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E414.010 Technical Editing [We
seek] a scrupulous copy editor who will perform accurate and nuanced
copy edits; coordinate each stage of the publication process from
manuscripts through final proofs; and proofread, fact check, and
generally enforce quality control for a wide variety of projects.
….the ideal candidate will adhere to professional editorial
standards and know when to “break the rules” as the text
requires. Must have an eye for catching design, typography, and layout
flaws; the ability to juggle projects with competing schedules; and the
flexibility to adapt when priorities change. The successful candidate
will be audience-focused, team-oriented and deadline-driven. A
bachelor's degree is required, preferably in English, journalism or a
related field. Course Goals In this course,
you'll go a long way towards matching such a job description. We'll
look at editing as a broad process for ensuring that an information
product on a page or a screen works for its author and for its
audience. Editors collaborate with authors to envision the many
possibilities for conveying information and to select the most
effective one. They are adept at gathering
information from different sources through different methods. They
understand how documents can help solve problems. They know how to
manage editing projects and work as an editor with subject matter
experts on interdisciplinary teams. They can build and maintain good
relationships with authors both in face-to-face meetings and online. Text C. Rude. Technical Editing. 4th edition. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 2005. Schedule As noted in the job description, editors need to juggle projects with “competing schedules” and have the “flexibility to adapt” when things change. In this course, as in a professional context, our schedule needs to adapt to the schedule of the clients for our work. The deadlines below for course readings, issue reports, and chapter leader presentations are relatively fixed, and those for our client projects represent our negotiations to date. But project deadlines may need to shift as our clients shift their work. All changes will be announced in class and appropriate adjustments made.
Readings in the textbook and tutorials Please read all
assigned chapters before class so that you're prepared to discuss them
when we meet. In addition, work through the “Discussion and
Application” exercises at the end of each chapter to test your
understanding of what you've read. We'll work through some exercises in
class each day.
Individually or
with one classmate, you'll be responsible for leading class discussion
on one chapter of your choosing. Avoid simply repeating the chapter but
instead highlight its main points and help us to understand how the
theories and skills explained in the chapter take hold in practice.
Probably the best route as you prepare the chapter is to go through the
exercises yourself carefully so that you're confident in the chapter's
content. Then you may want to lead us through the exercises or develop
your own examples from the MEEG or CUHK projects (see below). One role
of an editor is to be a teacher, helping authors to see their texts in
a new light that will allow them to answer your queries and respond to
your emendations. Leading a class discussion, then, is good preparation
for that role. It's also a good way to ensure your own grasp of the
concepts. You'll be graded on your ability not just to summarize the
chapter but to use its key points effectively and accurately in
examples that engage the rest of the class in actively understanding
the content under discussion. Exams The midterm and
the final test your understanding of the principles and practices
covered in the textbook as well as the information presented by your
classmates in their issues reports and by the guest speakers. Grading
Professionalism
Since
this course prepares you for your role as a professional in the
workplace, each class period is considered a meeting to which you have
committed by signing up for the course. As is common at such meetings,
your participation is expected. The course can only be successful if
participants share ideas, listening respectfully to others and inviting
as well as responding to comments. Unprofessional participation,
including being late, leaving early, holding side conversations, and
using course technologies for unrelated purposes as well as unexcused
absences will result in a reduction in your grade. If you have an
emergency that prevents you from attending the class or from arriving
on time, email me in advance with a strategy for catching up. If your
email is persuasive, I'll accept your strategy.
Privacy In accordance with university policies regarding
the protection of personal non-public information (PNPI), please do not
include your Social Security number on any assignment or in any email
correspondence with classmates, project contacts, or me.
Disability access If you have a
disability requiring specific arrangements in this class, please let me
know as soon as possible. I'll keep this information confidential.
Academic integrity The
University of Delaware values academic integrity. Thus you must
understand the meaning and consequences of plagiarism and other
academic offences. Simply stated, "plagiarism" is presenting as your
own original work something that is not. Any work that you submit must
be your own. If you borrow any words, ideas, or information from other
people and include those under your name, you must properly document
the borrowed material. This requirement applies to visuals as well as
text. Demonstrating the highest levels of ethical behavior concerning
the use of sources is a significant element in both the content of this
course and your behavior in it. The University of Delaware protects the
rights of all students by insisting that individual students act with
integrity. Accordingly, the University severely penalizes plagiarism
and other forms of academic dishonesty. If you have any questions about
why and how to document sources, please talk with me.
Course Projects
To
enhance and demonstrate your understanding of what you read in the
course text about the process and products of editing, you will
participate in three graded projects.
The most complex
project, one that has been a component of this course for several
years, is serving as an editor (one of two or three from the class) on
a team with 6-8 senior mechanical engineering students completing an
extensive capstone design project. These projects are sponsored by
local industries or government agencies. In one project we worked on
last term, for example, student teams designed more attractive and
efficient recycling containers for the Delaware Solid Waste Authority.
