Macro- and micro-editing

Oct 13, 2006

By Ruth Murray
Archives, Communications, Tips & Tools
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by Ruth B Murray
Editing a manuscript through the draft stages to produce a final product is time consuming, but the process
ensures clarity, sense, accuracy and consistency.
Macro-editing
Macro-editing involves rewriting and reorganising the document by asking:
is there sense and clarity?
are the title and abstract concise, accurate, informative, of the correct style and length?
are the paragraphs in the right order?
is the emphasis correct?
are the data accurate?
is the referencing adequate?
are the tables and figures consistent with the text and presented effectively?
is the document relevant to and at an appropriate level for the reader?
is the document concise?
Micro-editing
Micro-editing ensures that the language and style are correct and consistent. Look for:
completeness;
correct grammar, syntax, spelling, and punctuation;
abbreviations, acronyms and symbols (are they correctly defined and consistent?);
capitalisation;
numbers (i.e. words or numerals?) and units (correct and consistent?);
heading hierarchy, fonts, consistency of bulleted listed and justified/unjustified text;
references (are they in the correct style, are all cited references listed and are all listed references cited?);
tables and figures that are complete with title, legend and axis labelling, are consistent, and are correctly
numbered, cited in the text and in the correct position in the text; and
drug names and medical terminology that are correct and consistent.