Academic Editing Services That Get Results

Academic editing is a dedicated editorial service that is specifically designed to ensure essays, theses, dissertations, and other academic papers meet stringent scholastic requirements.

Academic editors are experts in academic style guides and university expectations and use their specialized knowledge of the peculiarities of academia to help students strengthen their academic papers while also ensuring that all formatting and referencing requirements are met.

Vappingo’s academic editors have a minimum of a degree in their subject of their expertise and are highly experienced professionals who have worked with a variety of documents including master theses, dissertations, presentations, journal articles, essays, and other academic papers.

Editing is important in academic writing because although most students and academics are experts in their specialist field, they may not possess the writing skills, grammatical knowledge, and understanding of the idiosyncrasies of academia to present their research findings and essays in the best possible light.

Even those who do have a high standard of writing will find it very difficult to spot errors in their own writing because they are so intimately involved with the text that they become blind to potential issues. You can read more about how this happens in our guide to why proofreading isn’t easy.

If an essay or academic paper is very important to you, it is critical that it is edited by a professional native-English expert. Failure to do so could lead to your paper being rejected or disappointing grades that are not fully reflective of your true ability. According to academic editing expert Brian Bloch, it can also damage your reputation.

Don’t waste your potential make sure your essays and academic papers are the best they can be.

The editing process is very complex and involves a lot of different tasks. However, on a high level, academic editors perform the following functions:

• Help you to ensure that your main ideas and arguments are presented in a clear and logical manner. This is imperative to delivering a high-quality academic text that achieves its underlying objectives.
• Find and correct all grammatical, typographical, spelling, and punctuation errors. Even the smallest mistakes can detract from the quality of your writing and many academic institutions penalize poor grammar. Using an academic editing service will help you to ensure that your research and essays are presented in the best possible light.
• Use their knowledge of academic style guides and essay formatting to ensure that your papers, essays, dissertations, and theses meet stringent academic requirements.
• Point out areas in the text where key information is missing or ideas do not flow effectively. This type of objective feedback can help you to take your academic papers to the next level and can significantly improve your grades.
• Highlight any mistakes that you have consistently made throughout the document. This will help you to improve your academic writing skills.

Contrary to common expectation, the editing and proofreading process isn’t quite a linear process by which editors complete distinct tasks at different times. On a high-level, Vappingo’s editing process is as follows:

The Three Main Steps in Editing a Document

While the editing process is methodical, it is also very much iterative; as such, some tasks are repeated across passes and the editor will frequently switch between different types of editing. For example, although the editor may adopt a development stance during the first pass of an edit, it is highly likely that he or she will stray into the other types of editing at regular points throughout the process in response to the flow and presentation of the document.

The Four Types of Academic Editing

Developmental/Structural Editing

Looking at the “big picture” of the paper to identify major structural issues

Developmental editing involves looking at the big picture. For example, when editing a dissertation, the editor will take a step back and consider what the dissertation is about and what the main topics of interest are. He or she will then help the author to develop a broad outline to support the flow and structure of the dissertation.

Typically, by the time you have produced the first draft of your dissertation, you will have developed a clear hypothesis, structured your main ideas, and developed an overall direction for your writing. If your first draft is not yet clearly structured, it is highly likely that you will require a rewriting, as opposed to editing, service.

• Reorganize the structure to ensure the main arguments flow in an effective manner
• Remove any repetition or redundancy
• Highlight any areas of inconsistency or flaws in logic

Substantive Editing

Comprehensively editing the structure and overall style of the file

Substantive editing is a form of heavy editing that includes reviewing the overall structure, style, grammar, and spelling of an academic document. During the substantive editing process, the editor will identify and fix problems associated with the clarity, organization, readability, and flow of the document. In some cases, some high-level rewriting may be required to make sure that the overall hypothesis and associated arguments are clear and that the main points are presented in a logical and accurate manner.

• Clarify main concepts
• Improve paragraph transitions
• Ensure a consistent style and voice is maintained throughout
• Find and fix issues with clarity and accuracy

Copy Editing

In-depth review of the mechanics of the manuscript

Copy editing is imperative when finalizing an academic document. It spans several functions including identifying and fixing word usage, grammar, punctuation, spelling, and syntax errors in the text while also ensuring that the author’s original message and voice are maintained. During this stage of the editing process, the editor will also ensure that a coherent style and consistent format are preserved throughout the file. He or she will also check for clarity, highlight any inconsistencies in the argument, and verify references to pictures, tables, and figures.

• Check facts
• Ensure consistency
• Maintain consistent style and tone
• Check referencing, formatting, and general style against style guide requirements
• Correct grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling mistakes

Proofreading

Quick check for any remaining spelling, grammatical, and punctuation errors

Proofreading represents the final stage of the academic editing process. During this phase, the editor will perform one last check for any minor spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors that have been missed during the previous editing stages. In addition, the editor will address any outstanding formatting and referencing issues.

• Correct grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling mistakes
• Verify word usage and diction
• Check referencing, formatting, and general style against style guide requirements.