Table Of ContentTechnical
Editing
An Introduction to
Editing in the Workplace
Donald H. Cunningham
Edward A. Malone
Joyce M. Rothschild
New York Oxford
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
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DEDICATIONS
Donald H. Cunningham
To Thomas M. Davis, Professor Emeritus of English, Kent State University; Howard
W. Fulweiler, Jr., Professor Emeritus of English, University of Missouri; John S. Harris,
Professor Emeritus, Brigham Young University; and Thomas E. Pearsall, Professor
Emeritus of Rhetoric, University of Minnesota—with thanks for participating in my
search for myself as a teacher, program administrator, researcher, and writer.
Edward A. Malone
To my father, Richard G. Malone, a graphic artist who worked for Lily-Tulip Cups
for many years. He once forgot to add the red dot to the 7Up logo, and the mistake
wasn’t caught until the cups were being printed in the plant. He might have lost his job
over this costly mistake if the flawed artwork had not been approved by so many other
people in the communication chain.
Joyce M. Rothschild
To my parents, Etta Scheiner Rothschild and Richard Rothschild, who nurtured my
curiosity about the world and love of reading (and gave me Bulfinch’s Mythology for
my 10th birthday), and to my husband, Patrick Morrow, for his love and his bravery.
iii
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CONTENTS
Preface ix Conducting the Final Review 53
Acknowledgments xiii Exercises 54
Chapter 1 Introduction: Looking Back and Chapter 4 Editing for Organization 63
Editing Organization to Harmonize
Moving Forward 1
Conflicting Purposes 64
Job Responsibilities 2
Editing Organization to Conform
Required Knowledge and Skills 3
to a Genre Convention 65
Readers and Users 6
Editing Organization to Comply
Types of Documents 9
with a Document Specification 68
Working Methods 10
Editing Organization to Follow an
Work Environments 13
Established Pattern 70
Training and Education 15
Alphabetical Order 70
Exercises 17
Chronological Order 72
Chapter 2 Preparing for an Editing Spatial Arrangement 72
Project 20 Order of Importance, Complexity, or
Familiarity 73
Understanding the Rhetorical
Classification Pattern 74
Situation 21
Comparison or Contrast Patterns 75
Analyzing the Communicators 21
Argumentative Arrangement 76
Analyzing the Audiences 24
Editing to Improve Paragraph
Analyzing the Contexts 32
Unity and Coherence 78
Appraising the Document 34
Exercises 81
Understanding the Constraints of
Time, Budget, and Equipment 38
Using a Completed Worksheet as a Chapter 5 Editing for Navigation 87
Project Resource 41 Two Ways of Creating Navigational
Exercises 41 Content 88
Adjusting the Way Informative Content Appears
Chapter 3 Planning and Implementing the on Pages or Screens 88
Editing 43 Adding Textual Cues and Visuals to Indicate
Planning the Editing 44 Organization 91
Determining the Type of Editing 45 Navigation Aids in Print and
Determining the Level of Editing 47 Electronic Documents 92
Determining the Scope of Editing 47 Titles 92
Establishing Editing Goals and Tasks 48 Tables of Contents 94
Creating an Editing Plan 49 Lists of Figures and Lists of Tables 95
Implementing the Editing 50 Indexes 97
Getting Feedback, Buy-In, and Sign-Off 50 Cross-References 100
Making Edits 51 Forecast Statements 100
Monitoring the Editing 52 Main Headings and Subheadings 101
iv
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Contents v
Cutaway and Extended Tabs 104 Use Proximity to Highlight Grammatical
Headers and Footers (and Pagination) 104 Relationships 168
In-Text References to Visuals 105 Emphasis 170
Navigation Aids Specific to Use the Emphatic Do 171
Electronic Documents 105 Use Intensive Pronouns 171
Navigation Bars and Menus 106 Use Emphasizers 171
Site Directories 109 Use Figures of Speech 172
Site Maps 111 Use Fronting 175
Image Maps 111 Use Cleft Constructions 175
Paging Buttons 111 Use End Focus 176
Site-Specific Search Engines 115 Use Verbs Instead of Nominalizations 177
Breadcrumb (or Pebble) Trails 115 Economy 178
Tag Clouds and Folksonomies 116 Eliminate Redundancies 178
Exercises 120 Delete Words That Are Understood 179
Delete Other Unnecessary Words 180
Chapter 6 Editing for Completeness 122 Replace Words with Pronouns and
Editing to Add Standard Document Abbreviations 181
Parts 123 Replace a Phrase or Clause with a Word 181
Editing to Add Legally Mandated Convert a Clause into a Phrase 182
Content 130 Combine Two Sentences 182
Editing to Add Necessary Safety Novelty 184
Content 133 Eliminate Clichés 184
Editing to Add Content Limit the Number of Quotations from Sources 185
