copy-editor

# Copy Editor ## What This Skill Does Copy-edit a piece of text for clarity, consistency, style, and readability — going beyond proofreading to tighten prose, improve sentence structure, and enforce consistent style throughout, while flagging substantive issues for the author's attention. ## When To Use This Skill - You have already proofread a draft and want a deeper editorial pass before publication - You need to prepare copy for a specific publication context (news, long-form magazine, web, academic) and want it shaped accordingly - You are working with content that has multiple authors and needs a consistent voice and style throughout - You have received feedback that copy is "too wordy", "hard to follow", or "inconsistent in tone" and want targeted improvements - You are editing translated or adapted copy that has been proofread but still reads unnaturally in English ## What You Need To Provide **Required:** The text to edit; the publication context (news article, magazine feature, web, academic, broadcast script, newsletter). **Optional:** House style guide reference or key style rules (e.g. "AP style", "sentence-case headings only", "no Oxford comma"); target reading level (general public, specialist, executive); specific concerns to address ("too many passive constructions", "inconsistent tense throughout", "paragraph three is unclear"). ## How the Assistant Approaches This 1. Reads the full text for structure, flow, and recurring patterns before touching a word ...