Professional Proofreading Services

The Secret to Great Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing an original content source involves rewriting the text to ensure that the information it contains is articulated using new words. Given the complexity and the time-consuming nature of paraphrasing a document, rewriting services or paraphrasing services are one of the most popular writing-related services available online today.

Ordering a rewriting service is a good idea if you want to accelerate the process of creating new content without falling into the terrible trap of plagiarising other sources directly. For this reason, rewriting services are especially popular among academics, students, and even diverse types of content creators, including web content writers.

However, since rewriting or paraphrasing a document takes such a large amount of time, the price of these services is high, especially when compared to more traditional services such as proofreading or editing. Therefore, if you don’t have the budget to cover the cost of a rewriting service, it’s worth paying attention to this article, which lays out the secret to great paraphrasing in a series of tips.

1. Exploit synonyms

Replacing words with other words that carry the same meaning is the most straightforward and direct way to paraphrase an original source. If you can’t think of synonyms off the top of your head, pull out a thesaurus and you’ll be well on your way.

2. Restructure sentences and paragraphs

If you need to paraphrase a sentence or paragraph, another fairly direct way to avoid plagiarism involves restructuring the text. For example, if the target sentence conveys two pieces of information, switch around the order in which this information is presented. The same goes for paragraphs, yielding a quick and easy way to create distance between you and the original source.

3. Merge or separate sentences

Whenever you need to paraphrase a piece of writing that contains more than just one sentence, an often-overlooked strategy to decrease the level of similarity is to separate the information into multiple sentences. Likewise, merging two sentences together from an original source is a very efficient way to avoid plagiarism, as long as you remember to switch around words using synonyms. If you do go for the merging strategy, please be sure to safeguard against excessively long sentences.

Summary

Great paraphrasing is an art. It must be done attentively and with great skill in order to ensure that the trap of plagiarism is avoided. If you are unsure about how to best proceed in terms of paraphrasing an original source, it is well worth talking to a professional rewriter. After all, while the cost of a paraphrasing service is certainly not negligible in most cases, there is really nothing worse than being found to have plagiarised another source. However, if you can, you will benefit an enormous amount by developing your ability to rewrite other documents, not only in terms of saving money also in terms of advancing your learning and your command of language.

What to look for in an Editing Service?

We all know how difficult it is to finish an extended piece of writing. Given the enormous amount of effort and time that go into the process of writing an essay, thesis, or blog article, most writers use editing services to ensure that their work is always at its best when published. Finding a good editing service, though, is not so straightforward. For this reason, the purpose of this article is to highlight a few of the key things to look out for when you are searching for an editing service.

Image: There are good and bad ways to look for your next editor

First of all, before you even begin your search, it’s important to ask yourself what you need an editor for. After you’ve determined this, your writing life will become much easier. This stems from the fact that most editing services, despite often being referred to as the same thing, differ in very significant applied ways. For example, there are key differences between developmental editing, structural editing, line editing, copy editing, and content editing. The similarity across these types of editing is that in none of them will the editor act as your co-author, but knowing about the differences is crucial when setting out to find someone to help optimise your writing.

The second thing to bear in mind when looking for an editor is that irrespective of the type of editing you are interested in, it is usually worth working with an editing company as opposed to a self-employed freelancer. The reason for this is that editing companies have quality control and quality improvement processes in place that safeguard you from receiving poor work. That is to say, while you may save money working with a freelancer, you are likely to spend a significant amount of time compared to choosing a professional editing company.

Image: Choosing a reputable editing company can give you peace of mind

Another issue to consider is the all-important factor of word-of-mouth. As an author or writer, it is very likely that you operate in a network with other authors and writers, and many of your peers will have worked with professional proofreading editors in the past. For this reason, it is important to leverage any recommendations that you can find in your network since this will make it much easier to locate a strong and qualified editor who can help you with your writing task. If it is genuinely impossible for you to receive a personal recommendation from a friend or colleague, the next port of call should be online reviews. Ideally, the editor you work with will be affiliated with a reputable company that has a proven track record.

Altogether, if you are someone who has never worked with an editor before, it is vital to pay close attention when hiring somebody to collaborate with on your written work. After all, the last thing you want is for the valuable time you put into creating your document to be undermined by shoddy or unsatisfactory editing.

