ENC 4212 / Week 4 / Fall 2015

Quadratic or Erratic?MATH FOR EDITORS

ENC 4212, Professional & Technical EditingLength of this lecture audio (12 slides): 00:28:11

Record all audio codes and the slide numbers where they are mentioned(to be sent with Week 3 and 5 codes when you submit Assignment 2 by 6 p.m. on Sept. 28, 2015).

USF Sarasota-Manatee / © 2015 by T. E. Roberts, InstructorTo access live web links, you must use the “VIEW SLIDE SHOW” option in PowerPoint.

NOTE: This audio is adapted from one presented in Fall 2014.Thus, the correct 2015 dates and other details seen in the

text of the slides may differ somewhat from those in the audio.

ENC 4212, Professional & Technical Editing • Fall 2015 • Week 4 • Slide 2 of 12

Week 4 Agenda

• Review of Assignment 1 Results• Longman Guide, Chapter 11

• PART 1: Numerical Housekeeping• Using numbers• Measurement• Marking mathematical material• Equations

• PART 2: Grammar & Punctuation• PART 3: Publishing for Users

• Markup for typesetting• Statistics and tables

• PART 4: Standards and Specifications• Quantitative Communication in Wikipedia• Working with Number Crunchers

ENC 4212, Professional & Technical Editing • Fall 2015 • Week 4 • Slide 3 of 12

Review of Assignment 1 (Edited Letter of Intent)• Comments on student work• Editing social-science gobbledygook: despite variation in

approaches, most submissions showed effective understanding of the Wraparound Program for treating victims of addiction

• Some submissions showed a timid approach to editing

• Common challenges• Meeting the needs of the funding agency for which the Letter of Intent is

written• Condensing key information into a concise, persuasive document without

full understanding of what the funding agency is seeking• Proofreading to eliminate careless mistakes that undermine an editor’s

professionalism

• Lessons learned?• Editors must be just as creative as “writers.”

• An aggressive approach to both style and substance is valuable.

• Learning a new vocabulary requires imagination and research.

• Doing all this under deadline is usually stressful.

ENC 4212 / ASSIGNMENT 1 / FALL 2015Average grade = 92 (11 submissions)

Five students requested detailed markup, but six did not. While not a course requirement, the markup and revision can help you better understand the specifics of writing problems and how to eliminate them. This is especially important for students who are majoring in professional and technical communication. (Revisions are due by 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015.)

~ Note that the audio refers to submissions received in Fall 2014. ~

ENC 4212, Professional & Technical Editing • Fall 2015 • Week 4 • Slide 4 of 12

Part 1: Numerical Housekeeping • Using Numbers

• Use figures, not words, for quantifiable units of measure• Don’t begin a sentence with a figure (e.g., “20 square miles was the

area we searched in the canyon.”)• Don’t mix measurement systems (metric, U.S./British)• Set decimal fractions of less than 1.0 with a leading zero (e.g., 0.25 or

0.4 = numbers in a column should be aligned by decimal point)• Convert treatment of numbers in a translation according to customs in

country where document will be used (follow style sheet for specific professions, industries, and scientific disciplines; note differences between U.K. and U.S. usage)

ENC 4212, Professional & Technical Editing • Fall 2015 • Week 4 • Slide 5 of 12

Part 1: Numerical Housekeeping • Measurement and Marking

• Measurement• U.S. Customary System (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_customary_units)• British Imperial System (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_units)• International (metric) System (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metric_system)• See details in Longman text, pp. 140-141

• Marking mathematical material• Fractions: built-up vs. solid (inline)• Built-up is harder and more space-consuming to create using word-processing software

but is easier to understand• When using inline version, pay close attention to numerator, denominator, and order of

operations• Preferred order of signs: {[(....)]} ... 1. brace, 2. bracket, 3. parenthesis

ENC 4212, Professional & Technical Editing • Fall 2015 • Week 4 • Slide 6 of 12

Part 1: Numerical Housekeeping • Equations • Displaying and numbering equations

• May be set on separate line (“displayed”) or set inline• If numbered for ease of reference, equation must be displayed; number is usually in

parentheses at right (see example below adapted from Wikipedia)• Breaking equations

• Break before operational sign (+, −, ×, ÷)• Align multiple equations vertically by equal sign

• Punctuating equations• Read as sentences when in prose paragraphs (operational sign replaces verbs,

conjunctions, adjectives)• Style varies -- consult with specific publisher, employer, or client

Source: “Arithmetic mean,” www.wikipedia.org

ENC 4212, Professional & Technical Editing • Fall 2015 • Week 4 • Slide 7 of 12

Part 2: Grammar & Punctuation • Standards of conventional professional prose apply to mathematical and scientific

writing: meeting reader’s needs and expectations is paramount• Common mistakes to be fixed

