Editing and proofreading are of paramount importance in academic writing. Editing a document is to ensure its correctness once it is written. This is perhaps an oversimplification of it. In fact it ensures that an essay is properly organized, that the contents of the essay are accurate and that it is complete. Editing also ensures that the ideas in the essay are coherent, that these ideas are consistent and that the essay is itself easy to review. In effect this enables the writer to communicate with readers more lucidly, precisely, concisely, and consistently.

Another step to ensuring the correctness of a document is proofreading. Are editing and proofreading one and the same? Although they are sometimes considered synonymous, they are two different aspects of ensuring the correctness of a document; especially academic writing that is of a scientific nature. Although the two are different, both require the same levels of focus and attention.

Academic writing that is generally scholarly in nature must be subjected to the processes of editing and proofreading. But to do this one has to go about it in the proper way. To begin with let us see what should not be done. Academic essays are normally edited and proofread by the author itself. And if you are the one, do not do it immediately after completing the writing. Because if you review the paper then and there, your ideas, the construction, completeness and cohesion will all appear perfect.

Give yourself a break. After a couple of hours or even after a couple of days you will be able to review your essay from a more pragmatic perspective. Choose a quiet place. Select a medium. If you are more comfortable working at the computer, you can do this on the machine itself. Alternatively if you are more comfortable working with a hard copy, take a printout of your essay. Another don't is, don't try to do the editing and proofreading in one go. Because it is quite likely that fatigue will set in and you will not be able to do a proper job.

While editing your essay make sure to check if the paper is well organized, that the flow between paragraphs is smooth and that the evidence you have presented supports your argument. Editing will have to focus on the content, the structure of your essay, its lucidity, overall style and the in-text citation and list of references.

Proofreading is done as the final step in the editing process. You should focus on correcting spelling errors and grammatical and punctuation errors. It is as important as editing your essay. Because in spite of all the hard work you have put in, in terms of content, you will create a bad impression if the essay contains spelling or grammar errors.

Although some people tend to think that editing and proofreading are one and the same process, it will be better if you treat them as two separate processes. And you will do a better job if you proofread your paper after you have edited it.