Exhaustively illustrated and broad in scope, Editing Technical Writing is a comprehensive textbook and reference for students of technical editing and communication. It is also a training manual for working professionals in business and government who must revise documents to communicate technical information clearly and effectively. It examines the broad role of the editor from the collaborative writing of a document through proofreading and on to production. It also looks at different documents and the different styles of editing required for these. All in all this an essential manual and reference for the technical editor and should enable them to vastly improve their editing skills.
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Editorial Reviews
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"A fine textbook and an excellent resource."--Marianthe Karanikas, Southwest Missouri State University
"The strength...is that it addresses the additional roles technical editors assume while it provides solid coverage of traditional editing conventions. The text helps new editors and students avoid these unpredictable learning methods by clearly explaining the major editing conventions found in style manuals, offering the time-worn advice of an experienced technical writer, and providing the opportunity to practice on sample technical texts."--Journal of Business and Technical Communication
"The strength...is that it addresses the additional roles technical editors assume while it provides solid coverage of traditional editing conventions. The text helps new editors and students avoid these unpredictable learning methods by clearly explaining the major editing conventions found in style manuals, offering the time-worn advice of an experienced technical writer, and providing the opportunity to practice on sample technical texts."--Journal of Business and Technical Communication
About the Author
Donald C. Samson is at Radford University.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Sound fundamentals but somewhat dated details,
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This review is from: Editing Technical Writing (Paperback)
Editing well is an art that, ironically enough, is hard to demystify in print. Adding insight on editing technical material requires a solid foundation in technical disciplines as well as respect for the written word and its consumers.
Samson's book provides a well-organized overview of the technical editing profession, inside and out. The "inside" portion of this book is generally excellent, as he reviews things as specific as proofreading marks and as nuanced as English grammar. Personally, I found his chapter on editing technical graphics extremely useful. However, the "outside" portion of the book -- the part that deals with how editors fit into the workflow in industry and publishing -- is sadly out of date, which is not surprising given that the book was published nearly 15 years ago. Samson describes lengthy schedules, time for extensive re-edits, and large teams replete with semi-legendary staffers like dedicated typists. Perhaps my own software industry experience colors my perspective, which is that today's technical documentation is more likely to be written in a fast-paced, iterative environment and produced and published entirely online. In such a setting, editing, ANY editing, is a luxury. This book contains useful exercises, and its general rigor and lucidity would make it a good supplemental text for a technical editing course. Just don't go into your first technical editing or writing job expecting anything like the work environment Samson outlines.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Editing for tech editors,
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This review is from: Editing Technical Writing (Paperback)
Unfortunately I could have written this book. It did not present any new thoughts for this technical editor.
6 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best for Technical Writing,
By A Customer
This review is from: Editing Technical Writing (Paperback)
I took a course with Donald Samson at Radford University, and this book was out textbook for the course. Every aspect of technical writing, from grammar to style. This book, however, is not merely a list of gramatical and stylistic rules; it describes in detail the duties and responsibilities of technical writers. In short, there is not a better guide for aspiring technical writers out there. Great for a textbook or for someone learning on his or her own.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
Writing, editing, and proofreading are all parts of the writing process. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
support group supervisors, complexity edit, publications department staff, new marketing specialists, creating technical documents, studying garden peas, unnecessary subordinate clauses, nonessential dependent clause, dummy layout, nonessential phrase, company style guide, beginning editors, two main clauses, printing masters, second main clause, editing students, nonessential clause, processed text, proofreading symbols, circled note, informal table, page makeup, capability statements, proofreading marks, typeset text Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Editing Technical Writing, New York, United States, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Martin Marietta Corporation, Statistical Abstract, The Chicago Manual of Style, Department of Defense, Editing Processed Text, Old English, Planet Earth, Adams Company, Ann Arbor News, Elizabeth Babcock, Exercise Provide, Jessica Locke, Native American, American Mathematical Society, Eastern Michigan University, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Jon Wooley, Lake Superior, Michigan's Upper Peninsula, News Special Writer New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Writing, editing, and proofreading are all parts of the writing process. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
support group supervisors, complexity edit, publications department staff, new marketing specialists, creating technical documents, studying garden peas, unnecessary subordinate clauses, nonessential dependent clause, dummy layout, nonessential phrase, company style guide, beginning editors, two main clauses, printing masters, second main clause, editing students, nonessential clause, processed text, proofreading symbols, circled note, informal table, page makeup, capability statements, proofreading marks, typeset text Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Editing Technical Writing, New York, United States, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Martin Marietta Corporation, Statistical Abstract, The Chicago Manual of Style, Department of Defense, Editing Processed Text, Old English, Planet Earth, Adams Company, Ann Arbor News, Elizabeth Babcock, Exercise Provide, Jessica Locke, Native American, American Mathematical Society, Eastern Michigan University, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Jon Wooley, Lake Superior, Michigan's Upper Peninsula, News Special Writer New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 100
books:
See all 100 books this book cites
4
books
cite this book:
- Mathematics into Type (Updated Edition) by Ellen Swanson on 5 pages
- The Levels of Edit by Robert Van Buren on page 183, page 184, and Back Matter
- Copy Editing by Judith Butcher in Front Matter, page 223, and Back Matter
- Technical Editing: Principles and Practices by L. Zook in Front Matter, and Back Matter
- Technical Illustration by T. A. Thomas in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
See all 100 books this book cites
- Teaching Revising and Editing: An Annotated Bibliography (Bibliographies and Indexes in Mass Media and Communications) by Bruce W. Speck on page 134
- Reforming College Composition: Writing the Wrongs (Contributions to the Study of Education) by Alan Jackson in Back Matter
- Professional Writing in Context: Lessons From Teaching and Consulting in Worlds of Work by John Frederick Reynolds in Back Matter
- Business and Technical Communication: An Annotated Guide to Sources, Skills, and Samples (Bibliographies and Indexes in Mass Media and Communications) by Sandra E. Belanger on page 111
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