Published in · 5 min read · Feb 3, 2020
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Technical Editing May Be Easier Than You Think
As you sit down to edit a technical paper, you might be thinking, “This subject is totally foreign to me. How can I approach this and edit it well when I know so little?” For Scribbr editors, the task of correcting technical and scientific academic writing presents an ever-changing assortment of challenges. The process of improving technical and scientific writing can be daunting for many editors, especially those without technical expertise. Thankfully, the solution lies not in specialized knowledge (though having that never hurts) but in a handful of simple, yet powerful, overarching principles.
If you are a writer or editor, you’re probably familiar with the “five Cs of good writing.” While the Cs vary in name, number, and application across different fields, five of these core principles comprise the fundamentals of strong, effective technical writing. They are concision, completeness, consistency, correctness, and, last but most notable, clarity. As Justin Zobel puts it in his book Writing for Computer Science, “Good style for science is, ultimately, nothing more than writing that is easy to understand.”
Readers value writing that they can easily follow and benefit from. Comprehensibility shapes the reader’s perception of the writer’s credibility and the validity of their ideas. When it comes to editing academic writing for technical and scientific disciplines, clarity is king. The clarity of a paper is largely influenced by the degree to which writers and editors abide by the remaining four Cs.
By examining each of the five Cs through the relevant lens of formal technical writing, academic editors can build confidence and expand their editorial arsenals to add value and ensure the success of both students and their audiences. This article explores simple, yet effective strategies for implementing each principle, which will make improving technical and scientific academic writing easier and more rewarding for editors and students alike.
Concision
Technical and scientific writing is inherently complex. Therefore, the job of a technical editor is to simplify this complexity wherever possible. Students often hide key terms and information within unwieldy sentences and superfluous details. Similarly, they may use flowery language in an attempt to sound more scholarly. This dense style only detracts from the intended meaning and imposes extra work on the reader who, when frustrated, is likely to discredit the author and dismiss their writing altogether.
One solution is to, wherever possible, use precise language and short, simple sentences along with brief, direct language. Though technical explanations sometimes warrant longer, more complex sentences, editors should try to enforce a “one topic per sentence” rule, condense verbose phrases, and aim for an average sentence length of around 25 words.
Completeness
In most cases, ensuring the paper’s content is complete requires subject matter expertise and direct communication with the writer. Non-technical editors, in particular, will relish not having to determine whether the paper’s technical content is complete, as is the case for Scribbr editors. However, you should make sure that all technical terms and concepts are well defined. If you suspect the student has overlooked critical information, it is best to leave a comment.
Technical details aside, editors can ensure completeness by examining the paper’s overall structure. In certain disciplines, such as computer science, there are no hard-and-fast rules for naming sections within an academic paper. When you encounter headings beyond the traditional “introduction, literature review, methods, and results,” recognize that the student’s approach may be intentional.
In such situations, the best strategy is to ensure the headings fully and accurately describe the content and to comment on any elements that you suspect are missing or out of order. At the paragraph level, you can ensure the student uses complete sentences and that each paragraph presents a single idea with adequate supporting details.
Consistency
Inconsistent writing is a bane for readers who expect an effortless reading experience, and it only weakens the writer’s message and credibility. Consistency is of utmost importance in technical and scientific writing because of the abundance of terminology, formulas, algorithms, and data, where even the slightest variation can lead to confusion and misunderstanding.
You should look for inconsistencies in content and style at every level of the text: in the format and form of headings; in the presentation of terms, names, definitions, tools, and methods; and in the use of units, variable names, and precision. Remember that consistency alone can greatly improve the quality of a technical paper, and in most cases, you need only a sharp eye and a superficial understanding of the subject to enforce consistency.
Correctness
Like completeness, without subject matter expertise, gauging the accuracy of content can be difficult, if not impossible. But don’t despair just yet. In searching for inconsistencies, you have unwittingly identified potential inaccuracies, and while you won’t catch everything this way, you can at least inform the student of potential problem areas.
Keeping a running list of key terms and definitions as you edit will make it easier to spot any conflicting information, in which case, you can either look up the correct usage or simply bring it to the student’s attention. One caveat, however — when searching, stop once you have gathered enough information. Don’t fall into the research rabbit hole.
Clarity
By now, you’ve made considerable strides in ensuring the student’s writing is easy to understand — it’s concise, complete, consistent, and correct. But even more can be done to maximize clarity. For instance, because passive voice is all too common in academic writing, you should use active voice wherever lack of a clear subject obscures the interpretation of technical methodologies and results.
Another technique involves sentence structure: Placing the important information at the beginning of a sentence immediately informs the reader of the topic instead of overwhelming them with unimportant details.
Finally, it never hurts to put yourself in the reader’s shoes. As you read the paper, ask yourself: “Am I able to find all of the information I need without doing my own research?” If the student has not provided enough detail, then you can bet a non-technical reader will find the writing unclear.
Effective technical editing starts with simple best practices. While the job of a writer is to present the concepts and ideas, the job of an editor is to present these elements in an effective, easily digestible manner. Considering the complexity and challenging nature of technical and scientific writing, as an editor, you must find ways to improve the writing without getting caught up in the technical details. While the five Cs promote good writing in general, they also make excellent tools that allow any editor to ensure that technical and scientific material is presented in a way that accomplishes the writer’s goals.
In addition to the strategies presented here, Scribbr has a wealth of resources to help editors apply the five Cs to technical academic editing. These resources serve as a guide for addressing structure and clarity as well as details such as acronyms, numbers, equations, and variables.
