Recommendation Report for English

6721 Textbooks

Author: Brittany Cameron

Submitted November 5, 2014
 Executive Summary

The English department committee has requested a recommendation

regarding which textbook to use for the course English 6721. This is an
introductory course within the masters program for copyediting in
technical and professional communication.
The two sources that were evaluated included The Chicago Manual of
Style and Technical Editing. The textbooks were compared based on six
governing criteria:
1. Information
2. Length and Language
3. Application Assistance
4. Organization
5. Purpose
6. Style
Although The Chicago Manual of Style contained more information and
slightly better styling than the alternative, Technical Editing is better
designed to fit the needs of the students. Technical Editing contains more
descriptive language, comprehension tools, and an overall easier to follow
structure than The Chicago Manual of Style.
For these reasons, I have recommended using Technical Editing as the
textbook for English 6721. However, if it becomes a viable option, I have
also strongly recommended using the textbooks in conjunction with one
another.
Table of Contents

Introduction ........................................................................................................... 1
Background ............................................................................................................ 1
Conclusions ............................................................................................................ 1
Recommendation................................................................................................... 2
Points of Comparison ............................................................................................. 3
Information ........................................................................................................ 3
Length and Language ......................................................................................... 5
Application Assistance ....................................................................................... 6
Organization....................................................................................................... 6
Purpose .............................................................................................................. 6
Style ................................................................................................................... 6
Glossary.................................................................................................................. 8
1 Recommendation Report

Introduction

The English department committee of East Carolina University must

designate which textbooks will be assigned to courses within the Master of
the Arts in English program. The decision must be met before the
commencement of next semester classes which begin January 12, 2015.
This report compares two proposed textbooks for English 6721: The
Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition) and Technical Editing (15th
edition). This report does not consider any other textbooks other than the
ones aforementioned, nor does it explore any course other than English
6721.
Following this introduction will be a brief background description on the
English 6721 course. Then conclusions and recommendations will be
presented. Afterwards the report will reveal and explain the six points of
comparison used in determining the best textbook option:
1. Information
2. Length and Language
3. Application Assistance
4. Organization
5. Purpose
6. Style
At the end of the document, a short glossary of terms has been provided.

Background

English 6721 is also referred to as copyediting in technical and

professional communication. This course can be offered online as well as
on-campus. This is an introductory course that is designed to orient
students in copyediting on a masters level. This course also revisits
important rules of language and writing. Previously this course has relied
on both textbooks, The Chicago Manual of Style and Technical Editing, to
assist with lesson plans.

Conclusions

The following is a summary of the comparisons between The Chicago

Manual of Style and Technical Editing. The criteria of judgment have also
been ranked on a scale of 1-10 for easier comparisons. (See Table 1.)
1. The Chicago Manual of Style contains many more pages of
information, on the key topics of the course, than Technical
Editing.
Brittany Cameron 2

2. Technical Editing has better sentence structures and descriptions

than The Chicago Manual of Style. As such, Technical Editing is
better designed for student reading and comprehension than The
Chicago Manual of Style.
3. The Chicago Manual of Style only uses examples to aid with
student comprehension, while Technical Editing uses examples,
real-life scenarios, discussion questions, and practice activities to
help students comprehend the material.
4. Although The Chicago Manual of Style is very organized and more
systematic than Technical Editing, Technical Editing is organized
better than The Chicago Manual of Style for student usage.
5. Technical Editing was designed to be used by students and The
Chicago Manual of Style was not.
6. Although The Chicago Manual of Style and Technical Editing both
contain positive and negative styling features, The Chicago
Manual of Style is styled slightly better than Technical Editing.
Table 1. Comparison of English 6721 Textbooks

Categories Chicago Manual of Technical Editing

Style
Information 10 8
Length & Language 6 10
Application 2 10
Assistance
Organization 6 10
Purpose 5 10
Style 8 10
Totals 37 54
Note: Categories are scaled 1-10; higher scores indicate better ranking.

Recommendation

After reviewing and evaluating The Chicago Manual of Style and

Technical Editing, I strongly suggest using Technical Editing as the
textbook for English 6721: copyediting in technical and professional
communication.
However, if it becomes a viable option, using the textbooks in
combination with one another is also strongly recommended.
3 Recommendation Report

Points of Comparison

Information

This criteria judges both textbooks by the number of pages they contain in
relation to the key topics of the course. The key topics of English 6721,
copyediting in technical and professional communication, can be grouped
into four major categories:
Editing and Markup: includes discussion of markup symbols,
proofreading, electronic editing, editing visuals, editing numbers,
and comprehensive editing
Spelling, Grammar, and Punctuation: includes discussion of
common misspellings, abbreviations, word usage, capitalization, as
well as basic grammar and punctuation rules
Document Preparation: includes discussion of reader assessment,
project management, organization, visual design, formatting,
styling
Production: includes discussion of rights and permissions, ethical
issues, client relations, web-based production, paper, printers, and
binding
The Chicago Manual of Style has essentially divided its materials into 16
sections:
Books and Journals
Manuscript Preparation, Manuscript Editing, and Proofreading
Illustrations and Tables
Rights, Permission, and Copyright Administrations
Grammar and Usage
Punctuation
Spelling, Distinctive Treatment of Words and Compounds
Names and Terms
Numbers
Abbreviation
Foreign Languages
Mathematics in Type
Quotations and Dialogue
Documentation I: Notes and Bibliography
Documentation II: Author-Date References
Indexes
Brittany Cameron 4

