COURSES > CONFIDENCE & RESILIENCE

Advanced Proofing and Editing

Writing Under Pressure

Chaired by
Sue Calthorpe

Sorry, we don’t have any upcoming dates available for individuals.

All of our training courses can be tailored specifically for your team or organisation and presented at your offices, at another suitable location or virtually.


Overview

We’ve all been there. You’re set a task with a tight deadline. The typos start to appear. Your research is vague. Your sentence structure becomes jumbled as you rush to finish.

Nine times out of ten this work is not at a high standard, which is why proofing and editing is so important.

Attend our Advanced Proofing and Editing course to gain the necessary proofing and editing skills to ensure your written work is accurate, understood and credible.

Through a mixture of tutor-led sessions and a timed written exercise, you will gain the confidence and techniques to write more effectively under pressure.

Please see past delegate testimonials below:

“Susan is a really great teacher. On Zoom it can be hard to engage people, but she really got all the attendees chatting and contributing throughout the day. The day was set out really well. I enjoyed the group tasks as it gave us lots of opportunity to practically apply what we were learning about, rather than just listening or talking. 10/10 would recommend” – External Communications Officer, Leonard Cheshire

“I would really recommend the course. Sue is a fantastic trainer and the day passed by far too quickly. Lots of helpful resources to take away, also very impressed with the smooth transition to online learning. Thank you!” – Senior Events Officer, King’s College London


Media & Communications Specialist

Susan works with organisations and individuals to improve their written communications skills.

She worked as a regional and national newspaper journalist before setting up a full-service communications company, now established for 30 years.

She works with public and private sector organisations to help with:

  • Effective emails

  • Report writing

  • Briefings and submissions

  • Persuasive and influential writing techniques

  • Promotional writing

  • Effective complaint handling

  • Communicating complex information for non-technical readers.

Sue Calthorpe

Learning Outcomes

  • Edit for style, length, consistency and credibility

  • Learn how to spot common mistakes to improve the way you proof your work

  • Take part in a timed written exercise to improve your editing and proofing skills

  • Confidently use a range of editing techniques to create text that readers want to read

  • Develop effective skills to improve the way you proof and edit your professional work





All the Understanding ModernGov courses are Continuing Professional Development (CPD) certified,
with signed certificates available upon request for event.


Enquire About In-House Training

To speak to someone about a bespoke training programme, please contact us:

0800 542 9414
InHouse@moderngov.com




Agenda

09:00 - 09:30 Registration

09:30 - 09:45 Trainer’s Welcome and Clarification of Learning Objectives

09:45 - 10:30 Writing: What’s Changed About the Way We’re Working?

  • Explore how hybrid and remote working has impacted how you proof and edit

  • Learn what to take into consideration to ensure you still produce high quality, accurate written information

10:30 - 11:15 Workshop: Proof Reading

  • Learn what common errors occur the most – discuss a checklist of common errors to watch out for to make it easier to proofread in a hurry

  • Take a quick test featuring commonly mis-spelt words and the reliable tools that will support you back at work

  • Gain techniques to proof under pressure – take part in a discussion on the stages of effective proof reading with a timed, hands-on exercise to put theory into practice

11:15 - 11:30 Morning Break

11:30 - 12:45 Editing for Consistency

  • Identify how to create text that readers want to read, rather than copy what they feel obliged to read

  • Take part in a practical exercise, rewriting real-life materials into a consistent format, style and tone

12:45 - 13:30 Lunch

13:30 - 16:00 Editing Workshop

Editing for Length

  • Take part in a practical exercise to learn how to summarise 12 pages of text into 100 words with confidence

  • Learn how to include ‘must know’ information and use fewer words to add value rather than volume to your writing

Being a Critical Friend

  • Discuss the various kinds of feedback you can give, and how you can be a critical friend and mentor to improve writing across your organisation

Editing for Accuracy and Honesty

A final exercise to bring together the day’s learning. Rewrite an existing document to ensure it creates trust, conveys information accurately and honestly and delivers difficult messages with an impartial, objective style.

  • Constructively critique other participants’ exercises to look at best practice across the group and take home some final learning points

16:00 - 16:15 Feedback, Evaluation and Close

Become Part of the Understanding ModernGov Community