Editor’s Note: This is the first article in the Newbies’ Corner series, which is intended to give a platform to new, fresh voices, especially from those who are studying the field or just starting out. If you are a student learning about technical editing or just starting out on your technical editing journey, and would like to submit an article, please send an email to editor@stc-techedit.org.
As technical communicators and editors, we know about the importance of user-centered processes. There’s a growing demand for user experience (UX) writers and UX designers, and for building UX into our organization’s (or personal) content strategy from the start.
We also have a foundational commitment to “the rules.” Our work builds on reviewing content and suggesting changes in media, style, grammar, voice, and tone, among other things. We question the accuracy and completeness of a given communication and its content. For example, when editing a set of instructions, we could follow the steps, seeking errors or missing information. As technical editors, we may also try to break those instructions and identify their limits—which provides our authors with insights they might have missed. We also look for consistency, ensuring that, for example, fractional measurements are plural and consistent (think 0.7 inch vs. 0.7 inches, and within the same document .8 inches becomes 0.8 inches). We ask: are all references to other publications, articles, or patent-related prior art accurate?
Continue reading “Newbies’ Corner: User or Rulebook, Guide or Grammarian?”