The philosophy that underlies Elevation Editing's services is to go beyond what typical editing services provide. The foundation of this philosophy is what I call the "6 C's": correctness, clarity, conciseness, consistency, commenting, and customization.
Let's tackle each concept in turn.
Correctness
Obviously, it is crucial that all edits be 100% grammatically correct. Every editor worth their salt can fix obvious grammar mistakes, however; I go far beyond this basic requirement. My edits also involve fixing errors in usage, organization, structure, flow, and style (if a document requires a style guide).
Clarity
For some documents, this category is actually even more crucial than correctness. After all, most errors do not prevent a reader from understanding your meaning, so they do not interfere with the document's objectives. Ambiguity and vagueness, however, can render a document misleading or confusing—even if it is grammatically perfect. In addition, jargon and imprecise word usage can cause difficulty for readers. Because most editing services do not pay significant attention to ensuring clarity, Elevation Editing's focus on this aspect of writing sets it apart. You can rest assured that I will locate all instances of unclear language and that I will fix them if possible (if I cannot determine what you meant, then I will always leave a comment with suggested alternatives).
Conciseness
One of the hallmarks of high-quality writing is the ability to convey the necessary ideas using as few words as possible. I thus review all the documents I edit for wordiness, redundancy, and unnecessary flourishes. Removing these elements makes your writing more readable and engaging. Note, however, that shorter is not always better; in many cases, it is necessary to use slightly longer formulations to ensure clarity or correctness. Thus, the edited versions of some documents may be longer than the originals.
Consistency
This category is particularly relevant for long documents such as dissertations and books, but it can apply to even relatively short works. I review all documents to ensure that they use consistent tone, English type (e.g., U.K. or U.S. English), punctuation (e.g., serial commas), and even formatting (if required by a style guide or if a a client provides their own guidelines). If you fill out the preferences on your My Account page, then I will even ensure consistency across documents—a service that is difficult (if not impossible) for other editing services to provide.
Commenting
In my view, an edit without comments is hardly useful at all. Despite this, many services provide only limited commenting, or none at all. This leaves clients on their own as their try to figure out, for instance, why a certain change was made, or what they should do to resolve a lingering problem. By contrast, Elevation Editing's documents will always contain numerous explanatory comments and recommendations. If I make a change that may not be obvious, I will explain it in a comment so that you can understand the reasoning (and apply it going forward). Similarly, if I encounter an issue that I cannot fix (such as an ambiguous phrasing), I will leave a comment with suggestions for how you can fix the problem. After reading my comments, you should be able to improve your writing—both for the current document and for future ones. Other editing services simply cannot make that claim.
Customization
The final component is customization. Unlike most services, which require that you adhere to their rules, Elevation Editing will work with all of your requests (provided that they comply with the policies outlined here). This ensures that you get exactly the service you desire—no more and no less—without having to work around rules that do not apply to you. If you need additional services (e.g., creating a table of contents or a chart), I can typically provide them, and if you have special requests, I am happy to fulfill them. My goal is always to make you happy, so just let me know what you need, and I will do my best!
As you can see, each of the 6 C's is a crucial aspect of any high-quality edit, and in each area, Elevation Editing goes beyond what a typical editing service can provide. If you have any questions, please leave a comment or send me an email at info@elevationediting.com. Thank you for reading!