Services

I check the content for awkwardly worded sentences, redundancy, and any grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. I will make minor suggestions regarding organization or development. For academic work, I also check charts, tables, and images and their captions for errors.

With line editing, the content goes under the microscope. I look at tone and word choice, sentence style, coherence, and cohesion at the sentence and paragraph level. I also look at all of the other things listed under “standard copyediting.”

Often confused with developmental editing, substantive editing is standard copyediting with an added focus on the global structure and flow of ideas. Though there are similarities between the two types, developmental editing typically is done before the first draft is written. Substantive editing is done after.

Proofreading is done at the final stage of editing, just before the content is submitted for publishing.

This is usually treated as a separate service because in most cases it involves looking at dozens of sources and checking that they have been properly referenced and documented in a work. I may make exceptions for research papers or other texts that have only a few sources.

When fact-checking, I inspect the manuscript for any factual inaccuracies by checking standard references and reliable sources. I then make suggestions for corrections.

A writing project requires a clear description of the content, purpose, and intended audience. Once those have been decided, I outline the content and present it for approval. Then I produce a first draft. If you are happy with it, I perform a copyedit on it, proofread it, and submit the finished product. Please note, as part of my code of ethics, although I will provide any other editing service for students or researchers, I do not write essays or research papers for them.