The Principles of Proofreading

Whatever it is that you’re writing – a blog, a poem, a paper intended for a journal, or the final draft of your PhD dissertation – proofreading your own work is hard. Even when you’ve finalised your document and you are ready to proofread it, it’s very difficult to get out of the writing mindset and into the grammar error-catching mindset.

Professional proofreading services go a long way today in helping to overcome these complexities, but they are not for everyone. For some, the budget to cover the cost of professional proofreading just isn’t available, and for others, they strongly feel that they themselves should do everything needed to bring the document into good shape.

If you want to proofread your own work, or if you are simply curious about how professional proofreading services work, the purpose of this article is to state and explain the core principles of proofreading. Knowing about these will help you improve as a proofreader and, at the same time, it will allow you to better evaluate the work of professional proofreaders.

Principle #1 – Don’t rush it

Distance is clarity when it comes to proofreading. That is to say, the less familiar you are with the document you are proofreading, the more effectively you are able to proofread it.

For this reason, the first principle of proofreading is not to rush the process. If you have a deadline coming up tomorrow, it may be worth using an online proofreading service, since in this case it is actually impossible to gain the distance you need to achieve a good outcome.

Image: It’s important to complete the proofreading process slowly and deliberately

Principle #2 – Leave no stone unturned

When we say that a proofreader checks everything, we literally mean everything. Proofreaders check the spelling of every name, every book title, every technical term, every calculation, every day, and so on.

Image: Good proofreaders leave no stone unturned

Principle #3 – Maintain consistency

Proofreaders typically maintain consistency in a written document by following a style guide. This guide tells the proofreader where to use italics, what case to apply in titles and headings (e.g., title case or sentence case), the type of quotation marks to use, and everything else. Style guides touch on every conceivable writing-related issue, and they must be followed to maintain consistency.

Image: Consistency is one of the keys to good proofreading

Principle #4 – Ask someone else for help

If you are not a professional proofreader, this is one of the most fundamental principles to follow when checking written work. This is because receiving a fresh perspective on your written work is truly essential as a way to ensure every error is spotted and corrected. Asking someone else for help who has a good grasp with the proofreading process, this is particularly essential if you do not have a strong grasp of spelling, punctuation, and grammar, always get it checked!

Image: Use a fresh pair of eyes to improve your writing

How to Proofread Like the Pro’s

Proofreading services offer great value for money, and with the rise of the Internet, they are increasingly easy to find, use, and learn from.

However, if your budget doesn’t cover the cost of a proofreading service, you may be wondering if a DIY check, will provide your work with a professional-grade service.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Ultimately, the complexity of the proofreading process means that it is unlikely you will be able to match the same level of quality as an expertly-trained proofreader, but there are several surefire tips you can follow to help you proofread like the pros.

1. Start from the end

People often laugh out loud when professional proofreaders suggest that they should read their document backward when checking over their own work.

However, if you only look for mistakes by reading your work forwards, your brain – in knowing already what you were aiming to write – tends to correct mistakes automatically, preventing you from seeing them clearly.

This is the reason why starting from the end of your document and reading it back to front is one of the most effective ways to proofread like the pros.

2. Read aloud

This is another practice that professional proofreaders routinely follow when checking over other people’s work, but that writers themselves rarely adopt.

The logic underlying the practice is similar to the logic that causes many professionals to read through documents backward: namely, to break away from the familiarity you already have with a text you have written, and which is incredibly hard to break from if you stick to practices you always use (in this case, reading through the text silently).

Even if you are working in a public space such as a library, there is no excuse to avoid this advice when proofreading as even silently mouthing the words can do the trick!

3. Concentrate

Many writers believe that once they’ve finished the final draft of their work, their main task is pretty much done. As a result, they may begin proofreading with music on, distractions around them, or even while sitting in front of the television.

This is a serious misconception, though. To notice subtle mistakes in a document and, at the same time, to optimise the clarity, consistency, and concision of a document, you need your full attention and all your wits about you.

Therefore, if you want to proofread like the pros and get the same results without having to pay for a proofreading service, start the proofreading process by removing any distractions in your environment. Find a comfortable chair and turn off your emails, and you’re all set.

4. Print your work

This is one of the oldest tricks of the trade. Professional proofreaders almost always work on documents on paper because this allows them the opportunity to catch many of the errors that would have otherwise snuck by. Once you’ve mark-up your printed document and identified all the areas that need changing, you can go back to your computer and begin applying the corrections.

