Davis Proofreading

I have gotten this question a lot, “What is the difference between copyediting and proofreading?”

The long answer

Copy Editing

1. Focus: Copy editing primarily focuses on improving the text’s overall readability, clarity, and consistency. It involves a detailed review of the text to enhance its flow and coherence.
2. Tasks:
   • Correcting grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors.
   • Improving sentence structure and word choice.
   • Ensuring consistency in style and tone.
   • Fact-checking and verifying information.
   • Checking for logical flow and coherence in the text.
   • Formatting the document according to specific style guidelines (e.g., APA, MLA).

Proofreading

1. Focus: Proofreading is the final stage of the editing process. It focuses on identifying and correcting surface-level errors in the text that might have been missed during copy editing.
2. Tasks:
   • Correcting typos and minor spelling errors.
   • Fixing punctuation mistakes.
   • Ensuring correct grammar usage.
   • Checking for formatting errors.
   • Ensuring that all corrections from the copy editing stage have been properly implemented.

The short answer, copyediting is more in-depth making sure the document is readable and consistent, while proofreading is the last chance to make sure that the document is free of any mistakes.

Do you need either? Depending on the project you may want both. If you are working on a book you will likely want to have both forms of editing done, while if you are working on a blog post you would only want to have a proofread edit. 

No matter the project it’s always nice to know that your document is mistake-free!