Keys to Effective Editing

Target Audience:

Supervisors in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or in other DOI agencies who are responsible for reviewing technical documents written by their staff.

Summary and Objectives:

Supervisors in conservation agencies wear lots of different hats. While "writing instructor" may not be at the top of that list, supervisors read and review long, technical documents written by their staff. Extensive editing is inefficient. A good supervisor will learn to delegate writing tasks by training his or her staff to do them consistently and well. Tools such as style guides, guidance documents, and templates can help. Still, staff need a supervisor who can give them instruction, guidance, and feedback. This course adds a new skill to a leader's repertoire-the ability to help their staff become efficient and effective writers. As a writing instructor, you read between the lines to learn from your staff's writing the challenges they face. You give feedback in ways that are structured and mindful of the needs of the writer as well as those of the document. And you teach your staff the nuances of a document's content, audience, and purpose as well as the intricacies of government writing. As a copyeditor, you can use your time most efficiently by distinguishing between a substantive edit, a copyedit, and a proofread of each document. You can feel more confident in your work when you have style guides and usage manuals to answer common questions definitively. And you can master this new skill set when you begin to see editing as a body of knowledge with a set of best practices and communities for support and engagement.

Upon completion of this class, participants will be able to:

• Use the writing instruction, guidance, and feedback skills learned in this class to help their staff become more efficient and effective writers.
• Use your time most efficiently by distinguishing between a substantive edit, a copyedit, and a proofread and when and why to perform each.
• Feel confident in your editing choices by using style guides and usage manuals and employing best practices.

Competency Addressed:

Communication - Basic, Written Communication - Intermediate