Textbooks and exam questions must be correct, clear and precise. If questions are ambiguous, a wrong answer could reflect the wording of the question rather than the student’s knowledge. Biotext worked with an education organisation to ensure their learning and exam materials provided to students were as clear as possible.
We analysed and edited information to ensure the learning materials and questions were clearly framed, and to identify and correct any grammatical and mathematical errors.
Our role
- Technical editing
- Copyediting and proofreading
- Work with subject matter experts
- Document design and layout
Our solution
Our editing approach involved meeting with mathematicians to learn about their specific needs, then applying that understanding. We reviewed all materials for clarity and readability. For questions, some of which were used all around Australia, we focused on removing any potential ambiguity to ensure that students knew what was required of them.
Our technical workflow saw us adapt our processes to the client’s systems and needs. We worked with PDF, Word and specialised software for formatting equations to ensure that mathematical content was presented clearly, consistently and in line with accepted standards. We edited in Word, marked up files in Acrobat, and edited and marked up files using LaTeX mathematical software.
Outcomes
Edited and quality-assured exams and resources for the:
- 2023 Australian Mathematics Competition
- Australian Informatics Olympiad
- Australian Intermediate Mathematics Olympiad
- 2024 Mathematics Challenge materials
- 2024 Enrichment Teacher Guides
- Enrichment Student Notes textbook
- Globe (newsletter)
- Competition handbook for coordinators and supervisors.