Academic Editing

In the editing world, copyediting is the term used for what we might conventionally think of as proofreading. This involves fixing spelling, grammar, and incorrect uses of words, while maintaining the original voice of the author.

 

Proofreading involves checking a document that is ready to be published and making sure that all elements are present and in the correct order. In practice, the essential difference between proofreading and copyediting is that proofreading is used for a document that has been typeset and converted into the final form in which it will be printed. Therefore, even though a proofreader can find themselves picking up spelling/grammar errors missed during copyediting, these errors may be time consuming to change once a document is no longer formatted as a Word document. For this reason, it is desirable to have a document thoroughly copyedited before it is typeset and submitted for proofreading.

 

Substantive editing, also known as structural or content editing, is the most substantial form of editing. It aims to refine the 'structure, content, language, style, and presentation' of a piece of writing (Institute of Professional Editors Limited, n.d.). This form of editing goes beyond spelling, grammar, and syntax, requiring higher level knowledge of the purpose and audience of the document. For a business document or advertisement intended for a wider audience, this may involve recommendations about how much jargon to use and which concepts to explain. It also involves making sure that the document is complete and makes sense as a whole. This may include adding glossaries, indexes, and contents pages, as well as making sure the chapters/sections of a long document are presented in a logical order.

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Types of editing. (n.d.). Institute of Professional Editors Limited. https://www.iped-editors.org/about-editing/types-of-editing/