• Dangling participles• Subject-verb disagreement• Vague or invisible pronoun antecedent• Pronoun/antecedent not in agreement• Confusing or excessive use of passive voice• Plodding, tedious, bureaucratic, soporific tone (don’t blame the topic or the Subject Matter

Expert: it’s the editor’s job to make every message readable and interesting!)• Becoming proficient with specialized symbols and terminology takes time and

diligence, as with learning any foreign language

ENC 4212, Professional & Technical Editing • Fall 2015 • Week 4 • Slide 8 of 12

Part 3: Publishing for Users • Markup for typesetting

• Specific notations need to be learned and applied -- your knowledge of this will often be tested before hiring

• Your goal is to reduce or eliminate confusion and ambiguity, not increase it!• MS Word equation editor can be balky, but it’s a useful tool to learn; other software may also

be needed -- see http://www.mathontheweb.org/mathweb/mi-software.html

• Charts and tables• Used in many sciences, both “hard” (natural) and “soft” (social) -- this distinction is despised

by many contemporary academics but is still in use. This essay might amuse or infuriate you: http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/05/20/hard-vs-the-soft-sciences/

• The word “statistics” is singular when referring to the science itself but plural when referring to data (“data,” like “media,” is a Latin plural but is routinely treated as a singular in modern English ... e.g., “The data she submitted was flawed.”)

• Editors are responsible for checking accuracy, but not validity of the original research, analysis, or conclusions

• Tables need to be formatted clearly and consistently• Study the examples in the text, pp. 147-151• See examples of “plain” and “sophisticated” graphics on next slide

ENC 4212, Professional & Technical Editing • Fall 2015 • Week 4 • Slide 9 of 12

Gantt Chart (plain and fancy)

Examples of “plain” and “sophisticated” versions of the same data in a sample Gantt chart template(Source: http://www.vertex42.com/ExcelTemplates/excel-gantt-chart.html)

ENC 4212, Professional & Technical Editing • Fall 2015 • Week 4 • Slide 10 of 12

Part 4: Standards & Specifications • The Editor’s Role

• The editor is co-creator, arbiter, and enforcer of standards in many disciplines, agencies, occupational groups, and industries such as:• U.S. Congress• State legislatures and courts• U.S. Department of Defense (DOD)• American National Standards Institute (ANSI)• Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)• International Organization for Standards (ISO)

• Gatekeeper and judge for specifications such as MIL-SPECS and ISO 9000• In short, an editor goes well beyond checking and correcting language ... he or she

also helps maintain high standards of accuracy, quality, usability, safety, and innovation

• Without conscientious and competent editors, complex technology would be useless and almost impossible to share among ordinary users and/or experts

ENC 4212, Professional & Technical Editing • Fall 2015 • Week 4 • Slide 11 of 12

Quantitative Communication in Wikipedia

• How “mathy” or “quantitative” must a Wikipedia article dealing with analytical topics be?• Depends on nature of the topic and the author’s intentions• Every Wikipedia author should adapt tone, vocabulary, and content to what he or

she perceives to be the “typical” reader -- see Wikipedia stats here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Statistics

• To what extent is an expert’s claim of “authority” merely a mask for deception, ignorance, advocacy, or incompetence?

• How can a layperson (non-expert) challenge a Wikipedia article? Is it really an “open source” reference tool which presumably welcomes all opinions?

• Should an editor play a role in educating readers, not just cleaning up confusing and awkward writing?

ENC 4212, Professional & Technical Editing • Fall 2015 • Week 4 • Slide 12 of 12

Working with Number Crunchers• Learning the vocabulary and concepts of quantitative problem-solving

may be both challenging and intellectually satisfying• A confident editor should welcome an opportunity to stretch

professionally• A “word person” gains respect from a “number person” by gaining and

demonstrating knowledge and skill• If you doubt the ability of a professional editor to make a contribution in

this context, just ask a number person to do his or her own editing (gasp!)

• If you are truly math-averse, avoid careers in which you will be expected to know math-related vocabulary, symbols, and analytical concepts

ENC 4212, Professional & Technical Editing • Fall 2015 • Week 4 • Slide 13 of 12

Working with Number Crunchers (cont.)

• Taking advanced courses in quantitative skills might help, but you can learn autodidactically (and much less expensively) almost everything you need as an editor – don’t set artificial limits for yourself

• How science news can be edited for a general audience: “Of Voodoo and the Brain”: www.todroberts.com/USF/Voodoo+Brain.pdf

• Highly recommended: Julia Robinson and Hilbert’s 10th Problem, a video documentary about a person who was a pioneer in mathematics and in advancing the role of women in what was (in her generation) a male-dominated field of research and intellectual life

• The power of mathematics to solve problems is almost impossible to understand without a means of communicating those discoveries and insights through words, numbers, and images ... history is full of obscure but inarticulate geniuses whose work never became known beyond their own minds

• Until a person learns at least the rudiments of mathematical problem-solving, he or she will miss a vast world of insight, knowledge, and satisfaction