#29436
Subject-matter experts, managers, and other reviewers tenaciously resist our nagging to review documents properly, often delaying reviews until it's too late to do a good job. It's not that they inherently oppose quality control; rather, the problem's in the amount of work required to review something thoroughly, and 'work' is a physics concept. Conveniently, reviewers--like falling objects--follow the same laws of physics as the rest of the universe, and understanding those laws helps you predict reviewer behavior and take appropriate countermeasures.
Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Geoff-Hart.com (2001). Articles>Editing>Collaboration
#23149
Planning and Leading a Successful Review Meeting 
Experienced and novice technical communicators can plan and lead successful review meetings by following this 4-step process: l—Plan ahead. 2—Use an agenda as a road map. 3—Wrap up. 4—Follow up. Although a faceto- face meeting is often the easiest way to get formal feedback on an information product, there are situations in which you should not hold a meeting. If a meeting is appropriate, however, there are specific things you can do to prevent or handle typical problems. Leading a successful meeting involves making a series of conscious choices to make better use of everyone’s time.
Hansen, Lauren Y. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Editing>Collaboration
#14692
Morris demonstrates a method of editing that reveals the essence of a communication without distorting it.
Morris, M.D. Intercom (2001). Articles>Editing>Methods
#27830
Practical Tips for Language: The Ladder to the Top
We the Technical Editors are spared of one worry which our colleagues from journalism generally have: In our work we need not pay 'so much' attention to 'as much as possible' large number of editions. But the situation is different, if we--as is always the case--are to also look after the company's web presence. What is an edition in the context of printing is here the so-called 'page ranking' among the major search engines like Google and Yahoo. Many imagine that a listing in the hits lists depends on chance or, that it is mainly due to some technical means. That is all wrong: by employing some clever textual work the chances of web pages being found can be significantly increased. In reality, even elaborate techniques can lower the chances of hits: Frames, JavaScript and Flash Intros often derail the search engines. And the results may look all right, but regrettably the page will no longer be found.
Nickl, Markus. tekom (2006). Articles>Language>Editing>Business Communication
#20542
"Prescriptive" Audience Analysis: Moving Beyond the Purely Descriptive
Editing and writing both require an understanding of our audience, because without that knowledge, we can't shape our words to help them easily grasp difficult concepts. To understand our audience, we do what all writers and editors do, whether consciously or unconsciously: We create an image of our audience that guides our choice of words, images, and metaphors. This image is variously known as a 'stereotype' or a 'persona'. Keeping that image in mind as we work helps us satisfy the reader's needs, but if we're not careful, it can also cause us to waste valuable time collecting information that doesn't really help us communicate.
Hart, Geoffrey J.S. TECHWR-L (2003). Articles>Writing>Editing>Rhetoric
#29808
Professional Editing Strategies Used by Six Editors 
Identifying the approach used by those revision experts par excellence--that is, professional editors--should enable researchers to better grasp the revision process. To further explore this hypothesis, the author conducted research among professional editors, six of whom she filmed as they engaged in their practice. An analysis of their work approach strategies showed their detection strategies to consist in anticipating errors and in comparing the author's text with the editor's knowledge, which appears in a range of states: certitude, uncertainty, and ignorance. Furthermore, the participating editors used problem-solving strategies to automatically solve more than half of the problems encountered in the text. Otherwise, they used immediate or postponed strategies. This description of professional editors in action opens a number of avenues for the further research and development of in-class instruction of self-revision and professional editing.
Bisaillon, Jocelyne. Written Communication (2007). Articles>Editing>Methods>Case Studies
#14766
The Professional Editors Network
Bush reports on a meeting of the San Diego Professional Editors Network, at which several experienced editors discussed their relationships with authors, offered tips for finding jobs, and emphasized the importance of content editing.
Bush, Donald W. Intercom (2002). Articles>Editing
#14135
General tips for proofing: Read it out loud and also silently. Read it backwards to focus on the spelling of words. Read it upside down to focus on typology.
#20570
Provides an effective method for checking the content-accuracy, completeness, and logical order of a document. Notes that this technique is not a substitute for more careful review when time and the document's importance allow.
Hays, Robert. Technical Communication Online (2003). Articles>Editing>Assessment
#29059
What is the influence of demographic variables such as gender and educational level on the reader feedback collected under the plus-minus method? To answer this question, an analysis was made of the problems detected in four public information brochures. The average amount of feedback per participant did not vary among the four brochures, but the severity of the problems did. Male participants mentioned more problems than female participants, but the problems detected by female participants were on average more severe. Highly educated participants detected more problems than participants with a lower level of education. No differences in problem types mentioned were found between male and female participants, and only one difference was found between the two educational levels: Highly educated participants focused more strongly on the structuring of information. In general, brochure characteristics had more effect on the types of feedback collected than the two demographic participant characteristics.
de Jong, Menno D.T. and Peter Jan Schellens. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2001). Articles>Editing>Assessment>Gender
#26327
Regular expressions, sometimes referred to as regex, grep, or pattern matching, can be a very powerful tool and a tremendous time-saver with a broad range of application. As an extended form of find-and-replace, you can use a regular expression to do things such as perform client-side validation of email addresses and phone numbers, search multiple documents for strings and patterns you wish to change or remove, or extract a list of links from source code. Regex is supported by most languages and tools, but because there can be varying implementations, this article will cover basic principles that are commonly used.
Spruck, Chris. evolt (2005). Articles>Editing>Search>Regular Expressions
#30564
If we've been asked by a peer to review his or her work before it is sent out to be scrutinized by the world, our job is to neither edit nor rewrite the information. Our job is to give helpful, specific feedback about where the information communicates well and where it needs work. The more we understand about how to review a peer's work effectively, and how doing this is different from editing, the better feedback we can provide.
Gillihan, Dana L. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Collaboration>Editing>Writing
#30339
The Role of Indexing in Technical Communication
The success of a technical document depends heavily on the index. The task of indexing a technical document often cannot begin until insufficient time remains to do a good job. However, for many users of the document, a good index is mandatory to its usability.
Northrop, Mary Jane. Boston Broadside (1993). Articles>Editing>Indexing
#22113
The Role of the Editor in the Technical Writing Team
Editing today covers far more than printed materials. In this discussion, I am assuming a technical editor may be required to deal with: printed materials (for example, books, pamphlets, quick reference cards); electronic (for example, online documentation, online help, web pages); video scripts; computer-based training materials. I am also assuming that the audience for the material being edited is not comprised of other technical people; or if it is, the editor is not the person responsible for ensuring the technical accuracy of the material.
Hollis Weber, Jean. Technical Editors Eyrie (2002). Articles>Editing>Collaboration>Technical Writing
#18556
'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
#29684
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
#24611
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
#28164
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
#20571
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
#20136
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
#29430
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.
#15197
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
#14759
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
#25114
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
#29884
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