How to Optimise Paragraph Structure

The art of writing strong paragraphs, like the art of proofreading and editing, is an ancient one, and it is also one that takes a long time to master. For this reason, if you are in a rush, consider making use of proofreading and editing services because these will allow you to benefit from the experience and expertise of trained writing professionals. These services may save you a lot of hassle in the long run!

If you have the time, however, and especially if you are planning to enter a career in which your writing skills will be important, it is essential to know about the main techniques you can use to optimize paragraph structure. Therefore, this article begins by describing the basic process for writing a good paragraph and, in turn, offers a few more advanced writing tips for optimising the structure of paragraphs in your essay or any other document.

Writing a strong paragraph

In academic writing, it is important to be efficient and simple when writing paragraphs. If you stick to the approach outlined below, you will enable your readers to absorb your message easily, whereas if you don’t, you may completely derail the logic of your points.

1. Begin with a topic sentence

A topic sentence (or “paragraph leader”) introduces to the reader the main point and purpose of the paragraph. You don’t need to squash everything you want to say into this sentence – you simply need to convey enough information for the reader to understand what the rest of the paragraph will focus on.

2. Develop your point

In the next two or three sentences of your paragraph, develop the point made in your topic sentence. Any of the non-critical information that you decided to exclude from your topic sentence can be placed into these sentences.

3. Support your point

In subsequent sentences (the exact number will differ depending on the nature of the point you are making), you should bring in any evidence, statistics, opinions, or examples that will help the reader to understand why your point is correct and valid. Anything that verifies the initial statement you made can go into these sentences.

4. Summarise your point

The final sentence of your paragraph should wrap everything up, showing the reader the conclusions that they can draw from the argument you have presented. As such, the language of the final sentence is likely to mirror the topic sentence that started your paragraph.

Advanced tips

Paragraph length

This is a complex and much-discussed issue and, ultimately, there is no clear rule about how long your paragraphs should be. Ideally, the paragraph should be precisely as long as it needs to be to make the point you want to make. In most cases, however, paragraphs that are around four sentences long, and potentially ranging from three to five sentences, are the optimal length. This will include one topic sentence, one concluding sentence, and two or three sentences that develop and support the main point.

Transitioning between paragraphs

Readers appreciate writing that is seamless, where all the points flow logically from one to another and, likewise, so should the paragraphs that communicate these points. To write effective transitions between paragraphs, you can make use of many of the connectives (or “linking words”, such as “however”, “first of all”, “in addition”, and so on) that you use to write strong transitions between sentences.

What’s the point of rewriting services?

Rewriting services are provided to solve the dull yet time-consuming and challenging task of paraphrasing, which involves changing a document’s words without changing its meaning. If you’ve ever had to rewrite a document, you will know how the task of paraphrasing feels like reinventing the wheel. Since it is never worthwhile to reinvent the wheel, you should look into the possibility of using a rewriting service to save yourself time and effort.

Image: Paraphrasing a document is a complex and time-consuming task

A strong rewriting service does not rely on software to transform text beyond recognition. The current software available for paraphrasing English text is not convincing, and so you should avoid working with companies that engage in practices where these programs are used. Instead, having your document rewritten by a native English speaker ensures that you receive content that only a skilled human writer can produce. This allows you to publish your work with confidence that it does not contain any plagiarism.

Rewriting services are not just useful for saving yourself time and avoiding plagiarism. Professional rewriters can synthesise vast amounts of information in text, conveying them typically in a more concise, simple, and straightforward way. As a result of this, you can make a quick, convenient, and confidential rewriting order, enabling you to benefit from the writing professional’s ability to ease your research and production of documents like literature reviews.

Image: Paraphrasing can accelerate and simplify your research project

When writing a thesis or a research proposal, or any document that involves a comprehensive review of the literature, rewriting and paraphrasing services are proven to be valuable. Many expert rewriters and paraphrasers work with your needs in mind, which means that they can offer tailored services that allow you to relax and enjoy the experience of conducting and writing up research. This is one of the central purposes of using any writing-related service: namely, that you can avoid reinventing the wheel and leverage a specialist’s skills to complete your tasks, freeing up your own time to focus on other critical tasks.

