  • If columns include numbers, right-aligned; if not, left-aligned (includes header cell)
  • If the table is adapted from an existing information or tables or it requires additional explanation, include a note in smaller font below the table
    • E.g., Note. This table is based on Smith et al. (2025).

Pressbooks:

  • DO NOT USE TABLEPRESS
  • Avoid merged cells, if possible, but they can be used if properly tagged in the settings
  • Formatting:
    • Table properties:
      • Width: 100%
      • Height: auto
      • Caption: checked
      • Alignment: Centre
      • Class: Full grid
    • Table cell properties (header)
      • Width: auto
      • Height: auto
      • Cell type: Header cell
      • Scope: Column or Row
      • Class: shaded
    • Table cell properties (non-header)
      • Width: auto
      • Height: auto
      • Cell type: Cell

Word documents:

  • Avoid merged cells

Long Descriptions #

  • Long descriptions are used if an image contains complex information and/or lots of text
  • Long descriptions are included in a section after the media attributions
    • H2 header
  • Use internal linking to navigate between the figure and its long description
    • E.g., fig1-1longdesc (to go to the long description) and fig1-1 to return to the figure

In-text:

  • “[Long Description]” is included at the end of the figure caption; it is hyperlinked to the corresponding entry in the long descriptions section
  • Include an anchor before the figure in the text

Example:

(anchor in text: fig1-1) Figure 1.1 Cats have many unique traits (John Smith/Pexels) CC BY 4.0 [Long Description] (hyperlink: #fig1-1longdesc)

Long Description section:

  • Includes an anchor, figure number, “Long Description,” and hyperlink to return to the figure

Example:

(anchor: fig1-1longdesc) Figure 1.1 Long Description: Cats are…. [Return to Figure 1.1] (hyperlink: #fig1-1)

Miscellaneous #

  • Do not enable Yoast SEO plugin. It messes with internal page linking.

Resources #

General #

Images #

Websites for finding copyright-free/CC-licensed images:

Tools for finding original images when no source is given:

LaTeX #

Style Guides #

General

APA

ACS

Chicago

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Updated on 31 October 2025