210J W19 Forrester

University of Waterloo

Department of English Language and Literature

ENGL 210J - Technical Editing

Instructor:          Dr. Clive Forrester

Term:                  Winter 2019

Class times:    2:30pm - 3:50pm M,W

Classroom:     HH150

Office hours:   Room HH141, Mon. 12-2pm (or by appointment)

Email:                 clive.forrester@uwaterloo.ca​ext: 37905

Course Description:

This course is intended to introduce participants to the principles and procedures of technical editing. We will draw on examples from manufacturing, the sciences, and the legal field in an effort to build competence and proficiency in the different levels of editing. Material for editing will be drawn both from real world cases as well as originally created by class participants with the goal of engaging in professional editing techniques. Participants will finally be introduced to the basics of working with editing software.

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this course, participants should be able to:

  1. Edit and improve overall readability of a variety of document types
  1. Describe the different levels of editing
  1. Understand the principles of editing for different genres of writing
  1. Create original material for use in editing demonstrations

Recommended Texts: (chapters will be added to LEARN)

Friend, C. and Challenger, D. (2014). Contemporary Editing. Routledge. NY.

Garner, Bryan A. Legal writing in plain English: A text with exercises. Chicago, The University of Chicago Press, 2013.

Harmon, Joseph E., and Alan G. Gross. The craft of scientific communication. Chicago, The University of Chicago Press, 2010.

Stainton, Elsie Myers. The fine art of copyediting. 2nd ed., New York, Columbia University Press, 2002.

Module

Week

Date

Topic

Reading &

Assignment

Introduction

Types and

Purposes of

Technical

Editing

1

Jan 7

Course Introduction

●  Course structure and objectives

● Methods of assessment

●Expectations

●  Practice exercise in editing

 

Jan 9

Levels of Editing

●  Communication in the technical

arena

●  Different types and purposes of

editing

Cont. Ed.:

Ch. 1, pp. 3-10

Editing for the

Manufacturing

Industry

2

Jan 14

Culture of Editing

● Editing best practices

● Ethical considerations in

professional editing

Cont. Ed.:

Ch. 12, pp.

277-285

Jan 16

Editing product manuals

●  Components of the manual

● Editing operational and maintenance instructions

 

3

Jan 21

Editing Workshop - Intro

●  Product manual editing exercise

 

Editing for

Journalism

and the

Media

Jan 23

Editing in the media

●  Style and function of media

writing

●  Checking news articles for

readability

●  Editing for social impact

●  Fact-checking stories

Cont. Editing:

Ch. 3, pp. 45-51

4

Jan 28

Jan 30

Editing Workshop - Journalism

(Groups 1&2)

Cont. Editing:

Ch. 3, pp. 52-74

 

5

Feb 4

Journalism Editing Test

Editing for

the Legal

Profession

Feb 6

Editing in the legal field

●  Legalese and communication in

the law

●  Converting legal writing to plain

English

●  Checking to maintain legal

integrity

Legal Writing:

Ch. 1, pp. 3-10

      6

Feb 11

Feb 13

Workshop - Legal Writing

(Groups 3&4)

Legal Writing:

Ch. 2, pp. 17-30

7

Feb 18

 

READING WEEK - NO CLASSES

Feb 20

 

8

Feb 25

Legal Editing Test

 

Editing for

Books and

Research

Projects

Feb 27

Publication Ready

● Editing short stories/manuscripts

●  Editing major research and

dissertations

●  Using multiple style guides

Fine Art of

Copyediting: Ch.

3, pp. 17-20

 

9

Mar 4

 
 
 

Mar 6

Editing Workshop - Fiction

(Groups 5&6)

Fine Art of

Copyediting: Ch.

3, pp. 20-25

 

     10

Mar 11

Fictional Editing Test

10

Editing

Scientific

Language

Mar 13

Editing Scientific Work

● Scientific language - style,

conventions and usage

●  Editing scientific language for

accuracy

●  Editing scientific work for public

consumption

Craft of Sci.

Comm.: Ch. 14,

pp. 187-195

 

11

Mar 18

Editing Workshop - Scientific Writing

(Groups 7&8)

Craft of Sci.

Comm.: Ch. 15

Mar 20

Scientific Editing Test

12

Mar 25

Project Feedback (from external

partners)

 

Mar 27

Course Wrap-Up

 

Assessment Breakdown:

  1. Participation in group activity and editing workshop (20%: 15% executing workshop + 5% workshop attendance)​: Each class participant will be assigned to a group and each group will conduct an editing workshop (1hour) on one of the areas covered in class. The workshop involves the creation of original material by the group as well as an interactive demonstration of editing.
  1. Individual editing portfolio (40%; 10% each X 4)​: Each participant will submit an editing portfolio consisting of examples of edited material from the four areas of editing covered in the course.
  1. Module Tests (40%; 10% each x 4)​: Throughout the course, a total of 4 short tests will be issued for participants to complete, covering content from the course readings.

Keeping in Touch With Me

Feel free to stop by during office hours and have a chat about your writing. If for some reason you can’t come to the scheduled office hours, we can make an appointment to meet virtually via Skype or Facetime. Most importantly, do not wait until you feel completely overwhelmed to seek help. Let’s start talking as early as possible.

Experimental​: This year, I will be implementing the use of a communication tool called “Slack.” It operates like a text messaging app, but designed for business purposes, so it can share documents and integrate other applications. The difference between this tool and email is that you can communicate with me in real-time via text or send a phone call if necessary. Join the ENGL210J Slack group at this ​link​.

Academic Integrity

In order to maintain a culture of academic integrity, members of the University of Waterloo community are expected to promote honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility. See the​UWaterloo Academic Integrity Webpage (https://uwaterloo.ca/academic-integrity/)​and the​​Arts Academic Integrity Office Webpage (http://arts.uwaterloo.ca/current-undergraduates/academic-responsibility)​for more information.

Discipline

A student is expected to know what constitutes academic integrity to avoid committing academic offenses and to take responsibility for his/her actions. A student who is unsure whether an action constitutes an offense, or who needs help in learning how to avoid offenses (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about “rules” for group work/collaboration should seek guidance from the course professor, academic advisor, or the undergraduate associate dean. For information on categories of offenses and types of penalties, students should refer toPolicy 71, Student Discipline (http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy71.htm)​. For typical penalties check Guidelines for the Assessment of Penalties (http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/guidelines/penaltyguidelines.htm)​.