Professional Paraphrasing, Proofreading and Editing: Quick Overview
Proofreading and editing, alongside paraphrasing services, are very much behind-the-scenes activities. The writer creates content, the editor reviews it, the writer updates it, the editor checks it again and so on until the piece is ready for publication.
What proofreading and editing and paraphrasing services specifically entail? The short answer is simple: they remove errors from content and tidy it up pre-publication.
However, amongst the many jobs that comprise proofreading and editing and paraphrasing services, there are a few fundamental areas that always require checking.
This article will cover:
● Spelling, grammar and punctuation
● Structure
● Style guides
● Rewrites
Spelling, grammar and punctuation
All writers are prone to making mistakes. Writing often involves multiple strands: research from different sources; drafts; notes; facts and figures; and many more. It stands to reason that the occasional typo, repetition or error occurs.
Proofreading and editing services will conduct a thorough review of content to remove such issues. It’s a kind of safety net: when a writer races through a draft, they might not notice writing ‘through’ instead of ‘thorough’ or that a paragraph is missing a full stop.
Editors have the concentration to identify and correct these errors to ensure that the content flows well and isn’t plagued by such irritating issues.
Structure
Proofreading and editing services also involve an in-depth assessment of a document’s format. It’s all about context: sometimes a lengthy block of text is essential for the writer to make their point, while at other times, shorter paragraphs will give the content a punchier and more natural flow.
Editors are mindful of the reader and instinctively know how, when and why a story ‘work’s’. They know, for example, that splitting a long paragraph in two could make dense, heavily technical content easier to process. Equally, short paragraphs might lack the required depth that does justice to the content.
It’s all a balancing act, but if the editor helps make the content clear and accessible, they have succeeded.
Style guides
The building blocks of content. These conventions map out what form the content should take, such as the word count, variety of English, citation format and miscellaneous points (e.g., capitalising specific terms).
Editors will ensure that the content fulfils these requirements, which could mean changing the spelling and punctuation so that the correct form of English is used, making edits to meet the word count and so forth.
Rewrites
This is most likely where paraphrasing services come into play. In short, paraphrasing services prove most useful when a writer has exhausted all avenues and is still no closer to making their intended point.
If this is the case, a rewrite may be in order. The editor will take the content and reshape it, rejigging the content while keeping the original message in mind. In other words, saying the same thing using a different voice.
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