The Ultimate Guide to Scribendi Services

With over 30 professional services, Scribendi helps writers, researchers, students, and businesses perfect their documents with expert editing, proofreading, and formatting support. Whether you're polishing a dissertation, preparing a novel for publication, or refining website content, this ultimate guide explains all of Scribendi's services—so you can choose the one that's right for your document.

Which Editing Service Is Right for You?

What's the difference between editing and proofreading?

What Kind of Writer Are You?

Academic

I'm an undergraduate or graduate student, a researcher, or a PhD candidate ...

I'm a high school, college, or undergraduate student ...

I'm applying to a university or a program ...

Creative

I'm a novelist, screenwriter, poet, or writing for pleasure ...

I need something different from creative editing or proofreading ...

Personal

I'm working on something personal, like a resume or a letter... 

Business & Corporate

I have business documents, or I'm creating public-facing content ...  

I need a corporate service tailored to my business's needs ... 

ESL

Our Approach to ESL Editing

Why Human Editors Matter

Try Scribendi Risk-Free

Which Editing Service Is Right for You?

At first glance, it might be hard to pick the editing or proofreading service that best suits your work. Whether you have an abstract, research article, admissions essay, letter, or book, we can lend a helping hand.  

You'll find that Scribendi does more than editing and proofreading: We also offer unique services, such as formatting for ebooks, critique and query package creation for completed manuscripts, and publication support for scientific research.  

In this guide to Scribendi's products, we'll outline the differences between editing and proofreading, break down our different service offerings, and outline how we can offer targeted support for ESL writers.

What's the difference between editing and proofreading?

Unsure whether to select an editing or proofreading service for your work? We've outlined some central differences that distinguish our editing and proofreading processes to help you choose the appropriate service for perfecting your writing.

If you're not sure which service best fits your needs, we recommend editing. That way, your editor will be on the lookout for issues and the work will be more comprehensive (and you can decline changes that you consider too extensive). Best of all, the price of your order does not change depending on whether you select editing or proofreading within the same service category. If specific instructions about the depth of engagement are not provided, our editors typically work depending on the needs of the document rather than whether editing or proofreading was selected.

Take a look at this student-written summary of Catcher in the Rye and compare the editor's work in the edited version and the proofread version:

What Kind of Writer Are You?

Academic

Scribendi offers a range of services for academic editing and research support. Depending on which one you choose, the level of support and engagement, benefits, prices, and turnaround times will vary. Our Academic services cover a range of document types, including but not limited to essays, journal articles, theses or dissertations, abstracts, proposals, research projects, and midterm or final papers.

Depending on your needs, we can check citations, references, and formatting for style guide requirements in addition to our standard editing, proofreading, and in-depth commentary offerings.

Are you enrolled in high school, college, or university? We offer a 10% student discount for our Admissions Essay Editing and Proofreading and Student Essay Editing or Proofreading services.

I'm an undergraduate or graduate student, a researcher, or a PhD candidate ...

Academic Editing and Proofreading

Academic Editing and Proofreading is our most popular service type for improving coursework, research articles, literature reviews, case studies, and so on. This broad service covers the needs of most students and academics who are conducting research and seeking to enhance the quality and credibility of their writing. Our editors can ensure adherence to university guidelines while improving grammar, language, readability, and logic.

Scientific Editing

Scientific Editing matches you with a subject matter expert who will provide field-specific advice on your manuscript's content, structure, and journal adherence while also improving your writing.

Publication Success Package

Our Publication Success Package offers the same features as Scientific Editing and more; it provides you with additional support and continued assistance at no extra cost. It's your publication, guaranteed. This package is a three-stage process that includes 1) a detailed content review, 2) subject matter editing and cover letter creation, and 3) response letter editing and a thorough check of your revised manuscript following peer review.

Check out the comparison of these services' features below: 

Try Academic Editing, our most popular service
for enhancing research and coursework

Dissertation Editing

For graduate and doctoral students, our Dissertation Editing and Proofreading services can support your original research, ensuring that your findings are effectively and precisely communicated.

Structural Editing

Structural Editing includes everything guaranteed in Academic Editing, but it grants your editor permission to implement big-picture, structural revisions that will improve the organization, logic, and flow of your work.

Journal Strategy

Our unique Journal Strategy service does not include editing or proofreading, but your editor will review your article to identify three target journals and one backup that best match your research area, publishing goals, and intended audience.

