Many people today use “proofreading” and “editing” interchangeably. However, the two of them are not the same thing. While both aim to improve the quality of the article, the manner in which they do so is different.
So as a student, author, or content creator, knowing the difference will help you improve your work. You will also be able to grow as an aspiring or established professional.
Additionally, if you’re in the UK, you could hire proofreading and editing services in the UK to look over your work. This would help you enjoy peace of mind.
Let’s explore more about the differences between proofreading and editing below.
What Is Editing?
Editing is a broad term that involves improving and modifying an article or blog. There are different types of editing, depending on the nature of the changes being performed.
Let’s take a look at them below.
What Are the Types of Editing?
The different types of editing are:
Developmental Editing
It involves deeply reviewing the content of your work. This type of editing focuses on checking the overall clarity and tone of your work.
It involves checking repetitions, rambling content, and how it answers the question. This part of developmental editing involves weeding out any lack of clarity and ensuring ease of reading.
Substantive Editing
Substantive editing involves performing an in-depth edit of your content. This stage of editing checks the structure, flow, and logic of the content. The structure of the content involves headings and the connection between them.
This connection is what determines the flow. For example, if you were writing a recipe book, then the flow would involve: ingredients, preparation, pre-cooking, heating, cooking, and plating.
Substantive editing corrects this flow. The logic of the content refers to whether the words and facts given have any connection or not. For example, in an article about aviation, there would be no connection between kangaroos and planes.
What Are The Key Differences Between Proofreading and Editing at a Glance?
Take a look at the table below to understand the major differences between editing and proofreading:
| Feature | Focus | Stage in Writing | Types of Changes | How They’re Done | Skill Level Needed |
| Editing | Content quality & clarity | Early to mid-process | Structural, stylistic, clarity-based | Comments, track changes | High (Since you need the appropriate domain knowledge) |
| Proofreading | Grammar, spelling, formatting | Final stage | Minor surface-level fixes | Markups, proofing marks | Moderate (language and style guide accuracy) |
What Is Proofreading?
Once your document, book, or content has been scrubbed clean of all errors, it’s time for proofreading. It is the last stage in the QC process before submission.
This part of the quality check process checks for the content’s spelling, formatting, punctuation, and grammar. While all these aspects are checked during the multiple rounds of editing, proofreading seeks to catch any final inconsistencies.
In other words, while editing would be similar to baking a cheese pizza, proofreading would involve adding basil leaves and seasoning. In other words, it would involve fine-tuning the product just before delivery.
For example, say you had written an article about Grizzly bears in North America. However, during the editing process, there were three instances where bears had been written as beer. A proofreader would correct or highlight this instance for you to change.
You should opt for proofreading when your content is finalised and ready for submission.
Can Editing and Proofreading Work Together?
Yes, editing and proofreading do work together. That’s because the best type of content or writing goes through both these stages.
The editing stages modify the actual content part of your work, including structure, flow, logic, and grammar. On the other hand, the proofreading change makes sure that no careless mistakes remain before submission.
These stages of the quality check process are followed quite strictly in the publishing and academic writing industries. That’s why, as a student, you can get some assignment assistance from reputed editing and proofreading services in the UK.
They will look over the content carefully and make or suggest any changes as appropriate.
Table 1: Proofreading vs Editing
Another part of substantive editing is checking the accuracy of the content.
Line Editing
Line editing involves making changes to the overall choice of words and impact. It analyses how the lines of a paragraph add up together to form a cohesive whole.
Copy Editing
Copy editing refers to making changes to the punctuation and grammar of the content after the previous changes. It also involves checking whether the material is ready to be published or not. This stage polishes the content before the proofreading stage.
Opting for editing is ideal when you’re in the early or mid-stages of writing. You can also opt for proofreading and editing services in the UK if you want some ideas before finishing your manuscript or content.
Keep in mind that your document might be sent back for edits during the editing stage when you hire these services.
Which Tools & Services Can You Use for Editing and Proofreading?
You can use the following tools and services to proofread and edit your work easily:
● Editing Tools
Some popular tools are Hemingway Editor and ProWritingAid.
Hemingway Editor is a popular application for making small edits or editing short content. It encourages users to shorten sentences, though without considering the contextual relevance of the same. So it’s not great for lengthy content.
ProWritingAid is a valuable tool that combines a comprehensive style analysis, grammar analysis, readability, and more. So you can make comprehensive edits using this application.
However, since it’s just a tool, you would do better to hire proofreading and editing services in the UK. They would be able to guide you with humanised inputs.
● Proofreading Tools
Some popular tools are Grammarly and Scribbr.
Grammarly is a valuable proofreading tool. It suggests simpler words, clearer phrases, readability suggestions, and grammatical changes. However, you will have to be careful, since it sometimes suggests irrelevant changes.
Scribbr is an application that offers proofreading capabilities. You can place your text there or upload your doc and make the changes in real time.
● Human Services
While tools are great, there is no substitute for the value of human touch. That’s why opting for editing and proofreading services in the UK will be helpful for you. They will have an arsenal of professionals at their service who will be able to guide you better.
The Final Word
Both proofreading and editing play an important role in your work. You should focus on both these steps to achieve 100% error-free content.
Want Error-Free Content?
Ready to level up your writing? Get in touch with a reputed editing and proofreading services organisation near you today!
