CODE EXAMPLES Flashcards
Chapter/section number: or any other identifying number
<CN> <SN>
</SN></CN>
Chapter/section title: and any subtitles – these may or may not need to be coded
separately from chapter/section numbers.
<CH> <SH>
</SH></CH>
Standfirst: this is usually the first sentence of a journalistic piece set in larger type
and apart from the main text to catch the reader’s eye and give an idea of what the
article is about.
Call-outs or pull quotes – quotes taken from the body of the article and displayed in a prominent way within the layout – also need to be coded separately. These are common features in magazine/journal articles.
<SF> <CO>
</CO></SF>
Abstract: this is a summary of an academic article that appears at the beginning of
that article.
<AB>
</AB>
Headings: you need to identify main headings and any subheadings within the text.
This is easily done by using different letters to indicate the different heading levels.
Some clients limit the number of heading levels in their documents, so check with
them if you find that the text you are editing has more heading levels than they
would like.
<a> <b> <C></C></b></a>
<h1> <h2>
<h3>
</h3></h2></h1>
Paragraphs: it is sensible to check with your client before coding all paragraphs.
Some may want only the first paragraph coded, some may want to differentiate between full-out and indented paragraphs, and some may need only paragraphs with particular formatting requirements, such as numbered lists and displayed quotes, to be identified. It is usual to code a full-out paragraph and an
indented paragraph separately.
<FO> <PI>
</PI></FO>
Lists: all lists should be coded, identifying numbered lists, unnumbered lists and
bulleted lists separately. While Word’s automatic list formatting for numbered and
bulleted lists should transfer to typesetting software correctly, use of Track Changes
may disrupt the numbering sequence until the changes are accepted (or rejected). It may therefore be better to remove automatically applied numbers and type in the number at the beginning of each entry or to leave them out altogether, as the coding will tell the typesetter what style to apply. Your client will advise their
preferred approach. The typesetter will need to know the type of list and where it
starts and ends.
<NL> <ul>
<BL>
</BL></ul></NL>
Website URLs: some clients like to have these coded; others may want you to add a
live link instead.
<URL>
</URL>
Quotes/extracts: these will often be displayed in a special way, but you do not need
to worry about applying formatting in your document; all you need to do is identify
them with a code. Some publishers may also distinguish types of quote, such as
text, poetry, dialogue, etc. The source for all quotes will likely be set apart from the
quote and will therefore need its own code.
<EXT> <q>
<PTY> <DIAL>
<EXTS>
<PTYS>
</PTYS></EXTS></DIAL></PTY></q></EXT>
Other ‘special’ elements: examples include tables, ‘key points’, ‘learning points’ or
boxed text. If there are different kinds of boxed text, it is good practice to check with
your client to see if they should be coded differently to each other.
<BOX>
<table>
</table></BOX>
Captions/titles: captions for illustrations and titles for tables will often need to be
formatted differently to the main text.
<CAP>
<TITLE>
</TITLE></CAP>
Don’t forget that you need to provide a list of all codes you have used and their meanings for
the typesetter. Not everyone needs to see this list, so it is good practice to keep it separate
from your other handover documents.
While the approach suggested above will always be appropriate for clients in the traditional
publishing industry, it may not be helpful for clients who have little knowledge of codes. You
will still need to identify important elements in their texts, so you may wish to consider using
slightly longer, more descriptive tags, or providing more detailed information on the codes
you use, to help your clients understand how each element should be styled. Independent
authors in particular may find it more helpful if you use Word styles rather than coding in
their texts, and these are described below.
