I

magine pouring your blood, 
sweat and tears into a lengthy, 
time-consuming 
research 

paper, only to receive a less-than-
ideal score because of the mere fact 
that you mistakenly interchanged 
“there”, “their” and “they’re.” Or 
perhaps your overuse of the passive 
voice clouded the central points of 
your work, leading to an inevitable 
lower score. The absolute horror.

Well, it is for us copy editors, at 

least.

Huddled at a single table amid 

the beautiful mess known as The 
Michigan Daily newsroom, we’re 
perceived as one of the more quiet 
tables. 
Our 
contribution 
to 
the 

newspaper involves anticipating the 
arrival of buzzing news articles and 
intriguing opinion pieces so that we 
may silently, yet slightly snarkily, 
point out grammatical and factual 
errors. All 24 of us are diverse in 
backgrounds and experiences but 
manage to bond over our mutual 
understanding and appreciation of 
the importance of “proofreading on 
steroids.”

My fellow English nerds and I at 

the copy desk are more than happy 
doing what we do: bringing out the 
best in others’ writing. Through the 
three stages of copy editing an article 
undergoes — from primary editor to 
senior editor to the copy chief — each 
of us seeks to make the content of the 
article more accurate, the sentences 
smoother and have the story look as 
polished and professional as can be.

Copy 
editors 
single-handedly 

establish 
and 
maintain 
a 
news 

source’s credibility, making the daily 
morning paper a worthwhile read. 
Using our talented, watchful eyes, we 
make sure our readers don’t have to 

cringe at misused phrases or wince 
out of frustration at the heinous sight 
of an obviously incorrect “fact.”

As crucial as copy editors are to 

publications, we’re just as necessary 
to have around as friends who 
are always eager to pounce on the 
opportunity to enable our loved 
ones to shine through their writing, 
whether it be for an essay or a résumé. 
We catch tiny mistakes that others 
wouldn’t, saving our companions from 
potential bad grades or rejections. Oh 
yeah, we’re basically superheroes in 
our own right.

Since high school, I have been 

involved with editing publications 
— the annual yearbook being the 
main target during my pre-college 
days. When you think of yearbooks, 
it’s not typically the text within 
the book that comes to mind right 
away. However, if you were to look 
back at your high school yearbooks, 
you’ll notice the relevance of having 
a written description, caption or 
quote accompany an image that was 
perhaps becoming a little fuzzy in 
your memory over the years.

Now in college, by ensuring the 

events and activities taking place on 
campus and in the world are reported 
accurately and clearly, I like to think 
I am still working to achieve the 
same goal of informing the people of 
today and reminding the people of 
tomorrow.

We’re 
nitpicky, 
outrageously 

observant and need things to follow a 
structured set of rules — probably not 
the most lovable traits, but I promise, 
we only intend to be supportive. As 
such, be certain to let the copy editors/
proofreaders/general supporters in 
your life know how much they are 
appreciated.

Wednesday, February 14, 2018// The Statement 
7B

Copy That: We see 
things others don’t

BY SADIA JIBAN, 

DAILY COPY EDITOR

ILLUSTRATION BY 
HANNAH MYERS

Taking Out the Trash

BY MICHELLE SHENG

