Editing Editing (section)

==Technical editing==
{{see also|Technical writing|Technical communication}}
Technical editing involves reviewing text written on a technical topic, identifying usage errors and ensuring adherence to a style guide. It aims to improve the clarity of the text or message from the author to the reader. Technical editing is actually the umbrella term for all the different kinds of edits that might occur.<ref name=":2"/>

Technical editing may include the correction of grammatical mistakes, misspellings, mistyping, incorrect punctuation, inconsistencies in usage, poorly structured sentences, wrong scientific terms, wrong units and dimensions, inconsistency in significant figures, technical ambivalence, technical disambiguation, statements conflicting with general scientific knowledge, correction of synopsis, content, index, headings and subheadings, correcting data and chart presentation in a research paper or report, and correcting errors in citations.

From basics to more critical changes, these adjustments to the text can be categorized by the different terms within technical editing. There are policy edits, integrity edits, screening edits, copy clarification edits, format edits and mechanical style edits, language edits, etc.<ref name=":2"/>

The two most common and broad are substantive editing and copy editing. Substantive editing is developmental because it guides the drafting process by providing essential building blocks to work off of. They work closely with the author to help supply ideas. Copy editing happens later in the drafting process and focuses on changing the text so that it's consistent throughout in terms of accuracy, style, flow, and so on. This is usually the preferred editing for the surface-level cleaning up of work.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Nobles |first=Heidi |date=2019 |title=I will not edit your paper (Will I?): Tutoring and/or editing in the writing center [Tutors' column] |url=https://wlnjournal.org/archives/v43/43.5-6.pdf |journal=WLN: A Journal of Writing Center Scholarship |volume=43 |issue=5–6 |pages=21–24|doi=10.37514/WLN-J.2019.43.5.05 }}</ref>

Large companies dedicate experienced writers to the technical editing function. Organizations that cannot afford dedicated editors typically have experienced writers peer-edit text produced by less experienced colleagues.

It helps if the technical editor is familiar with the subject being edited. The "technical" knowledge that an editor gains over time while working on a particular product or technology does give the editor an edge over another who has just started editing content related to that product or technology.

General essential skills include attention to detail, patience, persistence, the ability to sustain focus while working through lengthy pieces of text on complex topics, tact in dealing with writers, and excellent communication skills. Additionally, one does not need an English major to partake but language aptitude certainly helps.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last=Putnam |first=Constance E. |date=1985 |title=Myths about Editing |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/43095639 |journal=Technical Communication |volume=32 |issue=2 |pages=17–20 |jstor=43095639 }}</ref>