Editors look at four main types or levels of editing, each of which is appropriate for a different stage in the creation or production of a manuscript or text. This page descries what an editor will do in each of the four stages of editing, and the special case of academic grants.
Structural editing — from conception to first draft.
- Analyze and refine structure and flow.
- Reorder sections, cut or add materials, or write new material.
- Flag when diagrams or images could be useful.
- Check revise-and-resubmits to ensure the author has addressed reviewers’ comments and suggestions.
Line editing a first or second draft, as needed.
- Focus on the sentence and phrase, author’s tone or formality, the use of cliches, and logical consistency.
- Point out difficult sentences and word choice, grammar issues, and anachronisms.
- Flag awkward writing habits, like over-use of certain words or “scare quotes.”
- Note where references might be needed.
- Ensure table and image captions are correct.
- Ready documents for submission to a scholarly journal, review committee, or publishing platform.
- (Line editing can be especially helpful for authors whose first language is not English.)
Copy editing a late or last draft.
- Check spelling, word choice, use of commas, and grammar.
- Ensure conformity with the required (“house”) style for referencing, spacing, capitalization, hyphenation, headings, italics, and more.
- Decide, with skill and care, when to ignore the rules.
- Produce a precise and professional appearance to make the final product shine.
Proofreading the finished proofs.
- Examine final appearance after text and visual elements have been laid out.
- Correct any remaining errors.
- Confirm that the design effectively supports communication goals.
- (Sometimes this stage is integrated with copy editing to meet cost or time constraints.)
In practice, editing will often cross the boundaries, sometimes on account of budget or time constraints, sometimes to address things missed in an earlier edit. But ideally, your writing process will allow attention to each stage in the publishing process. This is because structural editing can reveal problems that will be far more difficult and costly to fix at a later stage; a thorough line edit will allow the copy editor to work at a good pace later; and all these will give the proofreader a clean copy to scan for any last errors.
Editing academic grant applications
Editing grant applications and proposals calls for special attention to a variety of checks and interventions. Applications and proposals must have a solid structure, adhere closely to instructions and conventions, show clarity of purpose, and use clear and persuasive language. A grant editor will strive to ensure the final product is free of grammatical and spelling errors and other easily overlooked problems.
Learn more about grant editing in our resources section.