CME Tag- and Text-Review Checklist

The document should validate.
(In Author/Editor, use "Special/Validate Document" (hotkey: F9), making sure that no text is highlighted [otherwise it will validate only the selected text, not the whole document.]
The initial validation will require providing an ID number: use the seven-digit NOTIS number, typing it into the ID box that appears when "Markup/Edit Attributes" (hotkey: F6) is selected (with cursor placed to right of ETS tag).
Validation is also likely to involve the addition of a number of "TYPE" attributes to <DIV>s and <LG>s; these attributes are required. See FAQ sheet #1.
The structure of the document (as expressed in <FRONT>, <BODY>, <BACK>, <DIV>s of various levels with identifying TYPE attributes, <LG>s, <P>s, <NOTE>s, etc.) should correspond to that of the original. <HEAD>s need not appear at the head of all <DIV>s.
(In Author/Editor, use "View/Show Structure View" (hotkey: F11) to expand and contract the <DIV> structure as in an outliner. This frequently helps diagnose general structural problems.
Some of the <DIV> and <LG> structures are extremely complex: aim for as much consistency as possible within a text. If perfect consistency [all <DIV1>s, <DIV2>s, <DIV3>s, etc. having same respective TYPE attribute] is not possible, aim for a series of locally consistent pieces within a text.)
Useful for determining the structure are the book-by-book coding specifications written for each text; a list of these is located at http://www-personal.umich.edu/~pfs/mec/cmeitems.html Click on XX.spec.html where XX is the two-letter identifier for the text.

At the end of any tag and text-review session, add the date, unique-name (if necessary) and a short description of work performed (for example, "Added TYPE attributes to <DIV>s and <LG>s in order to validate") within <DATE>, <NAME>, and <ITEM> tags in the <TEMPHEAD>. See FAQ Sheet #6.

Titlepages should be correctly tagged and numbered. Both front and back should be included. See FAQ sheet #2.

Use proofed sample pages to determine problems (and possible corrections) that may bave been encountered in proofing. There are also lists of miscellaneous transcription problems, specific transcription errors, and some tagging problems discovered in character-proofing; these are found at http://www-personal.umich.edu/~pfs/mec/proof.html.

Search for $ (if in TextPad, as literal string, that is, with "Regular expression" not checked), and make any corrections needed. "$" is the flag for illegible or indecipherable text of all sorts--word, line, character, and diacritic. See FAQ Sheet #5.

<PB>s and <MILESTONE>s should appear in the correct places, should all be present, and should accurately reflect what's on the page. See FAQ sheet #3.

Character-accuracy checks:
1. Many of the single- and double- quotation marks will need changing, particularly on the earlier files. Use "Search/Replace" (hotkey: F8) to find all `` (which were used for opening double quotation marks) and to replace them with ". Use the same command to find and replace the two single quotation marks ('') that were used in lieu of a single double quotation mark (") to close quotations. Check that there are no single marks (`) that need replacing with '. (Be particularly careful with the single quotation mark replacements; in some books these are used to indicate a span of text for commentary.)
2. Check 0/O and 1/l accuracy.
3. Check that mdashes are present and correctly used. In Author/Editor "&mdash" in "Find" will locate all mdashes ("&" with the name of any entity will locate that entity).
4. Check that oe ligatures ("&oelig;", of which there are apparently none in Old English) are not, or should not be, ae ligatures ("æ"), particularly in italic types.
5. Check for thorn italics (that is, words like þer, þat, þe, etc. that are italicized in the text and should not be). In Author/Editor, search "Find & Replace" using "þ" in "Find" and "<I" in "Find In". For thorn words that should be italicized but are not, search "Find & Replace" using "þ" in "Find" and "<NOTE" in "Find In". Usually a "sampling" of the text will indicate whether or not thorn italics are a problem or not.
6. If there is an "Errata" list in the original text (and it is not terribly long), make the corrections listed. Note carefully under <ITEM> in <TEMPHEAD> the extent of the corrections (e.g., "Entered all errata" or "Errata undone").
7. Check for spacing inconsistencies and correct them in Author/Editor using "Find & Replace". These occur most often in the use of punctuation marks, for example:
  þe false wytnessyne ; as opposed to þe false wytnessyne;
  or
  þat makeþ hy wel bealde : as opposed to þat makeþ hy wel bealde:
  
  It is worth checking semi-colons, colons, question marks, and exclamation marks. Be somewhat wary of global changes to colons; be sure that they are not being used in some instances as an equivalence to a middot (in which case, a space before and after would be appropriate). Commas and periods need not be checked.
<NOTE>s should appear within the text at the spot to which they apply. Extraneous note markers should be removed. In Author/Editor "<NOTE" in "Find" will locate all <NOTE>s ("<" with the name of any element will locate that element).

Beginnings and endings of divisions should be correctly tagged. These include <HEAD>s, (use TYPE="main" and TYPE="sub" if necessary), <EPIGRAPH>s, <OPENER>s, and <ARGUMENT>s at the beginnings, and <CLOSER>s and <TRAILER>s at the endings. <HEAD>s in the form "Incipit. . ." may take a TYPE="incipit" attribute. <TRAILER>s do not take attributes but should be used for endings in the form "Explicit. . ." or "Here ends. . ." Many of these will have been tagged wrongly, and so will need to be examined carefully. <OPENER>s, <CLOSER>s and <TRAILER>s may now contain <NOTE>s.

CME Tag- and Text-Review Checklist

Index