Almost every great writer employs an editor, who works to cut and polish the writer’s work so that its light shines most brightly. Use of an editor is increasingly common for graduate students whose expertise in their field of study can occasionally surpass their writing skills — especially in theses and dissertations.
An editor serves two main functions:
Proofreading the “Mechanics”: Ensuring that your spelling, punctuation, and capitalization are correct, and that you are achieving subject-verb agreement, correct verb tense and pronoun use, and complete sentences; attending to formatting requirements, both basic (such as acceptable font, margins, spacing, footnotes, and page numbers) and those dictated by your school’s required style (e.g., APA, MLA, Turabian).
Coaching for Coherence: Coherence means the logical, orderly, and consistent relation of diverse elements. Coaching for coherence entails feedback on four levels.
An editor does not work with first drafts, research any portion of your paper, write any portion of your paper, confirm the accuracy of the content of your quotations or other research, or confirm the accuracy of the content of citations or reference list.
Comments from students:
“I had often wondered why so many authors make glowing references to their editors. I now know why. My gratitude is genuinely immense for my editor, Stephen Vincent DeLeers. His talented counsel made my work more theoretically precise and user-friendly. He is a consummate exemplar of his craft. I deeply appreciate his patience and perseverance.”
“Thank you for your assistance and motivation.”
“Invaluable!”
An editor serves two main functions:
Proofreading the “Mechanics”: Ensuring that your spelling, punctuation, and capitalization are correct, and that you are achieving subject-verb agreement, correct verb tense and pronoun use, and complete sentences; attending to formatting requirements, both basic (such as acceptable font, margins, spacing, footnotes, and page numbers) and those dictated by your school’s required style (e.g., APA, MLA, Turabian).
Coaching for Coherence: Coherence means the logical, orderly, and consistent relation of diverse elements. Coaching for coherence entails feedback on four levels.
- On the sentence level: attending to sentences that could be clearer or more readable, or sentences that fail to express one complete thought.
- On the paragraph level: attending to weaknesses in development, including tackling more than one topic or failing to transition smoothly to the next paragraph.
- On the chapter level: guiding you toward concise introductions, logical progression of sections, appropriate use of tables and other non-textual material, and concise conclusions.
- On the paper level: guiding you toward a strong introduction, logical progression of chapters, and strong conclusions.
An editor does not work with first drafts, research any portion of your paper, write any portion of your paper, confirm the accuracy of the content of your quotations or other research, or confirm the accuracy of the content of citations or reference list.
Comments from students:
“I had often wondered why so many authors make glowing references to their editors. I now know why. My gratitude is genuinely immense for my editor, Stephen Vincent DeLeers. His talented counsel made my work more theoretically precise and user-friendly. He is a consummate exemplar of his craft. I deeply appreciate his patience and perseverance.”
“Thank you for your assistance and motivation.”
“Invaluable!”