ENC 4212, Professional & Technical Editing

WEEK 1: COURSE INTRODUCTION

Presented by T. E. Roberts, Instructor IIProfessional and Technical CommunicationUniversity of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee (USFSM)

Fall 2015 SemesterLength of this audio lecture (16 slides): 00:51:19 (posted 18 Aug 2015)

Write down the three audio codes you hear and send those with the Week 2 codes when you submit Assignment 1 via Canvas by Sept. 7, 2015, 6 p.m.

Course website:http://www.todroberts/com/USF/4212_welcome.htm

Instructor background information:http://usfsm.edu/faculty-members/prof-thorold-tod-roberts/

Copyright © 2015 by T. E. Roberts

ENC 4212, Fall 2015: Week 1, Course Introduction • Slide 2 of 16

Course Learning Objectives

1. Show ability to create clear concise, and complete messages that meet needs of intended users and readers.

2. Meet stated deadline for assigned project.

3. Show ability to create and transmit messages in such diverse media as print, audio, video, in-person presentation, and internet.

4. Show knowledge and sound judgment in using effective communication concepts, theories, tactics, and strategies appropriate for intended project results.

5. Show ability to interpret and edit messages from advanced Subject Matter Experts (SME’s) and transmit said messages effectively to non-expert users.

ENC 4212, Fall 2015: Week 1, Course Introduction • Slide 3 of 16

Expected Results

• By the end of the semester, you should be able to:• Transform incomprehensible gobbledy-gook into lucid, simple,

effective messages for intended users.

• Serve as an effective bridge between Subject Matter Experts (SME’s) such as engineers, IT professionals, lawyers, researchers, business executives, and medical doctors and the educated but non-technical users of those persons’ messages.

• Provide both substantive and corrective editing services in the creation of books, white papers, technical documents, user manuals, speeches, blogs, magazines, newsletters, and other media.

• Reaching this goal will require you to ask questions, exercise curiosity, learn new vocabulary, challenge assumptions, and work efficiently

ENC 4212, Fall 2015: Week 1, Course Introduction • Slide 4 of 16

Required text: The Longman Guide to Technical Editing

This book is now out of print, but I have arranged permission from the publisher to download it as a free PDF file from the course website. I have provided the password for this download via a Canvas announcement.

ENC 4212, Fall 2015: Week 1, Course Introduction • Slide 5 of 16

Four Written Assignments +Course Evaluation and Final Exam

• Assignment 1: Mon, Sep 7, 2015 (20% of grade)

• Assignment 2: Mon, Sep 28, 2015 (20% of grade)

• Assignment 3: Mon, Oct 19, 2015 (20% of grade)

• Assignment 4: Outline (required but not graded - Mon, Nov 2); Submission itself - Mon, Nov 30, 2015 (30% of grade)

• Course Evaluation (required): USF will notify you by email

• Final exam: Dec 6 to 9, 2015 (via Canvas, 10% of grade)

• Specific assignment instructions will be announced via email, Canvas, lectures, and course website.

ENC 4212, Fall 2015: Week 1, Course Introduction • Slide 6 of 16

Focus of ENC 4212 Assignments• Peer editing versus lone-eagle editing

• Advantages and disadvantages of working alone and working in groups• Editor may wear many hats -- coach, language cop, copy editor, publishing

guru, translator/interpreter, media consultant, and defender of orthodox English

• Levels of edit

• Professional and technical editing varies in terms of the complexity, required effort, and ultimate purpose of the documents or publications being edited

• The “levels of edit” concept is derived from a work with this title, published by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 1980 (free download from course website); the nine levels (from most to least complex) are as follows:

9. Substantive8. Language7. Mechanical Style6. Format5. Copy Clarification4. Screening3. Integrity2. Policy1. Coordination

ENC 4212, Fall 2015: Week 1, Course Introduction • Slide 7 of 16

Focus (continued)• Editor as researcher and idea generator

• Working with Subject Matter Experts (SME’s) in diverse specialties

• Earning respect for your broad knowledge, creativity, and problem-solving

• Gaining opportunity to learn, expand skills, and demonstrate increasing value to the employer or client

