Subediting Tip: Write Clearly to Get Your Message Across

‘IT PAYS TO CHECK: Document editing for workplaces’ was an all-day PRINZ course. It was held by Howard Warner, a specialist in Plain English editing at Plain English People.

The main objective of the course was to define editing and gain a better knowledge of editing processes, particularly for workplace documents.

It is extremely important to have easily readable, professional-looking documents in every aspect of your business. Even with informal documents you need to write in a way that ensures clear communications, including emails and memos.

Often, your business will only ever be viewed in writing. Every piece of text that represents your company needs to be consistent with the brands overall voice and message. First impressions are often made in written form. The more clearly you write, the more accurately your message will be get across.

The reader is the most important factor to think of when editing. If you do not make the text easy to read and compelling for them, it won’t get read. The message will not reach your audience and you have wasted your time.

The main point stressed was the “who, did, what”. This refers to the subject/verb/object/adverbial structure of a clause, which sentences are built from. The brain naturally processes information in this order. They are the key points every reader wants to know.

The second point was to “use more full stops”. This allows the reader to pause, giving them time to absorb and process information. If your subject matter is dense, sentences should be short and worded simply.

I learned that there are no solid rules with some grammar principles. Linguists have found that words that often go together begin as separate words. They are then hyphenated, finally becoming one word over time. There are no clear rules for these occurrences. It is a matter of consistency and preference. This is where a style guide is needed.

A style guide lays out a clear set of rules for how to go about specific grammar grey areas. This includes how a brand name is written. Will ‘the’ be capitalised in your name? How will it be referred to if a shortened version is needed?

Every company should have a style guide outlining all these preferences. This will ensure consistency across all documents. Often companies don't have a comprehensive guide. The solution here is to use a standard style guide, such as Fit to Print by Janet Hughes and Derek Wallace. As you edit you should jot down guidelines, specific to this document, in a style sheet. Reference this sheet throughout the rest of the editing process.

Professional editing is done in passes. The first time you pass through the document you will focus on structural editing. This ensures sentences on the same topic are within the same paragraph. Paragraphs also need to be in the relevant order. This is not necessarily chronological, but the order that will make the most sense to the reader.

The sentence-level editing pass comes next. Sentences are to focus on one idea each. Word choices are carefully considered and anything unnecessary is removed. Sentence structure will adhere to the ‘who, did, what’ principle. This is also the time to tidy up punctuation.

A ‘fine-tuning’ or ‘proof-reading’ pass comes next. This is where you double-check for spelling and typos. It is also time to refer back to the style sheet and style guide, ensuring all instances are consistent.

Finally, we reach the formatting pass. This can be merged with the third stage, depending on the complexity of the document. This includes visual elements, so look for things like white space. There should be plenty of this to break up large blocks of text and help the reader follow the text easily. Large lists should be broken up into bullet points. You also need to consider things like typography – is the text easy to read? Test navigation details such as sub-headings and page numbers for usability.

Overall I really enjoyed the course. It was great to get a professional perspective on the finer points of editing. Editing in passes is something I will now use on every document I edit. Of course, many points I already had (and should have) learned.

It was great to get a refresher and drive some of the key points home. It cleared up several grey areas for me that will have me investing in a generic style guide and going through the finer details with every client.

By Bridget Bisset