Proofreading & Editing

Before you submit your finished article, essay or whitepaper, it’s best to get your writing edited and proofread. Why I hear you ask. You’ve ran it through spell check and Grammarly and you’ve already corrected the errors found. Well, if you’ve been working on the article for a while, it’s likely that you’ve become blind to errors on the page and you are more likely to skim read the content, especially if time’s not your friend. Even spell checks or grammar checkers can miss errors.

It’s therefore worthwhile employing a proofreader and editor to give your copy a final look over to ensure your content is the very best it can be, whilst provide you with peace of mind.

Proofreading vs Editing – what’s the difference?

When it comes to proofreading and editing you might think they are the same thing, but they are actually slightly different.

Proofreading

Proofreading concentrates more on correcting any errors including spelling, grammatical, punctuation and other language mistakes. Often, it can be difficult to pick up errors when you are reading your own work and requires a specialist eye to read through the content to spot mistakes. Proofreading should be the final stage of the drafting and editing process.

Editing

Editing is the process of making changes and suggestions to a piece of writing, aimed to improve the overall content quality. Editing ensures that your writing is as impactful as possible, remains consistent and uses the correct tone. It also ensures the best choice of words are used to convey your meaning, in as few words as possible to keep your writing succinct. There’s also an extra opportunity to check your writing for any spelling or grammatical errors.

If editing and proofreading your own work, I recommend putting your content aside for at least a day or two so you can look at your writing with fresh eyes and a new perspective. Often printing the work out can also help you spot mistakes and easily make changes. (There’s also the reading upside down trick, which apparently works too!).

However, re-reading over your own work can be tedious and might result in you unintentionally skimming the text. Even spell and grammar check applications like Microsoft Word, Grammarly and SpellCheckPlus all have their flaws.

Proofreading & Editing: What can I provide?

With my help and keen eagle eyes, I am able to provide a fresh perspective and provide you expert feedback on any structural issues, spelling and grammatical errors alongside any areas for improvement.

When you hire me to edit and proofread your writing, you can benefit from the following:

• Pick up on spelling mistakes
• Check for grammatical errors
• Spot wrong use of punctuation
• Identify wrong words used (such as there, their and they’re)
• Check for double spaces, especially after full stops
• Identify overly long sentences and shorten them
• Check the tone
• Provide you with clear written guidance using highlighted notes and in-text annotations
• Save you the embarrassment of submitting work with a glaringly obvious mistake

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