Venkataraman Anantharaman

Precise and uniform definitions of light,

standard, and professional levels of editing

A proposal

Outline of the approach

• Editing

• Sentence structure and punctuation (the “wide angle,” covered by the “rules”)

• Some nuances of written English (the “close angle,” the nitty-gritties)

• Abbreviations

• Hyphenation

• En dash

• Capitalization

• Use of italic, quotation marks, boldface

• Word usage

• Will make use of all of these in defining the levels of editing

Outline of the approach (cont'd)

• The method

• The rules

• Interconnections

• Logic-based editing (how to go about editing a sentence)

• Mastering the rules

• Defining editing

• Raising editorial standards

• Defining acceptability

• Specifications for light, standard, and professional editing

• Some additional categories to help understand professional editing

The rules

• WORDS AND SENTENCES

1. Add an apostrophe followed by an s to indicate the possessive case of singular nouns.

2. Do not (physically or mentally) break sentences into two (or more) parts.

3. In a series of three or more terms with a single conjunction, use a comma after each term except the last.

• GRAMMAR AND SYNTAX

4. The number of the subject determines the number of the verb.

5. Use parenthetical commas to set off nonrestrictive elements; do not, however, set off elements that are defining or essential for the meaning of the sentence.

6. Keep related words together.

7. An introductory element must be logically connected with the main clause.

8. Ensure that every pronoun (a) has an unambiguous antecedent, (b) takes the appropriate case, and (c) follows subject–verb agreement norms.

The rules (cont’d)

• PUNCTUATION MARKS

9. To join two independent clauses, use (a) a comma followed by a conjunction, (b) a semicolon, or (c) a semicolon followed by a sentence modifier.

10. Use a colon after an independent clause to introduce a list of particulars, an appositive, an amplification, or an illustrative quotation.

11. Use a dash to set off an abrupt break or interruption and to announce a long appositive or summary.

• BEYOND GRAMMAR: POWER OF EXPRESSION

12. Express coordinate ideas in similar form.

13. Omit needless words.

14. Be judicious in the use of active and passive voice.

Attending to introductory constructions

• Rule 7: An introductory element must be logically connected with the main clause

• Illogical connections between the introductory element and the main clause can occur

because of any of the following:

• incorrect preposition in introductory element

• number disagreement between introductory element and main clause

• inappropriate positioning of specific modifier as introductory element

• separate idea set as an introductory element

• presence of a dangling modifier, either because of incorrect wording in the

introductory or main clause or the total exclusion of the agent of action

• the result of flawed thought process

• Implies following principles of comma use after introductory constructions

• Omitting the comma where appropriate

• Adding the comma after absolute constructions

• Retaining the comma to prevent possible misreading

• Omitting the comma to indicate closeness (and using one to delink phrases/clauses)

Restrictive and nonrestrictive elements

• Nonrestrictive elements occur frequently at the ends of sentences

• The addition of a comma indicates two things:

• The basic sentence (or main thought) ends there

• Whatever follows the comma is extra information

• The absence of a comma indicates that the main thought continues and that all the words

are essential

• Connection between Rule 5 and Rule 2

• The mind has a tendency to break up a sentence into parts

• Three levels of fragmentary thinking

• Using periods for commas

• Adding more commas than necessary

• Breaking up (deconnecting) certain things mentally whether or not a

comma is present, whether or not the two are to be read together

Restrictive and nonrestrictive elements (cont’d)

• Rule 5 alerts us to become aware of this tendency and to

• look for the presence or absence of commas

• understand the implications of either situation

• Restrictive and nonrestrictive constructions may be better understood by observing

catchwords (e.g., such as, with, who, where, that, which)

• The more we recognize and master restrictive constructions, the more we master

Rule 2

• Introduces the first level of editing a sentence (adding or deleting commas)

• Allows one to consider the relative merits of a set of parenthetical commas and a set of

parentheses

Keeping related words together

• Some simple principles that arise out of this rule:

• Place a modifier a close as possible to the word(s) it modifies

• When deciding about the placement of a modifier, check whether it modifies only a

word/noun/phrase or whether it modifies an action or the sentence as a whole

(follows from Rule 5)

• When a modifier modifies the action as a whole, check whether the sentence flow

can be improved by placing the modifier at the beginning of the sentence (as an

introductory construction)

• When there are two such modifiers that modify the action as a whole and placing

them both as introductory constructions does not seem proper, try keeping one at the

beginning and the other at the end of the sentence

• Position the modifiers in a sentence in such a way that no wrong relation is

suggested

Keeping related words together (cont’d)

• How do we actually apply Rule 6?

