1. Technical Editing
Rajan D V
Venture Infotek

2. Scope of This Session A brief perspective on Technical Editing
Various Types of Editing
Editing Checklists
Various Levels of Editing
Most Common Errors
Role of a House Style Guide in Editing
Tips and Tricks of the Trade

3. What Is Editing ? Read objectively from the point of view
of the audience
Query what you read
Verify, test documentation content
Evaluate usability of the document
Judge the appropriateness for intended use and target audience

4. What Constitutes Editing ?
Literary Editing
Technical Editing
Language
Technical Content
Mechanics of Writing
Presentation to intended
Audience
Producing a Document

5. What Is Required of Technical Editors ?
should have general familiarity with the subject
should be familiar with the technical terminology
used
should judge a manuscript on the basis of
representative readers and evaluate whether it
tells them what they need to know - completely,
concisely, clearly and accurately

6. As a Technical Editor... You may be editing: Printed materials
Video content
Electronic materials
CBT’s

7. Things to Consider When Editing...
the basis for editing should be making it easier for the
reader to use the document
convey to the writer, that your aim is to help achieve
a better result
edit things that actually need to be changed:
conflicts with the style guide, grammatical errors,
syntax errors
as an editor, you must resist the temptation of
including your identity in the document
an editor is a team player
good editing is not noticed by the reader

8. Before Suggesting a Change...
...ask yourself the following questions:
will the change make it easy for the user of the
document in locating information, or understand the
content ?
will the change rectify an error ?
will the change cut publishing costs ?

9. Types of Editing 1. Developmental / Substantive Editing
2. Copy and Literary Editing
3. Editing for Style / Language
4. Editing for Usability
5. Format Edit
6. Integrity Edit
7. Coordination and Policy Edit

10. Developmental / Substantive Editing
This macro-level edit focuses on:
1. Organizational structure
2. Logic
3. Correctness
4. Completeness
5. Clarity
6. Consistency
Developmental Editing is analysis-driven and should be
negotiable with the writer.

11. Checklist - Developmental / Substantive Editing
1. Audience
2. Content
3. Organization
4. Nomenclature
5. Policy
6. Consistency
7. Examples
8. Style Issues

12. Copy and Literary Editing
This is a micro-level edit wherein you examine the
document’s individual building blocks and focus on
grammar, punctuation, retrieval aids, navigational aids
and internal consistency.
Copy and Literary edits are usually rule-driven and are
not negotiable with the writer.

13. Checklist – Copy and Literary Editing
1. Spelling
9. Sequences
17. Page Layout
2. Grammar
10. Spacing
18. TOC
3. Sentences
11. Notes
19. Index
4. Punctuation
12. Style Guide
20. Glossary
5. Cross-references
13. Tables
6. Version number
14. Font
7. Acronyms
15. Header / Footer
8. Order of steps
16. Typography

14. Editing for Style / Language
Style decisions are subjective. Passive and active voice
depends on what the particular sentence is trying to
convey. First, second and third person depends on the
purpose and audience of the document.
The writer decides on the choice of words, unless the
word is inappropriate or misused. The editor can suggest
a better word or phrase, but cannot insist that the change
be made.

15. Checklist – Editing for Style and Language
1. Flow of text
2. Readability
3. Conciseness
4. Active / Passive voice
5. Verbs
6. Sentence Length
7. Emphasis
8. Style

16. Editing for Usability
Involves editing the document for usability. This focuses
on following the procedures and steps that the manual
describes, exactly as they are written.
It also involves verifying if the pre-requisite information
that is required to complete a task, and referenced
information is accurate, and easily locatable. Clarity of
the content and whether it enables the reader to
use the document / product is also the focus of this edit.

17. Checklist – Editing for Usability
1. User viewpoint
2. Reader response
3. Conventions
4. Navigational aids
5. Index

18. Checklist – Format Edit
A format edit determines that the document
conforms to the organizations standards on
typography, layout and illustrations.
Checklist – Format Edit
1. Typography
2. Indentation
3. Column width
4. Layout
5. Placement and display of figures and illustrations

19. Checklist – Integrity Edit
An integrity edit ensures that the document is internally
consistent.
Checklist – Integrity Edit
1. References to figures, tables, sections, part numbers,
product numbers and other documents
2. Page numbers
3. TOC Vs. text
4. Numeric sequences
5. Lettered sequences

20. Coordination and Policy Edit
A coordination edit is concerned with document handling,
planning and estimating, monitoring and coordinating
production processes and interfaces with writer,
support groups, production groups, and deals
with printers.
A policy edit ensures that the document conforms
to the policy of the company, in terms of presentation,
content, legal requirements, copyright, logos,
disclaimers, use of references, and trademarks

21. Levels of Edit

22. Most Common Errors 1. Contradictions 9. Wordiness 2. Acronyms
10. Like Vs. as
3. Emphasis
11. Negatives
4. Transition
12. Passive voice
5. Examples
13. Capitalization
6. Omitted steps
14. Quotation Marks
7. Repeated steps
15. Commas
8. Ambiguity
16. Apostrophe

23. Most Common Errors 17. Subject Verb 18. Hyphen 19. Figure Vs. Text
20. Lists
21. Headings
22. Double words

24. House Style Guide in Editing
A good style guide assumes writers know how to write,
think and exercise good judgment. They anticipate that
rules may have to be bent and provide ways to bend
them.
Good style guides focus on only style issues, solve actual
problems and save writers and editors time. A style guide
should state a preferred style when there is more than
one method of doing something.
The style guide should also bend other style rules to
fit the needs of your organization.

25. House Style Guide in Editing
A good style guide addresses a lot of common style
issues across different documents.
Ensures that all the books/manuals the company
publishes speak in one voice.
Can, to some extent ensure that all documents that
describe one product/service; look, sound and feel as
though one person wrote them.

26. Tips and Tricks Grammar Tip: Educate yourself to make yourself
see that English grammar and usage cannot always
be reduced to absolute rules. The more knowledge you
have on English grammar, the faster you can complete
micro-level edits and concentrate on macro-level edits.
Grammar Trick: When in doubt, reword
Compounding Tip: Don’t argue on trivial details and miss
the bigger picture. Record decisions on style sheets so
that you can use them to edit later chapters.

27. Tips and Tricks Content Organization Tip: You may be trying to solve
a problem at a lower level and may need to widen
your focus. If changing words doesn’t help look at
the whole sentence. Else, look at the paragraph.
Maybe you should delete the sentence?
Content Organization Trick: expand at higher
levels of heads. Avoid burying the information too
deep or your readers will not be able to find it.

28. Tips and Tricks Procedure Editing Tip: edit for order, clarity and
presentation. If a procedure is too complex, make a
flowchart out of it. Can you use tables as a means of
conveying information? Ensure all column headings
of the table are visible for maximum readability.
Procedure Editing Tip: edit for order, clarity and
presentation. Tables are breeding grounds for typos, so
edit them with care.

29. Tips and Tricks Glossary Editing Tip: check if all words are included.
Conversely, check that the glossary isnt filled with
unwanted terms.
Index Editing Tip: pick a few topics and think of all ways
you might search for the topic content. If there are no
index entries for your words, chances are they won’t be
index entries for other words.

30. Thanks for your patience, input and cooperation!