Editing Services

The information presented below on the types of editing we do, our editing standard, and the way we edit, including the objectives and outcomes of our editing, will help you to decide whether we can assist you with your editing requirements.

WHAT WE EDIT:

We edit academic and non-profit sector documents across diverse fields and disciplines.

Academic manuscripts:

Our academic copy editing and proofreading service covers a range of manuscripts from students’ papers, reports, theses, and dissertations to journal articles, book chapters, and full-length books written by established scholars in the social sciences, humanities, and environmental studies. You can read more about our areas of editing expertise on our WHY US page.

Non-profit manuscripts:

We edit diverse kinds of non-profit sector documents, including concept notes, proposals, grant reports, informational reports, blog content, policy briefs, and other kinds of documents produced by organizations working in this sector.

Radhika, the lead editor at the Eyrie, has several years of programmatic as well as writing/editing consultancy experience in leading international research and philanthropic organizations such as the World Agroforestry Centre, the Center for International Forestry Research, the Ford Foundation, the International Research Development Centre, the United Nations Development Programme, and the World Wildlife Fund. She brings this knowledge and experience to bear in her editing of documents in this sector.

Our Editing Standard:

Editing levels differ according to the needs of individual manuscripts, with some requiring more work than others, or more attention to specific areas. In general, there are four levels of editing that apply to manuscripts: substantive, semi-substantive, standard, and light. Examples of these different levels can be found on our SAMPLES OF OUR WORK page.

As we explain on our PRICING page, we aim to bring all of our clients’ manuscripts up to a publishable standard (what we call the Eyrie standard of excellence). As a result, we do not offer separate levels of editing differentiated by price. We assess each manuscript and estimate the time required to edit it to meet the Eyrie standard. In some cases, this may need simple proofreading and in other cases, copy editing (standard or substantive) will be required.

The details provided below on areas covered by our editing will help you to understand how we work with your manuscript.

How we edit:

Comprehensive review of manuscripts and identification of formatting gaps and issues :

We ensure that all manuscripts comply with the requirements of target journals and other publications. Areas of compliance that we check for include :

  • Consistent use of one English style (e.g., American, British, or Canadian)
  • Spelling style and conventions
  • Manuscript and abstract length and structure
  • Title page requirements
  • Line spacing and heading styles
  • In-text and reference list citation styles
  • Formatting of tables

We will point out any issues that we find, and if you have ordered our formatting service (see our AUTHOR AND WRITING SERVICES), we will also correct these issues for you.

Improving a manuscript’s structure and organization:

Objective: Depending on the needs of your manuscript, we will edit it to ensure that its structure and organization are clear, cohesive, and logically coherent. Though we may substantially (heavily) edit the manuscript to ensure that these writing goals are attained, we will not rewrite it.

Outcome: Your manuscript is well-structured and your ideas flow logically and smoothly throughout the text. Your argument is clearly conveyed through logically connected and well-structured paragraphs.

Resolving style-related issues:

Objective: We will conduct sentence-level editing to address language and style issues. We edit to ensure correct word choice and order; gender neutrality; economy of expression and avoidance of repetition; appropriate use of jargon, acronyms, abbreviations, and active/passive voice; and avoidance of anthropomorphism.

Outcome: Your manuscript is well-constructed, clear, and concise. Its content constitutes scholarly writing that adheres to accepted academic style conventions. The rhythm and flow of your sentences are natural, and your text reads like that of a native English speaker.

Correcting the mechanics of your writing:

Objective: We will ensure that the mechanics of your writing is perfect, addressing any issues relating to grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Typical punctuation issues that we check for include the correct use of colons, semicolons, commas (including Oxford serial commas), ellipses points, quote marks, and compliance with American/British writing conventions. Typical grammatical and mechanical issues that come under our scanner include subject-verb agreement, correct verb tense, parallel ideas, correct use of articles and pronouns, appropriate use of hyphens, em-, and en-dashes, and capitalization.

Outcome: Your text is completely error-free and conforms to required style conventions.

Providing Feedback and suggestions :

Using the commenting feature in Word’s tracking program, we will provide precise and detailed comments and suggestions aimed at improving the structure, organization, mechanics, and style of your writing.