timbp bioscience editor

When you write, your aim is to communicate to your reader.

An editor helps you achieve this aim. An editor takes the role of your reader, and advises you of anything that interferes with your aim of communication, or makes changes to you text to improve the communication.

Editing can occur at many different levels, and different stages may be done by different people.

• An editor may work with the structure and organisation of the document, to present the information in a way that facilitates the reader’s understanding.
• This may involve changing the order of sentences, paragraphs, or whole sections, or even imposing a completely different organisation.
• It may involve using figures or tables to present information, instead of text.
• Some information may be better taken out of the main flow of text into separate text boxes.
• An editor may work with the sentences to ensure they are clear and do not confuse the reader.
• A common problem for writers is that they know what they intend to say, and so do not notice when a sentence is ambiguous or even says something different to what was intended.
• An editor will fix spelling and grammar, and ensure consistent style and formatting.
• Errors of spelling and grammar distract readers from your content. They also reflect poorly on all your work—if readers see your article is full of errors, they are going to wonder if your data analysis or your bench work is also full of errors.
• Inconsistent style also distracts readers. If a term is in italic text in one place and underlined in another place, the reader has to determine if they mean differnent things, and can be confused if they do not.
• An editor will ensure your document follows the appropriate style conventions.
• Different styles can have different meanings, and an editor will ensure they are used correctly. For example, gene names are usually presented in italic text, and the corresponding gene product in upright text. The meaning can be changed significantly by using the wrong style.
• An editor will ensure numbers are consistent.
• The sum of numbers in a table column should equal the total presented at the bottom of that column; the value given in the abstract should be the same as the value presented in the results, which should be the same as the value used in the discussion.

So why can’t you do this yourself? When you have written a document, it is very difficult to view it objectively. You become mentally locked to the structure you planned, and may not be able to see that another structure might be clearer, or even that another structure is possible. You know exactly what you intended a sentence to say, so you may be unable to see that the sentence is ambiguous, or even says the opposite of what you intended.

So why can’t you get your colleague to do this? You can. But a professional editor is an expert and will be able to do a faster and more thorough job. As with any service, you will get better results from somebody who has training and experience.