COPYING

PLAIN COPYING

RULES AND EXERCISES

1. Plain copying is the easiest of all grade subjects, as it is only necessary for the competitor to make an exact copy of an original. But, either from carelessness or overconfidence, it is the one subject in which many competitors fail to get a satisfactory mark.

Owing to the simplicity of the work, the Civil Service Commissioners mark this subject very severely, making a deduction of 5 points for nearly every error. As every variation, however small, is marked as an error, great care must be taken to make an exact copy of the exercise.

2. Rules for Plain Copying. The following rules should be carefully studied and thoroughly understood before the exercises are copied:

1. Punctuate, capitalize, spell, and paragraph exactly as in the exercise; make in the copy all errors that occur in the exercise in order that the copy may be exact.

2. Copy all figures exactly as they appear in the exercise. Roman numerals must appear as Roman numerals in the copy; Arabic numerals must appear as Arabic.

3. Leave a margin, about inch wide, on each side of the sheet; the margin on the left side should be kept as straight as if ruled off by a line. Light pencil lines may be ruled on the paper so as to maintain these margins, but they must be erased before the work is sent in for correction.

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4. Indent the first word of the exercise and of each new paragraph (unless spaced otherwise in the exercise); that is, begin the first word of the exercise and of each new paragraph about inch to the right of the beginning of the other lines. 5. Make all asterisks (*) as nearly as possible like those in the exercise and in approximately the same position. If more than one is used be sure to use the exact number shown.

6. Place all quotation marks (""), brackets [], and parenthesis () in exactly the same position as they appear in the exercise. Practice making punctuation marks, as the manner in which they are formed will be considered when giving the mark for penmanship.

7. Do not raise the pen between the letters of a word.

3. Explanation of Rules.-To show the practical application of the foregoing rules, an exercise is given here. On the following page is given a copy of it that would receive a very low mark. Each error in this copy is designated by a number enclosed in a circle, the errors being numbered in numerical order, and are explained in the examiner's sheet shown on the following page. There is also given the deduction made for each error and the number of the rule violated. A copy of the exercise that would receive a perfect mark is shown on page 5.

SPECIMEN EXERCISE

GOLD TUNNEL MINING CO.

A SUCCESSFUL COAST ENTERPRISE

I. The fact is that every eastern city of consequence has been, and is now, a financial base for the west, a point from which a steady stream of capitol has poured westward into oil, mining, oil refining and ore smelting enterprises.

The Southwest, (published at Los Angeles, Cal.), contains the following:

"The surplus capital of the east is the power that is making knowable to the world the wonderful resources of the west.” (REPORT FROM MINING JOURNAL)

$51

Gold Tunnel Mining Co.

A Successful boast Enterprise

Pa

Edition

1. The fact is that every eastern city of conce quence has been and is now, a

3

base for the west, a

a point from which a streme of capital has poured westward into the oil, mining, oil refining, and ore smetting enterpriced

4

12 x

Cal, con

the Southwest, publiched at Los Angeles,) be tained the following. The surplus Exp. of the east is the power that re making knowable to the world the wonderful resources of the

west." 2

20

(Report From Mining Journal)

EXAMINERS' SHEET

Each mistake in this exercise is designated by a number enclosed in a O. The mistakes are numbered in numerical order and the number designating each mistake is written in the first column. The mistakes are explained in the middle column and the deduction for each mistake is written in the last column.

From these corrections it will be seen that the charge for errors is 89 and therefore this exercise would receive a mark of 11. The following copy of the exercise would receive a mark of 100:

York,

Gold Tunnel Mining Co.

A successful boast Enterprice_

1. The fact is that. incequence has been, avery eastern city of

is now, a

Financial for the west, a point from which a steady stream of capitol hae poured westward into oil, mining, oil refining and ne smelting enterprises.

*

*

*

*

the Southweet, Sablished at Los Angeles, bal.), containe the following;

"The surplus capital

lue capital of the east is the foner that is making knowable to the world the wonderful resources of the west ." (Report From Mining Journals

EXERCISES FOR EXAMINATION

4. The following six exercises have been carefully selected and will give a valuable training in this subject. The first exercise should be practiced until it can be copied without an error, after which a good copy should be made and mailed