Necessary for Comprehension Rewrite Overused Text and Be Alert to
and Use 135 Plagiarism 187
Assumptions Causing Omissions 135 Exercises 188
Strategies for Detecting Omissions 137
Exercises 139 Chapter 9 Editing Visuals 193
Preparing to Edit a Visual 194
Chapter 7 Editing for Accuracy 142 Editing a Visual 196
Statements of Fact 143 Is the Visual Necessary and Appropriate? 196
Repeated Information 147 Has the Correct Type of Visual Been Used? 199
Names, Titles, and Addresses 148 Does the Visual Follow Conventions and Meet
Numbers and Math 151 Standards? 209
Terminology 152 Is the Visual Sufficiently Informative? 212
Visuals 154 Is the Visual Easy to Read and Use? 216
Instructions 156 Does the Visual Meet Ethical and Legal
Documentation of Sources 156 Standards? 220
Exercises 158 Checking the Placement of and
References to a Visual 224
Chapter 8 Editing for Style 160 Exercises 226
Readability 161
Clarity 162 Chapter 10 Editing Page Design 231
Use Specific Words 163 Principle of Alignment 231
Use Unambiguous Words 164 Left Justified (or Flush Left) Alignment 232
Use Terms Consistently 166 Right Justified (or Flush Right)
Use Words Affirmatively 166 Alignment 234
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vi CONTENTS
Right and Left Justified (or Fully Justified) Explanations 294
Alignment 234 Queries 294
Center (or Centered) Alignment 234 Requests 295
Other Patterns of Alignment 236 Copyediting on Paper 295
Principle of Repetition 238 The Stet Command 299
Repeated Font Families and Faces 238 General Guidance on Deletions 300
Repeated Patterns 241 General Guidance on Insertions 300
Other Repeated Elements 244 Inserting Punctuation Marks 300
Principle of Contrast 246 Structural Markup in Copyediting 304
Contrast in Text 246 Copyediting on Screen 305
Color Contrast 248 Preparing to Use Track Changes 305
White Space as Contrast 249 Creating a New Comment 309
Other Design Principles 249 Entering a Comment and a Reply 309
Proximity 249 Making Deletions and Insertions 311
Balance 251 Hiding Formatting Changes 312
Direction 251 Helping Writers Use Track Changes 314
Exercises 252 Using Spelling and Grammar Checkers and
Search 316
Chapter 11 Editing for Reuse 253 Using Styles and Templates 317
Concepts: Understanding Content Exercises 318
in a World of Devices 254
The Meaning of Content 255 Chapter 13 Copyediting for Grammar:
Levels of Granularity 255 Verbs 321
Content Management Systems 257 Introduction to Verbs 322
Metadata and Structured Content 258 The Principal Parts of a Verb 323
Repurposed versus Multipurpose Content 261 Inflection of Verbs: Conjugation 326
Coupled versus Decoupled Content 263 Verb Aspect and Tense 327
Process: Identifying, Structuring, Aspect 328
and Maintaining Multipurpose Tense 331
Content 265 Verb Transitivity and Voice 332
Identifying Your Content 266 Transitive and Intransitive Verbs 332
Structuring Your Content 267 Active and Passive Voice 334
Maintaining Your Content 274 Verb Mood 339
Exercises 277 Subjunctive Mood 339
Imperative Mood 343
Chapter 12 Copyediting: Principles and Exercises 346
Procedures 281
Copyediting and Your Chapter 14 Copyediting for Grammar:
Career 283 Subject-Verb Agreement 371
Understanding the Copyediting Verb Number and Person 371
Assignment 284 Subject-Verb Agreement in
The Levels of Copyediting 284 Number 373
Maintaining an Editorial Style Sheet 288 Singular Nouns as Subjects Followed by
Style Manuals, Dictionaries, and Prepositional Phrases 374
Other Resources 290 Indefinite Pronouns as Subjects Followed by
Communicating with Writers and Prepositional Phrases 375
Others 292 Expletives as Dummy Subjects 378
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Contents vii
Compound Subjects 380 Vague Demonstrative Pronouns 419
Subject-Verb Agreement in Vague Relative Pronouns 420
Person 383 Pronoun-Antecedent
Exercises 385 Disagreement 422
Disagreement in Number 422
Chapter 15 Copyediting for Grammar: Disagreement in Gender 424
Nouns 393 Problems with Pronoun Case 425
Nouns with Faulty Plural Problems with Subjective Case 425
Forms 394 Problems with Objective Case 426
Look for Nouns That Have Faulty Regular Problems with Possessive Case 428
Plurals 397 Problems with Relative
Look for Nouns That Have Faulty Irregular Pronouns 430
Plurals 399 Problems with Essential Phrases
Look for Noncount Nouns That Have Been and Clauses 431
Improperly Pluralized 399 Problems with Nonessential Phrases and
Look for Nouns That Should Be Plural in Form Clauses 433
but Singular in Construction 402 Misuse of Reflexive Pronouns 434
Look for Singular Nouns That Should Be Plural in Exercises 438
Form in Certain Senses 402
Nouns with Faulty Possessive Chapter 17 Copyediting for
