EFFECTIVE TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION

MODULE-
II
Technical Writing

DRAFTING, EDITING, PROOF READING

Presented by: Sauptik P. Choudhury
Revision: types of technical document

• Memos
• Letters
• Instructions
• Newsletters
• Manuals
• Brochures
• Reports
Revision: Technical writing process
1. Pre writing stage: Planning,
analyzing purpose and audience,
outlining
2. Writing stage: Drafting,
structuring sentences & paragraph
3. Post writing stage: Revising and
organizing content, grammatical
accuracy, proofreading
Drafting
 Drafting
• Drafting is the preliminary stage of
writing work
• Second step, after the analysis of
prewriting
• Ideas are written
• Word count and grammar is not the main
focus in this stage
• Can be written as sub points, paragraphs
or lines
• Editing is not necessary in this stage.
• Can have an introduction & conclusion
Process of drafting

• 1. Writing the first draft

• 2. revising
• 3. Writing the final draft
 1. Writing the first draft
The purpose of the first draft is not to get right, but to get it written. – John
Dufresne

It Comes after the rough draft. It

must contain:
• Introduction: Must make the readers
interested
• Thesis statement: Directs them to the
next part
• Body: explains the thesis
• Conclusion: sums up
everything
 2. Revising
Revision is the essence of writing well- where the game is won or lost.
– William Zinsser
• It is a chance to look close and
critically understand
• A process of evaluation &
improvement
• Coherence of the sentences &
paragraph
• Reconsideration & replacement
of words & language
ARRR- process of revision
ARRR- Add, Rearrange, Remove, Replace

• Add: Addition of ideas, words, details

• Rearrange: Rearrangement of flow,
pacing, sequence
• Remove: Elimination of excessive words,
unnecessary explanations
• Replace: Replacement of sentence,
paragraph, words, concepts to bring
clarity
Writing the final draft

• The final draft takes in consideration

of:
• Spellings and word reputations
• Grammar
• Technical aspects
• Revision of the entire text again ,
looking for coherence and clarity
Editing
Editing
• A detailed review to customized the
document for a special audience
• It involves revising the content,
language, grammar, paragraph,
coherence, typos, spelling error
• Addition or deletion of words,
reframing sentences to maintain
standard
• It is done before proof reading
Types of editing
1. Copy editing: Fixing errors in typing,
spelling, grammar, punctuation. Least
expensive.
2. Line editing: Editing of the choice of
words, power of sentences, the message
to be conveyed- every line is examined.
3. Mechanical editing: improvement of
punctuation, hyphenation, capitalization,
use of numbers, abbreviation as well as
format of the tables, graphs
4. Substantive editing: Deals with clarity,
coherence, reorganizing, simplifying,
modifying tables, graphs, charts- editing
of actual content.
Types of editing (continued.)
5. Developmental editing: manuscript is
scrutinized from the beginning to end.
Point of view, plot, sub plot, character,
process, procedure, topics, sub topics,
numbering and ordering the chapters,
paragraphs. Costlier than other editing
forms.
6. Technical editing: Editing & reviewing of
technical documents-conflict with
scientific dimensions, units of values,
graphs, charts along with grammar,
punctuation, spellings etc.
The editing process

• Correction: screening of the document

for spelling, agreement, fragment,
modification errors
• Condensation: Capitalization,
punctuation are checked
• Organization: style & usage of the
language, syntax, word order
Editing strategies for achieving appropriate editing style

• Detach from the text: author needs

to detach himself while editing and
proof reading as the text is familiar.
• Use printed copies: Easy to spot and
marks on paper copies.
• Change the look: Alter the spacing,
colour style, size of the document
can give it a new fresh look
Avoid distractions: editing & proof
reading need a lot of concentration,
do not to it with other works and in a
noisy place.
Editing strategies for achieving appropriate editing style (contd.)

• Break into smaller units: Smaller

blocks can help reviewing effectively
• Don’t depend on computer only:
Computer can help in spelling and
grammar check, but manual
checking is important
• Read aloud, read slowly: to find
errors in sentences, incomplete
phrases & sentences
• Identify your weaknesses: mistakes
in commas, adjectives, homophones
etc.
Proof Reading
Introduction
• Proofreading is the process of
reviewing the final draft of a piece of
writing to ensure consistency and
accuracy in grammar, spelling,
punctuation, and formatting
• A process of perfecting the writing
that is already good
• Grammatical mistakes, punctuation,
inconsistency in language are
corrected
Example of proof reading
Example of proof reading
 Difference between proofreading and editing

Editing Proof reading

• Improves the quality of • Perfects already good

writing. writing.
• Replacing of words & • Grammar, spelling,
sentences. punctuation, homophones,
• Makes an error free quotation marks, spacing,
document for proof formatting.
reading. • Makes a publication ready
• Addition or deletion of the document.
content. • Content cannot be altered.
Proofreading strategies
• Read the text as a reader: Reading as a
reader helps the author bring new
perspective, improve appeal.
• Print a copy for proof reading: Easier
to spot typos & grammatical &
punctuation errors on a paper.
• Read backwards: helps to notice small
details, sentence by sentence or
paragraph by paragraph
Collaborative Writing
Introduction
• Written works are created by
more than one person.
• Multiple people collaborate for a
piece of writing.
• Also known as group writing
• Multiple ideas of multiple authors
improve quality.
Strategies of collaborative writing
• Single author writing: in a group,
only one person writes, others share
ideas, suggestion, explanation.

• Sequential single writing: Contents

are arranged in a sequence, then
every author writes a particular part
and passes the writing to others.
Strategies of collaborative writing (contd.)

• Parallel writing: content is divided and

distributed, authors work on their part
simultaneously. Two types- ‘cut paste’
and ‘puzzle’
• Reactive writing: Members react and
adjust each other’s ideas.
• Mixed mode: Mixing all the above
strategies.
• Integrating construction: All members
discuss about others writing, comment,
changes additions, revisions are made.
Benefits of collaborative writing

• Sharper and critical thinking

• Develops a better understanding
• Inter disciplinary learning and
thinking
• Helps identifying the problem &
solving it
• Brings excellence
• Helps to learn abstractions
Practical approaches/ guidelines for collaborative learning

• Establish a rapport with other group

members
• Have clearly defined roles, define the
writing process
• Tasks should be assigned based on the
contributors’ strength & weaknesses
• Contributors must be able to give
inputs on others’ work
• Contributors must be able to take
critique in a positive manner