ENC 4212: Professional & Technical Editing Fall 2015 Week 12 lecture “Levels of Edit” Revisited University of South Florida, Sarasota-Manatee © 2015 by T. E. Roberts, Instructor Length of this lecture audio: 00:17:12 Jot down the audio codes and slide numbers where they are mentioned; you will be sending codes for the Week 11 and 12 lectures with Assignment 4 by 6 p.m. on Nov. 30, For information on the online course evaluation, please see this link: ENC 4212: Professional & Technical Editing Fall 2015 Week 12 lecture “Levels of Edit” Revisited University of South Florida, Sarasota-Manatee © 2015 by T. E. Roberts, Instructor Length of this lecture audio: 00:17:12 Jot down the audio codes and slide numbers where they are mentioned; you will be sending codes for the Week 11 and 12 lectures with Assignment 4 by 6 p.m. on Nov. 30, For information on the online course evaluation, please see this link: A good editor is like a pair of Spanx: firming up the body, making the subject look good, and absolutely invisible. ― Sandi Layne The author of this lecture acknowledges his debt to the Wikipedia article “Levels of Edit”:

ENC 4212, Fall 2015 Week 12 Slide 1 of 7 Week 12 Agenda Origin of “Levels of Edit” Modernizing the concept Contemporary views of “Levels of Edit” Applying the concept to your work Assignment 4 Progress Origin of “Levels of Edit” Modernizing the concept Contemporary views of “Levels of Edit” Applying the concept to your work Assignment 4 Progress

ENC 4212, Fall 2015 Week 12 Slide 2 of 7 Origin of “Levels of Edit” Originally created in mid-1970’s for use at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena CA by Robert Van Buren and Mary Fran Buehler to achieve the following editorial goals: Accuracy Clarity Conciseness Correctness (of grammar and mechanics) Consistency Reading ease Readability Precision Organization Style Published by U.S. Government Printing Office in 1980 and distributed widely May be downloaded here: Originally created in mid-1970’s for use at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena CA by Robert Van Buren and Mary Fran Buehler to achieve the following editorial goals: Accuracy Clarity Conciseness Correctness (of grammar and mechanics) Consistency Reading ease Readability Precision Organization Style Published by U.S. Government Printing Office in 1980 and distributed widely May be downloaded here:

ENC 4212, Fall 2015 Week 12 Slide 3 of 7 Modernizing the Concept 1985: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) established four levels of edit for technical reports 1994: LANL updated the process to focus on three “author-based” levels of edit: Proofreading edit Grammar edit Full edit 1985: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) established four levels of edit for technical reports 1994: LANL updated the process to focus on three “author-based” levels of edit: Proofreading edit Grammar edit Full edit

ENC 4212, Fall 2015 Week 12 Slide 4 of 7 Modernizing (continued) Concept was further modified and presented at 2011 Summit of Society for Technical Communication (STC): Turning pages (a superficial look at the text) Skimming (correcting obvious errors of spelling, grammar, punctuation) Skimming and comparing (seeking internal consistency, including cross references) Reading (improving writing style, such as wording and usage) Analyzing (identifying and fixing organizational flaws, missing information, redundancy, and technical inconsistency) Testing and using (fixing technical errors and resolving usability problems) This approach was also adapted to software and procedure testing ( comprehensive editing => system testing, copyediting => function testing -- see Carolyn Rude, Longman Guide to Technical Editing ) Concept was further modified and presented at 2011 Summit of Society for Technical Communication (STC): Turning pages (a superficial look at the text) Skimming (correcting obvious errors of spelling, grammar, punctuation) Skimming and comparing (seeking internal consistency, including cross references) Reading (improving writing style, such as wording and usage) Analyzing (identifying and fixing organizational flaws, missing information, redundancy, and technical inconsistency) Testing and using (fixing technical errors and resolving usability problems) This approach was also adapted to software and procedure testing ( comprehensive editing => system testing, copyediting => function testing -- see Carolyn Rude, Longman Guide to Technical Editing ) least complex most complex

ENC 4212, Fall 2015 Week 12 Slide 5 of 7 Contemporary Views of “Levels” Carolyn Rude, author of the ENC 4212 textbook, reduced the multiple levels to just two types (see Chapter 13): Comprehensive editing Copyediting The “Levels of Editing” concept allows the editing process to be managed as definable tasks and results. Editing professionals have introduced many variations in the “levels,” but the basic objective remains the same: meeting the reader’s need for clarity, concision, precision, and accuracy. Carolyn Rude, author of the ENC 4212 textbook, reduced the multiple levels to just two types (see Chapter 13): Comprehensive editing Copyediting The “Levels of Editing” concept allows the editing process to be managed as definable tasks and results. Editing professionals have introduced many variations in the “levels,” but the basic objective remains the same: meeting the reader’s need for clarity, concision, precision, and accuracy.

ENC 4212, Fall 2015 Week 12 Slide 6 of 7 Applying the Concept to Your Work It’s easy to tell an editor, “Check your work carefully,” but reminders alone will not get the job done. A successful editor must develop and apply consistent methods based on... Multi-tasking ability Above-average literacy A “word detective’s” ability to sniff out clues, problems, and anomalies Physical and mental endurance Unwavering devotion to delivering consistently superior results... on time, on budget, on target It’s easy to tell an editor, “Check your work carefully,” but reminders alone will not get the job done. A successful editor must develop and apply consistent methods based on... Multi-tasking ability Above-average literacy A “word detective’s” ability to sniff out clues, problems, and anomalies Physical and mental endurance Unwavering devotion to delivering consistently superior results... on time, on budget, on target

ENC 4212, Fall 2015 Week 12 Slide 7 of 7 Assignment 4 Progress “Levels of Edit” concept and method enable you to manage and produce superior work in the Assignment 4 submission. Don’t think of “editing” as thankless, tedious, low-level work... it is no exaggeration to say that without editors, most writers and researchers would likely be homeless and hungry, scorned and abandoned. If you are serious about pursuing a career in communications, you need to assess your needs and abilities realistically: do you have what it takes? Only you can answer this question. Let me know if you have a question about Assignment 4 – I look forward to seeing the results of your hard work by Nov. 30, 2015, 6 p.m. “Levels of Edit” concept and method enable you to manage and produce superior work in the Assignment 4 submission. Don’t think of “editing” as thankless, tedious, low-level work... it is no exaggeration to say that without editors, most writers and researchers would likely be homeless and hungry, scorned and abandoned. If you are serious about pursuing a career in communications, you need to assess your needs and abilities realistically: do you have what it takes? Only you can answer this question. Let me know if you have a question about Assignment 4 – I look forward to seeing the results of your hard work by Nov. 30, 2015, 6 p.m.