Forms 403 Punctuation 443
Look for Possessive Forms That Are Mistakenly Uses of the Apostrophe 444
Plural, or Vice Versa 404 To Form the Possessive of a Noun 444
Look for Singular Nouns Ending in S that Have To Form the Possessive of an Indefinite or
Only an Apostrophe after Them 404 Reciprocal Pronoun 445
Look for Compound Nouns That Show Joint To Form a Contraction 446
Ownership When They Should Show Separate To Form the Plural of a Number or a Letter in
Ownership, and Vice Versa 405 Some Style Systems 446
Problems with Count and Noncount Uses of Brackets 447
Nouns 406 To Mark Material Inserted into a Direct
Look for the Improper Use of Much (Of) and Less Quotation 447
(Of) with Count Nouns 406 To Indicate an Obvious Error in a Quoted
Look for Singular Count Nouns That Are Used Passage 447
Improperly with Kinds/Types/Sorts Of and Plural To Enclose a Parenthetical Statement within a
Count Nouns That Are Used Improperly with Parenthetical Statement 447
Kind/Type/Sort Of 408 Uses of the Colon 447
Look for Unmodified Singular Count Nouns in To Introduce a List 447
Of-Phrases after Terms of Measurement 408 To Introduce a Direct Quotation 448
Problems with Collective To Introduce a Phrase or Clause That Elaborates
Nouns 409 upon Information in the Preceding Clause 449
Inconsistencies in Number Among Additional Uses of the Colon 450
Nouns 411 The Colon and Capitalization 450
Exercises 413 Uses of the Comma 451
To Separate Items in a Series 451
Chapter 16 Copyediting for Grammar: To Separate Independent Clauses Joined by a
Pronouns 417 Coordinating Conjunction 451
Vague Pronoun Reference 418 To Separate a Word, Phrase, or Clause from the
Vague Personal Pronouns 418 Rest of a Clause 453
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viii CONTENTS
Additional Uses of the Comma 455 To Separate Elements in a Series When Some of
Uses of the Dash 456 the Elements Contain Commas 468
To Introduce a List 456 Using a Semicolon Next to Another Punctuation
To Set Off Parenthetical Material 456 Mark 469
To Emphasize a Shift or an Interruption in a Use of the Virgule 469
Sentence 457 Exercises 470
Uses of the Ellipsis 457
Uses of the Exclamation Point 458 Chapter 18 Proofreading 472
Uses of the Hyphen 459 Copyediting versus
To Form a Compound Noun 459 Proofreading 473
To Form a Compound Adjective 459 Preparing to Proofread 474
To Form a Compound Verb 460 Make Sure You Have the Most Recent Version of
To Prevent Confusion of Words of Similar the Document 474
Construction 460 Clarify the Scope of the Proofreading to Be
Other Uses of the Hyphen 460 Done 475
Uses of Parentheses 461
Determine the Extent of Your Authority 475
To Enclose Additional Information 461 Confirm Your Deadlines 475
To Enclose Numbers or Letters in an In-Sentence Proofreading in Focused
List 461 Passes 476
Use of the Period 461
Formatting 477
Uses of the Question Mark 463
Punctuation 477
To Indicate a Direct Question 463 Grammar and Usage 478
To Punctuate a Polite Request 463 Spelling 479
To Express Uncertainty or Speculation 464 Proofreading on Paper 479
Using a Question Mark Next to Another Marks for Insertions 482
Punctuation Mark 464 Marks for Deletions 484
Uses of Quotation Marks 464
Marks for Substitutions/Replacements 485
To Identify a Direct Quotation 464 Marks for Making Font- and Character-
To Signify a Title of an Article, Essay, Report, Related Changes 487
Poem, Song, or Subordinate Part of a Longer Marks for Changing Formatting 490
Work 465 Proofreading on Screen 491
To Identify a Quotation within a Quotation 465 Exercises 494
Other Uses of Quotation Marks 466
Using a Quotation Mark Next to Another Glossary of Grammar Terms 497
Punctuation Mark 466 notes 528
Uses of the Semicolon 467 Index 562
To Separate Two Independent Clauses Connected
by a Conjunctive Adverb 467
To Separate Two Independent Clauses Not
Connected by a Coordinating Conjunction 467
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PREFACE
Our world today runs on technical communication—or, more accurately, on the com-
munication of technical information. In every sector of the economy or s ociety—
business and finance, education, engineering, the hard and soft sciences, the military,
technology—a vast amount of technical information is continually being generated and
needs to be conveyed to the readers who require it. Much of this information is transmit-
ted in the form of reports, letters, manuals, brochures, websites, web pages, and multime-
dia presentations, and even stand-alone visuals or animations. And no matter what the
form the documents take, at some point they may require the efforts of technical editors.