Another project, for Berry Plastics, concerned the design of a valve
for the new upside-down-is-right-side-up ketchup bottles. At the
beginning of the semester, representatives of sponsoring industries
present their needs to the mechanical engineering students during a
kind of recruiting fair at Trabant. By attending the fair you'll gain
insights into the projects as well as insights into how managers and
engineers communicate their work. During the
second week of the semester, you will join a team based on your
interests and will work with them throughout the semester. By the third
or fourth week, you will meet with your MEEG counterparts in person to
lay the groundwork for your collaboration. After that, you may work
largely virtually through the exchange of documents in WebCT. As you'll
see, these reports tend to be complex: lots of text, numbers, and
visuals. That's one reason you need to use WebCT for editing
them—most would overload your email box. You'll probably need to
read segments several times before writing a summary comment for the
MEEG team members and diving into editing on the screen. Particularly
early in the semester, you may find yourself a bit overwhelmed,
especially if the project is a highly technical one. But part of what
you are learning in this course is an ability to work with subject
matter experts (SMEs) in fields that are not your own. Engaging with
these reports will help you enhance that ability. As you'll become
increasingly aware through our readings in the course text, it's best
if you can encourage your teammates to talk about their work and to
work in modules that you can exchange in advance of the deadlines for
drafts noted in the schedule (and, trust me, subject to change).
Several of our class sessions will be available for you and your
editing teammates to advance the MEEG project. The nature of that work
necessarily differs from team to team as you assess their writing and
negotiate with teammates the level of intervention appropriate to them
and their project. In addition, the MEEG teams, like teams in general
in the workplace, differ in their seriousness about their tasks, in
their abilities to cut through problems to achieve results, in their
management and compatibility as a team, and in their
communication skills. Your grade in the course is not dependent on
their success, although your efforts toward their achieving that
success will be acknowledged. Graded project requirements for our
course, consistent across the teams, are three status reports (see the
schedule for due dates) in which you describe your activities with the
team and reflect on how those activities connect to your readings in
the text and discussions in class. I'll also review your editing of the
MEEG reports themselves. Your ability to edit the MEEG texts, your
seriousness about the editing project and professionalism as
demonstrated by your account, the richness of the content of your
reports, and the clarity and appropriateness of your expression, these
will be the basis for your grade. The status reports provide an opportunity
to reflect on your activities to date and consider whether you need to
change the scope or approach of the project. Things happen. This memo
takes that into consideration. It's not about excuses; it's about a
reasonable picture of where your work stands. Each report will include the following (in report format, 3-5 pages, double-spaced, with headings and page numbers): 1. Cover page, with title of the project, your names, your teammates names, my name, and the date 2. Overview In
the first, very short paragraph, note why you are writing (in response
to my request for a status report) and highlight any significant
information from your work during this period. 3. Recap of project Next,
briefly describe the project. Establish some core text about that in
the first report that you can edit for each subsequent report. 4. Status of the work to date Assess
your team's work. In the first report, describe the editing approach
you had agreed on with your teammates (implied assumption: agree on an
approach early in the semester). Then assess your work in those terms: --what you did --why you did that --how successful your editing was --how successful you and your teammates were in working together If
you discovered gaps or problems in your work, note any corrective
actions you think might be needed. In addition, discuss the team's
collaborative process, note if any correctives are needed, and outline
those corrective steps.
5. Future work Describe, in detail, what tasks lay ahead, and put them on a timeline.
6. Reflection Connect what you
are learning in our class to your field experience in the project. You
should know more about editing and collaborating with authors as the
semester continues (we hope!). Is WebCT a good space for virtual
collaboration in exchanging documents? What surprises you about the
collaboration? What kinds of comments are most useful?
7. Supporting documents Attach to the
report examples of your correspondence with your MEEG team members that
provides evidence about your editing suggestions. Editor, Student project, City University of Hong Kong (www6.cityu.edu.hk/en/main.asp) Bertha
Du-Babcock, a professor in the English for Professional Communication
program at the City University of Hong Kong (CUNH), has asked us to
provide editing assistance to her third-year students on one of their
projects, a two page memo recommending the hiring of a marketing
specialist at a multi-national company. You will work individually to
advise one team from the Hong Kong course, “Cross cultural
organizational communication.” You'll collaborate over email or
through a blog, whichever channel you and the team prefer. You will
have about a month (see the schedule) to get to know them (at least
virtually) and help them improve their work. The goal is not to write
the memo for them but to assist them in becoming better writers of the
memo. You'll copy me on your correspondence with them, including
messages in which you introduce yourselves and all versions of the
memo. You'll be graded on the professionalism of your interactions with
the team and the quality of your editing suggestions. Presenter, report on issues in technical and scientific editing Individually or
with one other student, you will present to the class a 10 minute
briefing on an important issue in our field. Last semester, students
discussed, for example, issues in editor/writer collaboration,
outsourcing of editorial services, technical marketing, online
journals, self-publishing, software for writing and editing,
information architecture, and the like. The textbook can inspire your
thinking about a topic, but the report should go beyond the text. It
represents research on a current aspect of the field and a deeper and
richer investigation of something that may only be covered
superficially in the text. Provide me with the thumbnail sketch version
of your slides, making sure to cite all sources. You'll be grade on the
effectiveness of your oral delivery; the significance, depth, and
accuracy of your information; and the clarity and attractiveness of
your slides.
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