It's my last blog post for J420! Yay!... I mean, noooooooooooooooooooooo
Alright, I'm done. Let's now turn my attention to the Language Log, which I blogged about earlier in the semester.
Here's the blog post from the Language Log that I'm going to comment about: http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=1396.
This column talks about a critique that someone wrote about how a study released by Ellen J. Langer et al. (1978) used generalizations.
It was interesting to read about how a scientific study was subtly twisted (most likely accidentally) that likely skewed results. And all of this had to do with wording, not numbers or experimental facts and figures.
Perhaps this got me thinking about science-based copy editing, a field I may be going into after I graduate from this fine institution. Let me stress the MAY. Not because I don't want to do it, but because I'm a little afraid of how well I'll do on this test my potential employers will be giving to me. Although the test will surely be about copy editing, I can't help but wonder if they throw in a few questions about quantum physics or something. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy science. "Quantum Leap" is probably my favorite TV show of all time, so if that doesn't show my dedication to the field, I don't know what does. (half kidding?)
Anyway... I think it's important to have people from copy editing backgrounds pursue careers in science editing. Not only will they be able to make sure wordings don't confuse readers, but, becuase they are not completely absorbed in the technicalities and jargon of researchers, they'll be able to step back from the research to see if something sounds wrong. And we won't feel stupid for asking questions, becuause we'll look foolish to a research writer no matter what we do.
Basically, copy writers should be everywhere! It's not only about grammar; it's about making sense and not twisting the truth, intentionally or not.
Cheers!
I've always thought it'd be fun to write for a science magazine or work the science beat just because of all the new findings and research going on in that field. It'd be a challenge, that's for sure, what with all the terminology and strange methods.
ReplyDeleteI never thought about science writing in the copy editing way, though. That doesn't seem as much fun as covering the topic though, especially if the story is dry or poorly written.