Try the Most Accurate AI Detector on the Market
Our patented AI checker is the most accurate detector on the market! Don't believe us? Try it for yourself!
Editing is a tricky word. We all know that it entails reviewing and revising written content before publication. However, the act of editing entails reviewing so many details and different aspects of writing that the process is divided into different stages with different names.
Each stage is separate, with a distinct focus on certain parts of the content, ranging from the complete picture to the minute details.
By the end of all stages, content emerges at its best, ready to grab readers' attention.
Publish high-quality content with confidence and upgrade your editorial process with Originality.ai’s Predictive SEO Tool, AI Checker, Plagiarism Checker, and Grammar Checker.
Content editing, often called developmental or structural editing, examines an article's overall picture, structure, strategy and success.
This holistic, big-picture approach differs from copyediting, which focuses on the details of the copy itself, including grammar, punctuation, and other mechanical elements.
For instance, a sentence’s structure might be revised during copyediting to make it smoother and more easily comprehensible. During content editing, the sentence is read for its meaning, quality, strategy, and connection to the audience.
Both editing types are integral to the process.
Content editing, or developmental editing, kicks off the process and evaluates whether writing meets all the specifications of the content brief.
This is a comprehensive review that examines the substance of the content. A content editor typically won’t prioritize checking for verb tense, sentence structure, or grammar first. Instead, they look for:
As a writer, if someone else is content editing for you, you can expect more questions in this phase than in the copyediting stage. If you are content editing for yourself, this is when you take a step back as a writer and scrutinize the work as a reader.
Next, line editing takes over to deal with style considerations, line by line:
While content editing looks at overall style considerations in a piece of content, line editing will examine the work at the sentence level and address any issues. The prose will be tightened, the language revised, and the flow adjusted.
After a line edit, the content is more readable, smooth and engaging.
Copyediting gets into the details of the copy, focusing on aspects like grammar, punctuation, formatting details, and syntax. Some elements of the copy edit might overlap with line edits, but where line edits hone in on style, copy edits drill into mechanics.
Copyediting always follows content editing and line edits because you don’t want to dig into the details until the overall substance and style of the writing are finalized.
In this stage, content is checked for surface-area correctness:
A copy editor may also provide some light fact-checking. Some editors perform line and copy edits as part of the same review. Generally, it is best to separate steps as much as possible because it helps catch more errors and inconsistencies.
Proofreading is the time to polish the copy before publication. By this time, structure, content and style are solid, and grammar is tidy. Time for the precision check.
The proofreading stage is not a time to rearrange sections, rewrite or revise. It’s a time to catch anything that has been missed.
Whether it’s a blog article, social media post, or product description, it’s the proofreader’s job to look for errors of any kind: misspellings, missing words, double words, broken links, the wrong meta description, incorrect punctuation. It’s a “fresh eyes” review of everything on the page.
If you are self-editing, the proofreading stage is a great time to ask someone else to review and point out mistakes. When we act as both writer and editor, it is easy to miss what an outside reader might see.
Not all content goes through a deep round of all four types of edits. But most content goes through all types to different degrees.
Even a 50-character social media post will be checked for substance, style, grammar and correctness. It just won’t take as long as a 10-page paper to go through the checks.
Don’t rush through edits. If you are serving as the writer and editor of your content, take a break between each round of edits. Clear your head and refresh your eyes with a change of scenery before returning to the page.
Always use a checklist when editing, especially for longer content. There are too many details to track, and a good checklist can make the process feel less daunting.
Ask someone to give the content a fresh read just before publication to catch any last-minute mistakes. At the end of the process, you can be confident that your content is fully polished!
Then, review your content with Originality.ai’s best-in-class editorial tools including a Predictive SEO Tool, AI Checker, Plagiarism Checker, and Grammar Checker.
Learn more editing best practices in our top guides:
AI & Plagiarism Detector for Serious Content Publishers
(4.4/5 out of 575 reviews)
Originality.ai
64 Hurontario St
Collingwood, Ontario
L9Y 2L6
