The Expert Editor has been editing academic papers, books and business documents since 2012, and we have been writing here since 2013. The blog answers practical questions writers face before and during an edit: What is the difference between copyediting and proofreading? What does a manuscript assessment look at? Which kind of edit does a draft need? We explain these things as we would to a client—plainly, specifically and with the needs of the draft in mind.
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Editor's note: This article was reviewed and updated in July 2026 to meet Expert Editor's latest editorial standards. Send a text that ends with a period, and something shifts. It reads a little colder, a little more final, than the same sentence with no punctuation at all. I'm not ...Read More
Corrected 23 September 2026: a claim that brain-training games improve proofreading (tip 77) was removed to meet our latest editorial standards. Editing and proofreading are vital for producing great writing. But where should you look? What should you change? As the most comprehensive proofreading list on the web, this list provides ...Read More
Editor's note: This article was reviewed and updated in July 2026 to meet Expert Editor's latest editorial standards. Rules were made to be broken – just ask James Dean. But to be a grammar rebel, you have to understand the rules in the first place. How else do you know ...Read More
Editor's note: This article was reviewed and updated in July 2026 to meet Expert Editor's latest editorial standards. English is the world's international language, but that doesn't mean it's the world's easiest language. It's full of grammar oddities, confusing vocabulary and hard-to-master conventions. There are roughly three times as many ...Read More
Editor's note: This article was reviewed and updated in July 2026 to meet Expert Editor's latest editorial standards. This infographic is based on our previous post The 30 Most Common Grammar Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them). Great writing doesn't require perfect grammar, and occasionally grammar rules can (and should) ...Read More
Editor's note: This article was reviewed and updated in July 2026 to meet Expert Editor's latest editorial standards. Writing is an art form, but also a technical skill. I don't subscribe to the view that great writing requires perfect grammar. In my view, great writing is more about being engaging, ...Read More