Customer Reviews

Technical Editing (Part of the Allyn & Bacon Series in Technical Communication)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Dr. Rude did a masterful job of explaining the concepts behind good writing. Reading this book improves your entire writing process by teaching the reader what he should not do when constructing any component within a document, be it a sentence, paragraph, chapter, etc.

It also provides an excellent reference for copy editing symbols, defines the various levels of editing, and defines the roles that writers, editors, and publishers should have.

Overall, Technical Editing has done more to improve my writing than all other writing books combine. It is a must have for your reference library and excellent for classroom instruction

Dr. Rude was one of my technical writing professors. I recall using an early addition of this book when I was taking her class, identifying and suggesting edits as part of the class work...an instructive process. I have always found her guidelines to be clear and user-friendly. I do not agree with one reviewer's example of "handicap", as Dr. Rude was using that as an example within the admonition for caution, a sophisticated concept that was perhaps lost on the reviewer at the time.

This book is agreat reference and will be very useful for technical editors in any branch of the profession.

Carolyn Rude's Technical Editing (fourth edition) is a solid, comprehensive volume equally suitable as a textbook or a desktop reference. It attempts to support the writer or editor of technical prose in the collaborative process of shaping rough text into a polished and accurate final product. Its scope is ambitious, ranging from exercises in proofreading hard copy using standard markup symbols to explorations of the legal and ethical ramifications of technical prose.

I like the way that the author captures the real-world constraints that editors face: there is never enough time, content will never be perfect, and tradeoffs frequently need to be made. Just as important as his or her attention to details and standards are an editor's ability to compromise and work collaboratively with writers. In this regard, Dr. Rude's book stands in for an editing coach.

I am not familiar with the earlier versions of Dr. Rude's book, so I don't know when the sections related to online editing and website editing were added. Sometimes the grafting of this content seems a bit clumsy; likewise, some of the content on laying out text for a typesetter seems dated. Even so, this book offers good and lasting value.

I strongly disagree with the person who said that this book was bad. I have used this for two years in my Technical Editing course and have found it to be an excellent book. My students say they get a lot out of it. It's got great advice and very good examples/exercises. I"m very pleased with Rude's work.

When I "fell into" the technical editing profession more than 20 years ago, there were no or few undergraduate or graduate programs in technical communication. My learning was on the job, and I was very fortunate to work under extremely talented editors who were willing to share everything they knew. I am now a highly respected technical editor for an international corporation. A new colleague, recently graduated with an M.S. in the field, introduced me to this book, which he had used in school. The chapters on copyediting and comprehensive editing in particular are excellent; the process descriptions are right on target. I highly recommend this book for both the theory and practise of technical editing.

I disagree with the bad review of this book. I believe it outlines principles well and is also a great reference tool.

One side note, this book is for technical editing. Technical writing is different from the type of writing done in English courses.

A thorough book, but much of the content seems very out of touch with the professional editor's environment and needs. There's a somewhat dated feel to the writing, and when it speaks with about "how things work" in the editing world, it's often wrong. However--parts are useful reference, and a beginner might find several parts useful for some basic understanding of editing. Don't buy this book to learn how to be a technical editor, though.

I purchased this for a graduate school class, but wish I'd had a copy years ago. Sound advice, addresses all aspects of technical editing with examples and exercises. Even though I have years of experience, I've learned a few things and confirmed things I suspected! Well structured and well written.

Recieved book fast and in the same condition as promised. No problems. Everything went smooth and recieved exactly what I ordered.

This books is over $90 in the bookstore! Thank you for getting this to me in a timely manner and for much, much less.