Style ManualIn the beginning of my graduate career, which began in August of 2014, I enrolled in the Technical Style and Editing course, under the instruction of Dr. Cynthia Nahrwold. This was the first editing course I had taken and it helped to set the standard for the remainder of my graduate career. Some of the objectives of Dr. Nahrwold's course are as follows:
Many of the assignments completed throughout the semester helped to prepare us to complete a style manual for an organization of our choice. Through this project I was able to work collaboratively with two other classmates (Kanetra Temfack and Whitney Tidwell) in order to complete a style manual for the English Department of UA Little Rock. Working collaboratively we split the work among the three of us according to our knowledge and skill. I was primarily responsible for making sure that each section was organized and was responsible for the overall organization of the manual itself. I even worked as the mediator in some instances when my team members couldn't agree on certain design elements. Working collaboratively, we were able to complete the 24-page document (which can be found in the Scribd window to the right) that discusses the recommended use of abbreviations, acronyms, initialisms, etc., that were specific to the English Department as well as the University. Editing for PublicationDuring the Fall 2015 semester I enrolled in the Editing for Publication course under the instruction and guidance of Dr. Charles Anderson. The main goal of this course is to collect and select pieces of writing to include in the current issue of Quills & Pixels, which showcases the nonfiction writing of current and past students, as well as faculty and staff. We then individually selected up to four pieces that we would like to move on to the editing phase. Once the pieces were selected and after we met with the Executive Editor (Dr. Anderson), we were responsible for setting up meetings with the authors to discuss the first round of edits and how the pieces would or should be transformed in order to move the pieces onto the production phase. For this course I edited four pieces of writing, but for the purpose of this portfolio, I discuss only two.
The Scribd window to the right contains a PDF copy of the first round of edits completed using Microsoft Word Track Changes, followed by the final published draft of a piece entitled "Dorothy's Auction" by Dr. Heidi Harris. I decided to include this piece because some students may have shied away from the opportunity to edit and critique their professors' writing, but I saw it as the perfect opportunity to showcase my editorial and professional skills. The document that follows "Dorothy’s Auction" in the Scribd window is a piece by Daniel Moix entitled "Needless Pounds." I decided to include this piece because it was the most difficult to edit of the four and almost did not make it to publication. However, after a face-to-face meeting with Mr. Moix, I was able to get the full picture of his story; it was easier for me to edit, help revise, and move the story on to the production phase. In the Scribd window to the above right, immediately following the final draft of "Dorothy's Auction," is a copy of the first round of edits completed using Microsoft Word Track Changes, followed by the final published draft of Daniel Moix's "Needless Pounds." |
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Production for EditorsDuring the Spring 2016 term I enrolled in the Production for Editors course again under the instruction and guidance of Dr. Charles Anderson. In this course we decided on the overall theme and layout of the 2016 issue of Quills & Pixels. As a class we brainstormed and decided on the overall theme and title of the book, which was “The Beginning, the End, and Everything in Between.” The sections of the book were determined by the stories that we chose to move on to the production phase during the Editing for Publication course. Sections includes "Innocence," "Adversity," "Stuff That Makes Us Laugh," "Time," "Desire," "Farwell Is Not Goodbye," "Lament," and "Legacy." I was responsible for completing the second section of the book, which was “Adversity.”
In this section there were to stories to be featured, and I was responsible for the section break and layout of the stories in this section. Using Adobe InDesign, I was able to design a simple yet unique section layout. In the Scribd window to the right, is a PDF copy of the "Adversity" section that was published in the 2016 issue of Quills & Pixels. |
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