ENGL 1114

Technical Editing

3 Credit Hours

Course Information

Course Description:

This course focuses on the fundamentals of editing as they apply to technical writing. In addition to learning basic editing levels, students learn the place of the technical editor within a project. The emphasis of the course is editing for format, grammatical correctness, readability, and style. 3 Credits.

Primary Case Study: Red Pen Inc.

In the overall class conceit, students are apprentices (new employees) of Red Pen Inc., a niche company that specializes in editing professional documents.  These employees must undergo a training regimen but are also required to work on small jobs during that time. After the training period concludes, employees work full-time on editing assignments.

ENGL 1114 is part of a one-year certificate in Technical Communications.

Course Objectives:

Once you successfully complete this introductory course, you will have learned about and developed basic skills in the following areas:

  • the multiple levels of Technical Editing (proofing, copy editing, etc.)

  • the basics of project management

  • team building and interpersonal communication

  • time management on individual and team levels

  • the principles of usability

  • pruning overgrown (and overblown) text for clarity and readability

  • assisting in the presentation of technical information to a variety of users/readers in a variety of media

  • applying basic editing principles

  • editing onscreen and on hard copy

  • justifying editorial changes

  • quickly and thoroughly correcting typos, garbled meanings, grammar and  punctuation, factual errors, and spelling and other inconsistencies
Prerequisites and Corequisites:
 Prerequisites: Any required DSPW and DSPR courses.
Course Topics:
Unit 1: The Editor's Role
Lesson 1: What Is Technical Editing?
Lesson 2: The Editor's Responsibilities (Case Study 1)
Lesson 3: Copyediting & Proofreading (Case Study 2)
Lesson 4: The Editing Process
Unit 2: Training & Review
Lesson 5: Guide the Reader
Lesson 6: Meet Readers' Expectations
Lesson 7: Omit Needless Words (Case Study 3)
Lesson 8: Choose the Best Word (Case Study 4)
Lesson 9: Prefer the Verb
Unit 3: Usability
Lesson 10: International & Intercultural Considerations
Lesson 11: Online Documentation
Lesson 12: Developmental Editing (Case Study 5)
Lesson 13: Editing Graphics & Design
Unit 4: Major Project
Major Project (Case Study 6)
Specific Course Requirements:
See hardware/software requirements below. Keep in mind that most projects are team efforts; it is the student's responsibility to use compatible software so that team members can easily transfer files and documents.
Textbooks, Supplementary Materials, Hardware and Software Requirements
Required Textbooks:
Please visit the Virtual Bookstore to obtain textbook information for this course.  It is located at http://rodp.bkstr.com. 
Supplementary Materials:
None. Students will need access to good reference materials (dictionary, grammar, style guide, etc.), but these are discussed in Lessons 1-2.
Hardware Requirements:
The minimum requirements can be found at http://www.rodp.org/students/hardware_software.htm.
Software Requirements:
The minimum requirements can be found at http://www.rodp.org/students/hardware_software.htm. Specific software requirements for this course include Microsoft Word (2000 or higher) and Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Instructor Information
Please see the separate page inside the course to find instructor contact information as well as a statement of virtual office hours and other communication information.
Assessment and Grading
Testing Procedures:
Timed quizzes and tests are provided online. Portions of the tests are downloaded, marked by hand, and returned to the instructor for grading.
Grading Procedure:
Grades are based on how well the student's work demonstrates skills presented in each lesson. Portions of a student's work are team efforts, and grades for those will also reflect how well the team worked together to accomplish its goal.
Grading Scale:
A---900-1000 points
B---800-899
C---700-799
F---699 or below
Students acquire points by successfully completing quizzes, tests, case studies (projects, both team and individual), discussions, and email assignments. Some case studies and all discussions also reflect a student's interaction with colleagues. The majority of a student's work must receive an average grade (C range) at a minimum, or the student is not demonstrating the necessary skills to pass this course. Therefore, no "D" grade is assigned.
Assignments and Participation
Assignments and Projects:
See Course Topics above.
Class Participation:
Students are required to reply to a weekly discussion topic by Wednesday and respond to at least one colleague's posting by Friday. (Both the initial reply and the response must be substantial--a minimum of 75 words; for instance, "I agree" is considered a nonresponse.) Most case studies (projects) are team efforts. These are the most substantial assignments of the course, and good team interaction is essential for success.
Punctuality:
Discussion replies are due each Wednesday. Follow-up discussion postings, as well as quizzes/tests, email assignments, readings, and case studies are due each Friday. 
Course Ground Rules
Though much of the required coursework is individual, the majority of the case studies are team efforts. Participation is an essential element of this course. Beyond that, students are expected to learn how to navigate in WebCT, keep abreast of course announcements, interact with colleagues and the instructor using the WebCT email address, and observe standard rules of netiquette. The student is responsible for addressing all technical problems immediately so as to meet deadlines and stay on track. 
Guidelines for Communications
Email:
  • Always include a subject line.
  • Remember without facial expressions some comments may be taken the wrong way. Be careful in wording your emails. Use of emoticons might be helpful in some cases.
  • Use standard fonts.
  • Do not send large attachments without permission.
  • Special formatting such as centering, audio messages, tables, html, etc., should be avoided unless necessary to complete an assignment or other communication.
  • Respect the privacy of other class members.
Discussion Groups:
  • Review the discussion threads thoroughly before entering the discussion.
  • Maintain threads by using the "Reply" button rather than starting a new topic.
  • Do not make insulting or inflammatory statements to other members of the discussion group. Be respectful of others' ideas.
  • Be patient and read the comments of other group members thoroughly before entering your remarks.
  • Be cooperative with group leaders in completing assigned tasks.
  • Be positive and constructive in group discussions.
  • Respond in a thoughtful and timely manner.
Web Resources:

Library

The Tennessee Virtual Library is available to all students enrolled in the Regents Degree Program. Links to library materials (such as electronic journals, databases, interlibrary loans, digital reserves, dictionaries, encyclopedias, maps, and librarian support) and Internet resources needed by learners to complete online assignments and as background reading must be included in all courses. 

Students With Disabilities

Qualified students with disabilities will be provided reasonable and necessary academic accommodations if determined eligible by the appropriate disability services staff at their home institution. Before granting disability accommodations in this course, the instructor must receive written verification of a student's eligibility for specific accommodations from the disability services staff at the home institution. It is the student's responsibility to initiate contact with the home institution's disability services staff and to follow the established procedures for having the accommodation notice sent to the instructor.

Syllabus Changes

The instructor reserves the right to make changes as necessary to this syllabus. If changes are necessitated during the term of the course, the instructor will immediately notify students of such changes both by individual email communication and by posting the notification and the nature of the changes on Class Announcements on the Homepage.

Technical Support

Telephone Support:
If you are having problems logging into your course, timing out of your course, or using your course website tools, or other technical problems, please contact the Eduprise Help Desk by calling:

1-866-550-7637 (toll free)

or go to their website at:

http://help.rodp.org