Re: Editing Tests

[Rahel Anne Bailie <rbailie -at- NEWBRIDGE -dot- COM>]

In a former job, where I was constantly on the lookout for good editors, I
devised a 3-part test.

Part 1: Substantive editing
Select 2-3 pages of text with flawed document structure and tell them not to do
the editing, but to point out what the problems are and explain how they would
go about editing the document.

Part 2: Copy editing
Present one page of text that has common editing mistakes. I built in errors
such as: misspellings, out-of-context words, doubling a phrase in a way that
someone reading for grammatical errors might not catch, using an adverb as an
adjective, putting commas in the wrong places, adding a third letter "L" to
"hopefully", breaking sentences and paragraphs in awkward places, and so forth.
The candidate was asked to copy edit the text and query anything they wouldn't
be able to solve without asking someone in the department.

Part 3: Proofreading
Give the candidate a page of text that is supposed to be ready to go to the
printer (i.e. formatted). Build in errors such as: font anomalies, inch-marks
instead of quotation marks, misalignment of bulleted text in a list, awkward
break across a two-line title, and inconsistencies in presentation of elements
like telephone numbers. Ask the candidate to proofread the copy.

This will give you a good idea of a candidate's strengths and weaknesses. By
building the tests yourself, you'll have addressed the problems you find in
your own documentation.

Good luck!


Laurie wrote:

> We are trying to hire an entry-level/associate technical writer and we
> want to test editing skills. I checked the archives and didn't see
> anything on the subject. I need some suggestions/examples of editing
> tests.
>
> Send responses to me off list and if there is enough interest, I'll post
> a summation to the list.
>

------------------
Rahel Anne Bailie, Technical Writer, ATMnet Customer Documentation Group
Newbridge Networks Corp (Newbridge West)
400-4190 Still Creek Drive, Burnaby, BC  V5C 6C6
Phone (604) 421-2643, ext. 5658; Fax (604) 421-2644


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