Health editing

Are you a time-poor academic, health professional, researcher or student
who does a lot of writing?
Will your readers clearly understand what you are telling them?
I can help to convey your messages, in your report or other text, in a succinct and clear way.

All levels of editing – proofreading, copyediting, substantive editing – and writing (or rewriting) are offered. Basic formatting can also be applied; such as ensuring consistency in spacing, heading levels and other standard styles.

Editing levels
The stage of a written work’s development will determine the type or level of editing that it requires. For example, a document written by multiple authors might need an overhaul of its language style and structure to ensure consistency, clarity and ease of readability [substantive edit; sometimes called structural edit]. It will then need a pair of eyes to go through and detect any errors in grammar and punctuation, as well as amend areas of repetition or inconsistency [copyedit]. A final check will pick up formatting anomalies, such as incorrect heading levels and any other layout issues [proofread]. More detail about each of these editing levels is outlined below.

For best effect, only one level of edit is carried out on a document or body of text at a time. Hence, if a substantive edit is undertaken, it will consequently require a copyedit. However, clients might send a document for a substantive edit only, for just a copyedit, or for a final proofread before publication or circulation to an audience.

Substantive edit
A substantive (or structural) edit involves assessing the structure, language, content and style of text, with the end reader in mind. Changes made throughout the process of this level of editing are aimed at improving clarity and readability of the writing.
It is useful for applying consistency in styles and language used; for example, when multiple authors have contributed to writing a report.

Copyedit
A copyedit aims to achieve accuracy, consistency and completeness in a document or piece of writing. It involves a thorough check for errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation, as well as inconsistencies in style (eg headings, specific terms, lists etc.).
Track changes and comments are used to alert the client to editorial suggestions, along with a list of editing notes. A stylesheet is also often developed; this can be provided with the finished draft.

Proofread
A proofread – or verification edit – is the final check of a document before publication or circulation to its readers. It ensures all elements of the document are included and in the correct order, that all errors detected earlier have been amended and that its format and layout are free of any embarrassing bloopers.

Please contact Merran to find out more,
for a quote on a job, or for a sample edit
via the Contact form.