My initial perception of editing is that the practice was about evaluating grammar and punctuation and revising the content of the document being presented. Never had I thought about editing the structure of a document. After reviewing the materials for module one and module two, I was surprised by just how in-depth and structured the practice of editing is and how the practice of editing is broken down into various levels of edit.

Depending on the task assigned or the type of edit requested an editor could be evaluating the mechanics or language of a document or they could be copyediting for content revision. The most detailed level is structural editing. This level of edit is the evaluation of content structure and organization for a document. The purpose of this level of edit is to make the document easier to comprehend for the reader by creating a logical flow to the document. The lowest level or least detailed is proofreading which covers reviewing a document for mechanical errors such as grammar, punctuation, and spelling. In reality, proofreading is something that the original author can, and should, do prior to submitting a final draft for consideration; however, an editor can catch any missed mechanical errors when in the proofreading stage of editing. No matter the level of edit, the editor’s role is to be quality assurance (QA) for the document being submitted.

Editors as QA is something that I hadn’t thought about before, but the concept makes perfect sense to me. At my current employer we have a QA team whose sole purpose is to check our work to make sure that it is built to the specifications detailed in engineering drawings and other documents governing the build process. An editor’s responsibility is to ensure that the document being presented meets the quality standards outlined by whichever organization is publishing the content. This is really an interesting concept to me.

The content in modules one and two presented information about editing as a practice and helped me to look at editing through a new lens and with a new perception. With my new perception of the practice of editing, and no matter which form of technical communication I build my career around, knowing that editors function as quality assurance for the content that I produce I can act a first line QA for the content that I produce. Furthermore, I now have a defined career path that I can pursue that is needed and has the potential for job growth. All technical communication needs editing to ensure quality standards of the organization are being achieved and, in some cases, exceeded. Once I gain experience in the field of technical communication I can one day take on an editing role. These modules were very insightful, and I look forward to learning more about the practice of technical editing.