Why are Professional Proofreading and Editing Services Required?

I can already hear you saying, “Well, I know why professional proofreading and editing services are valuable, but how can you say they are required?”

I know, I know … It’s a strong statement to make. Nevertheless, it is demonstrably true, and I will use the rest of this blog post to illustrate two valuable reasons why.

Reason 1: Would you cut your own hair?

You might think this is a strange place to start. I’m arguing that professional proofreading and editing services are not just valuable, but also that they are required. What on earth does this have to do with cutting your own hair?

However, bear with me.

My guess is that you aren’t a hairdresser. In 2017,the UK’s Office for National Statistics reported that there were 254,193 hairdressers working in the UK, and so if you’re reading this article as a UK resident (whether an international student, an expatriate, or otherwise), there’s about a 0.38% chance of you being a hairdresser.

So, considering you’re probably not a hairdresser, do you – or would you ever – cut your own hair?

Again, my guess is that you don’t. I believe this is reasonable.

There are two reasons why you probably don’t: (1) a hairdresser is qualified for the job, certainly more so than you are (and you know it); and (2) a hairdresser, in being able to look at your head in a way that you will never be able to (even using mirrors), can do a much better job than you can.

Similarly, a professional proofreader or editor, by virtue of not being you, brings a valuable perspective – as well as a fresh pair of trained, qualified eyes – to bear on your written work.

Many have tried – and, importantly, failed – to proofread or edit their own work, just as they have tried and failed to cut their own hair.

It follows from the above, then, that professional proofreading and editing services are required.

Reason 2: Imagine you are writing something …

It doesn’t matter what.The only thing that matters is the fact that you are writing something that will be shown to someone else at some point (e.g., a marker, a publisher, or a manager).

Since you are writing something that someone else will see, it isn’t a stretch to suggest the following: you have knowledge that your audience is interested in accessing through the text you produce. After all, if you didn’t have this knowledge, why would you be writing anything down?

OK, to get to the point where we see whyprofessional proofreading and editing services are required and not just valuable, note that, in order to proofread or edit your own work, you will need to stop writing. That is to say, you will need to stop transmitting your knowledge onto the page, and you will need to shift towards re-reading those words; checking for errors; restructuring your thoughts; clarifying expressions; making wordy statements more concise and easily digestible; and so on.

It follows, therefore, that proofreading and editingservices allow experts, students, businesspeople, authors, blog writers, or anyone else to focus on what they do best (i.e., conveying their knowledge to others), and – in doing so – to make the world better.

Such services allow anybody who is writing something to leverage the expertise of a professional to free their time – whether for rest or for further work. This is another clear reason why professional proofreading and editing services are required.