Technical documents provide information that readers need to make decisions or complete tasks. Technical editing ensures that this information is presented in a way that facilitates the reader's understanding. Technical editors offer suggestions for improvement in design of both content and layout and therefore work with the document in both early and late stages.
#23742
Overcoming Objections to Onscreen Editing 
Although onscreen editing has been available for many years, it remains underused in many workplaces. Editors offer many reasons for their reluctance to embrace this technology, and by understanding these reasons, it becomes possible to mitigate the problems and help editors begin using the technology. By doing so, managers can implement a process that is more efficient for both the editor and the authors being edited.
Hart, Geoffrey J.S. STC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Editing>Online
#20151
Participles Becoming Prepositions--Some Arcane Information for Editors
A presentation that accompanies the paper of the same name at http://webhome.crk.umn.edu/~mpringle/UsingPaper.rtf.
Pringle, Mary Margaret. STCTC (2001). Presentations>Editing>Grammar>Minimalism
#20150
Participles Becoming Prepositions--Some Arcane Information for Editors
In English, some participles have already become prepositions. The author noticed in her work as a technical editor that most of her writers seemed to perceive the participle 'using' as a preposition already although it is not listed as such in the dictionary. The paper gives the evidence and rationale for making such a claim. It offers a window on written language change in progress and celebrates the language user’s ability to make the stolid dialect we call technical writing more vigorous and efficient by turning a participle into a preposition.
Pringle, Mary Margaret. STCTC (2001). Presentations>Editing>Grammar>Minimalism
#31047
Patterns of Revision in Online Writing 
This study examines the revision histories of 10 Wikipedia articles nominated for the site's Featured Article Class (FAC), its highest quality rating, 5 of which achieved FAC and 5 of which did not. The revisions to each article were coded, and the coding results were combined with a descriptive analysis of two representative articles in order to determine revision patterns. All articles in both groups showed a higher percentage of additions of new material compared to deletions and revisions that rearranged the text. Although the FAC articles had roughly equal numbers of content and surface revisions, the non-FAC articles had fewer surface revisions and were dominated by content revisions. Although the unique features of the Wikipedia environment inhibit strict comparisons between these results and those of earlier revision studies, these results suggest revision in this environment places unique structural demands on writers, possibly leading to unique revision patterns.
Jones, John. Written Communication (2008). Articles>Editing>Online>Wikis
#14600
The purpose of the peer review is twofold: First, the suggestions you give to your peers should help them revise their papers. Second, carefully reading others' work should help you better reevaluate your own writing.
Charney, Davida. University of Texas. Academic>Course Materials>Editing
#25964
In the days of working with film products, creating images with splashing water was an incredible challenge. Today, digital capture provides a control we never had before. Just shoot the splashing water over several images and combine the best parts into one—in Photoshop CS, of course.
DiVitale, Jim. Layers Magazine (2005). Design>Graphic Design>Image Editing>Adobe Photoshop
#27438
With Apple's release of iWeb -- an amazing web site building tool -- I've been getting a steady stream of emails wanting to know how to recreate the nifty photo reflection effect which appears at the top of iWeb pages and in the slide shows (here's a sample). Adding such a reflection is a super easy way to add depth and a bit of sophistication to your photographs.
Snider, Lesa. Planet Photoshop (2006). Design>Graphic Design>Image Editing>Adobe Photoshop
#22511
Photoshop How-To: Experimenting with Traditional Techniques
Photographers have always liked playing tricks with images. Try these time-honored techniques for adding polish and pizzazz to your digital photos in Photoshop.
Georges, Gregory. Creative Pro (2004). Design>Graphic Design>Image Editing>Adobe Photoshop
#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
#21933
Correct almost any problem photo by harnessing the power of the Curves and Levels dialog boxes in Photoshop.
Fraser, Bruce. Adobe Magazine (1996). Design>Graphic Design>Image Editing>Adobe Photoshop
#21936
A collection of Photoshop tips and techniques, including making Photoshop fly, managing color palettes for your Web images, and lots of great Photoshop tips.
Adobe Magazine (1996). Design>Graphic Design>Image Editing>Adobe Photoshop
#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
#22634
La Profession de Réviseur Vous Intéresse?
Peu de gens décident d'eux-mêmes de devenir réviseurs. Le plus souvent, c'est la profession qui les choisit. Dans un sens, tout le monde fait de la révision, que ce soit l'écrivain qui change ne serait-ce qu'un mot à son manuscrit, le conférencier qui s'arrête au milieu d'une phrase pour trouver un mot ou une tournure plus justes, le directeur qui revoit une consigne ou qui modifie les clauses d'un contrat, ou encore la secrétaire qui clarifie une phrase d'un texte qu'on lui a dicté. La révision est aussi une profession hautement spécialisée dont le seul objectif est d'améliorer la qualité de la communication. Le travail de la plupart des réviseurs porte sur le texte, mais certains s'occupent des illustrations, de la conception graphique, de la production ou de la gestion.
#21038
This course is designed to be an introduction to the work of editing in a variety of settings. This screen provides your introduction to this site.
Williamson, William J. University of Northern Iowa (2003). Academic>Courses>Editing
#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
#22632
Professional Editorial Standards 
The skills listed in this publication are those most commonly required for editing English-language text, whether on paper or on screen. The editor's functions start when the writer declares the manuscript more or less complete and continue through to the point at which it is ready for publication, regardless of the medium. Editors perform many tasks along the way, including structural editing, stylistic editing, copy editing, markup/coding, and proofreading. The technologies used in editing and in publishing change, but the fundamental tasks and the editorial skills required to work with words remain relatively constant.
#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
#21581
Proofreader's and Editor's Symbols
The following marks are standard proofreading and editing marks. A professional proofreader puts a mark (usually a line or caret) in the line and writes the correction in the margin. An editor makes corrections within the line rather than in the margin (in part because an editor's changes are typically more extensive), which is why editors prefer to work with double-spaced copy.
University of Colorado (2002). Reference>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.
#31676
Some people write well but allow themselves to be disabled by a fear of punctuation and grammar. They know how to prewrite, organize, and revise, but proofreading for punctuation and grammar causes them difficulties. There’s no need to fear these conventions of standard written English. In fact, these conventions can help you become a more effective communicator.
Olson, Gary A. Illinois State University (1999). Reference>Style Guides>Editing>Grammar
#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
