TECHNICAL EDITING AS A CAREER FOR BACHELORS OF CHEMISTRY1 ETHALINE CORTELYOU Amour Research Foundation, Chicago, Illinois
PERHAPS, like a good debate, this paper should begin
nical writers and editors because many companies found themselves in the position of consultants to with a definition of terms. Technical editing as used government agencies which demanded reports of their here means the style editing of technical material. It should be obvious that no new bachelor of chemistry activities. Even the government agencies themselves can pass upon the scientific value and logic of chemical became still more report conscious. On the Manhattan reports-that is done by supervisors before the reports Project, I was only one of a t least a hundred technically reach the technical editor. The technical editor is a trained persons who worked full time a t writing or technical grammarian, but he is more than that. He is editing reports on the research and operating procedan expediter of ideas. It is his job to see that the ideas ures that went into producing the atomic bomb. One of my first jobs as technical editor a t the Armour of the research or production chemist reach management, or the scientific world, or customers in the most Research Foundation was to catalog ten iile drawen full of reports from outside agencies on only those efficient and attractive manner possible. In recommending a field of life work to any student research problems of interest to our group in applied our first concern is: "Is there a big enough demand to mechanics. And for just four projects alone reports warrant specializing in that field?" Ten years ago most continue to come in a t the rate of 10 to 15 a week; all of us would have said, "No," if the question were asked of those reports are being edited by someone. about report editing, but the war has changed the At the recent national spring convention of the picture considerably. American Chemical Society a symposium on technical Research chemists always have had to write some journalism drew an attendance of about 200 persons, of sort of report of their work for the patent division or whom about 20 per cent were women. for management (to back up a request for expensive Before encouraging a student to train for any parequipment or more help). But most of those reports ticular profession we must consider he has the necessary were meant for only local consumption and no attempt qualifications, which brings up the question, "Just was made to do a good job of the writing because the what are the qualifications required for report editing?" reports were merely the means to more important ends. Although it is a field in which the person holding only Indeed, the reports to management were often so poorly a bachelor's degree is not a t a disadvantage, it should written that the readers had no earthly idea as to what not be regarded as a refuge for laboratory misfits. Just was going on; so they either agreed to the request be- aa a good research chemist differs greatly from the good cause the research looked like something very com- production chemist or the good chemical librarian, the plicated and, therefore, important, or refused it because report editor differs from all three of them. they could not see any sense to it. Surprising as it may seem, I would say that the preBefore the war, only a relatively few large industries dominating characteristic of a good editor is a desire t o with national organizations (such as Hercules Powder, serve. Recently I asked the report editor of a large DuPont, Standard Oil, and Pure Oil) considered their eastern company what she would say were desirable reports important enough to have report editors. Of qualifications for a report editor and, without any course, there were the research organizations like Ar- prompting from me, she said, "A desire to be of service mour Research Foundation, Battelle Memorial Insti- to people, being able to get pleasure out of helping tute, and Mellon Institute which, by the very nature of others do a good job." their work, were required to pay considerable attention Often a person who would make a good teacher would to their reports. Because they were doing research for be equally as good a t editing because the two jobs have government and for private industry, frequently their much in common. Personally, I have found many of only tangible product was their reports, so most of them the habits formed in previous years of teaching have had some definite plan of report editing. Almost from been very useful in editing. Just as a good teacher does the beginning government research groups have had not carelessly assume previous knowledge on the part some more or less organized report procedures and some of his students a good editor makes sure that a report of the groups had report editors. writer gives an adequate introduction to his work and With the war came an increased demand for tech- does not use highly technical language when simple ' A paper presented before the Chemistry Section of the Illinois English will meet his needs adequately. Both a good teacher and a good editor need to like people and to Academy of Science a t Benton, Illinois, on Mey 7, 1948.
