Web responsibilities and roles: editing

Optional title or role/descriptor

Editor

Responsibilities

Assessing the suitability of drafted text or other content for web publication: context, appropriateness, relevance and usefulness to the intended audience.

Editing text and other content intended for publication via the Web/Internet. Revising content to ensure its quality: accuracy, authority, clarity, accessibility and usability. Proof-reading and line-editing for grammar, spelling, punctuation, voice and style. Applying relevant University style guidelines.

Ensuring compliance with copyright and other relevant legal requirements.

Writing or refining metadata for the edited content.

Converting text and other content into a suitable format for publishing on the web.

Typical skills required

The following skills would be beneficial to a staff member performing editing tasks:

• Stylistic editing - adhering to University editing style guides
• Rewriting - rewriting large chunks of text, checking placement
• Copy editing - check written material for grammatical issues, style issues
• Picture research
• Fact checking, research
• Indexing, metadata
• Mark-Up, coding
• Proofreading
• Copy mock-up

Editing web tasks imply a certain level of knowledge about the subject matter that is being edited. It is recommended that the staff member or multiple staff groups assigned the responsibility of editing are content experts in their web publishing area, or are highly qualified writers.

Typical current role

In the present University environment, the following positions and/or hybrids of, would already be taking ownership of the above responsibilities:

• Content experts: academic and general staff

• Authorisers

• Maintainers