What we check

What we check

In this article we explain in detail what we do and do not check as part of our standard proofreading and editing service.

We use the Track Changes feature in Microsoft Word so that you will see all of the amendments that we have made. We include one round of editing in the price we quote.

Our professional editors correct the following:

Grammar –

We check the following are correct:

nouns.
pronouns.
verbs.
adjectives.
adverbs.
prepositions.
conjunctions.
interjections.

Example: “The researchers was happy…” corrected to “the researchers were happy”

Spelling –

We ensure correct spelling.

Punctuation –

We ensure punctuation is correct.

Capitalisation –

We remove incorrect capitalisation and correct it where necessary.

Sentence structure –

We rewrite unclear sentences and remove passive constructions as much as possible. We improve the sentence structure as far as possible. An example of this would be “There are many studies that demonstrate” becomes “Many studies demonstrate”.

Word choice –

We ensure that the word choice fits the context. For example if you are writing an academic essay then we would correct instances of informal vocabulary.

Academic style and tone –

We minimize passive constructions. Avoid awkward constructions, overly long and complicated sentences. We use appropriate sentence starts (however, besides, therefore) and remove overuse of others. We vary vocabulary where possible and necessary. We also vary sentence structure, for example if you have many long sentences we make them shorter.

Repetition –

We add comments to sentences or paragraphs that are repeated. We also amend repetitive constructions that combine two clauses. If you start consecutive sentences with “In addition to..” we would change the second instance to make it less repetitive.

Verb tense –

We ensure that you have used the correct tense and have kept it consistent throughout the document.

Correct use of UK/US English

We can edit for both UK or US English. Please specify in the order note on the checkout page.

What our service does NOT include:

We do not check references for correct adherence to a style guide. This includes BOTH in-text citations and the reference list/bibliography

We do not reduce the word count to reach a certain limit.

We don’t check the references. This means we do not verify the formatting and information in the bibliography or reference list is correct according to a certain style. We only proofread and edit it for grammar, punctuation, capitalisation, typos and spelling.

We do not paraphrase parts or the entirety of the document.

We do not rearrange entire paragraphs to improve the structure.

We do not check the document has covered all the points in the essay or assignment brief.

We do not offer a marking service.

We do not check if the references in the text are in the reference list/bibliography, nor if the references in the reference list/bibliography are present in the text.