What’s the Difference Between Revising, Proofreading, and Editing?

It’s a common misconception among people that anyone who has a strong grip over language can easily write on any sort of topic. Just like any other form of content, writing also comes with lots of demands and requires ample effort. Arguably, working on textual content is more challenging than the creation of visuals. It’s believed that writing just requires jotting down words on a piece of paper. The real side of writing, however, is totally the opposite, as this whole process is segmented into various stages. Before the submission or publication of textual content, the work needs to be revised, edited, proofread, and checked for plagiarism.

Just like other people, you might also think revising, editing, and proofreading are merely the terms used as synonyms for one another. However, it’s untrue, as each of them is a distinct writing process that focuses on different goals. Additionally, being a qualified writer doesn’t mean that you’ll also be a good proofreader or editor. To revise, proofread, and edit content, you need to have different sets of skills and implement them carefully to produce quality results. Anyone involved in the creation of textual content should make sure to carry out these steps efficiently before passing it forward. 

If you have confusion between revising, proofreading, and editing, and wish to figure out the actual differences between them, then go through this blog till the end. Here, we will highlight the main aspects and key differences between these stages of the writing process. So, let’s deep dive into it without any further ado!

Revising: Eliminates Weaknesses & Strengthens Your Work

In easy terms, revising is referred to as the structural and logical changes made in the text. When you are done with the writing part, your job isn’t done here. You need to go through the entire text again and figure out the possible changes that can be executed to enhance the power of your work. It can be further elaborated into the following steps:

Remove Loopholes

It happens with many writers that when they are fully involved in writing, they leave some loopholes in their work. For instance, while writing a blog, you may make use of an example to prove a point, but without properly concluding it, you move on to another point. Such things are examined in the content during the revising phase. The removal of loopholes is crucial to keep up the flow of information discussed in the text and ensure readability for the audience.

Include Supporting Information

Humans are prone to making mistakes; hence, it would be unfair to expect a flawless piece of work in one go. While writing, you may not realize but omit several things that are relevant to the topic, and the content could be incomplete without them. In the content revision process, you’ll be able to come across such instances and figure out the missing pieces of information. It will also allow you to come across data that is irrelevant to the content you are working on and can distract the readers from the actual point. After coming across such instances, you can include or exclude info from your work accordingly.

Editing: Polish and Refine Your Writing

Editing is the next phase of the writing process, and it is generally conducted before proofreading. For any writer, it’s not possible to write each and every sentence clearly and make things appear interconnected in the initial draft. However, it doesn’t mean that you can deliver work as it is. Bringing perfection to writing is the utmost thing that needs to be carried out by every writer. 

In the editing phase, you need to overcome several issues that may exist in your text and remove all impurities from it. Interestingly, editorial jobs are separated from writing in several companies. However, if you are working as a one-man army that is responsible for delivering impeccable results, then you should know the nitty-gritty of the editing phase. Let’s shed some light over it to make things clearer for you!

Checking Vocabulary

While editing a piece of text, first of all, you need to understand the audience you are targeting. If the content is being written for the general audience, then the usage of hard-to-interpret phrases, technical terminologies, and jargon wouldn’t be the right approach. Many writers are unaware of this fact and consider this approach as a way to enhance content quality. However, it results in totally opposite scenarios, as the readers don’t admire the content that isn’t easily understandable. Therefore, you need to check your vocabulary and get rid of such phrases that can hurt the readability of your content. 

Making Structure Better

Whether you’re editing a research paper, assignment, blog, or any other sort of textual content, it’s essential to create a compelling structure that makes the readers go through it from the start to the end without losing interest. The sections in the content should be interlinked, and the readers must not feel lost in any case. Additionally, you need to ensure that the usage of passive voice sentences is kept to a minimum level, as the active voice is meant to keep the meaning clear for the readers. 

Proofreading: Inspect & Eradicate Errors

Proofreading is the last stage of the writing process, and it can be perceived as the final touchup of the content to make it appear flawless. In order to eradicate errors, you can either take things into your own hands or acquire proofreading services. It’s better to perform this job on your own, as you can better figure out the usage of words and their context in your content. However, you’ll need to spend a considerable amount of time on this task and come up with a clear mind to catch the errors. You can also make use of technology to check plagiarism online while proofreading your work effectively. Let’s discuss what needs to be taken care of while proofreading any kind of text. 

Rectify Grammatical Issues

Writing is a lot different than speaking; even if you are fluent in speaking a language, the chances of making grammatical mistakes can still exist. The presence of grammar, punctuation, or spelling errors can haunt a life of a writer. The readers of your blogs or columns won’t give you any leverage if they have come across grammatical blunders in your work. Therefore, it’s essential to thoroughly go through your text before getting it published to save your reputation. You can take the assistance of the free grammar check facility to conduct this task without spending significant time. An online grammar checker is capable of identifying the grammatical issues existing in your text. Besides highlighting the errors, it also provides you with suggestions to fix them.

Tone and Style Consistency

There are multiple forms of content that you can work on, and every writer follows a different tone and style in their articles. As per the nature of the work, you need to decide and follow a single tone and style throughout the content. During the proofreading phase, it’s essential to figure out that you are following a consistent tone. While reading your content, if you feel that the sentences in it are following different styles, then you need to revamp it. Repurposing existing content in your desired style has become easier due to the availability of the paraphrasing tool. You can use this utility and get its advantage in producing high-quality content in a matter of an instance.

To Conclude

In the last, writing content is certainly an easy chore but making it worthy of reading is tough. For that reason, revising, editing, and proofreading content is essential to make the content lively enough. Many writers fail despite being good wordsmiths as they don’t pay any attention to making the squeaky clean. Without following these steps, your content won’t be able to produce the results you are looking for.