Editing Technical Writing

Exhaustively illustrated and broad in scope, Editing Technical Writing is a comprehensive textbook and reference for students of technical editing and communication, as well as a training manual for working professionals in business and government who must revise documents to communicate technical information clearly and effectively. It examines the editor's broad role in the collaborative writing of a document, from scheduling, staffing, and budgeting publication work through editing text and graphics to coordinating proofreading and production work. Chapters on editing text and graphics are supplemented by others on degrees of edit, style guides, editing specific types of documents such as proposals, proofreading, schedules and budgets, grammar, and punctuation. Extensive examples, materials to edit and exercises with answer keys and explanations clarify editorial goals and procedures and provide students with realistic editing experience. Discussions of concepts such as legibility, readability and effective design contribute to the students' base in communication theory. Also, editing guidelines and graphics from a variety of professional documents introduce students to the range of materials and techniques available to the technical editor and make Editing Technical Writing a valuable reference as well as text. A bibliography identifies valuable resources for editing students and editors.

Donald C. Samson is at Radford University.