Paul Mundy Editing step by step How an expert does it

Getting the manuscript ready 1 Check on your master sheet which document to edit Open the document file and save it in the next version’s folder. Rename it according to the file naming convention, showing the version number or date

Levels of editing Read through the document quickly to see what it is about and to note major problems with  Meaning  Structure  Content  Words  Grammar and spelling Check higher levels (Meaning, Structure) before worrying about the lower levels (Words, Grammar, Spelling)

Levels of editing: Meaning What is the manuscript as a whole trying to say? What is the overall message? What does each section or paragraph say?  Does each paragraph have a key sentence? Normally at the beginning or the end  Consider writing run-in heads for each paragraph to focus its topic Delete them later if they are unnecessary Structure Content Words Grammar & spelling Meaning

Levels of editing: Structure Is it in the right order?  Does it flow logically?  Is it in the right order?  Does it follow logically from the previous text?  Use frequent headings Structure Content Words Grammar & spelling Meaning

Levels of editing: Content Does it have the right information?  Is the information correct and complete?  Is it relevant? Structure Content Words Grammar & spelling Meaning

Levels of editing: Words Does it say it clearly?  Delete unnecessary words  Turn abstract nouns into verbs  Replace long words with short words  Get rid of jargon and abbreviations Structure Content Words Grammar & spelling Meaning

Levels of editing: Grammar & Spelling Is the language correct?  Check for misspellings and poor grammar  Keep sentences short and varied Structure Content Words Grammar & spelling Meaning

Getting the manuscript ready 2 Import the standard template into the file  Tools > Templates and Add-ins > Organizer… > Styles Reformat each paragraph using the standard styles  Headings, Body text, Table text, etc. Make capitalization in headings consistent  Use Shift+F3 to cycle through capitalsCapitalsCAPITALScapitalsCapitalsCAPITALS

Getting the manuscript ready 3 Remove extra spaces in sentences (eg, two spaces after full stops)  Ctrl+H  In Find what field enter space space  In Replace with field enter space  Click Replace all Remove extra spaces between paragraphs  Ctrl+H  In Find what field enter ^p^p (^ = Shift+6)  In Replace with field enter ^p  Click Replace all

Getting the manuscript ready 4 Manually search and replace  ise with ize  ising with izing  isation with ization  isab with izab (eg, realisable, realisability) Set the language for the whole document  Tools > Language > Set language

Getting the manuscript ready 5 Set the footer to include the filename and page number  View > Header and Footer > Switch between Header and Footer > Insert AutoText > Filename, and Insert Page Number Turn on grammar and spell checking  Tools > Options > Spelling & Grammar Turn off Track Changes  Ctrl+Shift+E Select the whole document and colour the background 10% grey  Format > Borders and Shading… > Shading

Editing 1 Starting at the top, edit each paragraph  Restructure the document if necessary  Delete unnecessary material, or move it to the Scrapyard  Rewrite paragraphs to make them easier to understand Work through the manuscript paragraph by paragraph, section by section, editing as you go Check the  Meaning  Structure  Content  Words  Grammar & spelling Structure Content Words Grammar & spelling Meaning

Editing 1 Remove the background grey as you edit each paragraph Restructure sections by moving blocks of text  Use Cut (Ctrl+X) and Paste (Ctrl+V) to move individual blocks  Use the Spike (Ctrl+F3, Ctrl+Shift+F3) to collect and move multiple blocks of text

Editing 2 Don’t know what to do with some text?  Move it to the end – to the Scrapyard  Give it a different background colour Skip over text you cannot edit quickly  Leave it grey, come back to it later Mark queries with  Comments  Highlighting  $$$ALL CAPITALS Highlighting OK?

Editing 3 Use a split screen to see two parts of the manuscript at the same time If necessary, open a separate window with previous version of text  Give previous version a coloured background  So you don’t get confused  Format > Background > select colour

Cross-references, references Create captions for Tables, Figures, Boxes  Insert > Reference > Caption Insert cross-references to captions  Insert > Reference > Cross-reference Check the references  Use a split screen so you can see the text and references at the same time  Highlight the references you have checked, so you can see which are not yet checked Highlight

Tables Too much detail? Too many columns or rows? Do numbers add up? Do numbers make sense? Do numbers match what is in the text? Is the information complete?  Place, date, source of data… Does text refer to table? Would a graphic be better?

Graphics Is the graphic necessary? Is it clear? Does it need to be redrawn? Do we have copyright? Is the source acknowledged? Check the caption and labels Does it match what is in the text? Does the text refer to or explain the figure?

After editing the text Create a table of contents Read the manuscript again  Correct any errors or poor wording  Revisit text you skipped Rewrite the introduction if necessary Check the references and cross-references (if you have not yet done so)