editing – Truro Consulting

Removing clutter

There are two forms of clutter – macro and micro. What I call macro clutter is content that does not contribute to the point you are making. When you review content ask yourself, does this add to the argument? If in doubt, cut it out. BUT save it first – either as an old versionContinueContinue reading “Removing clutter”

Accessibility

Accessibility in publishing means making your content available to as wide an audience as possible. This means organising your content, and using the right level of language and explanation, for your intended audience. Accessibiilty can also mean something more specific. There are international standards relating to the accessibility of online content – see the WebContinueContinue reading “Accessibility”

It’s a dash dash dash

The hyphen (dash), en-dash (also known as en-rule), and em-dash (em-rule) have different functions. Common use of hyphens: to connect words into a single unit, e.g. short-term, long-termfor certain prefixes, e.g. counter-intelligencewhere words have different meaning with a prefix compared to without, e.g. recover v re-coverwhere a prefix creates a word with two vowels, suchContinueContinue reading “It’s a dash dash dash”

When to use/not use Italics

While italics can be used to highlight important words, their overuse defeats the purpose. There are also more specific rules on the use of italics. Italics must be used for: Book titles, journal titles (also use Title Case)Legal Acts, legal cases (see the conventions on presenting legislation in the Style Manual)Foreign words or phrases notContinueContinue reading “When to use/not use Italics”

Presentation matters

How you present content can affect whether (and how) someone reads your work. Just like cooking a meal, presentation can affect whether someone wants to consume your work (the meal) and what they think of it overall. Ultimately, you are aiming for a professional looking document where: (1) the presentation does not distract you fromContinueContinue reading “Presentation matters”