Abstract
Editing in the Modern Classroom is an edited collection written by some of the “leading researchers and scholars in the field” (p. ix) of technical and professional communication. Underscoring that there has been a dearth of empirical research on technical editing, the book promotes more experiential research in the practice and pedagogy of technical editing. The editors, Suzan Flanagan and Michael J. Albers, strive to show what programmatic changes need to be made to teach students more than just copyediting, which usually lands them in “clerical positions” (p. 5). Divided into nine chapters, the “collection is solidly based on research and a comprehensive knowledge of the literature in the field” (p. ix). Chapter 1 is an overview of the book written by the editors, and the other eight chapters start with takeaways and end with insights into pedagogical practices based on the chapters’ topics, thus giving the chapters a common framework that makes them easier to follow.
In Chapter 2, “The Current State of Technical Editing Research and Open Questions,” Flanagan situates the book in the field by looking at the previous empirical research in technical editing. In doing so, she “pinpoints knowledge gaps” (p. 16) and raises open research questions about workplace editing, classroom editing tests, various types of audiences, and so on. This chapter leaves the reader with thoughtful questions, such as “How do classroom assessments align with workplace assessments?” or “What are the best practices for editing and responding to documents written by nonnative speakers?” (p. 37). Overall, the chapter serves instructors as a reflective guide for checking how their pedagogy needs to be adjusted for the 21st century and gives graduate students a rich reading list for pursuing research in editing.
In Chapter 3, “How Does That Make You Feel? The Psychological Dimensions of Editorial Comments,” Ryan Boettger presents a study in which he uses a computerized sentiment analysis to investigate four psychological variables in a corpus of editorial comments from graduate students and discusses the dynamics of the author–editor relationship. Boettger provides ample, specific examples of student comments to discuss how they should be constructively written to lead the “author to accept those comments” (p. 48). While he rightfully states that the examples can be used to teach “students the psychological dimensions that underlie editorial comments” (p. 61), this research can also motivate editing companies to study and improve author–editor relationships in order to retain author clients.
In Chapter 4, “Imagination as Agency: Communities of Practice and Editing Pedagogy,” Tracy Bridgeford argues that we must teach editing students how to see themselves as a part of a community of practice so that they can confidently “manage the editorial process” and “make changes to content” (p. 66). The author discusses her creative way of achieving this goal of generating students’ sense of identity through the readings she assigns. For one of these assignments, she asks students to respond to the documentation needs of a story character within a literary artifact by using technical editing concepts and maintaining a content management system. This imaginative approach could help instructors to generate more such creative ideas and motivate them to shake up their course materials.
In Chapter 5, “Teaching Editing Through a Feminist Theoretical Lens,” Susan Popham helps readers see that a feminist theory that values emotion and equality can result in a “greater appreciation for and relationship with authors and the readers” (p. 105). Additionally, she brings to light the imbalances between the respective roles and responsibilities of male and female editors. This chapter pushes instructors to consider teaching students the theories that are relevant to editing rather than relying only on rhetorical theory just because it has been prevalent in the field. Moreover, this chapter is helpful for graduate students because it shows what the editing job market has been like.
In Chapter 6, “Editing for Human-Information Interaction,” Albers emphasizes that we must teach students how to do comprehensive edits and write comments about these high-level edits to authors. He presents the results from a study in which he examined the editorial comments of graduate students. As he reflects on these results, he effectively shows instructors that they must teach students to ask themselves, “How well does the document communicate?” (p. 121) as a whole. Thus, he pushes instructors to teach students more than just sentence-level editing or copyediting.
Further, in Chapter 7, “Concepts in Technical Editing Technologies: What's Important in Practice?” Clinton Lanier discusses which technical editing technologies are used by practitioners and why they use and prefer some of the technologies. Drawing results from an online forum conversation of practicing technical editors, Lanier shows readers that the technology is chosen based on “two factors: industry and convenience” (p. 137). Lanier's examples from the forum conversation emphasize that instructors should include industry conventions in their pedagogical practices with students. While the chapter is for instructors, it can help graduate students see how they must prepare for the industry job market.
Next, in Chapter 8, “Editing for International Audiences: An Overview,” Kirk St. Amant provides “a framework for helping students understand technical editing in terms of the needs of international audiences” (p. 146). He uses a usability-focused approach, much like that of Albers, to discuss how editors should meet the needs of a document's translators and international audience. He provides multiple, specific examples of how and why certain text, word choice, numerical format, and so on must be edited to allow end users to use information effectively. While the chapter is for instructors, it offers graduate students and industry practitioners a good understanding of how to consider international audiences.
Finally, in Chapter 9, “Field-Wide View of Undergraduate and Graduate Editing Courses in Technical and Professional Communication Programs,” Lisa Melonçon analyzes course materials of “institutions where the editing course is required as a part of a degree program” (p. 171). Written specifically for program administrators and instructors, the chapter clearly shows the improvements needed in pedagogical approaches to technical editing courses. Melonçon shows what is working well in the editing courses and then brings to light some issues in courses, such as needing to focus on the “editing of visual and design aspects” (p. 138) of a document. Just like Albers, she urges spending more time teaching students comprehensive editing.
The book achieves its goal of motivating readers to reflect on their current pedagogical approaches and influencing them to conduct empirical research on various topics in editing. While the book is primarily written for instructors, some chapters are also helpful for program administrators and graduate students pursuing careers in industry or academia. The collection's wide range of topics—from author–editor relationships to usability to course material—is guaranteed to generate more research ideas for readers.