The four kinds of copyediting — and how they’re applied

At Ascribe, we often develop our marketing communications content from scratch, drawing on the insights we gather through background research and interviews with subject-matter experts. But in some cases, our clients start the writing process on their own before turning to us for a professional review to bring the document over the finish line.

What many of those clients might not realize is that there are actually four different levels of editing we can apply based on the state of the document and the needs of the project. Let’s take a closer look at the four types of editing and what they involve.

Proofreading: When your text needs another set of eyes

Every piece should go through proofreading before it’s published or shared with an audience. While this is the least intense level of intervention, our proofreads go beyond simply checking for spelling and grammatical errors. We also check the “mechanical” elements of the copy such as formatting and page layout (e.g., line breaks, page breaks, margins, tables), consistency in how headers and sub-headers are treated, and so on. We also pay attention to the small stuff, like ensuring alignment of footnote and in-text citations, or checking that the math in tables and graphs adds up properly. In short, we make sure everything is accurate and consistent — across the entire document.

Copyediting: When you want to make good copy better

The next level of intervention is copyediting. It involves a thorough line-by-line edit of the document, making revisions to ensure clarity of meaning, grammatical correctness, concision, airtight logic and the appropriate application of the client’s preferred style guidelines. At this stage, we do not make any changes to the overall structure or framework of the document.

Stylistic edit: When you want a bring a consistent voice to your copy

The second most intense level of intervention, a stylistic edit includes everything involved with a line-by-line copyedit plus rewriting large portions of the text to make the author’s voice as clear and understandable as possible — and to ensure the organization’s desired brand and tone are evident throughout the document. It’s about enhancing the readability of the text by eliminating wordiness and repetition, improving sentence structure for better flow, and optimizing word choices to be more suitable to the target audience. The end result: a more consistent, readable, on-brand piece of marketing collateral.

Substantive edit: When in-depth reinvention is required

Less refined or unfinished copy requires our deepest, most intensive level of intervention. With a substantive edit, we first undertake a thorough review of the copy, carefully evaluating the structure of the document as well as the clarity and coherence of the text. We then present our proposed recommendations to the client, explaining how we might make structural changes (e.g., merging or rearranging sections, adding new sections), insert more headings and subheadings for greater scannability, convert tables to text or bullets (or vice versa), add sidebars or callouts, refine the top-level messaging to better align with the original intent of the piece, and so on. This also typically involves rewriting certain passages or even the entire document to improve tone, style, clarity and consistency.

Maximize your impact with Ascribe

Ascribe Marketing Inc.'s team is deeply experienced in all forms of editing and proofreading, having supported clients across a broad range of sectors: from clinicians writing about substance use health to visionary technologists defining the future of telecommunications. We've made our reputation delivering top-quality plain language writing and editing — no matter how complex the source material.

Contact us today to find out how we can help you can make the best impression with your marketing communications content.