Language Editing vs. Scientific Editing

Both language and scientific editing can be invaluable in improving the quality of a manuscript. However, there are key differences between these two editing services. Understanding what each of these editing services offers can help you choose the right service for your work.

Language editing

Many authors assume that language editing will address typographic errors and correct the spelling, grammar, and punctuation throughout a research paper. This is an essential aspect of language editing, but language editing goes far beyond correcting clearly incorrect phrasing.

For example, a language editor will verify that the right tense is used for each section of the paper, and check that a paper is consistent in its use of British English or American. A language editor is also expected to address minute but key details that are often missed even by native English speakers, such as the distinction between the hyphen, en-dash, and minus sign.

Even well-written manuscripts can benefit from language editing. Sometimes, a reviewer will criticize the language in a manuscript because the level of English is not sufficiently idiomatic, or because it doesn’t “sound” as though it were written by a native English speaker. Other times, a paper can be critiqued because it contains ambiguous syntax or informal language.

Language editing can address the above issues to ensure your paper is polished to the high standard of a target journal. An experienced language editor will modify the word-choice and phrasing of a paper to be appropriately formal and specific, shorten sentences to improve a manuscript’s concision, and improve the overall flow of the paper.

Scientific editing

Scientific editing has a broader scope and is more content-intensive that stand-alone language editing. In other words, scientific editing includes language editing, but also encompasses substantive and rigorous editing of a manuscript’s scientific content.

In addition to editing the language, a scientific editor will make manuscript-length edits and suggestions for revision based on a deep understanding of the focus and methodology of your research project. A scientific editor will evaluate the scientific logic of your manuscript, and can make suggestions with regard to the experimental protocol and the manuscript structure as needed. A scientific editor will also point out potential errors and omissions such as faulty hypotheses, imprecise terminology, and errors in the statistical analysis.

In addition to an edited manuscript, scientific editing also includes a separate commentary file that provides an overall evaluation of the study. Furthermore, editors will summarize their suggestions to further improve the manuscript. Suggestions may include:


It can be useful to think of scientific editing as a preliminary review of your paper to identify critical issues that may otherwise lead a journal to reject your manuscript.

Choosing the Right Service

Stand-alone language editing is an essential service that will elevate and refine the language throughout a research paper. To determine whether your paper would benefit from scientific editing in addition to language editing, you should ask yourself if the level of editing your paper requires will involve determining the focus and having an in-depth understanding of the methods of your research.

For example, if a journal requires that the authors to shorten a manuscript, language editing can improve the concision of a manuscript at the sentence level. However, if the manuscript needs to be substantially restructured, scientific editing may be a better choice because it will also encompass suggestions for omitting content without changing the meaning of the text.

Similarly, while language editing can catch errors in logic at the sentence level, scientific editing can also illuminate larger errors in the study design or point out missing information about the project’s methodology.

Scientific editing can be a transformative service for authors who are seeking to make the leap to publishing research at a higher level. This can include authors who are less familiar with the conventions and terminology of English-language publishing, and authors who are earlier in their career who would benefit from the expertise of an editor with research experience in their field.

Many senior researchers will also repeatedly opt for scientific editing. This service can make the difference in meeting the rigorous standards of a top-tier English-language journal, and for a paper that’s key to the author’s career, in-depth review by a scientific editor can ensure that it has the desired impact.