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Editing and Revising Your Academic Writing University of Birmingham, 3 February 2014 Session notes The presentation for this workshop, session notes and accompanying handout are available online as PDF files to download at: https://intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/as/studentservices/graduateschool/skills/materials.aspx

In the event of any access problems, please contact Sophie Pumphrey, Graduate School Administrator, at the Graduate School Office: [email protected]

https://intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/as/studentservices/graduateschool/skills/materials.aspx

https://intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/as/studentservices/graduateschool/skills/materials.aspx

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Structure checklist Examine the text and consider these questions. □ Does the argument flow? □ Are the points related? □ Is the order logical? □ Does the text go off at a tangent? □ Are any of the points irrelevant? □ Is the text labouring the point?

Footnotes checklist □ Is the point genuinely necessary? □ Are there a lot of footnotes? Too many distract the reader, and are

avoided in academic writing. □ Is the footnote long? Consider if the point actually has more weight: if

so, put it in the main text. If not, edit it down. □ Is essential information footnoted? Avoid splitting important content

(e.g. data, method) between the main text and notes.

© Lisa Cordaro Publishing Services


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Editing long sentences

Original Drawing a comparison between cultural work as it is understood and enacted within the studio and as it is understood and experienced within commercial industry contexts such as entry‐level work as a runner highlights the tensions and contradictions in providing authentic contexts and practices and the extent to which cultural workforce issues can be engaged with. It does not necessarily render the studio context redundant in being able to address these though.

Edited solution Drawing a comparison between cultural work as it is understood and enacted within the studio, and as it is understood and experienced within commercial industry contexts such as entry‐level work as a runner, highlights the tensions and contradictions in providing authentic contexts and practices. Comparison also highlights the extent to which cultural workforce issues can be engaged with; however, it does not necessarily render the studio context redundant in being able to address these.

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Editing staccato sentences

Original The female musicians express disappointment about receiving similar comments from other women. A clear rivalry exists concerning claims of authenticity. Women are required to prove their worth to the men who dominate the culture, even in relation to other women. The needle’s eye of authenticity seems so narrow that only those with exceptional musical ability can pass through.

Edited solution The female musicians express disappointment about receiving similar comments from other women. A clear rivalry exists concerning claims of authenticity: women are required to prove their worth to the men who dominate the culture, even in relation to other women, and the needle’s eye of authenticity seems so narrow that only those with exceptional musical ability can pass through.


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Active vs. passive speech

Passive The hypothesis was supported by the results of the empirical investigation. It is important to give consideration to the factors involved in the operation of the organisation in order to achieve full appreciation of the situation.

Active The results supported the hypothesis. It is important to consider the factors involved in operating the organisation in order to appreciate the situation fully.


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Repetition of terms

Original The owners of small businesses claim that there is no way that small businesses can compete with massive companies like Tesco. There are many reasons why they cannot compete with these companies, such as the fact that small businesses do not have as much access to advertising as large businesses like Tesco. Small businesses also have limited hours of operation compared to large businesses. Also, small businesses have fewer staff and a lack of specialized staff. Small businesses also have a smaller inventory, and having a small inventory means that they cannot lower prices to the extent that

large businesses like Tesco reduce their prices. Edited solution Small business owners claim that there is no way that small businesses can compete with massive companies such as Tesco: for example, they do not have as much access to advertising as large businesses. Small businesses have limited hours of operation compared to large businesses, fewer staff and a lack of specialised staff. They also have a smaller inventory, which means that they cannot lower prices to the same extent as large businesses.


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Overusing scare quotes

Original The studio is located in a building within a former industrial factory area developed as a ‘creative quarter’. The lived experiences of this ‘environment’ were crucial to the student ‘experience’, and bound up with how students could understand themselves as students becoming ‘cultural workers’. Overall, students were attuned to the way in which the ‘quarter’ was presented as a ‘creative area’ by the management company running the whole ‘quarter’.

Edited solution The studio is located in a building within a former industrial factory area developed as a creative quarter. The lived experiences of this environment were crucial to the student experience, and bound up with how students could understand themselves as students becoming cultural workers. Overall, students were attuned to the way in which the quarter was presented as a creative area by the management company running the whole quarter.


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Jargon and excessive abbreviation

Jargon Over the last decade firms have reconsidered their organisational boundaries, using relationships with external actors as a fulcrum in this strategy, especially when pursuing continuous innovation. Mobilising the multiplicity of actors involved in the same innovation project is the consequence of the growing complexity and variety of resources needed to develop new knowledge. This renders the exchange of

resources among partners a key component of innovation and the network relationships become the driving force behind the innovative processes. Jargon and excessive abbreviation The PI declared that the ROI of the R&D in this project was insufficient to meet VC prescriptions, and that QA procedures would be necessary to ensure justifiable HEI outputs.


