You’ve written your document. Now it’s time for others to review it. What things should your reviewers be looking for?
The seven most common questions about editing checklists and their answers are.
1. What is an editing checklist?
An editing checklist is a document used to help writers, reviewers and editors develop a particular piece of writing.
2. How do you use an editing checklist?
Writers use a checklist to track and resolve potential issues in the document. Writers are the closest to their document, and as such they play an important role in developing a checklist. Through their efforts, they can alert reviewers and editors to issues that must be checked and rechecked.
Reviewers and editors also play key roles in developing checklists because of their industry, company, and product knowledge.
3. Are there examples of editing checklists available?
One checklist example comes from the writer Mignon Fogarty, and can be accessed at http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/grammar-girls-editing-checklist. A PDF of the same checklist is at http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/static/GrammarGirlEditingChecklist_ForSite.pdf.
4. Why are editing checklists useful?
A checklist keeps writers, reviewers, and editors on the same page (no pun intended). The checklist is a flexible document—it can be revised and updated at any time—and everyone knows what to look for in the document when it arrives on their desk.
5. Can a style guide be used as a substitute for an editing checklist?
The short, but not best, answer is yes. A style guide can be any number of pages, and chances are the reviewers and editors must have a quick turnaround when reviewing the document. Therefore, they might be less likely to check issues because it takes them time to investigate.
A checklist, because of its relative brevity in comparison with a style guide, is easier to consult. People know what to look for.
6. How do you create an editing checklist?
A checklist is best designed similar to the examples hyperlinked above, with boxes or blanks for checking as issues are reviewed and resolved. But the checklist itself can address any number of topics, including:
- Style conventions (capitalization, numbering, punctuation, American or British English, and so on).
- Factual and technical issues related to the subject (the White House address is 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C.; the Texas Governor’s Mansion is at 1010 Colorado Street in Austin).
- Template and layout issues (figure sizes and captions, table sizes and captions, page numbering, and so on).
7. What are the key advantages of using an editing checklist?
- You know what possible issues might arise.
- You ensure accuracy in your document.
- You ensure consistency in your document.
Consider these questions and answers when planning to create and use your own editing checklist.
