ENG2730 Professional Editing and Revising, Spring 2025

Agenda:

1–MCD Part 3 presentations

2–Tables, Measurements, Abbreviations:

–Best practices for graphs, charts, and tables by David McMurrey:

https://mcmassociates.io/textbook/tables.html

–Symbols,  measurements, and abbreviations

Updated-measurements-apr-22-2025

Updated-Study-guide-for-symbols-and-measurements-2730-2025

Helpful APA guides:

numbers-statistics-guide-APA

abbreviations-guide-APA

Homework:

1–Read the McMurrey chapter on Tables (just tables, not the entire chapter)

2–Read Chapter 12 in Rude (but ignore pages 200-205 as we will not have time to cover mathematical equations or statistics) and complete the following assignments:

3–Complete this table homework:

Create MS Word Table-s2025

4–Study for Quiz 3 which will cover Tables, Measurements, and Abbreviations (the quiz will be next Tuesday, April 29)

Agenda:

–Review MCD Part 2

–Discuss MCD Part 3 outlines

–Discuss MCD Part 4: Reflection Essay

–Discuss information architecture and tables

Homework due Tuesday, April 22 (after spring break):

–In-class presentation day for MCD Part 3 

–Submit MCD Part 4 (Reflection Essay) via email to Prof. Scanlan by 5 pm (April 22)

TWO NOTES FOR TUESDAY’S HOMEWORK: 

1–Students do not have to produce an outline. If a list is easier, then go with that. If you wish to just start making the changes to your document, then go with that. Please keep track of each change by numbering them.

2–For next Tuesday’s PART III, I ask:

2. Students should explain to the class why they made each change and how to make the changes in MS Word.

Here are two suggestions for tackling the why part:

For example, if you want to change the title of the MCD article to blue. Link that color of blue to something meaningful: State that the company logo uses the same blue and this would help readers make that connection. Or, perhaps that color has been shown to reduce stress (reference needed).

Another example: perhaps you want to increase the margins. Find an article from a tech writing journal/website that says the most common magazine margin is the margin you want to change it to.

Hope this helps,

Prof. Scanlan

Agenda:

–Review MCD Part 1

–Discuss MCD Part 2

–Discuss MCD Part 3 instructions

–Formatting and beginning information architecture and tables

Key Questions:

1–How do readers read technical information? [Slowly, with curiosity, scan first]

2–What formatting tools help technical editors present information in a document?

1–Space/spacing

2–Color

3–Size

4–Font type

5–Indenting

6–Italics/Bold/Underline

7–Lists

8–Headings–sections

9–Graphics

10–Charts

11–There are many more… (page division)

Example: chapter 4 page-by-page

Source: Graphicdesignforum.com

Homework due Tuesday, April 8: Printed Outline of MCD Part 3–so that I can review it with each student

https://www.w3.org/WAI/perspective-videos/contrast/

Agenda:

–Review Sentence types and commas

–Review the complexity of “that”

The Complexity of That

–Review Quiz 1

–Discuss Part 1–how did it go?

–Discuss Part 2–style sheet

–MS Word: electronic markup–and the second part of the Midterm Project

Homework for Tuesday, April 1

Turn in part 2 of the Midterm Project.

Hi Class,

Here is a helpful handout on sentence construction:

 All sentences fall into just four categories

And here is a helpful handout on commas:

Comma-Confidence

Agenda:

–Quiz 1

–Review conditional sentences

–In-class time to work on the Midterm Project.

–MS Word: electronic markup–and the second part of the Midterm Project

Homework:

Turn in part 1 of the Midterm Project by next Tuesday, before class.

Note 1: Here is another possible technical document that I can make into a Midterm Project document. This peer reviewed article excerpt is from the Journal of Technical Writing and Communication: A note on equipment and machinery-Enos-2730Midterm

Let me know if this seems more appealing that the Mad Cow Disease document. Remember, if you want to select your own project document, it must be technical and it must be at least 1,000 words. Endnotes and/or bibliography are also needed.

