'See also' Cross-References

'See also' cross-references assist the user to quickly navigate to the right index term. The same principles that apply to 'See also' cross-references apply equally to hypertext linking. 'See also' cross-references are constructed using the following relationships: a broader term to a narrower term, e.g. 'mammals, See also whales'; sailing craft, See also hulls overlapping meaning between two terms, e.g. 'gold, See also money'

Brown, Fred. Allegro Time! (2000). Articles>Indexing>Editing

Sentence Diagramming: Making Sense of Sentences  

Sentence diagramming is an important tool for technical communicators to use in analyzing their own writing and editing. Sentence diagramming is also a neutral basis from which to discuss and evaluate technical documentation with colleagues and with other co- workers, such as subject-matter experts, who are not professional communicators. Through visual examples, this paper illustrates how to diagram three types of sentences (simple, compound, and complex), how sentence diagramming shows an objective view of three common syntactical errors (misplaced modifier, lack of parallel structure, and dangling modifier), and how the revised sentences make sense as sentences and as diagrams.

Ball, Valerie M. STC Proceedings (2005). Articles>Editing>Grammar

Seven Discrete Principles for Content Editing  

One of many lessons I learned in 30 years of Technical Editing was to separate myself from the crowd by learning to edit technical content, using seven reader-oriented techniques.

Bush, Donald W. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Editing>Technical Editing

A SIG Transformation: Past, Present, and Future

A recent discussion about the STC's Technical Editing Special Interest Group (TE SIG) provided insights into the evolving role of communities of interest in the Society. At a meeting of the Carolina Chapter's local TE SIG, Diane Feldman, who is the manager of the Society-level SIG, provided members with an update on SIG activities.

Brautman, Heather. Carolina Communique (2005). Articles>TC>Technical Editing>STC

Situational Editing: A Rhetorical Approach for the Technical Editor    

Argues that the rhetorical approach to communication considers situations individually and is necessary for technical editors because their work comprises a series of individual rhetorical decisions. Proposes a rhetorical theory of technical editing.

Beuhler, Mary Fran. Technical Communication Online (2003). Articles>Editing>Technical Editing>Rhetoric

Six Steps to Producing an Index  

If something does not appear in the index, it might as well not be in the book because the reader may never find it. Writing a complete index takes time and patience. Writing an index that is consistent and effective requires refinement and common sense. Here are six steps that will get you through the process.

Winsberg, Freya Y. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Indexing>Editing

Sometimes Playing Dumb Makes Things Work Better

I've learned how to forget for a period of time that I know almost as much as my authors about their subject, and this lets me play dumb and trip over things that the author's peers and I could both figure out with a little work--or a lot of work, occasionally. Once I understand why I tripped over a particular wording, I can figure out how to fix it so that nobody else, even if they really were as idiotic as I sometimes pretend to be.

Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Geoff-Hart.com (2000). Articles>Editing

Spacing After Punctuation  

Alroy, Intercom's advice columnist, weighs in on how many spaces to place after a period, and counsels a manager whose company is unable to pay top dollar for consultants.

Alroy, Faye. Intercom (2002). Articles>Editing

Special Needs: Editing Tables and Graphics  

Hart explains the difficulties of editing tables and graphics on-screen.

Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Intercom (2002). Articles>Editing

Strategies for Peer-Reviewing and Team-Writing

When you peer-review other people's writing, remember above all that you should consider all aspects of that writing, not just--in fact, least of all--the grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

McMurrey, David A. Illuminati Online (2001). Articles>Collaboration>Editing>Writing

Strategies for Working with Authors: How to Foster Productive Author-Editor Relationships  

Learning to be a good editor requires much more than learning the rules of grammar, diction, spelling, and punctuation. Editing requires a complex skill set, including an eye for document design, an awareness of how different document features affect readability, an understanding of how to manage the document development process, including the role of an editor in that process, and the ability to work with a variety of not just documents, but the creators of those documents--the authors. This paper discusses strategies to enable editors to develop productive, collaborative relationships with authors. Within the context of a capstone course in technical editing, students describe various strategies they used to develop editing plans, negotiate levels of edit and conduct editor/author conferences, and how they managed editing projects involving real authors and their documents.

Grady, Helen M., Ericka T. Mayweather, Brian W. Davis and Andrea M. LaPlume. STC Proceedings (2004). Articles>Editing>Collaboration

Substantive and Technical Editing: How Far Do You Go?  

Authors who cannot answer queries create a barrier to improvement of manuscripts. Some authors resist the idea that their papers might need major changes. Other authors depend on the editor to make changes that the author can and should make. Language barriers can require creative solutions. Also, there is the question of how far to go as an editor in reframing a report (for example, should an editor reframe the purpose of a paper?) and in correcting an author's errors (for example, a claim of a trend when none is shown).

Hoppenrath, Margaret, Joan C. Hinchcliffe, Sharon Naron and Arkady Mak. CBE Views (1998). Articles>Editing>Technical Editing

Substantive Editing: Break It to Them Gently  

Emphasizing the need for clear, polite communication between editors and authors, Hart demonstrates how editors should address imprecise wording, ineffective organization, and other substantive issues.

Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Intercom (2002). Articles>Editing

Substantive Editing: Building the Logical Inner Sanctum  

The inner sanctum of any good piece of writing is a solid, logical core. To produce the logical core, a writer frequently has to synthesize complex information, which means understanding it well enough to transform often muddled and random detail to clear and easy to apprehend expression. Synthesis of new information, being one of the most difficult thinking skills, can require more of a writer than the writer has time for. An editor's job, from the first draft to the last, is to help build the writing around an appropriate logical core. In this workshop, participants will practice techniques that editors can use to make sure that they find, or help the writer find, the core - what users need to know, and the order in which they need to know it. Participants will form groups to scan a document, using a checklist of tips to spot problems in the document's structure. Each group will report its findings to the larger group.