• Implies use of the single most important principle known to human beings, namely a

specific and logical questioning of everything

• Asking questions against the subject, verb, object, phrase, or clause (or any

modifier that may be present in a sentence)

• Such questioning, by its very nature, can help one prove the correctness or

error in a sentence

• Other logical implications

• Provides a method of smoothening the flow of thought in a sentence by simple,

subtle changes (such as a transposition of words)

• Alerts one to pay attention to prepositions, which often provide links to different parts

of a sentence (and may sometimes be used incorrectly)

• Provides a methods of learning idiomatic expressions in the process

Keeping related words together (cont’d)

• Provides a method of positioning statement qualifiers appropriately, keeping in mind

the emphasis such qualifiers provideor need to provideto the words before and

after them. (Try positioning them either between the auxiliary verb and the actual

verb or after the complete verb.)

The subject of a sentence and the principal verb should not, as a rule, be

separated by a phrase or clause that can be transferred to the beginning .

• Provides a method of changing word order in a sentence, keeping in mind the

modifiers present

• The logical questioning provides a method of identifying mixed

thoughts/constructions

• Introduces other levels of editing a sentence: repositioning of modifiers (transposition

of words), inverting sentences, recasting sentences

• This questioning would also bright to light most of the word usage issues present in a

sentence

Keeping related words together (cont’d)

• Provides a method of learning how to edit

• Initially, questions are asked at every step—questions against the subject, verb,

object, modifiers—the editor is taught to pay attention to the way the question is

asked and to learn to answer the question “the way it is asked” and from the

sentence in question

• Over time, the editor learns how to ask the question—and thus understands the

concept of “building” sentences, of learning the thought process behind the structure

of sentences

Mastering the rules

• Identify sentence structure in relation to the sentence patterns

• Apply each rule as appropriate

• Understand the concept of catchwords and use them to advantage

• Be alert to recognize catchwords

• Check the appropriateness of each word as used, keeping in mind the principle behind the rule and the context of its use in the sentence under consideration

• Subject-verb agreement: commonly cited words, collective nouns, Latin words

• Restrictive/nonrestrictive: such as, with, using, including, who, whose, where, that/which

• Keeping related words together: limiting modifiers (e.g. only), squinting modifiers (often, clearly)

• Introductory: Based on at the beginning of a sentence

• Pronouns: these, those, who, whom, which, that, whose, where, it, they

• Parallelism: correlative expressions (either/or, neither/nor, not only/but also [and its many variations])

• Miscellaneous: than, as, while/whereas/although, as/since/because

Mastering the rules (cont’d)

• Use dictionaries and other standard works to learn new things or to affirm instincts and guesses

• Word meaning dictionaries (e.g. Merriam Webster)

• Word usage dictionaries (e.g., American Heritage Dictionary, Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary)

• Dictionaries of idioms and phrasal verbs (e.g., Spears)

• Standard books on English usage (e.g., Garner, Fowler)

• Apply the questioning method implied by Rule 6

• Rebuild sentences applying Rule 6 and prove the correctness or incorrectness of sentences

• Steady background practice

• Understand the rhythm of the language by loud reading of the works of great writers (fiction and nonfiction)

• Their choice of words and word arrangement is what establishes our standards of literate communication

Editing defined

• Editing may simply be defined as the ability to recognize incorrect and correct writing

• recognize incorrect writingand correct it

• recognize correct writingand leave it untouched

• In practice this may be see as an

• ability to recognize incorrect writing (noted as correct edits, misses)

• inability to recognize correct writing (noted as unnecessary edits, introduced errors)

General progress trends

Editorial level

Ability to recognize incorrect writing Inability to recognize correct writing

Correct edits Misses Unnecessary edits Introduced errors

Lay person 2 18 6 7

4 16 5 3

Amateur 6 14 4 2

9 11 3 0

13 7 2 0

Copyeditor 16 4 1 0

19 1 0 0

Gross

Efficiency

Ability to recognize incorrect writing Inability to recognize correct writing

Correct edits Misses Unnecessary edits Introduced errors

50% 10 10 – –

56% 10 8 – –

67% 10 5 – –

77% 10 3 – –

83% 10 2 – –

91% 10 1 – –

• The standard of editing can be raised only by focusing on the actual misses, as gross efficiency is simply a percentage of the sum of the edits and misses put together

• Net efficiency can calculated by bringing in a negative component to the unnecessary edit and introduced errors

• A comparison of the same work assessed by different reviewers would help grasp the significance of the need for focusing on the misses

• We all get the editors we deserve (or can manage)!