Under these headings, The Chicago Manual of Style assigns 103 pages to
editing and markup; 256 pages to spelling, grammar, and punctuation; 303
pages to document preparation; and 52 pages to production.
Technical Editing is divided into 24 different chapters:
Editing: The Big Picture
Readers, Users, Browsers, Problem Solvers
Collaborating with Writers
Marking Paper Copy
Marking Digital Copy
Electronic Editing Basic
Copyediting: An Introduction
Copyediting for Consistency
Spelling, Capitalization, and Abbreviations
Grammar and Usage
Punctuation
Quantitative and Technical Material
Proofreading
Comprehensive Editing: Definition and Process
Style: Definition and Sentence Structure
Style: Verbs and Other Words
Organization: The Architecture of Information
Visual Design
Editing Illustrations
Editing for Global Contexts
Legal and Ethical Issues in Editing
Type and Production
Project Management
Client Projects
Under these headings, Technical Editing allots 134 pages to editing and
markup; 51 pages to spelling, grammar, and punctuation; 82 pages to
document preparation; and 47 pages on production. (See Graphic 1.)
5 Recommendation Report

Coverage of Key Topics

350

300

250

200

150

100

50

0
Editing & Markup Spelling, Grammar, Document Production
Punctuation Prepartation

Chicago Manual of Style Technical Editing

Graphic 1. Compares the number of pages each textbook designates to key

topics.

Length and Language

The Chicago Manual of Style is a lengthy work that contains 1,026 pages
of writingtoo many pages for a student to read in one semester. The
Chicago Manual of Style is written for professionals and contains a
moderate amount of professional-writing jargon with limited in-text
descriptions to assist with comprehension. The Chicago Manual of Style
relies mainly on imperative sentence1 structures. As such, The Chicago
Manual of Style does not place emphasis on important information.
Technical Editing contains a very readable 404 pages of information.
Technical Editing is dialogued for students and contains a moderate
amount of professional terminology. However, in-text descriptions
frequently accompany the subject matter to assist with comprehension.
Technical Editing uses descriptive writing and specifically states the
importance and relevance of presented information.

1
This term and all subsequent bolded terms will be defined in the glossary
Brittany Cameron 6

Application Assistance

The Chicago Manual of Style uses examples astutely to show and explain
key concepts. However, The Chicago Manual of Style does not use real-
life scenarios, discussion questions, or practice activities to aid with
comprehension.
Technical Editing uses examples and real-life scenarios very often to show
and explain key concepts. Technical Editing also includes discussion
questions and practice activities, at the end of each chapter, for students to
test their comprehension.
Organization

The Chicago Manual of Style uses a somewhat complex numbering system

that goes up to the 1/1000s decimal place (e.g., the last section, before the
appendices, is 16.145).
The Chicago Manual of Style, although it groups similar materials under
appropriate headings, has each topic sectioned individually. As such, The
Chicago Manual of Style contains precisely 1,953 separate entries and
many must refer to another section for further reading. Essentially,
students spend a lot of time in search of additional information.
Technical Editing uses 24 chapters to divide up the material; this allows
for better grouping of the information. Because the information is well-
grouped, students will seldom be redirected to another section for further
reading.
Purpose

The Chicago Manual of Style does not address editors exclusively; the
manual was written for authors, editors, and publishers alike (preface).
With a concentration on publication, The Chicago Manual of Style is
designed more for professional users. The Chicago Manual of Style is
presented as a reference rather than a read-through book.
[Technical Editing] is written for students who have completed at least
one college course in technical communication and for practicing
editors (preface). Technical Editing specifically addresses editors
within the text and consistently writes you or you, as the editor.
Technical Editing is designed to be read from beginning to end.
Style

The Chicago Manual of Style is typed on 9x6 inch paper with 0.75-inch
margins on the left and right sides and 1-inch margins on the top and
7 Recommendation Report

bottom. The margins are consistent and perfectly spaced to keep text in the
center of the page.
The Chicago Manual of Style relies on justified text that is all written in
serif font; these two elements enable a formal and intimidating structure.
However, the medium-length lines and abundant white space offset the
aforementioned styling aspects.
The body text of The Chicago Manual of Style is written in a very legible
fontseemingly 12 points. The Chicago Manual of Style also makes good
use of bullet points and first-level, second-level, and third-level headings.
The only issue presented is the use of third-level headings for each of the
1,953 entries. Because of this styling choice, occasionally there will be no
second-level headings between the first-level and third-level headings.
Technical Editing is typed on 9x7 inch paper with 1-inch margins on the
top and 0.5-inch margins on the bottom, right, and left of the pages.
However, only first-level headings are flushed left, all other headings and
text are given an additional 0.25-inch indentation. This keeps the text from
being centered on the pages. This also makes the pages on the left side of
the book more difficult to read because the words at the end of each line,
on the left pages, are too close to the binding.
Technical Editing uses justified text, but it is accompanied by indented
paragraphs which decrease formality and intimidation. Technical Editing
uses a combination of serif and sans serif fonts. However, Technical
Editing has long line lengths that dismay students.
Technical Editing also has a small percentage of white space on several
pages that are comprised of mainly text; this makes the pages seem
endless. Technical Editing is written in a very legible fontapproximately
12 points. Technical Editing makes excellent use of bullet points, first-
level headings, second-level headings, and third-level headings.
Brittany Cameron 8

Glossary

Binding: the cover and additional materials used to hold the book together
Flushed left: text is aligned along the left margin; left-aligned
Imperative sentence: sentences that express commands or requests; though
it is not stated, the subject of imperative sentences is you
Justified text: text that is aligned along both the left and right margins;
without indentations, this creates a text block
Sans serif: a letter or typeface with no serifs [Arial is a sans serif font]
Serif: any of the short lines stemming from the ends of and at an angle to
the ends of the strokes of a letter [Times New Roman is a serif font]