Professional Editing
Types of Professional Editing
Hierarchy of Editorial Concerns
Developmental Editing
Outside Editor
Self-Editor
(acquisitions editors)
Consult with author, determine
purpose, audience, “big
picture”, genre; guides project
from very early stage (the idea
stage) up to draft
Acquisitions editors
Developmental editing at the
planning stage, weighing
options, altering the plan.
May consult with others to
“bounce ideas”
Substantive Editing
Outside Editor
Content checked for
accuracy, consistency, and
completeness.
Fact checked, source
credibility checked
Organization
Content (add, remove,
redesign, etc.)
SMEs, external reviewers,
referees, publication editors
Self-Editor
Done during drafting AND
after draft is assembled.
Content
Facts/sources
Organization
Content
Copyediting (proofreading)
Outside Editor
Self-Editor
Some copyediting during
drafting
Word spelling/grammar
check
Several read-throughs,
Print and read-through
Manuscript preparation, Read aloud
adherence to style
Give to a friend
Sentence level errors:
grammatical,
syntactical, stylistic,
spelling(?), typos (?)
guide (MLA, APA, etc.)
High-Level Concerns (HLCs)
purpose, audience
Achievement of purpose (and sub-purposes)
• Inclusion of (only) necessary information
• Clarity of purpose
• Placement of purpose
High-Level Concerns (HLCs)
purpose, audience
Appeal to audience
• Audience appeals for achieving purpose (motivate
to act)
• Ethically (ethos): purposeful, credible, ethical,
professional
• Emotionally (pathos): connect to audience’s values,
interests, needs (even when it isn’t obvious to the
audience)
• Logically (logos): make good sense! Logical to
audience, provide context, explanations, support
• Maintain goodwill (not alienated, angry, or ignored),
use of you-attitude, reader benefits, and positivity
Mid-Level Concerns (MLCs)
organization, chunking of information, overall usability
• Organization that best achieves purpose and
appeals to audience
• Organization typical of genre/message type
• Logical organization
Mid-Level Concerns
organization, overall usability (design)
• Overall usability (design)
• Chunking information
• Genre appropriateness, adherence to
conventions Easy to use
– find information easily, graphic highlighting, lists,
non-text elements for interest and usability,
images for highlighting important information,
adherence to the principles of good document
design
Low-Level Concerns
generally sentence level
Sentence Level: punctuation, grammar,
spelling, typos, correct “style”
Traditional Elements of Style =
• Correctness: standard adherence to conventions
• Clarity (and conciseness): simply stated, avoid
business-ese, canned phrases
• Appropriateness: of words & sentences for purpose,
subject, reader, and context
• Dignity: not sexist, culturally sensitive, generally
sensitive, not stupid
General Connections
Higher-level concerns  developmental
editing
Mid-level concerns
 substantive editing
Lower-level concerns  copyediting
Lower-level editing
common areas for improvement
Clarity
• Use words with a single meaning
fixed fast  repaired quickly or attached firmly?
• Use words with neutral connotation (neutral to
positive)
Thin or scrawny?
Self-confident or conceited?
Relaxed or lazy?
Inquisitive or nosy?
Clarity
• use plain language
Avoid prolix nebulosity.
• use caution with jargon and acronyms
I talked about my pedagogical approaches to the
instruction of university-level learners in
computer-mediated classroom environments at
the CEA.
Clarity
Use concrete language
Avoid cliches
not by a long shot
left holding the bag
run of the mill
come full circle
let the chips fall where they may
Avoid generalizations when possible
always, few, most, towards the left, a little
Clarity
Avoid unclear pronoun references
The solutions were prepared in test tubes and later
transferred. They were also sterilized.
Our patients enjoy the warm days while they last.
Avoid unclear modifiers
Only press the red button in an emergency.
Parallelism
Generally, treat items the same way(?)
Word Endings:
Mary likes hiking, swimming, and to ride a bicycle.
The production manager was asked to write his
report quickly, accurately, and in a clear manner.
At about noon the sky darkened, a breeze sprang
up, and a low rumble announces the approaching
storm.
Parallelism
Generally, treat items the same way(?)
Descriptors (like in same order):
– Tom’s purple book bag is ten inches wide, holds three
books, and has a water bottle holder.
– Jane’s red tote bag is twelve inches wide, holds four
books, and has a pocket for a cell phone.
(color – measure – capacity – extras)
- Eric’s bag is really small and made of nylon.
Also includes terms, units of measure, directions, &
symbols
Parallelism
Generally, treat items the same way(?)
Lists of Items
Penalties for common violations include:
– Jaywalking: death by paper cuts
– Jail time: for traffic violations
– If you are caught with open containers, you
will be sent home
– Speeding will result in a ticket
Conciseness
Fewer words & fewer syllables
demonstrate
endeavor
is contingent upon
subsequent to
utilize
the majority of
in close proximity
aware of the fact that
= show
= effort, try
= depends
= after
= use
= most
= near
= know
Conciseness
Eliminate redundancy
collect together
personal opinion
completely eliminate
contributing factor
perfectly clear
the month of January
Avoid sentence openers
There is a coaxial cable connecting the antenna to the receiver.
There is a danger of explosion in second mineshaft.
It was his bad attitude that got him fired.
I am writing this letter because I wish to apply for the position.
Conciseness
“Nouning” = turning verbs into nouns
We must conduct an investigation of all parking
violations before we can give consideration to your
fine.
We must investigate all parking violations before
we can consider your fine.
conduct an investigation of
provide a description of
conduct a test of
make a discovery of
= investigate
= describe
= test
= discover
Conciseness
Generally, use active voice
(what is the exception to this?)
Passive Voice – the subject is acted upon
The girl was chased by the dog.
Active Voice - the subject performs the action
The dog chased the girl.
Jack resents his assistant because he is
competitive.
Being so well known in the computer industry, I
would appreciate your advice.
Do not enter the test area while contaminated.
Care should be taken with the dynamite.
It is vital that you complete your homework.
Your conclusion is in agreement with mine.
Our acceptance of the offer is a
necessity.
My diagnosis was not inaccurate.
I suggest you reduce the number of
beverages you consume.
We expect a refund of our full purchase
expenditure.
In the course of a normal semester, we
complete four projects.