Copyediting sample 52:
Correcting place-names

In this memoir, besides routine style issues (mostly punctuation), there was a problem with place-names.

Note: The late author of this piece was not a native English speaker. The client was a daughter of the author, who wanted the author’s Teutonic way of expressing himself preserved as much as possible.

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Original
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After some ten days we set out in our car for Washington DC from where Horst and Elfriede were to return to Germany. When we crossed the state line from Indiana to Ohio and I mentioned that we were now in a different time zone, my friend Horst asked at what time the time would be changed. We all laughed when I explained that there was a permanent time difference between the two time zones. On our way east we saw the Natural Bridge in Virginia, surveyed by the young George Washington, and visited Monticello and the University of Virginia in Richmond. After visiting Colonial Williamsburg and a boat trip from Newport News we went north over and through the Chesapeake Bridge and Tunnel Complex, reaching Washington DC after a stop in Annapolis. We stayed several days in a hotel in Vienna, Virginia, taking a train to get to Washington DC, visiting most of the interesting sights of the capital, including the National Cathedral about which Gisela had read much and was anxious to see. Finally we had to take our friends to the Dulles International Airport for their flight back home. It would be the last time that Gisela saw Horst and Elfriede. After we had left them at the airport we started our trip back to Chicago with a stop to visit Frank Lloyd Wright’s famous Falling Waters.

Markup
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After some ten days we set out in our car for Washington DC from Washington, D.C., from where Horst and Elfriede were to return to Germany. When we crossed the state line from Indiana to Ohio and Ohio, and I mentioned that we were now in a different time zone, my friend Horst asked at what time the time would be changed. We all laughed when I explained that there was a permanent time difference between the two time zones. On our way east we east, we saw the Natural Bridge in Virginia, surveyed by the young George Washington, and visited Monticello and the University of Virginia in Richmond. [The University of Virginia is in Charlottesville, not Richmond. Should “in Richmond” be changed to “in Charlottesville”? Or should “University of Virginia in Richmond” be changed to “University of Richmond”?] After visiting Colonial Williamsburg and a boat and enjoying a boat trip from Newport News we News, we went north over and through the Chesapeake Bridge and Tunnel Complex Chesapeake Bay Bridge–Tunnel complex, reaching Washington DC after Washington, D.C., after a stop in Annapolis. We stayed several days in a hotel in Vienna, Virginia, taking a train to get to get into Washington DC Washington, visiting most of the interesting sights of the capital, including the National Cathedral about Cathedral, about which Gisela had read much and was anxious to see. Finally we Finally, we had to take our friends to the Dulles International Airport for their flight back home. It would be the last time that Gisela saw Horst and Elfriede. After we had left them at the airport we airport, we started our trip back to Chicago with a stop to visit Frank Lloyd Wright’s famous Falling Waters Fallingwater house.

Result
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After some ten days we set out in our car for Washington, D.C., from where Horst and Elfriede were to return to Germany. When we crossed the state line from Indiana to Ohio, and I mentioned that we were now in a different time zone, my friend Horst asked at what time the time would be changed. We all laughed when I explained that there was a permanent time difference between the two time zones. On our way east, we saw the Natural Bridge in Virginia, surveyed by the young George Washington, and visited Monticello and the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. After visiting Colonial Williamsburg and enjoying a boat trip from Newport News, we went north over and through the Chesapeake Bay Bridge–Tunnel complex, reaching Washington, D.C., after a stop in Annapolis. We stayed several days in a hotel in Vienna, Virginia, taking a train to get into Washington, visiting most of the interesting sights of the capital, including the National Cathedral, about which Gisela had read much and was anxious to see. Finally, we had to take our friends to the Dulles International Airport for their flight back home. It would be the last time that Gisela saw Horst and Elfriede. After we had left them at the airport, we started our trip back to Chicago with a stop to visit Frank Lloyd Wright’s famous Fallingwater house.