What is the Difference between Proofreading and Editing?

As you can see, editing and proofreading are two different stages of document preparation. Every author invariably hires a professional proofreading and editing service once he/she has finished writing the first draft of the document. The abundance of online proofreading and editing services makes it easy for authors to hire a second pair of eyes. However, to help you express your thoughts clearly and coherently, it is key that the editor and proofreader 代写 are familiar with not just your area of work but also the subject-specific conventions.

Editing explained

Editing involves a proactive editor making changes and suggestions that will improve the overall quality of your writing, particularly in relation to language use and expression. After editing, your language will be sharp and consistent, your expression clear and the overall readability of your writing enhanced. Editing also involves the ‘proofreading’ of your document, with spelling, grammar and other language errors eliminated. Editing ensures that your writing gives the impression that the English language comes naturally to you, even if it does not.

In addition to improving the quality of writing, academic editing and book editing also serve the important function of ensuring that specific conventions are met. For academic editing this includes referencing style and formatting requirements and for book editing important literary elements in a fiction or non-fiction book.

Proofreading explained

Proofreading is often considered a science. Proofreading checks work to identify all errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar. It also picks up instances of inconsistent terminology, formatting and referencing. Proofreading tends to result in minor, aesthetic adjustments to text rather than big changes.

However, proper proofreading still requires specialised knowledge and experience to be effective (and certainly goes far beyond what your computer’s spell-checking software can do). This is because the human brain is very good at correcting errors automatically, so when you look at a piece of writing you may not register its mistakes, especially when it comes to your own work. We’ve all seen those memes where some letters are jumbled up inside words, but you can still somehow read them!

Conclusion

As you can see, there are some fundamental differences between proofreading and editing. However, many would say that proofreading is the final stage of editing; it is the last dash to spot any remaining errors or inconsistencies that were not caught in the initial editing process.

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