Services publics et Approvisionnement Canada
Symbole du gouvernement du Canada

Liens institutionnels

 

Avis important

L’outil The Canadian Style a été archivé et ne sera plus mis à jour jusqu’à son retrait définitif.

Pour obtenir notre contenu le plus à jour, veuillez consulter Writing Tips Plus, un outil combinant le contenu des outils Writing Tips et The Canadian Style. N’oubliez pas de modifier vos favoris!

Rechercher dans Canada.ca

16.01 Introduction

The purpose of this chapter is to give the writer or editor guidance on how to check, correct and improve texts.

Many labels have been attached to the rereading process—revising, editing, reviewing, quality control, quality assurance, checking, post-editing, technical accuracy and conformity test, and so on. In this chapter, we will use the term "revision" to cover the full range of improvements that can be made to the form of a document, including organization of the content.

Revision and proofreading overlap, but proofreading is generally restricted to detecting and correcting omissions, grammar mistakes, and errors in typography, numerical expressions, names and titles, geographical names and addresses, and format. Proofreading for such errors is essential as a final check before distribution; it may also be a cost-effective alternative to extensive revision if time is of the essence.

16.02 Extent of revision

In establishing a revision method, you should keep in mind the time available, the cost of revision, the sensitivities of the person or persons whose work you are about to revise, and above all the end use of the document at hand. A report to be read by a small group of experts for information purposes may require proofreading, not revision, and attention to style and usage will be cursory. In revising a draft of your organization’s annual report, however, you will have to detect, and correct, errors of many different types. Revision in this context may entail making improvements to or even recasting portions of a document which contains few, if any, errors of typography, grammar or usage but which requires changes in style and a reorganization of ideas.

For most purposes, you will deliver a satisfactory product if you eliminate, in accordance with the recommendations in the relevant chapters of this guide, errors of the types listed in 16.05 Sequence. The guidelines presented below are based on the premise that the goal of revision is generally not to rewrite a text or make it conform to the reviser’s personal preferences, but to identify errors and correct them. They may be adapted to fit the specific conditions under which the work is being performed and the end use of the document.