CONTENT IN PERFECT ENGLISH

Language Editing

Language editing is concerned only with correcting and improving the language of your work. It does not involve editing the content. We offer three levels of editing, which differ in scope and, accordingly, the amount of the editor’s intervention in the text: proofreading, copy editing, and deep copy editing. The level of editing is determined by the amount of work the text needs to bring it up to the standard of professional or academic publishing.

FINAL EDIT

Proofreading

Proofreading is for high-quality writing that only requires some finishing touches before being ready. It makes sure that your work is free from errors and well polished:

  • Spelling: Spell checkers don’t catch everything! We ensure there are no spelling mistakes. We also apply British or American English, as requested, throughout.
  • Punctuation: Issues here can completely alter the meaning of the text, so getting this right is very important to make sure your text is clear and accurate, and to allow it to flow properly.
  • Grammar: As with spelling errors, it takes very few grammar errors to undermine the quality of your writing. We make sure there are none, so that your writing is accurate and easy to read.
  • Consistency in text and styles: A lack of consistency makes things appear confused or poorly compiled. We check that your text is consistent as regards acronyms, abbreviations, conventions, italics, styles, fonts, and layout.
FIRST EDIT

Copy Editing

Every piece of work should be copy edited at some point, prior to being proofread. Our copy editing includes all aspects of our proofreading service, supplemented by further editing of the language as well as the style and structure:

  • Full proofreading
  • Sentence construction: Your sentences are the fundamental building blocks of your argument. We make sure they are clear, concise, and say exactly what you want them to.
  • Word and phrase choice: Using the correct wording is vital to ensuring clarity of meaning and giving your text the right tone for your purpose. We offer more suitable alternatives to words and phrases to help you achieve this.
  • Resolving ambiguity: To guarantee that your full meaning comes across (and there are no unfortunate connotations you didn’t notice), we flag ambiguous phrases and suggest ways to clarify them.
  • Relevance and clarity: We make sure there is no repetitive or redundant material that could detract from the quality of your writing or the clarity of your argument.
  • Terminology: We confirm that your use of terminology is consistent and follows the required standards and conventions.
  • Referencing: We check that references are accurate and properly laid out in the text, and that tables and figures are suitably labelled and cross-referenced.
  • Bibliography: We correct all spelling mistakes in the bibliography.*

*Copy editing does not include correcting the formatting style of the bibliography (e.g. APA) or checking the accuracy of the information in each entry, such as the publication year. We provide this as an additional separate service.

HEAVY EDIT

Deep Copy Editing

Deep copy editing entails everything included in copy editing, but it involves more substantial editing, including restructuring and rewriting as much of the text as is necessary:

  • Full proofreading
  • Full copy editing
  • Rewriting: Substantial rewriting of sentences and paragraphs to correct or improve the language and style.
  • Structure and logic: We ensure that the point of your work is easy to follow and that the text flows well, with clear progression between sections. This may require moving sections and paragraphs around to improve the logical flow of the content.