Technical Editing

Description: Editors have a challenging job because their work can invoke in their writers a wide range of feelings: from indifference to resentment. For this reason editors must understand not just the process of correcting and revising the written word, but also the politics and psychology of working with writers and clients. Through studying the current state of the art of editing, examining case studies of professional editorial settings, and conversing directly with practicing editors, students in this course will explore within the field of editing such topics as:

• Editorial functions and responsibilities
• Readers and uses of documents
• The editor—writer relationship
• The editor's methods and tools
• The differences among proofreading, copyediting, and comprehensive editing
• Legal and ethical issues in editing

This course articulates with the content and goals of other courses in the Department of Culture and Communication, specificially COM 510 (Technical Communication), 520 (Science Communication), and COM 875 (Ethics for Science and Technical Communication).

Objectives: If you successfully complete this course, you will be able to:

• describe the pragmatic dimensions of scientific and technical settings within which editors must operate
• identify the appropriate editing strategies for specific professional settings, documents, and writers
• exercise competence at proofreading, copyediting, and comprehensive editing
• describe some of the common ethical and legal concerns that editors must confront

Text: Carolyn D. Rude, Technical Editing, 5th Edition, Longman, 2011, ISBN-13: 978-0-20578671-8.

Grading:  This course will proceed as a seminar. As such, it will require you to take an active role in presenting and discussing ideas in class. No midterm or final exams will be given. Your final grade will be computed on the basis of the following components:

• 20% = class work (discussions, quizzes, and exercises)
• 20% = presentations
• 60% = projects

Assignments: Each week in this course will require you to prepare a reading and a writing assignment. Most readings are chapters from the textbook. Click on the chapter designators in the Reading Due column of the Assignment Schedule for study guide questions to help you focus on their key terms and concepts.

Most writing assignments are opportunities to apply the perspectives and principles explicated in the textbook to your own projects. Click on the items in the Writing Due column of the Assignment Schedule for specific details. Because the emphasis in this course is on professional editing, you will be expected to be sensitive to the importance of deadlines. For this reason, late assignments will be penalized one letter grade increment for each class day late.

In addition to the ongoing reading and writing assignments, each of you will give a formal presentation at some point in the course. Click on the link to presentations for details.

Academic Honesty: It is assumed that the work you submit for this course, whether written or spoken, is your own. Any attempt to represent someone else's work as your own is plagiarism. Plagiarism includes copying another student's work on papers or tests, copying without attribution the ideas or words from published sources, submitting papers written in previous semesters, and referring to notes during exams. For more clarification on plagiarism, see Drexel's Student Handbook. Such academic misconduct will result in a failing grade for the assignment, a probable failing grade for the course, and a report to the Dean for possible disciplinary action. Be advised that internet services such as EVE 2.3 and Turnitin.com make the detection of plagiarism easy.

Attendance: You are expected to attend all classes. Attendance is important to your progress and your classmates'. Much of what you learn will come from discussions and interactions with your fellow students. A formal presentation for which you are absent will be graded as an F. If an emergency prevents you from attending class (such as a personal illness or family emergency), please contact me in advance of your absence. You may miss one class without penalty; any additional absences will reduce your final grade.

Assignment Schedule

*Numbers refer to chapters in Rude's Technical Editing, 5th edition.