Levels of Edit
Typically, you have probably thought of editing as checking spelling, evaluating basic grammar (subject-verb agreement, pronoun reference, etc.), and proofreading for consistency. While these practices represent important parts of the editing process, one should also consider a rich variety of other evaluation techniques. Some of these techniques provide methods to control the management and production of information events; others refine the basic evaluation process.
Editing Typology might be categorized as:
|
Edit Type |
Purpose |
|
Coordination |
Defining an information domain and managing its production |
|
Policy |
Creating consistent elements in an information domain. |
|
Integrity |
Creating consistent elements in an information domain. |
|
Screening |
Editing specific language elements |
|
Clarification |
Editing specific language elements |
|
Format |
Assessing essential global and local features |
|
Mechanics |
Evaluating words, symbols, references, and non-textual features |
|
Language |
Checking spelling, evaluating cohesion and grammatical structures |
|
Substantive |
Evaluating global and local features, including non-textual elements |
As you review the Editing Typology website (listed below), you should pay particular attention to the last four types, especially those aspects of each type that you have not typically used in your own evaluations.
For example, writers often ask for advice about including non-textual elements. Should such information appear close to its textual referent or in an appendix? Another question might be, simply, will a non-textual element add anything to the usefulness of the text? I'd suggest that the latter is a far more important question.
Topical Persistence
Similarly, one might want to decide if an author has successfully maintained a focus on a particular topic, or aspect of a topic.
I call this "persistence of topic," others call it, formally
in linguistic terms, "cohesion." Regardless of the term we use,
the idea is to try to account for how well an authoring agent maintains
focus on her/his intention in the entire information domain (the global
level) and in any of its constituent parts (local level).
This technique should NOT be confused with outlining, which helps an author PLAN a text; instead, it offers a method that an authoring agency can use to determine why an existing document, or information domain, has failed to achieve its goals. Based on this analysis, companies often change their documentation practices.
Here's an example of how to evaluate persistence of topic.