7 Errors You Must Notice When Editing

If you are editing typescripts, here are some classic mistakes to look out for. It is absolutely vital you do not leave these errors. They will make you look very careless and for essay proofreading or for dissertation editing, mistakes could lose the writer valuable marks.

Its/it’s – Remember that this is an exception to the possessive apostrophe rules: Its means “belonging to it” and It’s means “it is”.

Editing grammar check: What is Grammar?

In order to use a language and communicate effectively with other users you need an accepted set of rules. This set of rules is the grammar of the language. In any language the grammar can be complex and there will be plenty of exceptions to the rules. “A grammar” can also be used to mean a book that collects the rules of the language together. Often the rules can change depending on what part of the country you are in. It can be perfectly correct for one dialect to use a certain phrase, while in another part of the country language users would think that same phrase is ungrammatical, lazy or just plain wrong.

Editing Tips: Confusables

Confusables are a common problem that editors find in texts. These are words that may sound (or almost sound) the same, but they are spelt differently and mean different things. They could be words like: Site/cite/sight, their/there/they’re, to/too/two, passed/past, effect/affect.

There are also confusing words that have meanings that are very close, but they need to be used with care. These words may have a similar root, but they do have different meanings. They can need careful thought: Disinterested/uninterested, ensure/assure, comprise/compose, infer/imply.

Professional Editing: Proofreading

This blog will take you through – step by step – how editors do their work, what they are looking for and why. The information given here is based on how professional editors are trained to work in publishing houses.

How does an editor show that there is a mistake?

To show that there is an error in the text the proofreader marks this on the text using proofreading symbols. To get an idea of the sorts of symbols that might appear, have a look at this:-

Editing services – What and why?

Even the most basic PC is loaded up with editing software: the spellcheck with its spelling and grammar checks, a thesaurus and even links to online dictionaries for translations. With all this material at your fingertips why do you need an editing service?

Some professional writers may feel their language skills are exemplary and they don't need someone else to check their work. When you have all this material at your fingertips you may wonder why you would need a professional editing service to check over your work.