Disclaimer: I received a free year of access to The Chicago Manual of Style Online (CMOS Online) and PerfectIt 5 as part of testing the beta version and writing this review. Efficiency is key to maximizing your income. There are only so many hours in a day, so you simply …
This is the second in a series of articles discussing the basic principles of plain language by Aaron Dalton. Defining literacy Literacy is not just about being able to read and write; it’s also about being able to understand and use what you read. In an earlier blog post, I …
This is the first in a series of articles discussing the basic principles of plain language that I’ve found successful in my teaching. These principles may not be new to my fellow editors. Perhaps some material here will be useful in your own educational efforts. My experience is with non-fiction, …
This post is part of a series by and for in-house editors. The focus of this series is on the personal experiences and various roles of in-house editors. If you’re interested in writing a post for this series, please email the Member Services Committee. I’m a punctilious person. I care …
Writing in a large organization is usually done “by committee.” That’s a challenging process at the best of times. After doing a first pass, which almost invariably contains more edits than the writers expected, I’m often asked to sit down (these days, virtually) and work though my comments with them. …
Recently, I’ve seen some problems involving global text edits that were easily solved with Microsoft Word’s Advanced Find and Replace feature. Spending some time learning the ins and outs of this feature will more than pay off when you’re able to do something in minutes that would take you hours …
This post is part of a series of case studies by and for in-house editors. The focus of this series is on the personal experiences and various roles of in-house editors. If you’re interested in writing a post for this series, please email the Member Services Committee. One of the reasons our …
UX stands for “user experience.” It’s the discipline that looks at how users navigate (usually digital) interfaces and tries to maximize fluency. In-house editors will often find themselves wearing many hats, especially in smaller organizations. I know I’ve often been asked to edit not just web copy but also text …
This article is part of a series that looks at lessons one can draw from some of the research collected in Aaron Dalton’s “Empirical Research for Editors” list. “Fluency” refers to how easy or difficult it is to do or process something. I interpret the science in this area through …
This article is part of a series that draws lessons from some of the research collected in Aaron Dalton’s “Empirical Research for Editors” list. Do you have the curse of knowledge? The “curse of knowledge” is a type of cognitive bias where someone unknowingly assumes, while communicating, that their audience …