• So what exactly does an editor do?• Shapes, corrects, and optimizes the work of writers and content providers

who generate original research and content

• Demonstrates high energy, restless intellectual curiosity, mental agility, and willingness to challenge experts outside one’s academic training and above one’s pay grade

• How do I present myself to the professional marketplace -- as an editor, or writer, or both?• Job titles are less important than actual performance and results

• Willingness to learn new concepts, vocabulary, and applied skills is essential

• Ultimate value is determined by measurable outcomes that match the employer’s or client’s need, not by academic grades, degrees, or professional titles

ENC 4212, Fall 2015: Week 1, Course Introduction • Slide 8 of 16

Workflow in the Course• Lectures will be posted (usually by Sunday or Monday) on course website as

PowerPoint slides and recorded audio (MP4). Reading will be assigned on website and by email.

• Final grade will be penalized by subtraction of two points (out of possible 100) for each missed lecture and one point for each late-submitted set of codes.

• Lectures contain embedded audio codes to be sent with assignments, as noted in table below (no lecture in Week 13 because of Thanksgiving holiday)

LECTURE CODES FOR WEEK SEND WITH ASSIGNMENT

1, 2 1 (Sep 7, 2015)

3, 4, 5 2 (Sep 28, 2015)

6, 7, 8 3 (Oct 19, 2015)

9, 10 #4 Outline (Nov 2, 2015)

11, 12, 14(no Week 13 lecture because of

Thanksgiving holiday)4 (Nov 30, 2015)

ENC 4212, Fall 2015: Week 1, Course Introduction • Slide 9 of 16

Workflow (continued)

• Provide all lecture audio codes and assignments (in MS Word or other appropriate software) via Canvas.

• Send other messages by regular email to tr@sar.usf.edu (include name and course number in email subject line).

• Contact me at any time by email (schedule a call by phone or Skype via email). I prefer email because it gives me time to research and write a reply.

• Before asking a question by email or phone, first consult assignment instructions, lectures, textbooks, email messages, and syllabus.

• Efficient and timely communications are essential to success in this 100% online course.

ENC 4212, Fall 2015: Week 1, Course Introduction • Slide 10 of 16

Grading Standards

• A = exceeds objectives of assignment; three or fewer major errors.

• B = meets objectives; four or fewer errors; no major surprises.

• C = barely meets objectives; five or fewer errors; focuses too much on “What does the instructor want?”

• D = tries but fails to meet objectives; six+ major errors; confusion about assignment.

• F = complete failure to meet objectives.

• See this link for clarification: http://www.todroberts.com/USF/grade_penalties.pdf

ENC 4212, Fall 2015: Week 1, Course Introduction • Slide 11 of 16

Grade Calculation• Grades are earned, not given.• Judgment is based on performance, not personality.• Grades are weighted as follows:

• 60% = First three editing assignments (20% each)• 30% = Assignment 4• 10% = Final exam

• No assignment turned in = zero (0) points.• Late submission loses 10 points for each 24-hour period

beyond due date (no penalty if caused by legitimate, verifiable circumstance such as health problem -- must send documentation to me via email).

• Points will be deducted for missing or late lecture codes• Option 1, Optimal Learning: request detailed mark-up if

you’re willing to revise and return your work within one week (no extra credit in your grade).

• Option 2, Basic Learning: receive only a grade on Canvas, without comment or markup (nothing returned to you).

• File names are important (X = assignment number; include underscores, without spaces, as shown):• Lastname_4212_X_markup.docx = request for

detailed markup (must revise completely and return within one week)

• Lastname_4212_X.docx = grade only, no comment, no revision required, nothing returned to you

LETTER/NUMBER GRADE EQUIVALENTSA = 100-95A- = 94.999-90B+ = 89.999-86B = 85.999-84B- = 83.999-80C+ = 79.999-76C = 75.999-74C- = 73.999-70D+ = 69.999-66D = 65.999-64D- = 63.999-60F = 59.999-00 = no submission or plagiarized submission

ENC 4212, Fall 2015: Week 1, Course Introduction • Slide 12 of 16

Avoid Plagiarism• DOCUMENTATION IS VITAL

• Document all information sources, including those from web and interviews; use MLA-style parenthetical citations in text

