Technical Communication at the University of Kansas
English 564: Advanced Technical Editing

Good technical documentation requires effort from people with specialized skills before it can be released to its audience. Some technical editors work with writers before the content-writing begins to help design well-realized final documents, others help writers throughout the writing process, and still others only work with completed drafts to ensure that these documents meet an organization's publishing standards.

In this course, students collaborate online and in person with writers in Foundations of Technical Writing as well as Advanced Technical Writing I and II, learning to work productively with other people's print and online documents. They learn to use specialized vocabulary and such editing tools as proofreaders' marks, style guides, and standard editorial reference material; and they practice how to identify and correct common problems. Simulates an internship or on-the-job training. Students develop a technical-editing portfolio. This class is a must if you want to develop employable technical-editing skills.

Prerequisites: English 362: Foundations of Technical Writing. Students must be comfortable working with computers, specifically email and electronic files. Students are also expected to be familiar with creating documentation plans and abstracts, as well as the basic elements and forms of technical writing.

For this course, students are expected to have mastered the basic software tools of the trade. Types of technical-writing forms that students edit include proposals, specifications, technical papers, and instructions.