Nahigian, Alma L. and Jacquelyn Malone. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Editing>Information Design>Writing

Substantive Editing: The Art of the Alchemist  

For any number of reasons — and it's often not the writer's fault — an editor is asked to help transform a document. Water into wine, a specification into a user document. The editor job, from the first draft to the last, is to ensure that the Writing meets the user's need, which sometimes means the document goes through a transformation: lead into gold.

Malone, Jacquelyn and Alma L. Nahigian. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Editing

Substantive Editing: With an Eye on the User  

This workshop focuses on substantive editing with workshop materials that show fast and easy ways to analyze a piece of writing, especially writing that needs the concentrated effort of both the editor and the writer to turn it into a usable document. The workshop is practical in its focus providing tips, checklists, and techniques for approaching material that needs a heavy substantive edit.

Malone, Jacquelyn and Alma L. Nahigian. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Editing>Technical Editing

Syntax or Sin Tax: Which Should an Editor Choose?  

Proficiency and accuracy are necessary to edit technical communication, but both can be diminished by the conflict of standards and rules from respected sources. This difficulty is further compounded with the differing expectations of audiences, employers, and companies. To resolve potential problems, editors need to refresh their basic skills through workshops, professional journal articles, and the study of updated authoritative sources. Editors then need to address their audience expectations by developing appropriate style guides. By focusing upon the needs of the audience, editors draw upon a variety of sources, some of which may not agree upon the same standards and rules. In such cases, the editor may also break or bend rules to achieve the consistent, accurate communications that best serve the individual audience.

Ball, Valerie M. STC Proceedings (2005). Articles>Editing>Technical Editing>Standards

The Tantalizing Technology of English  

The English language is tantalizing and altogether fascinating.

Bush, Donald W. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Editing

Teaching a Workshop on Sentence Diagramming  

Demonstrates how sentence diagramming can be an effective writing tool and offers tips on how it should be taught.

Jennings, Ann S. Intercom (2002). Articles>Education>Editing>Grammar

Technical Editing 101  

Provides tips for new technical editors on how to develop an effective editing process.

McNeill, Angie D. Intercom (2001). Articles>Editing

Technical Editing and Online Information: Features, Formatting and Friendliness  

Editing online information requires technical editors to modify their editing practices and become more involved in the information-design process.

Porter, Lynnette R. and William O. Coggin. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Editing>Online

Technical Editing and the Effective Communication of Scientific Results

The communication of scientific results--whether for professional journals, poster sessions, oral presentations, or the popular press--is an essential part of any scientific investigation. The technical editor plays an important role in ensuring that scientists express their results correctly and effectively. Technical editing comprises far more than simple proofreading. The editor's tasks may range from restructuring whole paragraphs and suggesting improved graphical aids to writing abstracts and preparing first drafts of proposals. The technical editor works closely with scientists to present complex ideas to different audiences, including fellow scientists, funding agencies, and the general public. New computer technology has also involved the technical editor not only with on-line editing but also with preparing CD ROMs and World Wide Web pages.

Pieper, Gail W. and Susan M. Picologlou. Argonne National Laboratory (1996). Articles>Scientific Communication>Editing

Technical Editing as Quality Assurance: Adding Value to Content    

Technical editing is sometimes perceived to be simply a matter of grammar checking and proofreading. Perhaps fast-paced development environments, which often leave little time for editing functions, contribute to this perception—or, more precisely, this misperception. The levels-of-edit systems have helped technical editors manage the editorial functions in these hectic environments by providing a 'framework within which editors can choose appropriate editorial tasks for a particular document'. Recently though, technical editors are focusing even more on content editing, collaborating closely with technical writers on developing high-quality information. Taking this progression one step further, technical editing is beginning to be viewed as a quality assurance activity.

Corbin Nichols, Michelle, Pat Moell and Mike Boyd. Technical Communication Online (2002). Articles>Editing>TC

The Technical Editor and Document Databases: What the Future May Hold      

Technical editors ensure a document communicates with the reader. With XML, active server pages, and dynamic document creation, Web pages are no longer simple hand-crafted text objects, but dynamic groupings of text assembled moments before the reader views the page. With dynamic documents, high-level editing tasks will be, at best, vaguely defined during text creation. To maximize the information content, future technical editors require tighter control over information consistency and content.

Albers, Michael J. Technical Communication Quarterly (2000). Articles>Editing>Single Sourcing>Technical Editing

The Technical Editor as Diplomat: Linguistic Strategies for Balancing Clarity and Politeness     

An essential component of technical editors' work is to convey to writers how their documents would benefit from revision. This task is potentially sensitive, given writers' intellectual and emotional investment in the documents they have created. The sensitive nature of the editing process is clear in Rude's (2001) advice to students of technical editing: '[A]void words that suggest inappropriate editorial intervention, especially change ' (p. 43). Rude's advice suggests an awareness of the difficulty inherent in imposing oneself into the creative process of another person. Because of the defensiveness they might encounter in writers, editors must be cognizant of how they carry out their jobï¿the language they use to convey necessary changes to writers' documents. The language editors use can either facilitate good working relationships with writers or degrade those relationships.

Mackiewicz, Jo M. and Kathryn Riley. Technical Communication Online (2003). Articles>Editing>Collaboration