Editing and Proofreading: Two Very Different Things

It’s fairly common for people to use the terms editing and proofreading interchangeably. In truth, they are two very different things.

Proofreading focuses on spelling, grammatical errors, formatting issues, and other ‘technical’ matters. As a general rule, proofreading is done after the writer has completed a piece entirely. The amount of time spent proofreading written work depends on several factors. These include:

• The Abilities of The Writer
• The Amount of Time The Writer Had to Adequately Focus on Grammar And Punctuation
• The Writer’s Level of Experience With a Particular Subject or Writing Style
• The Importance of Error-Free Writing to The Audience

In many cases, it is normal for the writer to simply proofread their own work. This can be fine as long as the writer has adequate skills, the time to review their work, and the ability to find their own errors.

Of course, there are grammar checking tools that can help in this process, but they should never be seen as a substitute for the process of a human being reading through a paper and making corrections.

Editing, on the other hand, is much more involved. This process involves checking grammar, spelling, and other issues that are covered in the proofreading stage. Then, on top of that, it means ensuring that the document is accurate and communicates what the writer intends to communicate.

A good editor will help a writer effectively get their point across in a way that their audience will understand. Editing involves looking at how things are worded, sentence structure, the vocabulary used, and a variety of other factors.

A proofreader can do their job without very much information about the original assignment. Editors need very in-depth information in order to do theirs.

An Example of When to Use Proofreading Services

Mary has just finished writing an essay about Romeo and Juliet. She’s been a fan of Shakespeare since middle school and is a strong writer. In fact, she won the Young Author’s challenge twice. The paper is due in less than a day, and she’s double-checked it for errors and hasn’t found any.

She could just turn the paper in, but she’s a bit nervous. Her instructor has a zero-tolerance policy for spelling and grammar mistakes. Mary has worked too hard to lose points over this.

In this case, Mary should contact someone to proofread her paper, preferably a professional. Chances are it wouldn’t take more than an hour or two. It would be well worth the time and money to ensure a high mark and present a paper that is nicely polished.

When Editing Services Are the Way to Go

Jimena is in the midst of working on her dissertation. She’s also working full time, and taking some intense classes. She is an honors student, and already has a job lined up. All she has to do is finish up her required service hours, and get through her defense.

Here are her troubles. In addition to working and studying so hard, Jimena’s native language is Spanish. Her ideas and research are wonderful, but she worries that she isn’t using the right words. She wants the committee to really get what she is communicating through her work because she is so passionate about it. She wants to create educational programs that will change that.

Jimena should use a proofreading service. This will help her feel confident that she is turning in an academic work that is sure to impress.

Our Editing and Proofreading Services

If you place an order for an essay, term paper, research paper, or other document editing and proofreading can be rolled into your price.

Of course, in the event that you’ve already written your own paper, we are still happy to provide editing and proofreading as stand-alone options. Hopefully, the examples above will help you to understand which one to select. We discussed dissertations above, but want to mention that when we take on this kind of work, proofreading and editing are an ongoing process. The same goes for your thesis work. This means that you have the option for placing an order for assistance on your entire work, or just for specific chapters.

We will check for and fix spelling, grammatical, and formatting errors whether you select proofreading or editing. If you order proofreading services, we will work with you to ensure that your writing is highly readable, concise, that the correct wording is used, and that your intended meaning is communicated.

We truly believe that you will happy that you opted to use these services. Good editing and proofreading can truly mean the difference between an A paper and a B paper. For college students, this can be very important.

In order to make the pricing a bit more attractive, we offer many discounts. Chances are, at least one of these can be applied when you place your order.