[astcq-discuss] Course outlines for ASTC-Q
- From: Jean Hollis Weber <jean@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: astcq-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 31 Aug 2003 08:35:12 +1000
In the minutes of the July meeting, Kirsty Taylor noted,
>* The possibility that Jean will be in Brisbane later in the year and will
>be happy to present some training to the group, if timing works out. ...
>Ana and I were tempted to choose a topic, but felt we should probably
>leave it to the wider group.
Below are some outlines of courses that might interest the group. I'd like
some feedback on whether people are interested at all, and if so which
course(s) you might want to attend. No obligation at this point, as
obviously a final decision will depend on when and the cost.
I don't know yet what dates I will be in Brisbane on other business, but it
will be sometime in October (most likely) or November this year. Would a
weekday or a Saturday be best for a course? Most workshops organised by
ASTC, Society of Editors, etc are held on Saturday, so people who can't get
time off work can attend.
The cost is also unknown, but I hope to keep it around the $150 mark for a
full day. If at least 10 people attend, that should be doable, but Beck
Martin will have the final say as she is organising the venue. ($150 is
actually quite cheap compared to commercial courses, as I'm sure you all know.)
Regards, Jean
Jean Hollis Weber
jean@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
The Technical Editors' Eyrie http://www.jeanweber.com/
COURSE OUTLINES
Note: These outlines can be modified to suit the requirements of the group.
Longer courses allow more time for exercises, questions and discussion.
Editing principles (1/2 day or 1 day)
The editor's role in a technical writing project
Dividing editing into identifiable tasks
Rules-based and analysis-based edits
Organising the flow of writing and editing work
Deciding what needs to be done
Developing an editing plan
Prioritising the work
How long does editing take?
Using style, design and process guides
Editing for consistency
Editing tips and checklists
Copyediting technical materials (1/2 day or 1 day)
Editing sentences (includes logic, length, grammar and punctuation)
Editing words
Cutting out unnecessary words
Using strong rather than weak verbs
When to use active and passive voice
Stressing what is important in a sentence
Using a style guide
Editing for consistency
Copyediting mathematical material (equations, fractions, statistics)
Copyediting tables
Copyediting illustrations
Copyediting indexes
What to include in an editing checklist
When to use electronic tools, and when they are not enough
Substantive editing (1-2 days)
(also called developmental editing and comprehensive editing)
Audience and document analysis
Deciding what needs to be done
Developing an editing plan
Editing for logic and structure (the bigger picture)
Tables of contents and headings
Choice of format and presentation: consistency
Alternatives to the paragraph
Lists
Flowcharts
Playscripts
Decision trees
Editing tables
Editing illustrations
Editing indexes
Editing procedures and instructions
Editing reports
Substantive editing (1-2 days)
(also called developmental editing and comprehensive editing)
Audience and document analysis
Deciding what needs to be done
Developing an editing plan
Editing for logic and structure (the bigger picture)
Tables of contents and headings
Choice of format and presentation: consistency
Alternatives to the paragraph
Lists
Flowcharts
Playscripts
Decision trees
Editing tables
Editing illustrations
Editing indexes
Editing procedures and instructions
Editing reports
Planning, writing and editing online help (1-2 days)
Planning an online help project (11 steps)
Developing high-level specifications: what to include
Developing detailed specifications: what to include
Preparing for editing and testing
Deciding who does what, when
Organizing the flow of writing and editing work
Working with use cases and user scenarios
Developing lists of user tasks and test questions
Prototyping the help
Outlining and mapping the help project
Choosing methods for editing and reviewing
Diagnosing and correcting common problems
1. I can't find what I'm looking for.
2. I can't figure out what's going on.
3. I can't figure out what will happen when I do something.
4. There's too much detail.
5. There's not enough detail.
6. I can't get to the help when I want it.
7. The program isn't working the way the help says it should.
8. Help tells me what the system does, but not how to use it.
9. I want a bigger picture of what this program can do.
10. The help is inconsistent and badly written and formatted.
Editing the contents page and index
Editing for navigation and context
Using browse sequences
Using cross-references and other links
Providing for reader-defined navigation
Using visual aids such as icons or color
Providing context information in the text
Catering for novices to experts
Understanding user types
Using information types
Providing embedded help
Providing assistance to novice users
Providing for user preferences
Integrating the help system with other documents and systems
Linking from application to help
Copyediting
Production editing
Outlines and examples
Online help plan
High-level specifications
Detailed specificatons
Choosing help types and tools
All material is taken from Editing Online Help by Jean Hollis Weber, 2000.
This course is NOT specific to any particular type of help or authoring tool.
Web site accessibility and usability (1/2 - 1 day)
Navigation
Writing style
Page length and organisation
Page layout, tables, lists
Graphics
Accessibility issues (who can or can't read your page)
Common problems and how to fix them
Beginning HTML and CSS for writers and editors (1/2 - 1 day)
(Computer lab preferred.)
Basic HTML tags and attributes
Structure tags
Paragraphs, lists, other layout tags
Anchors and links
Images: placement and accessibility issues
Tables
Basic CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)
Why use style sheets?
Advantages and problems
Connecting style sheets to HTML pages
What you can do with style sheets
Layout and positioning of page elements
Colour and other text attributes
Borders, margins and padding
Lists and tables
Pros and cons of WYSIWYG editors, including browser issues
Accessibility issues, including old browsers, small screen sizes, available
colours
Pros and cons of frames, scripting and "gee whiz" featuresS
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