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The document you have written is an array of ideas, hypotheses, theories, experiments, and conclusions—logically arranged to convince the reader of its viability. It is written after many months, often many years, of gathering data, reading, thinking, evaluating, conceptualizing, and calculating. It makes sense to have the final document edited by a person who is outside the field of study—a novice who will look at the material with fresh eyes. A good editor will notice not only grammatical errors; he or she will want to share the adventure the author has been on. Your research brings home a world the editor has not had the time or energy to visit. Your material will be read with a critical eye. If a sentence is awkward or unclear, a revision will be indicated. If a paragraph misses the point, a note will be made. You will be surprised (and I hope pleased) at how many ways the editor will find to improve this very important document.
These instructions are PC based. Similar methods can be accessed in Macintosh computers under the Tools menu.
Editing the document
PDF is not editable; the editor will convert PDF files to MS Word so that all changes can be seen by the author. The editor will read the document thoroughly, marking suggested modifications to the material using “track changes”; that is, all recommended changes will be shown in red on the electronic file. The red color allows you to clearly see every change that has been made by the editor. Track changes are explained in detail under How to Handle the Reviewing Tools (see below). The editor always goes through the material twice. Material submitted for editing undergoes the following process:
(a) The document is read on the computer and changes are made to the file with red markup using the “track changes” feature of MS Word.
(b) The final copy (with changes incorporated) is printed.
(c) The editor reads the final printed copy and marks further changes if necessary (and it is always necessary) on the hard copy.
(d) Changes made to the printout are added to the electronic file.
Editor’s notes
A technical work will often contain words or phrases unfamiliar to the editor. Terms should be defined and explained so that a layman can understand what the author is describing and follow the arguments proposed. A note will be made of any passage, word, or symbol unclear to the editor. The notes are written in "balloons" on the right side of the text body; the balloons are linked by dotted lines to the places in the text that inspired the editor's comments. If a note is very long it will be sent to the author in a separate file along with the edited document.
What to do when you receive your edited file
The edited material will be returned to you as an email attachment. You will see all of the changes that have been made in red. If you like the changes you can accept them with a keystroke. If some of the changes made by the editor do not agree with the style you are seeking, you can reject them selectively. Or you can use the changes suggested by the editor to make further adjustments to the material, building an even better document. You can access the “Track Changes” feature under the Tools menu of MS Word versions 1995-2003 or by clicking on "Review" at the top of the screen in Word 2007. See How to Handle the Reviewing Tools if you have difficulty managing the marked-up file. The editor usually sends a file of instructions to the author with the first edited file, as new authors are often unaware of this convenient MS Word feature.
Revisions
Your document will be more or less in its final form when you send it to the editor. However, the edits and notes you receive may inspire you to make new changes, or you may decide to add more material to the work. If you feel your revisions need editing you can send the relevant passages for reediting. Your document is ready for other readers when you have read the final draft and are satisfied that it is your best work.
These instructions will vary somewhat among MS Word programs.
Word 2007
Under Review (top menu), click on Track Changes to highlight it. Follow directions 2-9 (below) for Word 2000, 2003.
Word 2000, 2003
(1) On the View menu click on Toolbars, then select Reviewing. This will add the reviewing tools menu to the toolbar at the top of your Word document.
(2) Move the cursor along the icons at the top of your screen until the “track changes” box appears. Turn on track changes by clicking the icon. You can test track changes by making a change to your document. The change should be indicated in a color other than black—red is the default.
(3) At the top of your Word document, among the menu icons, you will see a window that reads “Final Showing Markup.” Click on the down arrow beside the window and you will see a list of options:
——click on “Final” to see the document without track changes;
——click on “Final Showing Markup” to view track changes that have been made.
4) Two other items—a "check-mark" to accept changes and an "X-mark" to reject changes—will appear on the toolbar. Click on the down arrows beside these icons to get options for accepting or rejecting changes made by the editor. For instance, to accept (or reject) all of the changes in a sentence, select the text you want to accept (reject), then click on the "check-mark" (to accept) or the "X-mark" (to reject) on the menu bar. If you make a mistake, hold the control key while you press Z and the change will be undone.
(5) If you want to make your own changes, go ahead: you can delete selected text and type in what you want the text to read. With “track changes” turned on, your deleted text will not be lost—it will show up on the “Final Showing Markup” screen. Don’t forget to “Save” as you go to avoid losing data.
(6) To read the document without the red markup, select “Final” in the window on the toolbar. The “Final” version will not show deleted text or other corrections.
(7) When you have finished making, accepting, rejecting changes, and are happy with the “Final” version, you can select the “Accept All Changes in Document” option to finalize all the changes. But first print the final version and proofread it.
(8) The document will print according to whatever is selected ("Final" or "Final Showing Markup"). Alternatively, to print your document under the File menu, select Print. The Print screen gives you several options for printing the document; two are relevant:
(a) Document: this option prints the document in its final form, deletions and markup do not show. This is the most useful printout as it allows you to read the final version without markup clutter.
(b) Document showing markup: this option prints the document showing all changes that have been made.
(9) Turn off Track Changes by clicking the menu icon.
Early versions of Word (Word 95, 97)
(1) Under the Tools menu, select Track Changes. You now have the following options:
(a) “Highlight changes”: this breaks down into additional options to highlight changes onscreen and in the printout. Select “Track changes while editing”—this turns the markup feature on.
(b) “Accept or reject changes”: changes can be accepted or rejected in selected text by choosing the appropriate option.
(2) Select “Highlight changes onscreen” when you want to see what changes have been made and deselect this option when you want to read the final document onscreen.
(3) Deselect “Highlight changes on printout.” Usually you will want to read a printout of the final version without markup clutter.
(4) To reverse the latest change, hold the control key while pressing Z. Save your work.
Notes on the reviewing tools
I do all my editing on the “Final” setting because the flow is not interrupted by deletions and markup. The changes can always be accessed by flipping to “Final Showing Markup.” A printout of the corrected document (no markup showing) is the best way to sense the flow of information, check punctuation, etc. Check the document with Print Preview (under the File menu) before you print to make sure the formatting makes sense (e.g., a title should not appear at the bottom of a page).
When you are sure you have the final version you want, you can “Accept All Changes in Document” and all the red marks will disappear leaving the changes intact. If you are sending the file to a reviewing agent (instructor/supervisor/publisher) you will probably want to accept allchanges before doing so.
Comments
Comments will usually remain when all changes are accepted. You can remove them one at a time by selecting the comment and clicking Reject, or, see below.
Deleting comments
It is easy to revise a document using track changes—easy when you know how. It took me quite some time to become familiar with the reviewing tools and it is an ongoing problem for authors who receive edits from me—you are not alone. Please do not hesitate to ask if you want more details.
Marcia Craig
Tel: 780-435-0572
email: craig.marcia@gmail.com
e-mail
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