COMP 2000 – Journal Entry 7

Answer the following questions about the discourse analysis article, “Professional Editing Strategies Used by Six Editors,” by Jocelyne Bisaillon.

What is the writer trying to find out more about through their research (what research question guides their work)?
· What defines revision in a professional context?
· What approach is taken by those who make their living revising—that is, professional editors? Are their resemblances between their strategies?
· How is their revision process influenced by the mandate they receive, their conception of revision, and their experience?
What is the research methodology of this article (how do they collect their information, and how do they analyze the information they collect)?
Six professional editors were grouped into two categories, most experienced and least experienced, and were filmed as they engaged in their practice. Interview data was collected retrospectively, and from this the editors were grouped into further categories depending on how they perceived revision, from a normative or communicational perspective. Several other bases for analysis were drawn upon as well.
How does professional editing differ from how students revise their own work?
Professional editors rarely have to read to understand their assignments because they essentially receive them orally via the clients. This is not the case however, with students.