Editing, Peer-Reviewing

and Team-Writing

Editing isn’t a cosmetic process. It’s a thinking process.

Richard Rhodes, authorMaking of the Atomic Bomb

Three aspects of the writing affect the way that editors assess documents

Content

Style

Form

Editing for content involves deciding what message to send

Is thecontent

complete?

Is thecontentcorrect?

Is the content

appropriate?

Editing for style involves deciding how to communicate the message

Focus onlanguage

Focus onillustration

Focus onstructure

Editing for form concerns whether the communication is properly presented

Focus ongrammar

Focus onpunctuation

Focus onusage

Focus onformat

Focus onspelling

Assessing Review Comments

Review comments are intended to be instructive and to help you succeed in getting your article published or your proposal funded.

Here are some examples of review comments. (Note that the journal article submission went through two rounds of reviews.)

Dispositionof

Writer

Consistencyof

Change

Importanceof

Change

Difficultyof

Change

What variables determine how muchchange you make?

A well-done edit has three characteristics:clarity, consistency, and hierarchy

hierarchy

mostimportant

next mostimportant

leastimportant

consistency

effecteffecteffectaffect e

clarity

deletee

Strategies for peer reviewing

In a peer review process, people get together to read, comment on, and recommend improvements in each others’ work.

If you are asked to review someone else’s work, you might be uneasy about criticizing that work.

Strategies for peer reviewing

If you want others to review your work: Tell them the details of your writing project

(topic, audience, purpose, situation, type of paper).

Alert them to any problems or concerns you have or others have already identified (e.g. review comments).

When you review others’ writing…

Make sure your review is comprehensive (unless otherwise instructed).

Read the draft several times. Be careful about making comments or

criticisms that are based on your own personal style.

When you review others’ writing…

Explain the problems you find fully. Base your comments and criticisms on

accepted guidelines, concepts, principles, and rules.

Avoid rewriting the draft you are reviewing.

Find positive, encouraging things to say!

When you review others’ writing

Annotate text without destroying the original document by: Using the strikethrough feature or a

different typeface or color. Using proofreading marks if they’re

available in your software. Using the Track Changes functions of

Microsoft Word.

When editing someone’s writing, consider tone

Edit one another as

you would wish tobe edited

Leadwiththe

positive

Reducing the friction between editors and authors calls for action on both sides

Identifying pet peeves

Negotiating gray areas

Establishing boundaries

Controlling tone

Understanding authors

EditorsAuthors

Identifying constraints

Submitting outlines early

Allotting time for editors

Mulling over criticisms

Pet peeves are those rules that you enforce more strictly than other editors do

naked “this”—avoid

bureaucratic nouns—avoid

“however” to join two independent clauses—avoid

series comma—use

exclamation point—avoid

Strategies for team-writing

Team writing is a very common method of handling large writing projects in the business, government and academic worlds.

Choose your team carefully!

Strategies for team-writing

As the team leader, you need to decide or plan the following: The content and focus The graphics you want to include Style and format (unless prescribed) The project work schedule Who will write what sections

Strategies for team-writing

Set up a schedule of key dates. Include not only completion dates for

key phases of the project, but also meeting dates to discuss project details or drafts.

Strategies for team-writing

Set up a style guide for the project to assure consistency.

A critical stage in team-writing comes when you put everyone’s sections together into one document.

Decide which changes to incorporate into the document, and have it reviewed again.

Strategies for team-writing

STOP when you notice any of the following: You start nitpicking about insignificant

words. You revise the revisions of the revisions of

the revisions. You can’t stand to look at the document

one more time.