Date: December 15, 2022

Time: 4-5 p.m. Eastern Time

Description:  

In our ACES Academy April 2022 webcast, we described the results of our survey of 80 editors about their perceptions of singular they. In this webinar, we delve deeper into editors’ opinions. We interviewed 15 editors, asking them to elaborate on their survey responses. These editors discussed not only their perceptions of singular they, but also how they perceive style guides’ treatment of they and how they balance two sometimes conflicting drives: to adhere to style guide advice and to create gender-inclusive texts. We dig deeper into editors’ perceptions of singular they and, in the process, elucidate style guides’ varying advice about this pronoun in flux.

Learning objectives 

• More detail about what editors think about indefinite and definite singular they
• How major style guides treat indefinite and definite singular they
• How editors perceive style guides’ treatment of singular they
• How editors balance adherence to style guide advice with advocacy for gender inclusivity

Webcast attendees who work as technical editors will have the opportunity to participate in a different research project by staying after the end of the webcast for 5-10 minutes. Jo, Allison and Shaya have begun a new study - one on technical editors' perceptions of male and female used for connector ends in electronics and plumbing, as in We ensured the male connector on the cable would fit the female connector on the equipment. 

We have developed a Qualtrics survey containing 6 demographic questions that are easy to answer (i.e., by checking boxes). The survey also contains 3 two-part questions about male and female. The survey will take 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the detail of the responses. 

Cost: Free for ACES members/$30 for non-members

Click here to register for this webcast.If you get an error message saying you are not eligible to take this form, you may have already registered. If you have already registered, scroll to the bottom of this page and click the title of the course to the left of the paper clip icon.

About the presenters:

Jo Mackiewicz is a professor of rhetoric and professional communication at Iowa State University. Her recent book, Writing Center Talk over Time: A Mixed-Method Study, won the 2019 International Writing Center Association award for outstanding book. Her edited collection (with Rebecca Babcock), Theories and Methods of Writing Center Studies: A Practical Guide, won the 2021 Writing Across the Curriculum’s Award for best edited collection. Her book, Welding Technical Communication: Teaching and Learning Embodied Knowledge will be published by SUNY Press in May 2022. 

ACES member Allison Durazzi is doctoral student in rhetoric and professional communication at Iowa State University where she teaches business, speech, and technical communication. Her research in editing draws from her prior communications experience in the legal, nonprofit, and arts sectors. In addition to ACES, Allison is a member of the Northwest Editors Guild.

Shaya Kraut is a PhD student in the Rhetoric & Professional Communication program at Iowa State University, where she teaches first-year writing. She has also worked as an ESL teacher, a writing center tutor, and a teacher/tutor for adult basic education. Her research interests include composition pedagogy and critical literacy.