Morrison Editing

Academic Editing Services

EDITING SERVICES

Proof reading

Proof reading involves closely reading the material to identify errors primarily relating to language and consistency. When proof reading I look for:

• grammar and usage errors, e.g. sentence fragments, subject and verb agreement, apostrophes, confusing pronoun references
  
• spelling and punctuation errors including American vs. British vs. Australian spelling
  
• lack of consistency, e.g. table of contents and page numbers, figure and table numbers, placement of headers and footers, numbers
  
• formatting errors, e.g. alignment, font style and/or size, columns, page layouts
  

Copy editing

In addition to errors identified during proof reading, copy editing involves editing the content of the material. More specifically, I ensure (amongst other things) that:

• the layout is logical
  
• the style is appropriate for the intended audience
  
• structural, organisational or conceptual problems are identified and corrected
  
• inconsistencies and discrepancies are identified and corrected
  
• ambiguous statements or assertions are clarified
  
• information that seems incorrect is checked
  
• quotes or other borrowed material are properly attributed to the original source
  

Academic editing

Academic writing almost always requires that the author produce the work in a particular style. This could be the preferred style of a journal, university assignment requirements and/or the style required for funding applications. In addition to the editing covered under proof reading and copy editing I will:

• ensure that the document meets all style requirements including formatting, word count, writing style
  
• ensure in-text citations, reference lists and bibliographies are complete, correct, formatted and punctuated to the required citation style
  
• ensure that all required information is included e.g. appendixes, letters to editor, highlights
  
• provide feedback on methodology and statistical analyses
  

Thesis editing

In most Universities it is expected that the academic supervisors will provide their students with editorial advice relating to content, methodology and statistical analyses, specialised and/or foreign language, preferred University style and some copy editing and/or proof reading. The editors contribution is mainly restricted to copy editing and proof reading. When I edit postgraduate theses I carry out all the services included in proof reading and copy editing in addition to:

• ensuring that the final thesis style meets University requirements
  
• ensuring that all sections are present
  
• providing feedback on sections that are ambiguous or need further work
  

As more PhD students are submitting their theses as a set of publications, I also ensure that there is flow and continuity between sections previously published and those written specifically for the thesis.

Editing format

I usually copy edit on screen using  Microsoft Word's Track Changes. This means that every change is 'highlighted', and all comments or queries are inserted in the margin of the document. When I have finished copy editing your document, I will return it to you as a tracked-changes version showing all of my suggested changes, comments and questions. You are then free to accept the changes you choose and address any issues that I have highlighted giving you control over the final product.

I can do hard copy edits, primarily for postgraduate theses. If this is the format that you prefer, I will post the corrected document to you with clear corrections and annotations.