Light Editing:
- Correction of spelling, punctuation, and typographical errors as well as discrepancies in margins, spacing and fonts
- Correction of grammar errors*
- Correction of poor word usage and elimination of excessive or inappropriate use of jargon
Medium Editing:
- All the elements of light editing
- Rewriting awkward and unclear sentences
- Paring down prose for concision
- Adding transitional sentences and words to connect one idea to the next
Substantive Editing:
- All the elements of medium editing
- Careful attention to organization and logic, a process that often involves redefining your thesis in addition to restructuring individual paragraphs and possibly whole sections
If you ask for one level of editing but your manuscript needs more extensive editing, I will not proceed until you and I come to an agreement about what to do.
Manuscript Evaluation:
If you are more interested in receiving general feedback than detailed editing, request a manuscript evaluation. You can determine the focus of my analysis. Left to my own devices, I would comment on your piece’s strengths as well as ways in which your organization, tone, and style could be improved.
* Editing for grammar includes correcting errors in the following categories:
- Dangling modifiers
- Illogical comparisons and mixed comparisons
- Incorrect subordination
- Misplaced modifiers
- Parallelism
- Pronoun case
- Pronoun reference
- Run-ons
- Sentence fragments
- Shifts in verb tense and mood
- Subject verb agreement
Levels of Editing 
