What is the difference between revise and proofread

Paper revising focuses on the content of ideas and how well they are delivered to your target audience. If you are doing your own paper revising, you will want to allow some time between finishing your first draft and sitting down to revise your paper. This is to give yourself a bit of distance so that you can review your own work more objectively. If you created an outline before writing, it can help to revise your paper while checking it against your outline to make sure you wrote what you intended to.

The purpose of the editing step is to check to make sure your paper is written using clear, smooth language and that there is no awkward or confusing phrasing. English language editing in particular will target passive voice constructions and run-on sentences for elimination or editing. English language editing will generally focus on ensuring that:. The main purpose of English editing and editing in general is to read each sentence carefully and make sure that it does its job.

Is it easy to understand? Is it technically correct spelling, grammar, punctuation? Does the tone stay the same throughout the piece? Is the writing style appropriate for the audience? If you are writing for an academic audience, there are many terms you will not need to explain that you would to a lay audience, for example. These are all things to consider when editing. Editing might seem like a simple process, but in fact it can be very intensive.

Many non-native English speakers in particular struggle with expressing their ideas well in English, which is one reason for a rise in English language editing services.

Native English speakers will review your work and make suggestions for how to improve phrasing and writing quality overall. Proofreading is the process of giving your paper once last read to look for any errors you might have missed. These errors are minor and technical in nature but are still essential to catch. They can be difficult to check for, and many people hire proofreading services.

English proofreading services review a document to make sure that:. The process of proofreading is simple, but it is time-intensive and can be challenging. Many proofreaders use tricks like reading their paper backward or looking for one specific error type at a time.

Proofreading can seem unnecessary. When students use the triple line mark for capitalization or insert the paragraph sign to show a missing indent or squiggle-line a word to check the spelling , they are editing the writing. These are activities that improve the grammar and mechanics of the message. Understand the Difference Between Revision and Editing. Learning Center. Subscribe to Ask Smekens.

Ask Smekens. March 5, For example, revision may include the following: Add spider-leg sentences to develop ideas more completely trait of ideas. The same basic structure also applies to a thesis, dissertation , or research proposal. Depending on the length and type of document, you might also include a literature review or theoretical framework before the methodology. If you want to be confident that an important text is error-free, it might be worth choosing a professional proofreading service instead.

Editing and proofreading are different steps in the process of revising a text. Editing comes first, and can involve major changes to content, structure and language. The first stages of editing are often done by authors themselves, while a professional editor makes the final improvements to grammar and style for example, by improving sentence structure and word choice. Proofreading is the final stage of checking a text before it is published or shared. It focuses on correcting minor errors and inconsistencies for example, in punctuation and capitalization.

Proofreaders often also check for formatting issues, especially in print publishing. The cost of proofreading depends on the type and length of text, the turnaround time, and the level of services required.

Most proofreading companies charge per word or page, while freelancers sometimes charge an hourly rate. There are many different routes to becoming a professional proofreader or editor. The necessary qualifications depend on the field — to be an academic or scientific proofreader, for example, you will need at least a university degree in a relevant subject. For most proofreading jobs, experience and demonstrated skills are more important than specific qualifications.

Often your skills will be tested as part of the application process. To learn practical proofreading skills, you can choose to take a course with a professional organization such as the Society for Editors and Proofreaders.

Alternatively, you can apply to companies that offer specialized on-the-job training programmes, such as the Scribbr Academy.

Want to contact us directly? No problem. We are always here for you. Scribbr specializes in editing study-related documents. We proofread:. You can find all the citation styles and locales used in the Scribbr Citation Generator in our publicly accessible repository on Github.

Frequently asked questions See all. Revising is making structural and logical changes to your text—reformulating arguments and reordering information. Editing refers to making more local changes to things like sentence structure and phrasing to make sure your meaning is conveyed clearly and concisely.

Proofreading involves looking at the text closely, line by line, to spot any typos and issues with consistency and correct them.