Training

Dr Cathy Tingle

I offer a mix of online, in-person and self-study training with Publishing Scotland. My current courses are:

  • Introduction to Copyediting (online)
  • Further Copyediting (online)
  • Editing for Better Communications (self-study)

I’m also happy to work with students on a one-to-one or group basis, tailoring training to suit their needs. Bespoke in-person or online training for organisations can be arranged through Publishing Scotland. If you need individual training, coaching or mentoring, please contact me directly.

Introduction to Copyediting

Two sessions on Zoom
Next running: 4 and 11 November 2025, 9.45am to 1pm

Based on materials by Margaret Aherne, this is an introduction to the principles of copyediting and covers:

  • copyediting within the publishing process
  • structure
  • style
  • author queries
  • checking facts
  • illustrations, tables and figures
  • language, grammar and vocabulary
  • working like a copyeditor.

There are exercises to complete during the sessions and for homework. I provide a comprehensive delegate pack which includes a resource list to take you further in your learning, and I encourage delegates to stay in touch if they need further advice or information on copyediting.

What delegates say:

‘I thoroughly enjoyed it. I am extremely new to copyediting and after going through the course, I have a good grasp of the main points to look out for to maintain consistency and also common errors that I should be picking up.’

‘I thought Cathy was a great teacher and that her feedback on homework exercises was very helpful and encouraging. The course exceeded my expectations in terms of the amount of ground covered and was really good value for money.’

‘The content was informative and interesting! It tied into a lot of the work that I'm doing at the moment, so I found it incredibly helpful. I'm also really grateful for the pack that was sent to us after the final session. It will be so useful going forward.’

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Further Copyediting

One session on Zoom
Next running: 7 October 2025, 9.30am to 2pm

This course has more of a workshop feel than Introduction to Copyediting, which focuses more on instruction. You’d be encouraged to take Introduction to Copyediting, or a course of an equivalent level, before embarking on it. Here is an outline of the course:

Checking

  • reviewing and discussing our own work and tasks
  • discussing the many checks we have to undertake as copyeditors – how to do them, how to keep tabs on them
  • using an exercise by Margaret Aherne to recognise common copyediting errors and to start creating our own task checklist
  • completing a more complex exercise by Margaret Aherne that will allow us to continue building our task checklist

Changing

  • discussing why you might change an author's text
  • practising changing an author's text for various reasons including elimination of repetition, ensuring inclusivity and conforming to legal requirements
What delegates say:

‘I found the course content very useful and interesting. It directly helped me with a substantial piece of editing work I had last week. It went into the complex issues with editing that you discover once you are “knee deep” in the work, so to speak!’

‘It definitely pointed out many things I had been missing or had not thought to query. I feel more confident now in my ability to do a thorough job.’

‘Cathy was so friendly and helpful – she encouraged discussion, and made things personalised to our current roles, so it would definitely be useful for the participants.’

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Editing for Better Communications​

Self-study
Next running: Now

This self-study course explores copyediting within businesses and other organisations that publish various types of content from booklets to newsletters to web pages. It covers:

  • what copyediting is, and what this means for non-traditional publishers
  • stakeholders
  • structure
  • style
  • content, including fact-checking, inclusive language, legal issues and plain English
  • tips for working with contributing colleagues
  • grammar, punctuation, language and formatting issues to look out for when editing colleagues’ work (or your own).

All delegates receive a PDF copy of my Editing for Communications Professionals CIEP guide and are invited to attend a Zoom drop-in tutor session. Delegates can also email me during and after the course with any questions.

This course attracts 2 non-core CIEP upgrade points.

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