Art with Limits

In my experience, editing is more of an art than a science. However, even art has rules
that generally need to be followed in order to create a piece of merit in any particular field.
Art, in the context of this debate, is essentially the idea that there is more than one right
way to create a product. When sculpting, artists do not just pour cement into a mold that some

Formatted: Indent: First line: 3 pi

Commented [SW1]: If this is your thesis, it should be
boldfaced.
Commented [SW2]: What debate? You can flesh out you
introduction more by introducing the debate that youre
referencing here.

higher force has distributed to all artists in the world. Artists are free to create new shapes; use
different mixes of materials; and determine the size, color, and texture of their piece depending
on what they want their work to convey.
That mold is the science in this debate. Sciences (like physics and chemistry), and other

Commented [SW3]: Semicolons are meant to be used in

lists when it helps the clarity, but commas should be fine in
this case, since size, color, and texture is last in the series.

disciplines (such as mathematics), all have laws and formulas. If scientists do not apply these
rules correctly to the problem at hand, then the answers that they get will be wrong. There is
very little room for creative license in science.
It is with these definitions in mind that I argue that editing is more art than science. If
editors all followed the same strict, concrete rules in all situations, there would be little to no
variation in published works, and the literary world would be a very boring place. For a sculpture
to be considered a sculpture, it basically only needs to be a physical, three-dimensional piece of

Commented [SW4]: For simplicity

art. It can come in any shape, size, color, texture, or medium. For a piece of written work to be
considered literature, it simply needs to have a sequence of written words conveying meaning.
There are variations in writing and editing just as there are in other forms of art: different voices,
varying levels of formality, simple or complex sentence structures, positive or negative tones and
moods, and adherence to rigid traditionalism or more relaxed modern usage.
That being said, even within art there are rules that generally need to be adhered to. A
sSculptors can shape a balls of clay however theyhe wants. TheyHe can make the surfaces rough

Commented [SW5]: Actually, what qualifies as literature

is a strongly debated question. Better to switch out the word
literature for something less likely to raise protests from
readers, or else rewrite this sentence.

or smooth; theyhe can make themit hollow or solid; theyhe can dye the clay any color theyhe
desires. But if theyhe wants the final products to stand on theirits own and not break, the
sculptors will need to fire their workit at the right temperature and for the right amount of time.
Otherwise, the finished products might crack and shatter or collapse in on itselfthemselves, and
the artistshis creative goals will not have been realized. In editing, there are certain rules that

Commented [SW6]: This is my suggested solution for

removing the gender-neutral he.

must be followed in order to produce a successful piece of writing. If the goal of the work is to
be formal and straightforward, then there will be a different set of required rules than if the work
is to be a persuasive essay, a humorous short story, or a letter to a friend. The intended audience

Commented [SW7]: Added for parallelism.

plays a substantial role in determining how strict the editor needs to be in editing the work.
Older, more educated audiences will require the editor to follow a higher standard of editing,
while younger or less educated audiences might even prefer that the editor not follow rules that
are not recognized in everyday modern speech. A piece of literature that very strictly follows the
who versus whom rule very strictly and always uses one instead of you or another pronoun can
often be daunting to an audience that is not accustomed to such language, and the impact of the
actual text will be lost behind the confusing or overly formal language. Knowing which rules are
necessary and which are optional makes the difference between a good editor and a poor editor.
In Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace, Williams and Bizup identify three categories of
rules: real rules, social rules, and invented rules. Real rules are what make English English. In
other words, they are rules that can never be broken, (such as certain specifications of word
order), and that are never unconsciously violated by native speakers, regardless of region or level
of education. Social rules are rules that distinguish Standard English from nonstandard. These
rules include avoiding double negatives and other grammatical stigmas that differentiate between
the educated and the uneducated. Then there are invented rules that have been around for so

Commented [SW8]: Suggestion for lengthening your

essay and tying this paragraph back into your point of editing
being an art: artists also need to know who their audience is
if they want to be most effective.
Commented [SW9]: To avoid repetition, you can remove
rules, since youve already said that these are categories of
rules.

long that many writers and editors believe them to be essential to Standard English. These rules
include avoiding split infinitives, following the strict rule that versus which, and not ending a
sentence with a preposition. 1
Of these three kinds of rules defined by Williams and Bizup, the art of editing only
requires that we follow all of the real rules and some of the social rules. In my opinion, mMost of

Commented [SW10]: Suggested change:

differentiating between that and which for parallel
structure.
Commented [SW11]: Professor Bills wants a works cited
page.

Commented [SW12]: Redundant in an opinion piece.

these topics fall under basic punctuation and grammar rules. Commas must be used in the correct
places and verbs tenses must agree with their subjects. An audience that is distracted by poor
grammar, and choppy sentences, and unintentional fragments will not be able to receive the full
message that the author meant to convey, even if the content of the text is profound and
meaningful. I run into this problem all the time Iin my work at BYU Independent Sstudy as I
editing the online courses before they go live, I run into this problem all the time. The lesson
material is factual and important for the student to learn, but the way that the instructor delivers it
is not coherent, or cohesive, or even grammatical at times. As a senior in college, I sometimes
have difficulty understanding what the writer of the middle-school-level course is trying to teach.
Those poor eighth-graders wouldnt stand a chance. In these situations, the written work was not
fulfilling its potential because it was breaking too many rules, so it could not be considered a
truly educational piece. My job was to go in and apply more science to the art.
Editors attention to other aspects of written language depends on the genre of the work
and the creative intent of the author. More formal pPieces of literature that are more formal, such
as scholarly reports and business communications, will tend to require stricter adherence to a

Commented [SW13]: Your thesis posits that art has rules,

so rather than say that youre applying science, you can refer
back to the rules of art.

Commented [SW14]: Suggest changing pieces of

literature for writing, since no one considers reports and
communiques to be literature.

larger set of rules than will less formal works, such as fiction and more personal or colloquial
literature. The more informal the work, the more artistic license the author and editor can take.

Joseph M. Williams and Joseph Bizup, Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace. 11th ed. (New Jersey: Pearson
Education, 2013), 12.

Commented [SW15]: If you follow my previous

suggestion, change this to writing for consistency.
Commented [SW16]: Is this your conclusion? You
havent referred back to your thesis.