Technical Editing Rajan D V Venture Infotek

Scope of This Session A brief perspective on Technical Editing Various Types of Editing Editing Checklists Various Levels of Editing Most Common Errors Role of a House Style Guide in Editing Tips and Tricks of the Trade

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 ? Literary Editing Technical Editing Language Technical Content Mechanics of Writing Presentation to intended Audience Producing a Document

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

As a Technical Editor... You may be editing: Printed materials Video content Electronic materials CBT’s

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 1. Developmental / Substantive Editing 2. Copy and Literary 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 structure 2. Logic 3. Correctness 4. Completeness 5. Clarity 6. Consistency Developmental Editing is analysis-driven and should be negotiable with the writer.

Checklist - Developmental / Substantive Editing 1. Audience 2. Content 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 on grammar, punctuation, retrieval aids, navigational aids and internal consistency. Copy and Literary edits are usually rule-driven and are not negotiable with the writer.

Checklist – Copy and Literary Editing 1. Spelling 9. Sequences 17. Page Layout 2. Grammar 10. Spacing 18. TOC 3. Sentences 11. Notes 19. Index 4. Punctuation 12. Style Guide 20. Glossary 5. Cross-references 13. Tables 6. Version number 14. Font 7. Acronyms 15. Header / Footer 8. Order of steps 16. Typography

Editing for Style / Language Style decisions are subjective. Passive and active voice depends on what the particular sentence is trying to convey. First, second and third person depends on the purpose and audience of the document. The writer decides on the choice of words, unless the word is inappropriate or misused. The editor can suggest a better word or phrase, but cannot insist that the change be made.

Checklist – Editing for Style and Language 1. Flow of text 2. Readability 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 focuses on following the procedures and steps that the manual describes, exactly as they are written. It also involves verifying if the pre-requisite information that is required to complete a task, and referenced information is accurate, and easily locatable. Clarity of the content and whether it enables the reader to use the document / product is also the focus of this edit.

Checklist – Editing for Usability 1. User viewpoint 2. Reader response 3. Conventions 4. Navigational aids 5. Index

Checklist – Format Edit A format edit determines that the document conforms to the organizations standards on typography, layout and illustrations. Checklist – Format Edit 1. Typography 2. Indentation 3. Column width 4. Layout 5. Placement and display of figures and illustrations

Checklist – Integrity Edit An integrity edit ensures that the document is internally consistent. Checklist – Integrity Edit 1. References to figures, tables, sections, part numbers, product numbers and other documents 2. Page numbers 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 1. Contradictions 9. Wordiness 2. Acronyms 10. Like Vs. as 3. Emphasis 11. Negatives 4. Transition 12. Passive voice 5. Examples 13. Capitalization 6. Omitted steps 14. Quotation Marks 7. Repeated steps 15. Commas 8. Ambiguity 16. Apostrophe

Most Common Errors 17. Subject Verb 18. Hyphen 19. Figure Vs. Text 20. Lists 21. Headings 22. Double words

House Style Guide in Editing A good style guide assumes writers know how to write, think and exercise good judgment. They anticipate that rules may have to be bent and provide ways to bend them. Good style guides focus on only style issues, solve actual problems and save writers and editors time. A style guide should state a preferred style when there is more than one method of doing something. The style guide should also bend other style rules to fit the needs of your organization.

House Style Guide in Editing A good style guide addresses a lot of common style issues across different documents. Ensures that all the books/manuals the company publishes 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 Tip: Educate yourself to make yourself see that English grammar and usage cannot always be reduced to absolute rules. The more knowledge you have on English grammar, the faster you can complete micro-level edits and concentrate on macro-level edits. Grammar Trick: When in doubt, reword Compounding Tip: Don’t argue on trivial details and miss the bigger picture. Record decisions on style sheets so that 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 of conveying information? Ensure all column headings of the table are visible for maximum readability. Procedure Editing Tip: edit for order, clarity and presentation. Tables are breeding grounds for typos, so edit them with care.

Tips and Tricks Glossary Editing Tip: check if all words are included. Conversely, check that the glossary isnt filled with unwanted terms. Index Editing Tip: pick a few topics and think of all ways you might search for the topic content. If there are no index entries for your words, chances are they won’t be index entries for other words.

Thanks for your patience, input and cooperation!