Into the Guide: Editing the Outdoor and Trail Guide to the Wichita Mountains

Abstract

A group of 10 students in an undergraduate editing course began work on a revision of the Outdoor and Trail Guide to the Wichita Mountains, a popular book used by hikers and nature enthusiasts for over 25 years. At the request of the Friends of the Wichitas, a 5013c organization, students performed tasks including editing for gender-neutral language, fact-checking the maps in the Guide as well as the veracity of some of the historical and native American lore contained therein, and general copy-editing. Working with the Friends organization, students made significant changes to the Guide, and developed a proposal for completing the project. Reardon (2016) suggests that service-learning projects such as the present example make the process of writing more public and more transparent and help students to better understand the tacit dimension of writing practice in a public service setting. The feedback provided by the Friends organization allowed students to understand audience and readership in ways that more traditional courses cannot provide. Plans for completion of the Guide, including a digital version, will be presented.