Raising editorial standards

Defining acceptability

• Correct edits vs. misses per manuscript page (even 1 or 2 pages would do if done

regularly)

• Unnecessary edits and introduced errors must ideally be zero

• When we assess editing this way, we may come to a general agreement that there should

be about 80% correct edits

• Generalizing this, we can say that the correct edits should be at least 75%

• But even this would mean that 25% of all errors in a manuscript are not getting attended

to!

• The method can be used even for routine checking as well as for spot-checking anybody’s

work

Defining levels of editing

• Goal statement for light, standard, and professional levels

• Rules and their implications

• Specific aspects of each rule are used to indicate what should be understood and

applied at each level

• The essence of Rule 5 has been placed at the standard editing level

• The logic and focus of mind required for the professional level simply cannot be

acquired with first learning how to read a sentence

• Indication of mastery of certain catchwords at each level

• Catchwords are not some fancy words; they are common day-to-day words that are

frequently misused

• A correct use of these catchwords would be a clear indication of the level of

understanding an editor has of the underlying principles behind each rule

Example 1: Subject–verb agreement

• LIGHT

• Attend to simple subject–verb agreement issues

• Ensure use of correct plurals for Latin-derived terms

• STANDARD

• Take care of all aspects of subject–verb agreement in general:

• Apply rule of meaning where appropriate

• Pay attention to sentences containing one of the constructions

• Ensure use of correct singular and plural forms for technical terms

• Ensure agreement between the number of subject and verb with the number of other relevant items in a sentence

• PROFESSIONAL

• Ensure subject–verb agreement in subtle expressions involving linking verbs

• Ensure use of singular or plural forms for sentences, as may be appropriate to the content and context

• Ensure logicality between subject and associated action (despite the technical jargon in which this aspect may sometimes get lost)

• So-and-so suggested that cats abandon food resources under conditions of intrusion pressure

Example 2: Restrictive and nonrestrictive elements• STANDARD

• Differentiate restrictive and nonrestrictive elements; ensure correct comma use with nonrestrictive elements

• Use pronoun that for restrictive constructions that can be ambiguous or confusing when the pronoun which is used

• Ensure correctness of use with regard to the following catchwords

• such as

• with

• using

• including something/certain things

• who, whose

• where

• e.g. something/certain things

• i.e. something/certain things

• namely something/certain things

• PROFESSIONAL

• Observe the rule to perfection

• Recognize and correct all incorrect parenthetic expressions involving with

Example 3: Keep related words together

• LIGHT

• Correct gross and obvious errors in syntax

• Query unclear sentences

• STANDARD

• Correct easily recognizable errors in syntax by simple transpositions and by positioning modifiers correctly

• Ensure correct positioning of the word only

• Provide possible versions while querying unclear or ambiguous sentences

• PROFESSIONAL

• Apply the rule to perfection, keeping an eye on exceptions, where word order may be deliberately changed to provide connections to additional modifiers

• Actions may involve

• Adding or modifying words in accordance with logic of associated action

• Positioning statement qualifiers correctly

• Using a set of parentheses for a pair of commas

• Using an in-text list to clarify meaning

• Providing (adding) missing words or links

Example 4: Pronouns

• LIGHT

• Correct grossly incorrect pronouns (singular/plural forms)

• STANDARD

• Use pronoun as appropriate when the ending and beginning of successive sentences have the same term.

