Part of the services I offer my clients as a content designer is the extensive editing of articles.
Editing can be as simple as proofreading for spelling errors and extend to heavier copyediting, deep-dive line editing that includes fine-tuning the tone and style of the writer while keeping his/her voice or even editing AI-created content.
Here are the various editing types and stages that I perform (online and offline):
Content Editing (sections): Full content editing; smoothing content/theme/character flow and structure; moving/deleting entire sections and paragraphs
Line Editing (paragraphs/sentences): Substantive, detailed stylistic content edits (i.e., flawed cliché and metaphor usage, jargon); line-by-line reviews, focusing on each word and tightening sentences, structure and clarity
Copyediting (words): Meticulously combing through the copy for spelling/punctuation/grammar/clarity/accuracy issues that slipped through Line Editing; checking against style guides; assessing word choices
Proofreading (quality control): Reading through the finished, designed and formatted printed work (or just before going live with a webpage) for final review before publication/launch. The last defence against any errors. Includes layout issues, page numbering, consistency in formatting (headlines, subheads, captions, links), line breaks and more.
AI-created content editing (quality control): This includes all the above but goes even deeper into the content itself. What I offer is what AI utterly lacks: emotional intelligence, creativity, imagination, analytical thinking, empathy, inquiry and critical thinking, intellectual curiosity, human judgment, the ability to see nuances and the sensitivity to discern biases and assumptions. Editing AI-created content includes scrutinizing the source material and giving it attribution; fact-checking any data, statistics, quotes and dates for accuracy; eliminating biases, assumptions and cliches; checking for plagiarism; adjusting tone and voice to the intended audience; editing for clarity, coherence, content flow, authenticity, comprehensiveness, logic and situational context.
Click on sample 1 for an edited and unedited version of an article that required simple copyediting/proofreading.
Click on sample 2 to see an example of heavy line editing. A German writer wrote this blog post in English, which required extensive editing to adapt it to native English speakers.
Some of my clients write long articles or research papers on highly complex and specific topics that need to be curated and adapted to a larger audience. This requires working through extensive source materials, usually tech- or medical-related, and extensive research. I rewrite the material concisely and clearly to reach a wider audience that might not know the topic.
Here are two examples. First is a curated medical article about asthma and chiropractic care; underneath is a link to the source material, a medical research study.
The second is another curated medical article about crying babies and chiropractic care; beneath that is a link to the source material, a medical research paper.
Click on each image to view the curated texts and their source materials.