By: Mikayla Clapp, Public Affairs Writer/Editor
Having an editor to review your writing is an extremely valuable resource that can make a significant difference in the quality of your work. As a former writing tutor and college student who frequently visited my university’s writing center, I have witnessed the difference an editor can make in the final outcome of a piece, both in my personal writing and in that of the students I worked with. An editor is not someone who will merely tell you what is wrong with your writing, but rather is a knowledgeable resource that will point you in the right direction and collaborate with you to improve the overall quality of your work. Specifically, an editor is someone who can easily spot common writing mistakes, serve as a sounding board for your ideas, save you time, and make the writing process easier.
An Editor Can Easily Spot Common Writing Mistakes
Trained editors are very familiar with common writing mistakes and often have experience in recognizing these and offering suggestions for correction. For example, it can be easy to make a small grammatical or sentence structure error, especially when you are writing a longer piece. Editors are more likely to recognize and catch these small errors because they function as a fresh set of eyes on your writing. Editors are also knowledgeable on how to quickly address and fix these errors without completely changing the sentence or section where the error occurs.
An Editor Can Serve as a Sounding Board for Your Ideas
An editor is someone you can collaborate and share your ideas with. They can function as a sounding board for your thoughts related to your specific writing piece and assist you in developing your ideas. They can also help you by discussing ways in which you can implement your ideas and plans for your writing. Editors are often familiar with a wide variety of different types of writing, and therefore, the accompanying conventions and norms of different writing pieces. For example, editors can assist you with finding the best way to describe the setting or with further developing your analysis of a source material. For documents like cover letters, dissertations, and academic essays, editors can help you ensure that your writing meets the established standards of these specific types of writing.
An Editor Can Save You Time & Make the Writing Process Easier
Lastly, editors can help save you time, especially if you are working on a longer piece. They can assist you with tedious tasks like formatting and organization in styles such as MLA and APA, ultimately allowing you to focus more attention on refining your work. An editor essentially functions as readily available writing support. Their job is to ultimately make the writing process easier for you.
Overall, having an editor for your writing comes with a variety of benefits. An editor can easily spot mistakes, serve as a sounding board for your ideas, save you time, and ultimately make the writing process easier. Acquiring an editor will ensure that your writing is the best it can be and meets the expected standards of quality writing. The next time you are writing an important piece, consider having an editor review and refine your work.
Check out this video from Dr. Chambers on how to decide if you need an editor!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpJInsYn9_g&list=PL92VvHO96-6yidr8ViKjHR2wnAghyTBkA&index=10