Image: Rewriting services help you avoid reinventing the wheel every time you write

It’s always important to remember that you need to work with a trusted rewriting provider, even if your time deadline is short. Paraphrasing a document is a complex task that requires subject-specific expertise to pull off effectively every time and so time spent finding the right company or freelancer to work with is well worth all the effort. Furthermore, computer programs and other software generate reliably incoherent and meaningless text when they are set to the task of rewriting and paraphrasing services, and so beware, you should take precautions to avoid hiring unscrupulous and untrained providers.

Strategies for improving your writing skills

Many students are told that their writing contains excellent ideas but the use of language could be improved in various ways.

With professional proofreading services, it is possible to improve the quality of your work quickly and affordably.However, this isn’t always the fastest way to enhance your writing skills. Therefore, the tips given in this article will help you to identify some of the potential weaknesses in your written work, allowing you to improve over time.

If you can, it’s always worth working with a professional proofreading company. Doing so gives you peace of mind and even the most successful writers today, ranging from J. K. Rowling to prominent journalists, hire proofreaders.

However, if this option isn’t available or if your main aim is to improve your writing skills rapidly, then consider applying some of the strategies presented in this article.

Image: Knowing strategies for enhancing your writing is essential at university and in business

Eliminate repetition

If you find repetitive phrases or words in your work, these are the first things that need to go in the proofreading process. If you move systematically through your document and eliminate any instances of repetition, you will be surprised at the positive impact this has. Just by doing this, the clarity and attractiveness of your writing will increase quite substantially.

Use the active voice

Another quick way to improve your writing skills is the strategy of replacing instances of the passive voice with the active voice. The active voice breathes life into your written work, as you’ll see when you consider some examples. If you’ve forgotten, remember that the active voice means that the sentence’s subject performs the action (e.g., “James poured the juice”, which is active; and “The juice was poured by James”, which is passive).

Benefit from a fresh pair of eyes

Document proofreading and editing have had a long history in the publishing industry, as well as in academia and the business world. One of the reasons why is because familiarity with written work leads to blindness: that is, when someone knows what their document says, it becomes more difficult for them to spot its errors. When somebody else gives a second opinion on the way you’ve written your document, this can gradually enhance your writing skills.

Image: Proofreading and editing have been practiced for centuries in the publishing industry

Try to write as clearly and concisely as possible

When you write, try to balance clarity and concision. When your writing is clear, the reader will be able to understand it easily and enjoy the interaction. Also, when writing is concise, it will not take an excessively long time to process the information, which is desirable for most readers.

How to decide between proofreading and editing

It is fairly common for first-time users of professional proofreading services to be unclear about how editing and proofreading differ. It is critical to know what the main differences between these services are before ordering, this article provides a quick overview.

A definition of editing and proofreading

Dissimilar to professional proofreading, editing involves revising and offering recommendations about the content of the piece of writing. Editors, like proofreaders, check spelling and grammar, but editors provide a more comprehensive intervention for a document that covers flow, readability, style, and accuracy.

What to look for in an editor or proofreader

Finding a good editor can be more difficult than finding a good professional proofreading service. The reason for this is that it takes a more knowledgeable talent to be an editor and a proofreader.

This is not to say that proofreading is not a complex task, which it is; rather, it is simply important to recognise that editing requires a broader skillset compared to proofreading.

Specifically, editors need to do everything that proofreaders do, but they also need to have subject-specific knowledge, as well as stronger writing and organisation skills.

For these reasons, choosing an editor is something that should be done carefully, especially if your document is in a poor condition and you need extensive intervention, restructuring, and advice.

How do you know which is right for you?

As this article has shown, editing is a more comprehensive process compared to proofreading. For this reason, professional proofreading services are usually cheaper than editing services. If price is a defining issue for you, this may be the most important criterion that helps you determine which is the right fit for you.

Even if the pricier nature of editing services is not a barrier, you may not need such an extensive service. For example, if you are happy with the accuracy, structure, and readability of your work, a straightforward grammar, spelling, and punctuation check may be all you need. In this case, it is advisable to work with a proofreader rather than an editor.

A good rule of thumb that can help you decide whether to use proofreading or editing services relates to the point in the drafting process that you are at. If you are on the final draft of your document, then proofreading is the best choice. If you are on an earlier draft, editing is likely to be the right option.

Where to go now?

Once you’ve decided on a proofreading or editing service, you are faced with the challenge of deciding between all of the available companies and freelancers that are offering their time and skills. This can be complex, but it is always worth looking for some online reviews or advice from friends to help you make your decision and find the most qualified person to work with and check out their work, request a sample.

