Why edit?
Why edit?
- Because writing is not enough.
- When you produce academic text, you must be both a writer and an editor.
- You cannot write perfect text (well, most people cannot).
- In fact, trying to write perfectly can just be a waste of time.
- When you write, you are creating but when you are editing you are critiquing. You need both processes.
Editing vs proofreading
- Editing is a much deeper process than proofreading.
- When you edit you engage with the meaning and purpose of your text.
- Academic editing is your job (together with your supervisors).
- Proofreading involves simply identifying writing errors such as spelling and grammar mistakes.
- Most universities, including JCU, have rules about how much input a contract editor can have to a thesis.
- In effect, outside contractors may only proofread, not edit.
"Remember the waterfront shack with the sign 'Fresh Fish Sold Here'. Of course it's fresh, we're on the ocean. Of course it's for sale, we're not giving it away. Of course it's here, otherwise the sign would be someplace else. The final sign: 'Fish'."
Reader-centric editing
- The art of editing removes obstacles between the author and the reader.
- The reader is the most important person in this communication transaction.
- The editor is the reader’s advocate and the author’s ambassador. (Judith Butcher, Copy-editing, Cambridge University Press)
Editing states of mind
- The writer (also known as possessive, paranoid parent)
- The arbiter of meaning (also known as the concept Guardian)
- The logic obsessive (also known as the structure police)
- The usage and grammar pedant (also known as the language Nazi)
Possessive, paranoid parent
Not much to say about this mind state, except that it can be a nuisance.
You have to learn to let go of what you have written and see it as an object to be honed rather than your precious baby. The possessive, paranoid parent state of mind impedes the self-editor so you need to detach yourself to edit properly. Do not switch instantly from the writing to the editing state of mind – allow time.
If you can allow one month, that would be great (though impractical). Try to allow at least a week.
Concept guardian
You are reading for substance, making sure that the work conveys the intended meaning.
The intended meaning should be set out firstly in your research proposal, and then more succinctly in your abstract. You will ensure that the exact meaning you have said you are going to present is actually present in the whole document. Read through your whole document as though you are new to the topic. Ask yourself at the end what overarching understanding you have obtained from the piece of writing. Ensure that the messages you extract match the stated intent (refer to the title + abstract). Ensure that the concept of the piece is correctly and logically in place and clearly stated up front. If you find inconsistencies, take the time to correct them now.
Ask yourself:
- “What did I try to achieve and did I achieve it?”
- “What am I trying to say, and did I say it?”
You may be surprised at the answers. That is, you may have thought that you had fully captured what you were trying to do, but find that you actually have not.
The structure police
The structure edit involves making sure that the architecture sitting in the conceptual landscape of your first editing read is up to the task.
Strict architecture makes for both magnificence and safety. Your structure should hold up the ideas of the manuscript for the reader to see clearly. Ensure that, for instance, the introduction provides an accurate roadmap to the whole document. The sections should exhibit a logical structure that aids the argument and that the reader can follow easily. Think about what the reader needs to know and indeed what that reader expects. Sections may have to be moved around to achieve a smooth and logical flow. “Theme sentences” (the first sentence of your paragraph) and linking devices (which will examine in our section on paragraphs) help establish a strong structure, but there must be an intrinsic logic to the piece as well. The structure must look natural. Now is the time to ensure that it is.
Eliminate excessive repetition: good structure is streamlined and lean. Good academic structure means that you set the broad statements of theme firmly and clearly at the beginning. The document will elaborate on these themes in a sensible order, moving from the general to the particular to the synthesis at the end. So – make sure you begin the whole document, and each individual section, with overview statements and links.
Your guide here is courtesy to your reader.
The language Nazi
In this part of the edit you are thinking about each word, phrase, clause and sentence. This phase involves correcting grammar, punctuation, spelling and terminology. You will also examine each word for its usefulness and will eliminate, for example, redundancies.
Module 2 will deal with the details of grammar, but for now you need to know that the main grammar issues you will be looking for during the usage edit are:
- Subject-verb agreement
- Correct use of pronouns, including care with pronoun antecedents
- Correct use of prepositions
- Correct use of verbs
- Elimination of sentence structure errors
You will also ensure that the language you use will be familiar to your audience, so you will eliminate jargon and unnecessary complexity. English usage has some challenges. For example, there is no single agreed version of correctness in English. Also, English is a large and complicated language with inconsistencies in grammatical rules, significant stylistic differences between practitioner groups (such as between UK English and American English) and many synonyms. While a process of creative evolution of language is occurring, the destructive erosion of the language is also in operation, sometimes making it difficult to know exactly what is correct.
During this part of the edit, you must have reputable reference works available, such as a good dictionary.
"Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all sentences sort or avoid all detail and treat subjects only in outline, but that every word tell."
In summary
As an editor you have a responsibility to ensure that:
- the concepts intended by the author (either yourself or another writer) are in place and properly expressed;
- the structure leads the reader logically and without undue repetition through the text; and
- the language is clear, correct, graceful, economical and powerful.
Take the Quiz
Below is the first quiz which will help cement your skill in the Art of Academic Editing. Please complete it within this page before moving onto the second module.