Editing academic texts is a discipline in its own right. Our editors follow the Scribbr Improvement Model© to ensure your thesis or paper meets the stringent standards of academic writing. However, please note that we never check the substantive contents of your document.

The Scribbr Improvement Model© is divided into two parts: reviewing your language and reviewing your academic writing.

 

Part 1 – Reviewing your language

Area of Concern Specific topic
1. Have all words been spelled correctly? General spelling mistakes and typos
Compound nouns
Compound adjectives
UK vs. US spelling
Capitalization
2. Have the right words been used? Articles
Pronouns
Demonstratives
Word choice
Prepositions
Phrasal verbs
Transition words
3. Have the sentences been written correctly? Subject-verb agreement
Verb choice for collective nouns (singular vs. plural)
Word order in simple sentences
Word order in complex sentences
Word order in lists
Verb tenses
Missing words
Sentence fragments
Redundancy
4. Has the correct punctuation been used? Commas
Colons
Semicolons
Periods
Quotation marks
Parentheses
Dashes
Hyphens
5. How is the style? Minimizing passive constructions
Avoiding awkward constructions
Avoiding overly long and complicated sentences
Using appropriate sentence starts
Using varied vocabulary
Using varied sentence structure
6. Is there consistency? Spelling
Capitalization
Verb tense (within paragraphs or sections)
General punctuation
Serial (“Oxford”) commas
Quotation marks

 

Part 2 – Reviewing your academic writing

Area of concern Specific topic
1. Does the text have an academic tone? Using academic vocabulary
Avoiding inappropriate words and phrases
Avoiding vague and redundant formulations
2. Are quotations written correctly? Making changes to quoted text
Using correct punctuation in citations
Spelling mistakes in citations
3. Are numbers written correctly? Using words or numerals to express numbers
Using commas and periods in numbers
Using symbols and units with numbers
4. Are abbreviations written correctly? Properly introducing abbreviations
Consistently using abbreviations
Following other abbreviation rules
5. Are point of view/voice choices appropriate? Avoiding first person pronouns (when requested)
Avoiding second person pronouns
Using a consistent voice
6. Is the writing understandable? Avoiding unclear sentences
Using tenses that are appropriate for different sections of a thesis