I'm a high school, college, or undergraduate student ...

The editing services listed above might not be the best fit if you're writing short class assignments, reflection posts, or final essays. With Student Essay Editing and Proofreading, our editors aim to help students support their arguments, explain their ideas with clear, precise language, ensure that citations and references are correct and complete, and improve their overall essay-writing skills. Scribendi editors are familiar with APA, MLA, Chicago, and more; if you have an assigned style guide, share it with us when you upload your essay.  

I'm applying to a university or a program ...

Having a hard time writing application essays for your dream university or responding to Common App essay prompts? Whether you're applying to a postgraduate program or aiming to transfer schools, having Admissions Essay Editing or Proofreading support will ensure that your writing clearly and concisely reflects who you are. Our editors provide constructive feedback on your writing to help you discover the best way to showcase your goals, character, and unique background to admissions offices in institutions around the world. When you upload your admissions essay for editing, include your prompt, word limit, and any details that might help us understand your perspective.  

Applying for an internship or a job? Check out our Resume Editing and Formatting offerings under our Personal services.

Creative

I'm a novelist, screenwriter, poet, or writing for pleasure ...

Whether you have a short story that's in its early stages or a manuscript that's ready to be combed through for consistency, our editors are comfortable working in a range of genres and understand the importance of preserving your authorial voice. These editing, proofreading, and other unique services are designed for authors and creatives seeking support for narrative development, publishing, and formatting.

With Book Editing and Proofreading—for fiction, memoirs, short stories, and even children's books—our editors are prepared to improve language, clarity, logic, characterization, and pacing. We look out for the details that make your characters believable, ensure that your word choice matches your target audience, and provide feedback about the resolution of your plot.

With Script Editing, whether you're working on a screenplay or a project for the stage, your script will be checked for conventional script formatting, effective dialogue and action, and logical plot arcs.  

In our Poetry Editing service, experienced poetry editors will review the structure, rhyme scheme, word choice, meaning, and impact of your creative expression while maintaining your unique voice. For poems, we understand that every word counts, so we aim to offer more comments than direct changes to give you the final say on what's included in your poem. 

I need something different from creative editing or proofreading ...

Book Critique

Scribendi's Book Critique doesn't include direct revisions but produces an evaluation of your writing from a general reader's perspective. If you have a finished manuscript, an editor can thoroughly read and analyze your book to provide a 1–2-page assessment of its plot, dialogue, characterization, organization, and clarity.

Query Package Creation

Query Package Creation intends to support writers preparing to share their finished books with the world. In this service, an editor will read your work and create a query letter, synopsis, and chapter-by-chapter outline of your manuscript that can be sent to agents and publishers.

eBook Formatting

eBook Formatting is for finished manuscripts that are ready to be formatted for Kindle or Smashwords. A Scribendi editor will ensure that your Word file is prepared for conversion for digital reader devices.

Personal 

I'm working on something personal, like a resume or a letter... 

Complaint letters, emails, cover letters, social media posts, letters of recommendation, and rejection letters—these are just a few examples of the types of messages our editors can improve in our Personal Document Editing and Proofreading services.

Resume Editing

Use our Resume Editing service to make the best first impression with a polished resume. A Scribendi editor can review your resume or CV for consistency and clarity; suggest how to rephrase your professional experiences according to your target job; and point out what might be worth deleting for improved concision.

Resume Formatting

Resume Formatting can be bundled with regular Resume Editing and is available for writers who need assistance with organizing and highlighting their professional experiences.

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Get 500 words edited for free

Business & Corporate

I have business documents, or I'm creating public-facing content ...  

While some business documents must be written collaboratively, their message, tone, and logic can easily become inconsistent and unclear as a result. Everyone's input matters, but too many perspectives can make the content difficult to follow or even contradictory.  

Do you have an important presentation coming up, weekly blog posts to review, or a series of proposals to finalize? Before you share your work with shareholders, colleagues, or the general public, it should be clear and consistent. Correct grammar and polished language are key to showing others that you (and your organization) are a reliable and credible source.

Business Editing and Proofreading

Our broad Business Editing and Proofreading services cover a variety of business content, including press releases, proposals, presentations, business plans, and ad copy. If you have an in-house style guide, share it with us when you place your order so that your editor understands what language and formatting changes can be implemented.

Website Editing

Try Website Editing or Proofreading to review brand new or revamped website content. Upload your web content in a Word document, and an editor will check for your text for clear and effective messaging as well as internal or brand consistency.

Blog Editing

No matter what industry you're writing for, Scribendi's Blog Editing service can enhance the clarity, tone, and impact of your posts. Our editors work to maintain your brand voice while correcting grammar, language, and flow and offering constructive feedback.

I need a corporate service tailored to my business's needs ... 

Scribendi's custom Corporate Services are designed to meet the needs of organizations in every sector, including marketing and sales, education, healthcare, government, hospitality, and real estate. 

In addition to Scribendi's high quality editing and proofreading, our corporate services provide benefits customized to your organization's needs: 

• Private landing page: We'll set up a private landing page that provides you and your team members secure, easy access to our services and ensures a streamlined editing workflow. 

• Tailored services: From customized turnaround times to applying a corporate style guide, we'll create a service tailored to your organization's specific needs.  

• Multiple-user management: For projects that require all hands on deck, a Scribendi corporate account gives you the ability to easily add and remove users. 

• Flexible payment terms: One of our many payment options is sure to match your organization's unique editing needs. 

• Special volume discounts: We offer substantial discounts for high-volume orders. 

• Priority support: Our corporate accounts are given priority customer service, ensuring prompt replies to queries so you can meet your deadlines.  

Talk to us about a corporate plan!

ESL

Our Approach to ESL Editing

Scribendi editors have years of experience working with ESL clients from around the world, including Finland, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and China. We know how hard it can be to express yourself in another language, but your ideas deserve to reach and resonate with a wide audience.   

Our approach to editing ESL documents aims to be fair, clear, effective, and supportive: 

• Speaking a different first language results in different English errors. We understand the common errors and challenges that ESL writers face, such as difficulty with word choice and idiomatic expressions, differences in sentence structure between languages, article use and prepositions, verb tense consistency, and maintaining an academic or professional tone. 

• The price doesn't increase for ESL services, but it is helpful for our editors to know that the document was written by an ESL author.  

• We encourage ESL clients to provide detailed instructions: This is your opportunity to tell us about issues of concern, word count limits, previous feedback you received, your intended audience or publication, and key terms that shouldn't be changed. 

• We are committed to maintaining the meaning of your writing, and we aim to avoid overcorrecting your work.

• Our comments are geared to the ESL writer: We use clear language to ask relevant questions that can help you understand what needs to be changed in your document. 

Try ESL Academic Editing:
Support your ideas with clear,
correct, and confident English

Why Human Editors Matter

Although AI may seem like a useful tool for improving grammar and language, we advise against its unsupervised use for translating and editing ESL texts. AI is simply unable to do what human editors can, and it can have the following negative effects on your writing: 

• Erases personal style and nuance, especially in ESL fiction writing 

• Changes the intended meaning: If a document has been Google translated, this can become a game of telephone, which can make your ideas unrecognizable and incoherent. 

• Alters idioms and cultural references, making writing sound awkward or inappropriate for the context  

• Fails to provide explanations for edits or ask questions about unclear text; such explanations can be essential for the client to make the correct choice or change. 

• Struggles with specialized writing: It can mess up citation formatting and terminology or make the text sound too casual or too formal.  

• Gives false confidence in the quality and accuracy of the work

• Misunderstands ESL writers' instructions 

At Scribendi, we guarantee that all editorial work is performed and overseen by human editors. Learn about our clear policies on generative AI use and our predictive tool (built in house!), which highlight human oversight when using AI.  

Try Scribendi Risk-Free

Making the decision to work with an editor isn't always easy, which is why Scribendi offers a Free Sample service for new clients. If you haven't worked with us before, you can request a sample for any genre: Academic articles, book manuscripts, and essays are just a few examples of the documents we'll work on for free. Get a preview of how we can take your text from good to great without any cost or commitment. We're here to help you succeed as a writer! 

Our Free Sample service includes the following: 

• Expert language editing for 500 words of the document of your choice: We'll take care of grammar and spelling errors, unclear or awkward phrasing, and unneeded repetition. 
• Commentary to help you further shape and develop your text: Your editor will point out where your argument could be strengthened or where your readers might find gaps in your logic, narrative, or character development.  

Still not sure?
Our Customer Support team is
happy to answer your questions