#29256
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
#14772
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
#30584
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
#23547
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
#24910
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
#29689
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
#24299
The Tantalizing Technology of English
The English language is tantalizing and altogether fascinating.
#15202
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
#32043
Tech Writers, Grammar, and the Prescriptive Attitude
Prescriptive grammar is useful for teaching English as a second language, but it has little value for the practicing writer. Clinging to it may provide emotional security, but only at the expense of making writing harder than it needs to be. The culture-wide devotion to it will not be changed in a moment. But conscientious writers can at least change their own habits, and make life easier for themselves.
Byfield, Bruce. TECHWR-L (2008). Articles>Writing>Editing>Technical Writing
#15207
Provides tips for new technical editors on how to develop an effective editing process.
McNeill, Angie D. Intercom (2001). Articles>Editing
#13094
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
#18155
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
#14254
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
#13835
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
#18276
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
#20751
Technical Editors: Are We Are Own Worst Enemies? Strategies For Working With Authors
The authors explore two studies of cognitive assessments, the Myers Briggs Type Indicator and Boundary Spanning of technical communicators, give readers an opportunity to score themselves, and then they argue that knowing the cognitive differences between technical communicators and the authors they edit can help them improve working relationships with authors. When copyediting, they suggest making suggestions rather than dictates; providing rationale for suggestions; basing suggested changes on style guides, standard references and communication research; and using a levels- of-edit approach.
Zimmerman, Donald E. and Charlotte Taylor. STC Proceedings (1999). Articles>Editing>Technical Editing
#22791
Technical Translation: Craft, Not Commodity
Describes the work of translators and suggests strategies buyers can use to find the best translator for their needs.
Cardillo, Louis M. Intercom (2004). Articles>Editing>Localization>Technical Writing
#14729
Bush clarifies the role of technical editors in light of the particular purposes of technical documents.
Bush, Donald W. Intercom (2001). Articles>Editing>TC
#31939
Technical Writing's Big Secret
The big secret in technical writing is that most of the harder documents aren't written by the technical writers at all. In fact, many "technical writers" never do any writing at all. Instead, the drafts are written by engineers or marketers. The technical writers perform editorial functions and provide publications services -- copy-editing, layout, review management, and so on.
Plamondon, Robert. High-Tech Technical Writing (2008). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing>Technical Editing
#26967
Der Technische Redakteur erstellt und aktualisiert aussagefähige, umsetzbare, verständliche technische Dokumentationen aller Art.
#19569
Technology: A Blessing for Writers and Editors?
Computers have changed the way writers and editors work. But are we getting the most from the new tools?
Bodzin, Gene. Writer's Block (1996). Articles>Writing>Editing>Online
#22688
Ten More Errors in Technical Writing
So, well, here are 10 more errors. This time we will focus on grammar and punctuation. Most of these are simplistic and obvious. But then they are too common. As usual, I have slipped in some content for the advanced writers too. (This article is a follow-up to 'One Hundred Simple Tech Writing Errors .)
Kamath, Gurudutt R. IT People (2003). Articles>Editing>Grammar>Technical Writing
#30287
The Art Of Editing: User's Guides Versus Technical Documents
While contemplating topic areas for a presentation at this year's conference, our biggest challenge was the fact that not all technical editors edit the same type of documents. Presentations at STC conferences are heavily concentrated toward user documentation and software instructional manuals. With that as our prime focus, we identified six common elements that we both consider as we edit a document. We then compared our methods of approaching these elements. One of us edits primarily user's guides and procedural manuals; the other edits scientific and technical documents.
Cluff, Susan C. and Sandra R. Marks. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Documentation>Editing>Technical Editing
#14794
Bush describes the differing challenges of editing proposals, manuals, and professional papers.
Bush, Donald W. Intercom (2002). Articles>Editing
#30266
To Err is Human, But Can It Be Forgiven?: Effects and Economics of Typos
Technical communicators dread typos. A piece of work that contains one or more typos is seen as shoddy, not something to be proud of. Finding and correcting these errors, however, takes time and costs money. Might there be a better way to spend resources?- ways that might produce more usable information.? Effects of errors, value added by correcting them, and the economics of error detection will be discussed.
Grice, Roger A., Lenore S. Ridgway Richard K. Ridgway and Edward J. See. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Editing>Grammar