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Source quote examples: in‐text and reference list

Print reference: Smith stated that ‘Jones et al.’s study supported the extant literature on management input’ (2012: 256). Smith R (2012) Management input: A response to Jones. Journal of Business 23(2): 245–267. Online reference: Smith (2012) stated that ‘Jones et al.’s study supported the extant literature on management input’. Smith R (2012) Management input: A response to Jones et al. Journal of Business 23(2). Available at: www.journalofbusiness.co.uk/smith2012.pdf (accessed 12 August 2012). Smith R (2012) Management input: A response to Jones et al. Journal of Business. Epub ahead of print, 12 August 2012. DOI: 10‐58324838. Fieldwork/participant quote: As a senior manager commented: ‘I regularly send our staff on courses, as I want them to increase their skills – it benefits the company as a whole’ (Sarah, technical director, CookFest PR). Personal communication/interview: As a senior staff member commented: ‘I’m committed to the continuous professional development of my team’ (interview with John Smith, operations director, ClothCo, 12 August 2012).


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References checklist

Print out the reference list and first, tick off every reference in the text against the list. Then, check the following: □ Are all the textual citations listed in the reference list/bibliography?

Is anything missing? □ Do author name spellings and dates match? □ Is every entry bibliographically complete? □ Are page ranges or numbers included for chapters and articles in print

references? □ Are web addresses and dates accessed included for online references? □ Are all the online citations complete and placed in the reference list, not

the notes? □ Is the referencing system organised alphabetically or chronologically? □ Is the referencing system uniform and consistently applied? □ Has the publisher’s referencing system been used?


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How to clear copyright

• The author is responsible for clearing copyright, not the publisher • Find out who holds copyright, and contact them direct • Always put permissions requests in writing – email is fine • State exactly what you want to reproduce and where, and give the context • Be prepared to pay a reproduction fee if necessary – publishers do not

cover the cost of this • Keep the correspondence on file, and send a copy to the publisher

If your piece has been accepted for a journal and you are unsure about reproducing any material, contact the publisher. Publishers’ rights departments are expert in this area, and can give you definitive advice.


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Consulting an editor

Professional editors can advise on:

• standard of English

• language issues and grammar

• structure

• presentation

Editors cannot check, research or create material for any project leading to a qualification (e.g. master’s, PhD). The essay or thesis must be the student’s own work.

If you would like professional help with a thesis, such as editing or proofreading, speak to your academic supervisor first and get authorisation to do so.

Editors will request you to confirm that you have done this before taking on a thesis.


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Formatting and presenting your Word file for submission to a publisher

Dos and Don’ts

General Do be aware that the way that a manuscript looks and is formatted in Word will not be the same as the printed page.

Do keep formatting simple – just use words and spaces. Times New Roman 12pt, 1.5 line spacing is a good standard font and spacing to use.

Don’t make the document look ‘finished’ or ‘designed’ – avoid putting in headers, footers, fancy fonts and sizes or any unnecessary embellishment. All of this formatting will need to be stripped out for typesetting, so putting it in creates extra work for the publisher.

Don’t tab repeatedly to make the layout ‘look right’ – especially in reference sections. Instead, use the ‘Indent’ facility in Word where necessary. Be aware that tabs will not appear in the same place on the printed page, creating odd gaps in the text – they will need to be stripped out by the publisher.

Don’t type two spaces after a full stop or any punctuation – one space is fine.

Don’t hit the return key at the end of each line – just keep typing and allow Word to wrap the text onto the next line automatically.

Don’t hit the return key repeatedly to get to the next page – use the ‘Page Break’ facility in Word to create a new page (CTRL + ENTER). Use ‘Section Break’ if you need to change the page format – for example, from portrait to landscape.

Don’t use the space bar to indent text, or to create other effects – use the ‘Indent’ facility in Word or other formatting to create the desired effect.

Do leave margins around the text, but not too large. These days, most manuscripts are edited on‐screen rather than on paper, so there is no need to leave a lot of space for physical mark‐up.



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Do insert page numbers at the top right‐hand side of the document, including the first page.

Don’t present footnotes – instead, supply endnotes. During the editing process, notes are moved to the end of the file for typesetting (even if they will revert to footnotes in the printed publication).

Do check if the publication uses numbered headings, if submitting to a journal – many don’t.

Tables and figures Do use the table facility in Word. Don’t use the space bar, tabbing or the ‘Column’ facility to create tables, as this causes layout problems and will not translate to the printed page.

Do present tables and figures with a cue in the text, e.g.:

‘Table 1 shows the data for…’ ‘The results of statistical analysis are presented here (Figure 2)’

Do supply figures and tables in a separate file to the main manuscript, and label each with a short caption.

Do indicate where tables and figures should be placed in the text by inserting callouts in square brackets on a new line, e.g.:

‘[Table 1 about here]’ ‘[Figure 2 about here]’

Don’t place notes to tables/figures in the main footnotes or endnotes – position them directly below the table/figure.