Academic editing is a branch within editing that specialises in the genre of scholarly writing. The aim is to help researchers produce texts of high scientific standard that are well written, reader friendly, clear and correct.

I offer three different types of editing which generally can be distinguished by the level at which they approach your text. If you’re not sure what you need, feel free to consult with me. The services can always be customised to suit your individual needs.

Copyediting helps to improve the language and watches out for all kinds of inconsistencies. It aims to improve the clarity and readability of your text, eliminating grammatical errors and improving the overall flow. It includes making sure that your text is coherent in its usage of either British or American English and checking that tables, figures and citations are presented consistently. Your text is ready for copyediting when you have completed the writing process. What you get is a reader-friendly text free from grammatical errors where the language does not get in the way of your message.

Proofreading is generally regarded as the very last step in the publication process, examining your text at a word level to make sure no errors pertaining to typography, formatting, grammar or spelling remain. This means that no major changes are made – the aim is rather to eliminate errors. Typically, I would proofread your page proofs, but I could also proofread your text before submission to give it the final attention to detail that may be difficult to muster as an author.

Substantive editing engages with the content and structure of your text. This type of editing typically takes place when you have written a draft but still need to revise it. The structure may need to be rearranged; the line of argument may need to be clarified; new sections may need to be added, others deleted; some parts may need reframing, others rephrasing. This type of editing takes a bird’s-eye view to look at your text as a whole and also considers it in relation to its intended audience. I will help you produce a well-argued and well-organised text that states its aims clearly and lives up to the conventions of the genre, bearing the prospective reader and publication outlet in mind.