DECEMBER, 1948
know how to get along with them. An editor's job is a touchy one for he must be able to correct a writer's mistakes without antagonizing him. Being satisfied to serve without glory, or even recognition, is a very important qualification for an editor; although he may rewrite more than half of a report, his name never appears on it. If the result is good the author gets the credit; if the report is poor the editor is blamed for letting it get by in such shape. The editor must convince the report writers not only that he wants to help them but also that he is capable of doing so. Very often the writer must be convinced that a good report is necessary, and that clear, correct English is vital to a good report. A teacher must be able to say, "I don't know," to occasional questions and still retain the respect of his classes; an editor, although no expert on the subject of the report, must be able to convince the writer that he means "single cummu perforated grain" and not "single perforated grain." An editor should have the patience of Job and the even temper of a saint. Most reports are written by the research men of an organization and research men are the prima donnas of science. There are times when an editor must be able to take quietly a regular tirade of abuse over a trivial mistake because the research man just has to let offsteam at someone since he cannot smash the electron microscope that has j q t now proved that the major premise on which he based yesterday's report is all wrong. On the other hand, there are just as many times when the editor must be very firm with the writer who came in yesterday with a hastily scrawled, practically illegible report on the back of some scratch notes and is indignant today because he is expected to check back to see that the editor caught and changed correctly on the typed copy all the places where he used the same symbol to mean three different mathematical quantities. All of which brings us to the important point that an editor must have an infinite patience for minute detail; technical accuracy is his credo. Editor Marple of the Monsanto Chemical Company tells this story on himself. In one issue of one of the house organs he edits he had a little fun writing about the chagrin of an English mathematician who calculated pi to the 450th decimal place only to discover that he had made an error in the 396th place. Just before the magazine wknt to press Editor Marple &covered that by some peculiar circumstance he had vacant one line across the bottom of the page, so he used the space to write pi to as many decimal places as he had the space to print. Imagine his chagrin when, within a week after publication, he began receiving letters pointing out that he had made an error in the 27th place! Once a student has decided upon a career in report editing the next question is that of planning a sound curriculum. Up to the present, no school has offered an adequate course in technical journalism, so in finding a report editor one is faced with the dilemma of hiring either an English or journdism major or a science
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major. It would seem to be much easier to take a good science major and teach him a few fundamentals of editing, and this hsp proved to be true in my experience. However, all too often the appalling truth of the matter is that one must teach the science major the fundamentals of English grammar, too. Fundamentally, a good editor of chemical reports must have a good background not only in chemistry, but in mathematics and physics as well. The chemistry graduate of any school accepting the course recommendations of the American Chemical Society should have an adequate scientilic background for the work. Unfortunately, the American Chemical Society recommendations in chemistry, physics, and mathematics leave little time for free electives in such useful courses as advanced English composition, journalism, and statistics. Certainly, an adeqmte training program for report editing should include composition courses beyond freshman and sophomore English. A course in journalism with practice in editing should be included. It seems peculiar that research men who gather so much data and know its significance so well do not know how to present it in reports. Most graphs are designed fairly well, but in my experience as a technical editor I would say that tables of data are usually the poorest part of reports. Therefore, I think an embryo report editor should take a t least one course in statistics or some other course that will give him some of the fundamental principles of handling and presenting data. In a small company a report editor often is required to make the graphs and line sketches for reports, so a course in mechanical drawing should be very helpful. I have purposely left until last the question of typing, although skill in typing is a handy tool for an editor. Somehow or other, a technically trained woman hates to admit she can type because sooner or later the men try to relegate to her the emergency, after-hour jobs the regular typists and stenographers refuse to handle. Although a company would never think of asking a man editor to do his own typing a woman editor will have to work a long time before she can convince her employers that a typist is needed to save editorial time. So let us face it, and list typing as another "must" course. In fact, many women editors edged into the field by starting as technical secretaries. Even with the increased demand for technical editors, few brand-new bachelors of chemistry will be able to plunge into technical editing jobs a t once. Most people in the field today served apprenticeships in laboratories or classrooms. Like most of the other editors I know, I drifted into report editing by offering a colleague some help in preparing a report. The best procedure would seem to be to get a job as a chemist in a large organization that has no technical editor, and then make oneself available every time someone is stuck with a report to write-for most research chemists and practicaily all plant chemists hate report writing. Such a procedure, however, may result in one's starting out as a ghostwriter rather than an editor, but either job is fun.
