Copy Editing

Editing, or copy editing, encompasses improving the sentence structure, style, and flow of your writing, as well as ensuring accuracy and consistency throughout your text.  It might include rewriting or reorganizing text.

The Grammar Gnome offers two levels of editing:  Basic and Heavy.

Basic Edit

Heavy Edit
Our Basic Edit reviews each sentence carefully, proofing for typos, correcting grammar, and highlighting or correcting other issues that make your writing feel “unpolished.”  Our Basic Edit includes the following:
  • Review document for overall readability, focusing on clarity and consistency
  • Correct typos and errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar
  • Correct word usage (that vs. which, affect or effect?)
  • Remove repetitive words and jargon
  • Flag wordiness, awkward sentence structures, overuse of passive voice, and other issues that make your writing feel “unpolished”
  • Flag and query inconsistencies and redundancies
  • Ensure consistency of style* based on the Chicago Manual of Style or the author’s style sheet (Spell out numbers or leave them as numerals?  Italicize words or use quotation marks?)
  • Complete the author’s style sheet**, if provided
  • The Basic Edit does not include rewriting text; however, we might suggest ways to improve it
 *Style refers to the rules related to punctuation, spelling, hyphenation, capitalization, spacing, abbreviations, formatting, etc. 
 **A  Style Sheet is a list of rules regarding style that is specific to a given project. The details of a style sheet can vary from project to project, depending on company or author preferences.  More style sheet information
Our Heavy Edit is a detailed review of your document that may involve rewriting your text to improve readability, clarity, or accuracy, but we will always preserve your meaning and voice.  Our Heavy Edit includes everything listed in the Basic Edit as well as the following:
  • Review document for content and style, clarity and logic, voice and tone, and overall readability
  • Note inconsistencies, redundancies, unclear text or ideas, accuracy, etc.
  • Query or correct problems with structure and organization; move blocks of text if necessary
  • Suggest or draft revisions to text to improve clarity, flow, coherence, and overall readability
  • Remove or add sentences to eliminate wordiness and improve fluency
  • Correct awkward sentence structures
  • Create a style sheet**, if desired
If requested, a Heavy Edit may also include the following:
  • Check and correct acronym and abbreviation first use and consistency
  • Check and correct facts (names, addresses, URLs, dates, etc.)
  • Standardize citations, reference lists, bibliographies, and notes
  • Ensure in-text citations are listed in the bibliography (does not include cross-checking references with external sources)
  • Verify figures and tables are ordered and labeled correctly in text
Click here for details on editing services for authors, businesses, students, ESL, and websites.
For more information on Editing and Proofreading, click here.
For more information on all of our Services, click here.

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