Writing Assignment: Due Sunday, 15 June

In this assignment you will learn and practice several new proofreading/editing techniques, and you should come out of it more comfortable working with your group and collaborating through google docs.

1. By now, you should have created a document containing your first five rhetorical analysis and shared it with the members of your group. Your group members will need this document to complete their work, so if you haven't produced this document yet, you need to do so now. I am fairly lenient with students who need an extension for an assignment; I am much, much less lenient if your having to get an assignment in late affects the ability of another student to learn. The upshot? If you still haven't joined a group or you need to get an email address for a member, go to the shared, google document, "Class List: ENG 111, Summer 2008." If you haven't added your information to this document, get on the stick, and if you're having trouble doing so or in using google document, get in touch with a group member who knows what they are doing, visit the Google Support Center, or call or write me. You will be using this technology the rest of the semester.

2. Go back into the blog and re-read my post entitled, "Proofreading Notes." This post should introduce you to a few new proofreading techniques. If you already have tried them all, research proofreading and find one you haven't tried and which isn't listed. If you find one and share it via the email list for the class, you'll receive extra credit for class participation!
My post should also teach you the place of proofreading in the writing process, that is, the last step prior to turning in your writing for publication. This is exactly where you are with your first five rhetorical analysis. The reason we wait so late to proofread is because we assume you'll be making changes to your writing as you revise, like you have on your analysis based on the feedback you've received from your group and on your own reading of their work. If you proofread and polish the surface features of writing you then revise, you've wasted effort; so, it makes sense to proofread and edit almost last.

3. Read each of the revised drafts produced by your group members. As you do, employ a method of proofreading which is new to you. This means you'll try out one new method of proofreading per member of your group. Not every method works for every editor, but you have to try them out to figure out which methods work best for you.

4. As you find mistakes or places which could be improved, you are to do two things: A) fix the first five mistakes you find in each draft; and B) go down to the bottom of the revised draft and make a note of the errors you fixed.
Step B is designed to leave the author of the revised draft on which you are working with something called an "Error List." Authors use such Error Lists to figure out which surface level feature of writing, that is, which grammar, usage, or spelling mistake, they will next learn to recognize and fix in their own writing. If you get used to working on one error at a time, over time you soon find yourself able to recognize and fix most of the common errors to which you are prone. Over time, you will find yourself less and less reliant on others to read and fix your work for you.

4A. Some notes on how to handle the Error List with multiple proofreaders:

i) Pick a color of text in which to work. This is *your* color of text, and no one else can have it. You may want to talk to your group members before each of you begins editing, and decide on which color each member will use.
You produce text in a specific color by selecting the text you want to change, and then using the "A" tab next to the underline, italics, and bold tab on the google docs editing page. Pick a color you like, as I am going to ask you to use it for the rest of the semester. My own is red, the ucky color traditionally used by editors and English teachers; so, pick another color besides red. By having your own color of text in which to edit, I'll be able to recognize your work and so with the authors with whom you work. (Side note: The reason English teachers have bled red on your papers in the past is that early editors assumed it was an easy color to see, it contrasted with most early inks, which were black or brown, and there is a traditional association in English society with danger.]
ii) Make the changes to the draft in which you are working in your color of text, and, as you list the errors you fix, write your contribution to the Error List in your color. Being able to go into the document and see the surface level errors you are catching will let me better grade your work, that is, I can see what you have done; but, more importantly, it may provide me with a clue as to what I should suggest you work on in terms of your own writing, and it lets the author recognize the work of each editor.
iii) Make sure to include a section of the revised draft just after the error list you produce, in which you leave me and your team member a note saying something like:

"Color Code:
1) This is Steve Brandon, and I'm editing in red. In this document I used the proofreading technique of reading out loud. It felt a little weird, but I did see errors I normally would have missed."
2) ...."

iv) Finally, if you find yourself fixing the same kind of error someone else has fixed, place a star beside this error in your own color. Seeing one or more stars will tell the author, "This error occurred more than once; it's one I produce regularly in my writing; so, it's one I might consider learning how to recognize and fix on my own."
v) Remember, when you proofread, you aren't trying to offer suggestions about how to change anything but the surface level polish of the piece. You are looking at grammar, usage, and spelling--nothing else. By the way, usage refers to using a word like "their" when you meant "there" or "they're" or to using a weak, vague verb instead of a strong, precise one. In any event, the assumption is that by the time the author has asked for someone else to edit their work, the deep level work, like organization, development, etc. has already been done.

As always, write with questions.