I do all sorts of scholarly and academic editing: sentence-level editing, citation/reference work, developmental editing (which focuses more on organization and the piece as a whole), and coaching. I’ve edited many dissertations and scholarly articles as well as monographs and CVs. I’ve also tutored and coached doctoral students and faculty in scholarly writing.
When I engage in academic editing, I correct grammar and sentence structure, improve the readability of the text, and edit for specific styles required by journals and publishers (such as APA). I tend to edit articles and dissertations in cultural studies, psychology, sociology, education, political science, and other humanities and social science fields, but I’ve also edited several articles and dissertations in engineering and computer science.
For each academic piece, I prefer to do a minimum of three editing passes in order to be thorough: the first read is for me to edit errors and get my bearings, noting the different work that needs to be done and familiarizing myself with the content. Then I do a deep edit, going through the text slowly and editing as I go. (Then, depending on the client’s needs, I might do a number of other passes–for headings, citation style, or tables and figures; another round is optional.) Finally, I do a last pass to proofread the piece one last time. If the piece is shorter, I print it out in order to help me proofread those errors more difficult to catch on-screen. That said, I’m happy to work with scholars to discuss a process that will meet their needs.
If you’d like to discuss the editing of your scholarly work, please contact me.
Joy Arbor 