Substantive Editing
For my final project in Substantive Editing, I analyzed two online technical papers on self-replicating micro-machines.
Assignment
“Choose a paper, 12-15 printed pages in length, that requires a Substantive edit. The document can be a chapter from a printed book, a document found on the Internet, or a set of related documents, such as product reviews or video game reviews.
“The document can be related to your profession or hobby. The document does not need to be technical in nature, but should contain subject matter that you are familiar with, or interested in.
“For the document, create a project summary, write ten recommendations for substantive improvement, and create ten style sheet entries. Substantive recommendations must concern issues that are repeated throughout the document. A style entry issue may be of a single occurrence, but must be substantive. A recommendation may also be documented as a style issue, but at least five must be unique style issues.”
Final Project
The final project consists of three sections: the project summary, a set of recommendations for substantive improvement, and a set of style sheet entries.
- Project Summary
The project summary includes - The title and thesis of the document(s)
- The number of pages in the document
- The reason for selecting the document
- Brief description of three substantive issues in this document
- Recommendations
Each recommendation includes- Clear identification of the issue
- Context example or cross-reference in the document
- Specific recommendation for improvement
- Style Sheet Entries
Each style sheet entry includes- A concise topic title
- An authoritative reference
- A clear and concise description of the issue
- Usage guidelines to resolve the style issue
- Optional: a context example is suggested, but not required