• Ensure general pronoun–antecedent agreement

• Recognize and correct pronoun shift (in number)

• Ensure use of correct case of pronouns

• Pay attention to the following pronouns/situations:

• who vs. whom

• pronouns with linking verbs

• Recognize and correct inappropriate pronoun use

• those vs. these | who vs. which | who vs. that (or vice versa)

• which vs. who/whom (or in whom)

• where vs. that

• Recognize and correct pronouns pointing to something other than what is meant

• Recognize and correct pronouns that do not point clearly to the antecedent present

Example 4: Pronouns (cont’d)

• PROFESSIONAL

• Check every pronoun used for appropriateness and correct if necessary

• Ensure use of subjective case, if appropriate, for third-person pronouns placed after

than

• Recognize and correct ambiguous pronouns—those that may point to two things

• Recognize pronouns this/these or it used to represent an entire idea and correct if

necessary (say by addition of noun)

• Use nouns or pronouns as appropriate in successive sentences to avoid monotony

• Insert missing pronouns where appropriate (or add in compound sentences to make

the flow better)

Example 5: Parallelism• LIGHT

• Ensure use of correct preposition when it modifies all elements of a series

• Correct grossly incorrect preposition use

• STANDARD

• Ensure correct use of parallel expressions for similar elements in sentences

• Ensure correct expression in coordinate expressions such as the following:

• either . . . or

• neither . . . nor

• not only . . . but also

• Add prepositions as appropriate to correct false comparisons involving than or as

• Ensure use of similar formats (noun forms, verb forms, infinitives, clauses) for a set of headings, for items in display lists

• Ensure use of appropriate prepositions for common terms occurring in pairs or in a series

• Ensure use of appropriate prepositions for common terms used alone (rather than in pairs or in series)

• Ensure use of appropriate prepositions for common idiomatic expressions

• Repeat prepositions as appropriate to correct structural errors and provide symmetry as well as to correct unintended wrong statements

Example 5: Parallelism (cont’d)

• PROFESSIONAL

• Pay attention to all variations of not only . . . but also (omission of either also, but

also, or not only in accordance with the writer's intent)

• Ensure use of appropriate prepositions for all terms occurring in pairs or in a series

• Correct incorrect prepositions that may not be easily recognizable as incorrect (often

because of the smooth flow of the sentence); similarly, insert missing prepositions

that may go unnoticed for the same reason

• Ensure use of correct preposition in all idiomatic expressions

• Repeat prepositions as appropriate to provide the right connections and a better flow

of sentences (and thus an easier grasp) or to indicate subtle distinctions

• Recognize and retain seemingly repetitious prepositions that may provide the very

force to certain sentences (i.e., retain prepositions that may take the force out of a

sentence if removed)

• Recognize and correct intended parallelisms; similarly, recognize and complete

inherent but incomplete parallel expressions of thought

Extrapolation of the idea

• Similar ways of differentiation can be used for some of the nuances as well as other

academic and scientific aspects involved in the writing process

• Abbreviations, hyphenation, en dash

• Capitalization, article use

• Quotation marks, italic, boldface

• Commas with multiple adjectives

• Some aspects of academic/scientific writing

• Tense in writing

• Place of references

• Medical expressions

• Bias-free writing

Extrapolation of the idea (cont’d)

• General word usage broken down into some categories

• Words that may be checked routinely

• Words often associated with incorrect expressions

• Words and word pairs whose usage are often unclear

• Quantifiers with countable and uncountable nouns

• Words considered as belonging to Old English

• Words whose meanings are often not clearly understood

• Words considered jargon (for simpler words that may work well)

• Words most frequently misused in scientific writing

• Words considered informal or inappropriate in scientific writing

• Words whose usage may be specified

• Words considered euphemistic

• Words that may be incorrect for the context or discussion

• Categories may be changed or added depending on the field or nature of the work

Moving from one level to another

• The levels of editing table can be used by the editor to know which aspects he or she has to master next to progress further

• The same table can be used as a guide for the trainer/reviewer to assess the work of the prospective editor

• An innate ability to spot errors and correct them using simple day-to-day words and expressions is one of the clearest indications that an editor can be given advanced training

• For advanced training, the 4-column assessment table can be further expanded to a 5-column assessment sheet where the first column can have all the parameters being assessed

• A steady performance for a few months will make it clear to the reviewer that the milestone has been reached

• Some categories to help understand professional editing

Summary

• The ideas presented here can be considered as a model package that can be used for

everything connected with the editing process:

• Teaching and training

• Live editing

• Assessing work done by an editor

• Defining levels of editing

• Helping editors to move from one level to another

• Can this be used as a method of teaching English at a certain (higher) level?

THANK YOU!