Winner of third Iles Award for Research in Editing announced
The Bremner Editing Center at the William Allen White University of Kansas School of Journalism and Mass Communications is pleased to announce that the project “The impact of a copyediting course on novice editors’ reading behavior: An eye-tracking study” is the winner of the third annual Iles Award for Research in Editing.
This award of $1,000 is intended to support research pertaining to the teaching or practice of editing written language.
The project, by Holly Baker and Mark Wolfersberger of Brigham Young University, will use eye tracking technology to answer the question “How does a university copyediting course affect novice editors’ reading behavior when processing copyediting errors in written texts?”
The winners’ proposal said that “while many editing professionals are skeptical about the effectiveness of university courses to adequately prepare students for industry (Appleman & Hettinga, 2024), this study seeks to provide evidence of effective classroom curricula that fosters in novice editors an enhanced aptitude in identifying copyediting errors in texts.”
Baker is an assistant professor and Wolfersberger is a professor in the editing and publishing program within the BYU Department of Linguistics.
One judge praised the idea of using eye-tracking technology to test the effectiveness of copy-editing classes. “This proposal outlines a well-developed study with a clear relationship to practice and teaching, “ the judge said.
The judges said they look forward to seeing the results of the study, which should have practical applications for both educators and professionals.
The Bremner Editing Center thanks everyone who applied. Entries are judged anonymously, and this year’s judges were Laura Johnston of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, Kirstie Hettinga of California Lutheran University; and Alyssa Appelman of the KU School of Journalism and Mass Communications, winner of the 2025 Iles Award.
The Iles Award is made possible by a generous gift from an alumna to the Bremner Fund at the University of Kansas and honors the legacy of John Bremner, editing professor and author of “Words on Words” and “HTK.” Faculty, graduate students, independent scholars and corporate/professional researchers are welcome to apply for the annual award. For more information, contact Gerri Berendzen, Bremner Center coordinator, at gberendzen@ku.edu.