Note 2: We will practice MS Word track changes and comments next week. But I recommend watching this 12-minute video if you are new to Word or new to track changes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vho4gSlnf4&t=29s

Agenda:

–Pop Quiz 2

–Review homework

–What are style sheets:

First-Style-Sheet-Exercise-2730

–Beginning the Midterm Project (MS Word Markup)

Homework Due Thursday, March 13

1–Read chapter 15 (Style: Definition and Sentence Structures) in Rude

2–Prepare for Quiz 1 (25 points) by reviewing: Markup symbols, punctuation marks, Sentence corrections–modifier issues, active and passive verbs, and parts of speech

Agenda:

–Pop Quiz 1

–Review homework

–Beginning the Midterm Project (markup, style sheet, sentence improvement)

Homework Due Tuesday, March 11

1–Read chapter 16 (Verbs) in Rude

2–Complete 4.1 handout

3–Answer the “why” question on the punctuation handout

4–Prepare for Pop Quiz 2 by reviewing: Markup symbols, punctuation marks, Sentence corrections–modifier issues, active and passive verbs.

Agenda:

○ Check in

○ Review chapter 4 and homework on markup

[Yes, markup is still used]

○ Review chapter 9

○ Carefully go over page 154: Parts of Speech.  Then, discuss pages 156, 159, 160-61.

HOMEWORK due Tuesday, Feb 4:

1–Watch this short video on getting started with MS Word 365. The goal is to build up our word processing vocabulary and skills using Word. I know that we all know how to use Word, but I want to establish a baseline of knowledge that I will expect students to know going forward. These ten are essential. Remember, Word is more powerful than you think.

2–In your notebook: Using only page 154, identify the parts of speech in these two sentences:

A genome is all the genetic material in the chromosomes of an organism. The human genome includes about three billion base pairs that make up human DNA.

3–In your notebook: Write six sentences using the verb “proofread.” Each sentence must use a different tense: present, past, future, present perfect, past perfect, future perfect. See pages 160-61 where the model verb is “edit.”

4–Read Chapter 11 in Rude on punctuation. Pay attention to page 176; students should be able to identify and write the four sentence types with confidence.

Looking Ahead: We do not have class on Thursday, March 6, as it is a conversion day (it follows a Wednesday class schedule).

NOTE: We do not have class on Tuesday, Feb 18 as it is a conversion day (it follows a Monday class schedule).

Hi Class,

Here’s our agenda:

1–Finish our handout concerning the four sentences

2–Quotation punctuation and capitalization review

3–Discussion of homework: Log#1

4–Introduce markup

Homework Due Tuesday, February 25 (note that we do not meet on February 18)

1– Take this online spelling “test.” Actually, this is not a test, but it is a good way to measure how well you perform under pressure. Take your score and we will discuss the idea of pressure to perform. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNDCihroDf8

2–Read Chapter 4 in Rude: “Marking Paper Copy.” This is a lot of new material. My advice is to think about this chapter as carrying us through to the end of the semester. I do not expect you to memorize all the symbols by Tuesday. But by the end of the semester, we will know them all. A good goal is to try to be familiar with the 22 markup symbols on pages 51-52.

3–Print out this page and then follow the directions: First-Mark-Up-Homework-s2025  (Mark-up practice)

4–Read Chapter 9 in Rude: “Spelling, Capitalization, and Abbreviation.” Make sure to note any words or ideas that you want to remember. Take your time reading this chapter, and make sure to bring questions to class. A good goal for this reading assignment is to learn 10-20 new terms or ideas and put them in your notes for future reference. We will have a short spelling quiz on 2/25 over some words from this chapter.

5–Read Chapter 10 in Rude: “Grammar and Usage.” This chapter does not cover all English grammar, but it is a good review. Read it carefully, and take notes. Bring at least two questions on this chapter to class on 2/25.

Hi Class,

Here’s our agenda:

1–Vocabulary review

2–Brief discussion of the two films

3–Paragraph Structure assignment

4–Four sentence assignment (we will return to this later this semester)

5–The Academic Summary–A Blueprint

1–Author’s thesis and vital information

2–Author’s more specific thesis–include details

3–Author’s ethos (personal background or power) and use of examples or proof

4–Author’s conclusion

6–How to post to OpenLab and how to use Bitly.

HOMEWORK DUE NEXT TUESDAY, FEB 11: Log #1 (use Category: Log#1)

Post 1-3 are all Log #1

1–Read Howard Gardner’s chapter “Five Minds for the Future” in the Readings menu tab, then write a four-sentence academic summary of it.

2–Underneath your summary, list: five US newspapers; the big five book publishers; five academic publishers.

3–Lastly: Find a job posting for a technical editor. List the company, the key requirements, and the compensation. [Sources? Yes, always, always, always state where you found specific information. Use APA style.]

4–Read Carolyne Rude, Preface and Chapter 1. Pay close attention to page 14. Nothing to turn in, but do take notes on what was surprising or confusing.