Quick Reference Card

Keys To Communication

1. Participate Early—work with your writer and agree

upon goals from the start.

2. Clarify your expectations—send a confirmation

e-mail stating deadlines, arrangements/and

details of the document (style guide, situation,

audience, delivery, level of editing).

3. Communicate immediately and throughout

development—immediately open the document,

save 2 copies, and send a confirmation email

acknowledging receipt.

4. Stick to your agreements–follow your arranged

plan to the best of your ability and discuss any

changes or conflicts that may arise right away.

5. Be prompt—get your work done on time and be

upfront, honest, and compromising about delays

6. Be professional—keep your cool, and envision

yourself as a team member or coach.

T I P S F O R W O R K I N G W I T H A W R I T E R L E V E L S O F E D I T I N G

Substantive Editing is the first and most

intensive form of editing. It improves a document

by:

Identifying and solving problems of overall

clarity or accuracy

Reorganizing paragraphs, sections, or

chapters to improve the order in which the

text is presented

Writing or rewriting segments of text to

improve the readability and flow of

information

Revising any or all aspects of the text to

improve its presentation

Consulting with others about issues of

concern

Incorporating responses to queries and

suggesting creating a new draft of the

document

Copyediting is the second level of editing,

ensuring that major errors have been identified

and fixed before the document is submitted for

final review. This includes:

Correcting spelling, grammar, punctuation,

syntax, and word usage while preserving the

meaning and voice of the original text

Checking for or imposing a consistent style

and format

Preparing a style sheet that documents style

and format

Reading for overall clarity and sense on

behalf of the prospective audience

Querying the appropriate party about

apparent errors or inconsistencies

Noting permissions needed to publish

copyrighted material

Preparing a document for the next stage of

the publication process

Cross-checking references, art, figures,

tables, equations, and other features for

consistency with their mentions in the text

Proofreading is the final and lightest level of

editing. Minor edits include correcting:

Errors of grammar and style

Errors of capitalization and punctuation

Errors of spelling and word usage

Errors or inconsistencies

EDITOR ’S EDITION

F O C U S O N T H E R E A D E R Readers must first find the information, then

decipher it —each reader will do this in a different

way. Editors use situational attributes to help

determine a document’s impact on reader usability

and readability.

Some techniques include:

Providing context and relevance;

Providing support for selective reading (i.e.

using navigational aids);

Answering reader questions;

Providing links to further information;

Organizing the text logically;

Avoiding ―noise‖;

Using plain and active language;

Using lots of white space.

Using arrangement to highlight or emphasize

content.

K E Y G R A M M A R & S T Y L E R U L E S

TIP: Write short, simple, active, and imperative sentences. Keeping sentence structure

simple keeps grammar simple, too. Use short sentences that are > 20 words in paragraph

format and > 12 steps for procedural sentences.

Common grammatical errors include:

Subject-verb agreement

Faulty prediction

Dangling modifiers

Misplaced modifiers

Pronoun– antecedent agreement error

Ambiguous pronoun referent

Pronoun case error

Tense error

Tense sequence error

When Providing Feedback:

1. Open with a goodwill compliment

2. Remind the writer what the

attached document is

3. Remind the writer what level of

editing you performed

4. Prioritize the most important

improvements to be made

5. Suggest next steps, and if

appropriate, offer additional help

6. Provide a goodwill closing

TIP: People can be very protective

of their work, so be respectful and

give an honest review with

constructive criticism.

Spelling and Style Tips:

Use a spell checker regardless of your

spelling capabilities

Review and know the rules of

capitalization and abbreviation

Review and know the principles of

spelling to increase your efficiency

Check and use dictionaries and style

manuals as reference.

Ask questions about unfamiliar or oddly

spelled words—the writer may have a

reasonable explanation

CO M M O N ED I T I N G SYM BO L S

Word/Letter Symbols Meaning

Delete

Delete, close

Delete a word

Insert

Insert space

Transpose

Close up

Capital letters

Small caps

Lower case

Italics

(underline word)

Roman type

Boldface

Superscript

Subscript

Delete an underline

Spell out an

abbreviation or

number

Let it stand

Ignore the editing

Punctuation Symbols Meaning

Period

Comma

Colon

Semicolon

Parentheses

Brackets

Hyphen

Equal sign

Em dash

En dash

Formatting Symbols Meaning

Begin a new paragraph

Begin a new line

Run together

(do not break line)

Justify left

Justify right

Center

Ragged right

Align

Indent one em

Indent two ems

Transpose a group of

words

Close up vertical space

(extra space skipped

between paragraphs)

Insert vertical space

Set as a paragraph rather

than as a list