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The Editorial Eye
A complete guide to editing print and electronic media, The Editorial Eye teaches students the skills they need to become professional editors, from generating story ideas to correct comma placement. Much praised for its accessibility, this text covers essential editing skills in an engaging, student-friendly style. This thoroughly revised edition includes new coverage of electronic media and online news along with updated chapters on layout and design.
- GenresJournalismNonfiction
434 pages, Hardcover
First published September 5, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 27, 2012
This will be an odd review because it is imcoplete. Jane was our teacher, and she was preparing this book while I was taking her editing class. Here are my notes as we reviewed her work:
CHAPTER 1 : TO THE STUDENT: In this chapter Harrigan coaches the student to not fear editing. She is convincing because her case is predicated upon reasonable assumptions; one of the most important being that most students already have some inherent editing abilities. Harrigan builds on this theme and also employs a number of interesting writing styles in her dissertation. This is a subtle way of introducing students to a variety writing techniques, but I did notice the effect. At times Harrigan is overly enthusiastic, but this may be necessary for the reticent student.
CHAPTER 2: TO THE TEACHER: Harrigan clearly supports writers and editors knowing their proper roles. An editor’s job is not to write stories but to coach writers in improving their work. Editing is sold again as a viable career but this point was already made in Chapter I. Chapter 2 is especially well written. I read the chapter without noticing time or place–a removal from reality that can be only found in good writing. Harrigan makes complex matters seem simple by breaking them down and she also provides some necessary check lists.
CHAPTER 3: EDITING FOR GRAMMAR : This is where the nuts and bolts of this book begin. Harrigan opens with an unedited piece of literature that is a paradigm of poor grammar. She then refers back to this in subsequent passages in the chapter. Nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, and the nuances of their use are discussed in depth. I appreciated the “Red Light” warning designation for exceptions to the rules.
Prepositions, troublesome twins (cite, site), sentence structure, and punctuation are also addressed in this chapter. The examples used to demonstrate rules are particularly good, but it could be difficult to prepare an index based on Harrigan’s numbering system. It might be a good idea to prepare a “master index” based on both numbers and letters to designate the location of the various subjects and rules found in this chapter.
CHAPTER 4 : EDITING FOR STYLE : Chapter 4 is the best written and most insightful of the first four. Harrigan takes the struggling writer down a path of enlightenment. She devotes time to efficiency, clarity, and the use of powerful language. These are the tactics of good writing, and Harrigan puts them to good use in the text itself. Her words walk a reader through complicated themes without breaking stride. At the end of chapter I found myself wanting to read the rest of the book.
GENERAL ASSESSMENT
Chapters 1 and 2 are necessary, but I liked Chapters 3 and 4 better. Chapters 2 and 4 are particularly well written. I enjoyed reading them, and still refer to their contents. Chapter 1 almost gets too enthusiastic in places, but editing is a hard sell. Chapter 3 is excellent, but the rules need some form of consistent denotation for reference purposes. Overall, I was most impressed. I’d buy the book now that I’ve read part of it. It is an excellent teaching and learning tool.
CHAPTER 1 : TO THE STUDENT: In this chapter Harrigan coaches the student to not fear editing. She is convincing because her case is predicated upon reasonable assumptions; one of the most important being that most students already have some inherent editing abilities. Harrigan builds on this theme and also employs a number of interesting writing styles in her dissertation. This is a subtle way of introducing students to a variety writing techniques, but I did notice the effect. At times Harrigan is overly enthusiastic, but this may be necessary for the reticent student.
CHAPTER 2: TO THE TEACHER: Harrigan clearly supports writers and editors knowing their proper roles. An editor’s job is not to write stories but to coach writers in improving their work. Editing is sold again as a viable career but this point was already made in Chapter I. Chapter 2 is especially well written. I read the chapter without noticing time or place–a removal from reality that can be only found in good writing. Harrigan makes complex matters seem simple by breaking them down and she also provides some necessary check lists.
CHAPTER 3: EDITING FOR GRAMMAR : This is where the nuts and bolts of this book begin. Harrigan opens with an unedited piece of literature that is a paradigm of poor grammar. She then refers back to this in subsequent passages in the chapter. Nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, and the nuances of their use are discussed in depth. I appreciated the “Red Light” warning designation for exceptions to the rules.
Prepositions, troublesome twins (cite, site), sentence structure, and punctuation are also addressed in this chapter. The examples used to demonstrate rules are particularly good, but it could be difficult to prepare an index based on Harrigan’s numbering system. It might be a good idea to prepare a “master index” based on both numbers and letters to designate the location of the various subjects and rules found in this chapter.
CHAPTER 4 : EDITING FOR STYLE : Chapter 4 is the best written and most insightful of the first four. Harrigan takes the struggling writer down a path of enlightenment. She devotes time to efficiency, clarity, and the use of powerful language. These are the tactics of good writing, and Harrigan puts them to good use in the text itself. Her words walk a reader through complicated themes without breaking stride. At the end of chapter I found myself wanting to read the rest of the book.
GENERAL ASSESSMENT
Chapters 1 and 2 are necessary, but I liked Chapters 3 and 4 better. Chapters 2 and 4 are particularly well written. I enjoyed reading them, and still refer to their contents. Chapter 1 almost gets too enthusiastic in places, but editing is a hard sell. Chapter 3 is excellent, but the rules need some form of consistent denotation for reference purposes. Overall, I was most impressed. I’d buy the book now that I’ve read part of it. It is an excellent teaching and learning tool.
June 22, 2012
3.5 stars. It really helps!
September 24, 2015
Mostly skimmed, read for class. Good stuff.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews