Copy Editing Practice Packets for UIL Journalism

UIL Copy Editing Study Materials for Journalism for 2024-25

In our Copy Editing Practice Packets students edit short excerpts, illustrating their understanding of skills required of copy editors and knowledge of the requirements of the Associated Press Stylebook. Copy editors are in high demand in today's job market, and we are excited to offer these practice tests which can be used to explore the contest's expectations and hone your copy editing skill set. 

NOTE: The Fall 2020 thru Spring 2024 Practice Packets tests were administered during the school year. The Spring 2016 through Fall 2018 packets were written during the pilot stage of the contest.

Please note that the Fall 2020 to the current year packets are also contained in the Journalism Practice Packets and are not additional unique tests. The Copy Editing Practice Packets may not reflect all changes in the AP Handbook due to the changing nature of the AP website.

What's Included

Each practice packet includes six challenging practice exams compiled from invitational tests used at real UIL practice meets!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Susan Duncan, MJE, is a retired journalism teacher who currently does freelance writing and design. Duncan began writing for her hometown newspaper as soon as she graduated high school and has been writing ever since. She advised 29 yearbooks and 15 years of newspapers, both in print and online. She is a past president of the Texas Association of Journalism Educators, who recognized her with their Texas Treasure award in 2019. She is also a UIL Edith Fox King Award recipient and a UIL Sponsor Excellence Award recipient.

Professional journalist and former High School journalism teacher Suzanne Bardwell and her husband Jim own Bardwell INK, LLC which produces three community newspapers. Bardwell's former students consistently qualified and excelled in state UIL/ILPC competition. Her High School yearbook program received ILPC's Lone Star award for over a decade of excellence. She has taught workshops for ILPC, CSPA, NSPA, Balfour and Herff-Jones publishing. Bardwell received ILPC's Max R. Haddick Journalism Teacher of the Year for Texas, the Edith Fox King award and Texas Exes Excellence in Teaching award. She currently serves on the Texas Press Association's Legislative Action Committee and as scholarship chair for the North & East Texas Press Association.

Rhonda Moore is a retired journalism teacher who taught for 30 years, most recently at McCallum High School in Austin, and penned a number of our journalism and copy editing practice packets written before 2020. She is the 2004 Max R. Haddick Teacher of the Year and is an Edith Fox King Award recipient. Her students' publications have won the National Scholastic Press Association's Pacemaker Award, Columbia Scholastic Press Association's Silver Crown and the Interscholastic League Press Conference's Gold, Silver and Bronze Stars. She is the former executive director of the Texas Association of Journalism. In 2008, Rhonda was a CSPA Gold Key recipient.