Editing and proofreading are two different concepts. Editing is the overall processing of the text material, including structuring and fitting it to the established technical parameters. Proofreading is the final “polishing” of the article, identification and correction of spelling and stylistic errors, typos made by the author. Students also often use the college essay editing service, mainly scientific papers and articles.
What is included in editing?
An article intended for publication in a journal or on a website must be competently and clearly written, strictly according to the subject. It is the editor’s job to see if the writer has produced a text that meets these parameters.
The editor is responsible for such specifications as:
- grammar;
- word usage, vocabulary;
- the consistency of the construction of sentences;
- compliance with the functional style.
The professional engaged in the editing is obliged to monitor the compliance with the rules of language. In addition, the services of a professional include:
- Logicality and consistency of the presentation of scientific material;
- full disclosure of the topic, including the written introduction and conclusions;
- Identification and correction of minor errors, such as tautology and duplication of turns of phrase.
Changes made by the editor
The creator of the article is responsible for its content and proper presentation. The editor maintains the style while eliminating only inaccurate statements, tautology, logical and verbal errors, blunders, etc. The person who edits the text highlights the corrections made so that the author can see his or her own shortcomings in the writing. If numerous errors are found that require lengthy correction, the text may be sent to the writer for revision.
Peculiarities of editing scientific style publications
It is not the responsibility of the editor to rewrite the text instead of the author, he only marks mistakes and makes edits regarding vocabulary, grammar, punctuation, etc.
When the error is minor, he corrects it himself. If complex and unclear formulations and fragments are detected, the text goes to the author’s revision. Options for correcting errors can be suggested to the author.
What does proofreading include?
Proofreading of scientific material includes: correcting spelling and punctuation errors;
monitoring the correctness of character set (quotation marks, hyphens, etc.);
correcting typos made by the writer inadvertently.
The work of the proofreader includes editing the following parameters:
- Spelling. Identifies and corrects typos in words made by accident or trivial ignorance.
- Punctuation. This is the improper placement of punctuation marks.
- Rules of typing symbols, such as hyphens and dashes, literary quotes, letter or number abbreviations.
- Uniformity of writing. Repetitive elements are encountered during proofreading.
- Syntactical errors. Sometimes require rewordings of a single sentence or an entire part of the publication.
Correction work also sometimes includes control of grammar, but in practice it significantly exceeds the norms of scientific proofreader’s duties.
Given the workflow, the proofreader proofreads an article that has already been processed by the author and editor. Almost everything in it has already been corrected and checked.
If light spelling errors are detected, the specialist corrects them. It is also a plus that the publisher has an editor who removes the proofreader’s questions.
However, there are cases when the proofreader takes a “raw” text for review, then his task is to detect and correct typos, errors related to spelling and punctuation.
Differences between the editor and the proofreader
Specialists working with text materials have some differences between them. For example, a person who edits text, knows how to say exactly and correctly, that is, he works with the text as with the essay. A proofreader knows how to write down accurately and skillfully, otherwise he is engaged in proofreading the text according to the example of dictation.
Ordering services to improve the literacy of scholarly work
In order for the work of a researcher to turn out literate and could safely pass for publication, the customer turns to specialists, pursuing different goals:
If the article requires proofreading for typos, identifying punctuation and spelling errors, but does not need to change the presentation of the material, the writer resorts to proofreading services.
If the customer is in doubt about the accuracy and correctness of the sentences and paragraphs, the possible inclusion of various types of speech errors, the review is performed by a specialist in the editorial department.
How do I edit a research paper?
Stages of editing:
- Editing. The specialist proofreads the text, correcting errors and making the required edits. If there are incomprehensible scientific terms in the article, make their transcription.
- Sending the work for approval by the customer. The author examines the nature of the corrections made, agrees with them or makes his own suggestions for correction.
- Re-editing. The customer returns the original version to the specialist who re-reads it once again. If no errors are found, the document is sent to the Proofreader.
- Proofreading.
- The final part. The editor supervises the corrections. After the final version of the article is created, it is sent to the customer, and then to the publication.
How do I proofread?
The proofreader proofreads the article and does so twice. Editing stylistic and logical inaccuracies is not his responsibility, but he can leave recommendations for the author on how to improve the text document.
It is up to the customer to decide whether to consider or reject the proofreading recommendations.
The proofreader’s job is to make technical corrections that include removing excess punctuation and spaces, as well as the correct spacing of headings and paragraphs.
Before sending the corrected version of the text to the client, the editor-in-chief re-reads it and studies the correctness of the corrections. Then the finished material is sent to the client for approval.
Conclusion
After writing a scientific work and the emergence of a desire to publish it, authors often turn to the services of professionals who are engaged in checking the content and correcting errors. Even very competent creators of scientific papers resort to the services of editors and proofreaders, since people often tend to make mistakes, and when re-reading the text repeatedly they do not notice them.
