I originally posted this on March 19, 2011, but it seemed especially relevant as I, like many of my professor friends, will spend the day grading finals. Enjoy!
Some of my students call it the “red pen of doom.”
I’m known to “bleed” my copy edits throughout their stories in an effort to make them better writers, thinkers and journalists.
But does the ink color really matter?
I was drawn to a Twitter conversation about the color of ink used in copy editing. The discussion was among copy editors attending the American Copy Editors Society’s 2011 conference.
Katie Schwing tweeted: “People don’t always respond well to red-pen markups. Show clean copy and explain edits in plain English.”
The conversation continued as journalists recommended replacing red ink with blue or green ink.
It’s not the first time I’ve considered the value of color when editing copy.
My journalism professor used to mark our papers in purple ink. I heard that he thought it was better for our fragile psyches if he avoided red.
I would have called it the “purple pen of doom” if I had been more creative.
I don’t think the color made a difference. It prepared me for working with dozens of editors and graduate school. You know, times when no one really cared if the color made me anxious or not.
Someone marking all over your assignment is just as disappointing in purple as it is in red.
It’s also equally rewarding when you write something worthy of just a few colored marks. Perhaps just a comment here or there and a single letter (preferably ‘A’) on the bottom.
Besides, red is my favorite color.
Let’s Talk Nerdy!
What do you think? Does the color used in editing matter?