• “Innocent” plagiarism is still plagiarism• When in doubt, ask before submitting your work (use TurnItIn®

to check for errors in citations)

• ETHICAL AND ACADEMIC CONSEQUENCES• Penalty may include zero (0) points on submission, “FF” on

permanent transcript, or dismissal from USF• You may not rewrite plagiarized work for credit• I take plagiarism seriously as a sign of major ethical lapse,

inexcusable ignorance, and/or gross contempt for fellow students who are honest

• The marketplace penalizes plagiarism much more seriously than I do!

• Read this article: http://www.todroberts.com/USF/Plagiarism_NoBigDeal.pdf

ENC 4212, Fall 2015: Week 1, Course Introduction • Slide 13 of 16

How To Succeed in ENC 4212

• Discuss your work with me while you’re preparing it and immediately after you earn a grade. Don’t wait until the end of the semester. By then it’s too late.

• Detailed markup is optional but recommended (requires you to submit a revision of your graded work); otherwise, your grade will be merely posted on Canvas without comment.

• Grades are earned, not given, based on defined standards. Don’t take the process personally. (Think and act like a professional, not like a student.)

• I am eager for you to SUCCEED, not fail. Ask me for help at any time.

• Every good writer/editor is an autodidact -- that is, the most motivated and effective learning occurs within the individual; a teacher, text, or academic course can support the process, but they cannot “learn” for you.

• Be active, not passive.

ENC 4212, Fall 2015: Week 1, Course Introduction • Slide 14 of 16

How Does a Writer Differ from an Editor?

WRITER EDITOR

Engaged in “original” research and writing

Sharpens the writer’s words, corrects mistakes, verifies sources and facts

Takes ultimate legal and ethical responsibility for publication

Oversees planning and production of documents to meet deadlines and budgets

Likely to receive byline credit

Works in background, behind the scenes (usually no byline)

May have a reputation to establish or defend

Known to professional peers but not to the public

Likely to work as freelancer or contractor

Likely to be an employee

ENC 4212, Fall 2015: Week 1, Course Introduction • Slide 15 of 16

The Editor At Work and At Play

Copyright © 2005, Scott Adams, www.dilbert.com

Source: Jack Ziegler, The New Yorker, June 3, 2002 • www.cartoonbank.com

ENC 4212, Fall 2015: Week 1, Course Introduction • Slide 16 of 16

Assignment 1:Editing for Content and Clarity

• You are working as an editor for a social services agency.• An executive has provided you a draft of his writing that you need

to convert into clear, concise English which a funder can understand.

• This document, known as a one-page “Letter of Intent,” will be submitted to a U.S. government agency as part of a $1.5 million proposal to deliver mental health services for the agency’s clients.

• You need to ask questions and perform research to clarify any words, phrases, or concepts that are unclear to you.

• Your main task is to remove language and awkward sentence structure that obscure meaning and replace them with smooth-flowing, lucid, simple prose that meets the reader’s needs.

• Length may not exceed 450 words. (The funder will automatically reject anything longer.)

• See the text of the document and detailed instructions for content and format of the finished submission in the FILES section on Canvas or here:http://www.todroberts.com/USF/4212_Fall2015_Assign1_Directions.doc

ENC 4212, Fall 2015: Week 1, Course Introduction • Slide 17 of 16

CLOSING THOUGHTS• Submit your background information (see form on website or

in Canvas) via email by Aug 29, midnight. This also functions as verification of first-week attendance in this online course; if you do not send this document by deadline, you will be dropped from enrollment.

• To learn more about the way I teach and what I expect of students, see http://www.todroberts.com/USF/Roberts_Evaluations.htm

• A discussion forum is available on Canvas to exchange messages with fellow students (encouraged but not required).

• If I perceive a message from you as having relevance to others in the course, I will send my response to all.

• Email questions about the course, the syllabus, or the first assignment, or schedule a call by phone or Skype (tr@sar.usf.edu).

• Welcome to ENC 4212 – let’s have some fun during a productive semester!