Copy edit lingo

Copy editing is one of the levels of editing in DDLC. Copy edit focuses on detailed review for grammar, spelling, word usage, and punctuation errors. Copy edit also offers suggestions for better presentation of content and ensures that the document adheres to the pertinent standards.
During the review process, editors make the edits or place sticky notes on the document to communicate their edits to the writer. Certain terms / editing lingo or abbreviations are used in the editorial comments, which the writer needs to understand while incorporating the edits.
The following table will help writers to understand some of the terms used in editorial post-its or comments.

All caps: Text in CAPITAL LETTERS. Caps—the short form for capitals.
Art: Illustrations in the document.
Back matter: Content at the end of the document or book: appendixes, glossary, bibliography, index.
Body text: Bulk of text in between front and the back matter.
Boilerplate text: Template text or text that is not subjected to any changes.
Callout: Notes or text in the illustration.
Flush left: Text alignment to the left.
Flush right: Text alignment to the right.
Front matter: Content at the front of the document or book: title page, copyright page, table of contents, list of illustrations, list of tables, preface.
Full measure: The width of the text page.
Global note: Change or edit that applies to the entire document.
Init cap: Capitalizing first letter of each word (other than prepositions, articles, and conjunctions) in titles, headings, or text. Also, known as title case.
Lead cap: Capitalizing first letter of the first word of a sentence. Also, known as sentence case.
Lead lines or leader dots: Dotted lines in between the entry and the page number in table of contents.
Lead-in sentence or stem sentence: An introductory text that precedes the listed items and concludes with a colon.
Legend: The text that accompanies an illustration. Also called caption.
Lowercase: Small letters.
Mini-TOC: Page that introduces the specific chapter. Usually contains the section headings as entries.
NP: Next paragraph/New paragraph.
Orphan line: The first line of a paragraph that appears alone at the bottom of a page.
Style note: Refers to specific style mentioned in the style guide.
Serial comma: Comma preceding and or or in a series of items (a, b, and c).
TOC: Contents page.
Typo: Misspellings.
Uppercase: Capital letters.
Widow line: The last line of a paragraph that appears alone at the top of a page.
X-ref: Cross-reference.

Checklists in documentation

Having a comprehensive checklist is like covering an entire, voluminous style guide in a nutshell. Ideally, a checklist would consist of series of items wherein each item has a checkbox that needs to be selected if the item is taken care during writing or review process.

Preparing checklists is a tedious part in documentation. Nevertheless, it works to our advantage. As we assemble points to prepare a checklist for a given review, the entire scope of the review becomes very understandable.

It is very difficult to track or keep in mind all the points while reviewing a document without use of checklist. Checklists come in handy when just about to begin the job. These would significantly lessen the chances of missing out on various necessary standards to be followed in designing and writing technical documents. Furthermore, using a checklist is a way to more easily check and validate whether a document complies with the template or a specific style guide.

The effect of using the checklist is profound. Instead of just beginning to write or review a document, we look intently at every little detail and make sure that we are in the right track.

Checklist makes our reviews organized. It keeps our mind focused. Checklist saves our time by ensuring consistency and completeness while performing a review.

Writers and reviewers should remember to revise their checklists when new updates are made. When we have a checklist for a complete process, and when we strictly adhere to the checklist, it is rest assured that everything is in place.

Employ self review in documentation

It is appeasing to the eye and mind to read information that is crisp, easy to grasp, and error free. Therefore, it becomes important to produce premium documents not only for the look and feel, but also to promote superior image of the organization. When we produce excellent quality documents, it does mean that we are sensitive to customer centricity.

We understand that every document needs to be reviewed and edited. In some cases, there is a designated editor in place to edit documents, but in majority of the cases, most writers must rely on peer writers or review it themselves. This implies that writers have to review and revise the content methodically before they submit their documents for editorial review.

Writers should set aside of their time for self review. The self review process is similar the editing process, but it serves a very different purpose. While editing ensures a clean and grammatically correct document with consistent style, self review finds or points out inaccuracies.

Writers should read through their drafts and ensure that the content adheres to their respective style guide standards. While reviewing the drafts, writers should continue to improve accuracy and clarity of the content. For example, they have to look in for any sentences that can be made more effective by rephrasing.

Most importantly, writers should prepare an internal checklist for self review. This should be done mainly based on the comments from editors. By doing this, the checklist is enriched and updated, and writers can never miss out on some of the important issues while reviewing.

Self reviewing a technical document ensures minimal comments from the editorial team, and hence, in due course, writers can produce documents that are seamless.