Correcting one's work is essential.      

For those at at teaching or comprehensive universities the luxury of having pre-publication access to a professional editor provided by one's university or department is often out of reach.

Options may include:  

Self Review and Correction

• Run spell and grammar checkers.  
• Read your work with fresh eyes after a brief hiatus from working on it.
• Use a text-to-speech  program to listen for errors that one's eyes may skip when reads silently to oneself.  

Informal Review by Others for Content or Light Editing--

• Swap manuscripts with a writing partner, departmental peers, or other academic colleague 
• Engage the assistance of Graduate  Research Assistants 

Hiring a Professional--

Professional services are available for hire and an internet search in your subject may provide contact information for many at a wide range of price-points.  

• Obtain recommendations from colleagues in your discipline.    
• Not all services will offer exactly the same quality or thoroughness of review.  
• The cost of professional editing and proofreading may sometimes be included in budgets for grant applications if the funded project will have a publication output at its end.  If you are hiring a professional service prior to publication investigate the qualifications of the individual who will be doing the work and determine the exact scope of the work and services that will be offered.  

Key Terms:  

Proofreading:  

Focus on spelling, grammar, punctuation, word usage, wrong words, perhaps some light rephrasing.  

Copyediting:  

Attention to consistency across the manuscript of specific terms, abbreviations or publication formatting style (heading levels, etc);  provide some attention to tone or style;  make suggestions related to  organization, concision or structure in order to enhance the efficacy of the argument; may suggest some conventions of language usage as appropriate for the genre or intended audience; may raise concerns about obvious legal concerns.  

Academic Copyediting/Scientific Copyediting:  

Specialists with higher degrees in your research or academic discipline  review not only for issues of copyediting as above, but may also:  

• assist with formatting references, tables, or figures to conform to the requirements of a particular publication in the field to which the manuscript will be submitted. 
• make suggestions to improve persuasiveness of argument; correct technical terms; ensure use of  discipline specific abbreviations or symbols.
• correct/proofread quotes or phrases in other scholarly research languages employed in the text.
• flag concerns related to libel or the use of other's intellectual property if observed.  
• point out particular strengths or weaknesses that would affect the manuscript's publish-ability.  

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES