A high-quality journal examines articles critically before selecting them for peer review. In Elsevier's journals, between 30 and 50 percent of articles are rejected before they even reach peer-review, and poor language is one of the top reasons for rejection.
Make sure your work is submission-ready
Journal submissions can also take up to 25 weeks to be reviewed; the process can be extremely time-consuming. It's not worth taking the risk of having your work rejected for linguistic reasons after all that waiting.
Your article should be checked and corrected for any language-related errors by a professional before submitting it. It is possible to choose from a variety of options.
Which service should you choose: proofreading or language editing?
How are proofreading and editing different
Often, the terms 'proofreading' and 'editing' are used interchangeably, but they have important differences.
Grammar, punctuation, syntax, spelling, and grammar errors are corrected during proofreading. Therefore, it normally occurs at the end of the writing process as a final step before submitting a paper that is otherwise ready to be published.
By contrast, editing examines how information and ideas are presented. Aside from proofreading, editing focuses on making changes to make an article easier to understand, more logically organized, and more suitable for the intended audience. The editing process occurs multiple times throughout the writing process since editing is integral to formulating a research argument.
Which service should I choose: proofreading or editing
Most researchers believe that proofreading is all they need to complete their articles before submitting them. Our experience is that proofreading is often insufficient, and when we edit papers, we always give authors suggestions on how to better structure and present the content.
Do I need Language Editing or Language Editing Plus?
Language Editing Plus includes unlimited rounds of editing, along with other premium editing services, compared to Elsevier's English Language Editing.
Final Words
An article's poor language is one of the top reasons why journals reject it. It should increase your chances of publication if your article is proofed for language errors so reviewers can focus on the quality of your research rather than your language skills.
The purpose of proofreading is to correct superficial errors in a paper that is otherwise ready for publication. In the meantime, editing helps make your paper easier to understand, more organized, and more appropriate to your intended audience by digging deeper into its content. By only proofreading, you miss out on the kind of feedback that can make the difference between being published and not.
