Learning the Fine Art of Reviewing

If you asked me what the most painful part of being a technical writer is, my answer would be: 'Getting reviews on time. Getting good feedback and inputs on your work.' For me technical writing has been very pleasurable because I hardly got any review comments. My morale has therefore been very high. Project managers, developers and others are so busy trying to come up with good software (read trying to fix all the goof-ups and bugs!) that they usually tend to give documentation lesser importance. User manuals, who reads them anyway? We do not have time for it!

Kamath, Gurudutt R. IT People (2003). Articles>Editing>Collaboration>Technical Writing

Now That You've Got a Double Agent, What Do You Do With 'Em?  

Having demonstrated the importance of acquiring a double agent for writing projects, we now want to explain the best ways to successfully indoctrinate a double agent. This paper will help you prepare for, orient, train, and become a mentor for a double agent to help make him or her an effective member of your writing team.

Fisher, Judith R., Karen L. Mobley and Michelle M. Wright. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Writing>Technical Editing>Collaboration

Reviewing a Peer's Work  

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

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

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

Writer-Editor Interactions: What Works?  

Successful writer-editor relationships require a commitment from both parties to teamwork, open communications, and shared accountability for the success of each project. The benefits from this ejj?ort include better igformation products for users and a more congenial working environmentfor you. Equally important, your clients will develop cor@ence and trust when they see a project’s writer and editor combining their skills and collaborating on shared project goals.

Collins, William L. and Susan M.J. Lester. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Collaboration>Editing>Writing

Writer-Editor Relationships in Revisions

Editors, professional or otherwise, can be annoying individuals. The trick is to focus on the helpful parts of that annoyance and try to ignore the less-helpful parts.

Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Geoff-Hart.com (1995). Articles>Writing>Editing>Collaboration

Writing Across the Curriculum

The phrase 'writing across the curriculum' is relatively new, as far as I am aware. I want to examine its underlying meaning, its various administrative forms, and its implications for the faculties of colleges and of high schools to look at the theory, the practice, and occasionally the history of the notion.

Kinneavy, James L. ADE Bulletin (1983). Articles>Editing>Writing>Collaboration

Writing Programs and the English Department

A couple of years ago John Gerber, in an article in the ADE Bulletin, urged a broadened definition of 'literacy,' one that would encompass all study relating to linguistic artifacts, from the most elementary reading and writing to the most differentiated scholarship and composing. Nearly all college English departments do include much of this broad range, but the inclusion is rarely an integration. Instead, there's the English major and the freshman composition program and the creative-writing courses and, sometimes, the courses for nonmajors: film, popular culture, folklore; business and technical writing; and so forth. In large departments different faculty members may specialize in one or another of these units, and the chairman, who is supposed to be running the whole six-ring circus, can scarcely get the different sorts to talk to one another. What integration occurs begins and ends with the yearly departmental cocktail party.

Johnson, Paula. ADE Bulletin (1979). Articles>Editing>Writing>Collaboration