Example 2

Whereas Example 1 shows us what an editor can do for a writer from a non-English speaking background, in Example 2 we see that even native English speaking writers can benefit from the use of a professional editor.

ORIGINAL

Clearly, psychoanalytic theories of the pathogenesis of borderline states rely very much on the presence of inherent temperamental traits that make such children vulnerable to the stressors of abnormal upbringings. As Paris (2000a) observed, whilst many children might have unusual temperaments only a few actually go on to develop some form of major psychopathology. Elucidation of the nature of these trait temperaments might lie in the domain of biological and genetic theories explaining the trait vulnerabilities in some children that give rise to the symptomatology reflected in borderline states. Such models might better serve to assist in an understanding of why some children display such marked pathology having the experience of abnormal upbringings whilst others do not and provide opportunities for early intervention (Zeanah et al. 1989).

In this example, the author is a native English-speaker writing for an ISI journal. The publisher's Instructions for Authors recommends British English spelling and grammar conventions and uses the APA (6th edition) style guide.

BASIC PROOFREADING

Check and correct spelling, punctuation, capitalisation, and subject-verb agreement.

Clearly, psychoanalytic theories of the pathogenesis of borderline states rely very much on the presence of inherent temperamental traits that make such children vulnerable to the stressors of an abnormal upbringings. As Paris (2000a) observed, whilst many children might have unusual temperaments only a few actually go on to develop some form of major psychopathology. Elucidation of the nature of these trait temperaments might lie in the domain of biological and genetic theories explaining the trait vulnerabilities in some children that give rise to the symptomatology reflected in borderline states. Such models might better serve to assist in an understanding of why some children display such marked pathology, having the experience of an abnormal upbringings, whilst others do not and provide opportunities for early intervention (Zeanah et al. 1989).

an (indefinite article) inserted before the adjective abnormal (see both first and last sentence).

upbringing is an uncountable noun (i.e. it cannot be plural). Therefore, the "s" at the rear of upbringings has been removed (see both first and last sentence).

Two commas ( , ) have been inserted into the last sentence; one after the word pathology and another after the word upbringing in order to subordinate the clause "having the experience of an abnormal upbringing".

LIGHT EDITING

Includes basic proofreading, plus checking for correct and consistent word usage, and pronoun agreement.

Clearly, psychoanalytic theories of the pathogenesis of borderline states rely very much on the presence of inherent temperamental traits that make such children vulnerable to the stressors of an abnormal upbringing. As Paris (2000a) observed, whilst many children might have unusual temperaments only a few actually go on to develop some form of major psychopathology. Elucidation of the nature of these trait temperaments might lie in the domain of biological and genetic theories explaining the trait vulnerabilities in some children that give rise to the symptomatology reflected in borderline states. Such models might better serve to assist in an our understanding of why some children display such marked pathology, having the experience of an abnormal upbringing whilst others do not, and provide opportunities for early intervention (Zeanah et al. 1989).

in an has been replaced with the pronoun our.

The paragraph is now grammatically correct and meets the strict English language standards for acceptance by an ISI or impact journal. However, there is still one minor problem that the author is oblivious of...publication style.

MODERATE EDITING

Includes basic proofreading and light editing. Ensures consistency of tables, figures, headers, footers, headings, and captions.

Clearly, psychoanalytic theories of the pathogenesis of borderline states rely very much on the presence of inherent temperamental traits that make such children vulnerable to the stressors of an abnormal upbringing. As Paris (2000a) observed, whilst many children might have unusual temperaments only a few actually go on to develop some form of major psychopathology. Elucidation of the nature of these trait temperaments might lie in the domain of biological and genetic theories explaining the trait vulnerabilities in some children that give rise to the symptomatology reflected in borderline states. Such models might better serve to assist our understanding of why some children display such marked pathology, having the experience of an abnormal upbringing whilst others do not, and provide opportunities for early intervention (Zeanah et al., 1989).

The current example does not have any table, figures, headers, footers, headings, or captions. Ordinarily referencing and citation is an issue addressed by heavy editing. However, where a paper is in need of only light editing in terms of grammar and syntax, an editor will often seek to address matters of publication style in moderate editing in order to keep the editing costs down for the client.


Publishers will often print et al. in italics; but expect authors to observe the relevant style guidelines. In the present case, the publisher's Instructions for Authors advises the use of the APA (6th edition) style guide. According to the APA guidelines for in-text citation of a work with multiple authors, et al. should be used only after having previously given full citation to all authors (where there are 3 - 5 authors) or from the outset if there are 6 or more authors. For the sake of this example, we'll assume that this is a subsequent citation and the usage of et al. is appropriate. In submitting a manuscript for publication, et al. should NOT be italicised. Furthermore, the author has omitted the comma ( , ) after the period ( . ) following et al., so the editor has inserted it on their behalf.

Now, not only is this block of text grammatically correct, it also conforms to the publishers style guidelines.

HEAVY EDITING

Includes basic proofreading, light and moderate editing. Checks for active voice usage, mechanics of style, referencing, and clarity of wording. May involve a substantive or complete rewrite of the original paper. This kind of heavy editing is often referred to as English Editing and most ISI or impact journals will insist that authors from non-english speaking backgrounds submit their papers to an English editing service.

Clearly, Psychoanalytic theories of on the pathogenesis underlying causes of borderline states rely very much on the presence of inborn temperamental traits. that make such children These traits make a child vulnerable to the stressors stresses of an abnormal upbringing. As Paris (2000a) observed, whilst many children have unusual temperaments, but  only a few develop some form of psychopathology. Elucidation of the nature of these trait temperaments might lie in the domain of Biological and genetic theories might help us to understand  the nature of these trait temperaments and vulnerabilities in some children that give rise to the symptomatology reflected in borderline states. Such models might better serve to assist deepen our understanding of why only some children display such marked pathology. Understanding why only some children who have experienced of an abnormal upbringing develop psychopathology and others do not, and provide opportunities might open the door for early intervention (Zeanah et al, 1989).

Even grammatically correct and native English papers sometimes get rejected for publication because the author's writing style is too wordy or difficult to understand. After moderate editing, the block of text had a Flesch Reading Ease score of 12.4 which ranks it as very hard to read. The Flesch Reading Ease score is a measure of textual difficulty and is calculated by determining the average sentence length (L) and the average number of syllables per word (W). The resultant formula, 206.835 - (1.015 x L) - (84.6 x W), will give you the readability ease score. The higher the score, the better. Academic papers will usually have a Flesch Reading Ease score between 0.0 - 30.0. After heavy editing, the block of text now has a Flesch Reading Ease score of 22.9, indicating that it is easier to read now than it was before.