Technical Editing

Rajan D VVenture Infotek

Various Levels of Editing

Most Common Errors

Role of a House Style Guide in Editing

Tips and Tricks of the Trade

Various Types of Editing

A brief perspective on Technical Editing

Editing Checklists

Scope of This Session

What Is Editing ?

Read objectively from the point of view of the audience

Query what you read

Verify, test documentation content

Evaluate usability of the document

Judge the appropriateness for intended use and target audience

What Constitutes Editing ?

Editing

Literary Editing Technical Editing

Language

Mechanics of Writing

Producing a Document

Technical Content

Presentation to intended Audience

What Is Required of Technical Editors ?

should have general familiarity with the subject should be familiar with the technical terminology

used

should judge a manuscript on the basis of representative readers and evaluate whether it tells them what they need to know - completely, concisely, clearly and accurately

You may be editing:

Printed materials

Electronic materials

Video content

CBT’s

As a Technical Editor...

Things to Consider When Editing...

the basis for editing should be making it easier for the reader to use the document

convey to the writer, that your aim is to help achieve a better result edit things that actually need to be changed:

conflicts with the style guide, grammatical errors, syntax errors as an editor, you must resist the temptation of

including your identity in the document

an editor is a team player

good editing is not noticed by the reader

Before Suggesting a Change...

...ask yourself the following questions:

will the change make it easy for the user of the document in locating information, or understand the content ?

will the change rectify an error ?

will the change cut publishing costs ?

Types of Editing

2. Copy and Literary Editing

1. Developmental / Substantive Editing

3. Editing for Style / Language

4. Editing for Usability

5. Format Edit

6. Integrity Edit

7. Coordination and Policy Edit

Developmental / Substantive Editing

This macro-level edit focuses on:

1. Organizational structure2. Logic3. Correctness4. Completeness5. Clarity6. Consistency

Developmental Editing is analysis-driven and should benegotiable with the writer.

Checklist - Developmental / Substantive Editing

2. Content

1. Audience

3. Organization

4. Nomenclature

5. Policy

6. Consistency

7. Examples

8. Style Issues

Copy and Literary Editing

This is a micro-level edit wherein you examine the document’s individual building blocks and focus ongrammar, punctuation, retrieval aids, navigational aidsand internal consistency.

Copy and Literary edits are usually rule-driven and are not negotiable with the writer.

Checklist – Copy and Literary Editing

2. Grammar

1. Spelling

3. Sentences

4. Punctuation

5. Cross-references

6. Version number

7. Acronyms

8. Order of steps

9. Sequences

10. Spacing

11. Notes

12. Style Guide

13. Tables

14. Font

15. Header / Footer

16. Typography

17. Page Layout

18. TOC

19. Index

20. Glossary

Editing for Style / Language

Style decisions are subjective. Passive and active voice depends on what the particular sentence is trying toconvey. First, second and third person depends on thepurpose and audience of the document.

The writer decides on the choice of words, unless theword is inappropriate or misused. The editor can suggesta better word or phrase, but cannot insist that the changebe made.

Checklist – Editing for Style and Language

2. Readability

1. Flow of text

3. Conciseness

4. Active / Passive voice

5. Verbs

6. Sentence Length

7. Emphasis

8. Style

Editing for Usability

Involves editing the document for usability. This focuseson following the procedures and steps that the manualdescribes, exactly as they are written.

It also involves verifying if the pre-requisite information that is required to complete a task, and referencedinformation is accurate, and easily locatable. Clarity ofthe content and whether it enables the reader touse the document / product is also the focus of this edit.

Checklist – Editing for Usability

2. Reader response

1. User viewpoint

3. Conventions

4. Navigational aids

5. Index

Format Edit

A format edit determines that the document conforms to the organizations standards on typography, layout and illustrations.

Checklist – Format Edit

2. Indentation

1. Typography

3. Column width

4. Layout

5. Placement and display of figures and illustrations

Integrity Edit

An integrity edit ensures that the document is internallyconsistent.

Checklist – Integrity Edit

2. Page numbers

1. References to figures, tables, sections, part numbers, product numbers and other documents

3. TOC Vs. text

4. Numeric sequences

5. Lettered sequences

Coordination and Policy Edit

A coordination edit is concerned with document handling, planning and estimating, monitoring and coordinating production processes and interfaces with writer, support groups, production groups, and deals with printers.

A policy edit ensures that the document conforms to the policy of the company, in terms of presentation, content, legal requirements, copyright, logos, disclaimers, use of references, and trademarks

Levels of Edit

Most Common Errors

2. Acronyms

1. Contradictions

3. Emphasis

4. Transition

5. Examples

7. Repeated steps

6. Omitted steps

8. Ambiguity

10. Like Vs. as

9. Wordiness

11. Negatives

12. Passive voice

13. Capitalization

15. Commas

14. Quotation Marks

16. Apostrophe

18. Hyphen

17. Subject Verb

19. Figure Vs. Text

20. Lists

21. Headings

22. Double words

Most Common Errors

House Style Guide in Editing

A good style guide assumes writers know how to write,think and exercise good judgment. They anticipate thatrules may have to be bent and provide ways to bendthem.

Good style guides focus on only style issues, solve actualproblems and save writers and editors time. A style guideshould state a preferred style when there is more thanone method of doing something.

The style guide should also bend other style rules to fit the needs of your organization.

A good style guide addresses a lot of common styleissues across different documents.

House Style Guide in Editing

Ensures that all the books/manuals the companypublishes speak in one voice.

Can, to some extent ensure that all documents that describe one product/service; look, sound and feel as though one person wrote them.

Tips and Tricks

Grammar Trick: When in doubt, reword

Grammar Tip: Educate yourself to make yourselfsee that English grammar and usage cannot alwaysbe reduced to absolute rules. The more knowledge youhave on English grammar, the faster you can completemicro-level edits and concentrate on macro-level edits.

Compounding Tip: Don’t argue on trivial details and missthe bigger picture. Record decisions on style sheets sothat you can use them to edit later chapters.

Tips and Tricks

Content Organization Tip: You may be trying to solve a problem at a lower level and may need to widen your focus. If changing words doesn’t help look at the whole sentence. Else, look at the paragraph. Maybe you should delete the sentence?

Content Organization Trick: expand at higher levels of heads. Avoid burying the information too deep or your readers will not be able to find it.

Tips and Tricks

Procedure Editing Tip: edit for order, clarity and presentation. If a procedure is too complex, make a flowchart out of it. Can you use tables as a means ofconveying information? Ensure all column headingsof the table are visible for maximum readability.

Procedure Editing Tip: edit for order, clarity and presentation. Tables are breeding grounds for typos, soedit them with care.

Glossary Editing Tip: check if all words are included.Conversely, check that the glossary isnt filled withunwanted terms.

Tips and Tricks

Index Editing Tip: pick a few topics and think of all waysyou might search for the topic content. If there are noindex entries for your words, chances are they won’t beindex entries for other words.

Thanks for your patience, input and cooperation!