English Editing services and why it is so important for your manuscript

Why editing services is required for your document?

Words should always be spoken with caution as they can never be taken back and have a significant impact on the audience. Similarly, words written cannot be erased. Written records are permanently etched in history and play a pivotal role in shaping generations. Therefore, written words should be drafted carefully, irrespective of public distribution or private records.

The first draft of your manuscript will naturally have errors

However, the first draft of any document is a random flow of thoughts that may be unstructured and disorganized, which may or may not convey the intended meaning. It is not yet apt for communication with an audience and could consist of a myriad of unnecessary information. For instance, while I was writing this essay, my first draft was a jumbled flow of random thoughts about everything I wanted to say about “Editing.” It required a couple of polishings and edits to compile into an appropriate communication.

Editing is an elaborate and specialized process done by experts

Google defines Editing as “The process of correcting and adapting a text”. However, I would say that it is an elaborate process of collecting one’s thoughts, organizing them according to a perspective, and polishing and modifying these fragments into a collectible and legible text for communication with an audience.

The survival of humankind is linked to its ability to observe, communicate, and document. The written scriptures have helped mankind to understand and learn skills. To ensure that right information has been inherited from preceding generations, a set of rules was defined for writing. These rules are crucial for the uninterrupted dissemination of authentic information from one generation to another. They are based on several concepts to address the varied aspects of a language. The foremost was recognition of shapes (for example, hieroglyphics) that transformed into spellings to construct an appropriate word, followed by the correct organization of words into a legible sentence.

Impeccable English language is a must for a scientific or research paper

The sentences are compiled to form a paragraph, sections, and then chapters; all come together and formulate a concise text. In any field, but especially the scientific world, a written text, known as a manuscript, is the primary mode of communication with the community and people at large. Although the English idiom promotes “Don’t judge the book by its cover,” it is not uncommon in the scientific community to judge a manuscript/article by its appearance. The preferred language of scientific communication is English, and according to the current trend, impeccable linguistic skills are desired.

The abstract should be flawless in a research paper

Given the body of research today, the volume of publications is far exceeding one’s capacity to keep updated. Hence, plenty of articles are scanned with a bird’s eye view and Abstracts. Hence, these texts must be free of any spelling or typographical errors. The Abstract should also be a short story with a logical flow to attract the reader to delve deeper into the research. However, it should still be the crux of the study and convey the intended idea of the content.

Subsequently, the entire article should be a logical flow of thoughts, with details as necessary. The relevancy of the content should be presented in a very precise and concise manner. This is known as tight writing, wherein all the relevant information is delivered with adequate details, omitting any unnecessary information or verbosity.

Professional English language editors are required to help you in your writing

Editors play a crucial role in helping the authors deliver such flawless manuscripts, especially those who may not have English as their first language and find it challenging to communicate their excellent science to a global audience. The three main types of editing that turn a write-up into a structured manuscript are as follows:

 

• Developmental/Substantive editing: The editor ensures the relevancy of the content, helps the authors to organize their data, structure the thoughts and results, provides comments to improve the article scientifically and linguistically, and helps with referencing and overall presentation. To summarize, the benchwork data and laboratory notes are transformed into results into a comprehensive manuscript.
• Line editing/copy editing: Although the roles of both these editors overlap to some extent, a line editor focuses on the presentation of ideas, word choice, and jargon according to the field and ensures that the intended meaning is conveyed in the best possible way in every sentence avoiding unnecessary information. The copy editor would focus on the relevance of the content and whether the style of language is accurate; for example, punctuations (American English prefers a serial comma, whereas British English leaves it out) and spelling preferences (American English “favors,” while British English “favours”). Also, sentence construction and syntax are perfected for the logical flow of the story, followed by consistent formatting.
• Proofreader: Finally, the article is given a thorough overview by a proofreader to make the article flawless, removing minor typographical or punctuation errors. The manuscript is made to look impressive and attractive to the readers and ready for submission to the target journals/publication houses.

Typically, substantive editing and copy editing require multiple rounds, while a proofreader would be able to go through the final version in one attempt. Nonetheless, depending on the style of the manuscript and the requirements of the author/journal, every stage may go through several rounds of editing. These steps are vital for any manuscript so that the content relevancy is maintained and interpreted as intended. A wrong placement of the punctuation could alter the meaning of the sentence. One of the most common examples is:

I love my parents, my dog and my cat (meaning, my dog and my cat are my parents).

It should read:

I love my parents, my dog, and my cat.

The meaning of the second sentence is correct, implying correct grammar and punctuation. Therefore, editing and proofreading ensure that the correct message is conveyed in an error-free manner and the documentation is flawless for permanent record for future generations.

Please feel free to contact us for editing and proofreading services.