Proofreading services can help save you time and money

The purpose of editing and proofreading services is to remove grammatical errors, punctuation mistakes, typos, and incorrect spellings from your document. People who write novels, for example, often benefit from using book proofreading services UK to accelerate the publication process.

Since editors and proofreaders are trained professionals, it costs money to work with them and recruit them to work on your documents. Although writing-related services are increasingly affordable today, the cost of such services may represent a barrier that some students, academics, and businesspeople are unwilling to cross.

It is underreported, however, that using editing and proofreading services, despite the upfront cost required, can save a substantial amount of money in the long run. This article highlights some of the most notable and surprising examples of typographical errors and other language-related deficits that resulted in high costs for the publisher, and where the common-sense use of editors and proofreaders could have made huge savings.

Taxpayers pay $1.4 million due to typo at NYC Department of Education

Due to an accounting typo at the NYC Department of Education, the cost of the transportation fund was accidentally doubled to $2.8 million from $1.4 million. It was not until an audit was undertaken in 2006 that the typo was noticed.

$225 million lost due to two minor typos at the Tokyo Stock Exchange

The company Mizuho Securities, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, lost approximately $225 million due to a pair of typos. Although the typos that caused the loss were noticed, transactions cannot be canceled on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, and so this typo caused one of the biggest losses of all time. In this case, hiring a proofreader, despite the relatively small cost, would have saved Mizuho Securities a fortune.

Advertising typo leads to $10 million loss for the Yellow Pages

In the 1980s, Banner Travel Agency’s advertisement in the Yellow Pages for “exotic” adventures was accidentally promoted as “erotic” adventures. This embarrassing typo led to a lawsuit that cost the Yellow Pages $10 million. Although the Yellow Pages experienced successes in the decade after this event, this event threatened the survival of the company.

Role of proofreading in saving money

The cases of typos leading to million-dollar losses described above are surprising. Admittedly, it is rare for a typo to lead to such a severe outcome.

However, improving the quality of the documents you write – for example, by removing typos, inconsistencies, and punctuation mistakes –has an impact on your reputation, which means that investing in proofreading services can often lead to long-term savings.

At the same time, proofreading saves you time and, in the end, time is money. With the time you save from proofreading, you can invest that in other important tasks, leaving the specialist task of editing and proofreading to a trained professional, who will ensure the document is presented correctly at a cost.

How editors help shape your research proposal document

Editing services are most well-known for helping to improve a writer’s grammar, punctuation, readability, style, and tone. However, there are many more uses for editors and their talents, especially if you are writing an academic document. For example, if you are starting out on your research career, receiving help using an editing service to shape, structure, and optimise your research proposal can yield substantial advantages as seen below.

What is the purpose of a research proposal?

A research proposal is a document an individual submits before undertaking research for a summative thesis or dissertation as a postgraduate student. Research proposals are also typically prepared for funding grant applications.

How do I start writing a thesis proposal?

First of all, you should review any official guidance you have received that relates to the structure, length, or content of your research proposal. For example, if your university provided you with a module handbook, you should consult this document to find any specific information about how to complete your research proposal to meet the guidelines.

Once you have consulted official guidance on your research proposal and its contents, it is important to become familiar with the typical layout, structure, and overall organisation of a research proposal. If you bear this in mind when you are preparing for your next funding application or doctoral program, the process of shaping the research proposal is likely to become easier.

What is the standard structure for a research proposal?

If you speak with your supervisor or a qualified proofreader and editor, you will quickly learn about the standard structure that you should adopt when writing a research proposal. As a reference, an overview of the standard structure is given as follows:

Statement of background and context
Problem statement
Rationale and motivation
Literature review, focusing on the state of the field
State of your current research
Research methodology and ethical issues
Schedule and milestones
Plan for dissemination of findings

Not every research proposal will contain all of the above elements. At the same time, some research proposals will need to go into detail in areas not mentioned here. For example, you may be asked to justify in your research proposal any requested funding, or you may have to describe in detail your data management plan.

Role of an editor in optimising your research proposal

Several points have been made in this article about the valuable input editors can offer when you are writing your research proposal. In general, editors can ensure that your use of the English language is as clear and concise as possible, which is essential in scientific writing. In addition, using an editing and proofreading services can help give shape and a coherent structure to your ideas. For example, if you sketch out the core elements of your research design, you can discuss these with an editor and work with them to ensure your research proposal is structured logically.