Technical editing—the topic of this book—is actually a form of quality assurance
that helps ensure that documents in any medium are appropriate for their context and
are produced at the highest quality for the lowest cost. Those who perform technical
editing may or may not have the job title technical editor. In fact, in recent decades, the
conflation of responsibilities of technical communicators and editors has become more
common in business, industry, nonprofit organizations, and government and has led
to a noticeable increase of self and peer editing—that is, writers editing their own work
and that of other writers.
Whether professional or peer, technical editors are communication specialists with
specialized knowledge and experience. When they put on their editing caps, they aim
to ensure that the documents they edit meet the purposes, needs, expectations, and
preferences of intended readers and users. They also endeavor to make the information
that readers or users seek easy for them to locate and understand. Just as important,
they strive to ensure that every document meets the objectives and purposes of the
organization and individuals who are funding, authorizing, or originating it.
Technical editors usually work closely with writers and subject-matter experts who
have definite purposes of their own and who are more experienced in writing for a
professional audience of their peers than for readers outside their areas of specializa-
tion. As this description makes clear, technical editors often need to understand the
complexities of the rhetorical situation into which they are thrust.
As you learn more about the varied responsibilities assumed by and competen-
cies expected of professional and peer technical editors, we hope that you come to
appreciate technical editing as a professional and dynamic practice. We intend to give
you a lot to learn and think about. Bear in mind, though, that—no matter what field
or profession you enter—your education will need to continue throughout your work-
ing life. This is certainly true of technical editing, which has been and will continue
to be affected by changes in technology, communication practices, the conventions of
language and usage, economic and political realities, and management practices. The
pace of these changes will undoubtedly accelerate throughout the coming decades. The
ix
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x PREFACE
many challenges and opportunities ahead will make technical editing an exciting field
for the foreseeable future.
Our Audience
We wrote this book as a textbook with diverse audiences in mind. We hope you belong
to one of them.
Our book is written primarily for students who are preparing themselves for techni-
cal communication careers and therefore need to understand and gain experience in the
practice of technical editing. We would not have written this book if we did not think we
could help students master the knowledge and skills they need to be technical editors.
This book also seeks to inform three secondary, but important, audiences who may
already be engaged in working with technical editors, but who are interested in broad-
ening and deepening their knowledge of technical editing:
■ Technical communicators already in the workforce who have some experience in
editing or perhaps have ripened into experienced editors, but who are open-minded
and adventurous enough to hone their practice and, in recognition that much has
changed in the past few decades, view their work in new and enriched ways
■ Professionals in any field—perhaps competent writers—who wish to develop
new work patterns and improve their ability to plan, write, revise, and evaluate
documents and become better writers but also better editors of their own work
and that of others
■ Writers and managers who need to understand what technical editors do and
why and to develop better ways of working with them and of managing docu-
ment projects that require editing
The primary and secondary audiences we just described are the ones we hope to
reach. We assume they are reasonably proficient in writing and reading skills and know
how to use a word processing program like Microsoft Word. We also hope that they
keep in mind that the scope of and the responsibility for technical editing has expanded
and is ubiquitous among technical communicators of all stripes.
The Aims of Our Book
We wrote Technical Editing: An Introduction to Editing in the Workplace as a textbook to
support junior- and senior-level undergraduate courses and graduate courses in tech-
nical editing. It is both an overview and a practical introduction to the rapidly expand-
ing and changing practice of technical editing. In writing this book, we aim to advance
the practice of technical editing by presenting a comprehensive and up-to-date view of
the field and practice that can be offered in a reasonable-sized book.
We have been governed by five major concerns.
First, we want to emphasize that technical editing—like technical communication
more broadly—is a professional practice that has evolved over time and continues to
change. Yet the professional identities of practitioners and the longevity of their in-
terests are rooted in the field’s historical continuities rather than its discontinuities.
A narrow focus on current technologies and the latest trends can foster a blinding and
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