Human Editors: Why Do You Need One?

Omar has just landed a great job at an international business that manufactures parts for medical devices. Sometimes he has to write emails and sales reports in English and send them to colleagues around the world. Although Omar is fluent in English, it isn’t his first language.

Omar uses the built-in grammar and spelling checker in his email software. Lately, he has also been using an AI (artificial intelligence) to help him write his emails and reports. However, one of Omar’s new colleagues recently told him that he should have his English corrected by a human editor who is trained to provide editing and proofreading services..

Omar doesn’t think it’s necessary. “My writing is good enough,” he said. “Sure, I make some grammar or spelling mistakes now and then, but doesn’t everybody? As long as people can understand me, what difference does it make?”

Omar does not believe that a human editor can really make that much of a difference. He thinks that an automated proofreading service or a simple browser extension will be enough to find most of the spelling and grammar mistakes in his writing. Ever since he started using an AI tool to help him compose his messages, Omar thinks his writing has improved dramatically. The AI tool produces longer messages with more advanced vocabulary than Omar had used on his own. Does he really need human assistance on top of everything else?

Yes, a human editor can make a BIG difference!

If you are in a situation like Omar’s, there are a number of reasons why it is important to have your English writing corrected by a real native-speaking human.

A professional editor can do so much more than the simple checks for correct grammar and spelling that automated checkers provide. A human has a much better understanding of the correct tone, vocabulary, and writing style required for a wide variety of purposes.

For example, a human editor can ensure that your academic writing meets the expected standards, that your business email reflects your professional status, and that the tone of your blog post is appropriate for your audience.

Some of the advantages of working with a professional English editor are:

• Professionalism
• Clarity
• Time management
• Stylistic improvements
• Learning opportunities
• Peace of mind

Let’s look at each of these benefits of human proofreading and editing in more detail…

Professionalism

Whether you are producing content for a business document or for academic purposes, you want your readers to view you as a competent professional who cares about the quality of your work.

If you keep sending out poorly written academic essays or business emails with a lot of sloppy errors, your readers are less likely to take you (and your ideas) seriously.

A human editor can help you identify and correct spelling and grammar mistakes, improve your sentence structure, and make sure there is no incorrect punctuation in your writing. Additionally, a real person has a better understanding of the most current English vocabulary, so they can make sure that the language you are using is appropriate for the workplace or an academic setting.

While an automated online proofreading tool can easily check for routine spelling errors and grammatical mistakes, it will not be able to give you proper style suggestions or improve the actual quality of your writing.

Another problem with machine-powered proofreaders is that they are unable to identify problems in long or complex sentences. Issues such as run-on sentences, comma splices, mistakes in subject-verb agreement, or errors in verb tense often go undetected and are therefore not repaired.

A professional who is trained in editing and proofreading can guarantee high quality content and verify that all of the English grammar rules are respected.

Clarity

The whole point of communication is for others to understand you, and vice versa.

Sometimes a sentence or paragraph appears to be technically correct, but the intended meaning remains obscured. Other times, there are issues with how the information is organized, which can impede comprehension. Your readers are left scratching their heads and wondering what exactly you are trying to tell them.

This is where the advanced editing features that a human editor can provide will come into play. Professional editors are experts in the technical rules for writing in the same way that an auto mechanic is well-versed in what makes your car run. Not only can human editors ensure that your writing is grammatically accurate, they make stylistic improvements so that your ideas are expressed clearly. This makes it easier for your readers to understand what you have written.

Unlike AI, a real person can more readily use contextual clues to decipher confusing or complex concepts. Because human editors can identify passages in your writing that could make your readers feel lost, they are able to offer suggestions to help you maintain a logical flow within your text. Professional editors can refine your writing and enhance clarity. Their technical writing skills can help streamline complex ideas, making them more accessible and coherent to your audience.

Time management

If you want to catch your own writing mistakes, it helps to set aside your text and read through it again a few hours, or a few even days, later.

However, if you are a business owner, a graduate student, or someone who is looking for employment, you are already working on a tight schedule, juggling deadlines, due dates, and other important tasks. Finding the time to proofread your own writing can be challenging. This is when the expertise of a human editor becomes invaluable.

Professional editors save you precious time by reviewing and correcting your writing quickly and efficiently. Whether you are a professional book author or running an online business, time is of the essence. At TextRanch, our dedicated team of professional editors understands the urgency of business emails. We offer a remarkable turnaround time that is typically under ten minutes.

By entrusting your written content to a human editor, you can focus on other essential aspects of your work, knowing that your writing will be polished to perfection, with advanced spelling and grammar accuracy.

Stylistic improvements

Human editors don’t just correct mistakes. They also make stylistic improvements so that your text flows naturally and easily. Although AI tools can be helpful, they tend to generate a lot of repeated words and phrases that can make the entire text sound awkward and, well, robotic. This is especially true with longer documents, such as scholarly articles or multi-page reports. Furthermore, many AI tools have length limitations, so writers who use these tools for a long piece of writing must submit that text in segments, which leads to further inconsistencies and stylistic problems.

Learning opportunities

Having a professional editor review and correct your writing can also be a learning opportunity. By reviewing the edits and suggestions made by the editor, you can learn from the mistakes in your version and improve your writing skills over time. Indeed, many of our TextRanch customers send us practice essays and example sentences so that we can give them constructive feedback.

Peace of mind

Even if your English writing is perfect in every way, it feels great to have a human editor check it so you know for sure that it doesn’t need any changes. If you do make an occasional typo, or if you require more in-depth editing, you will rest easier knowing that someone is helping you fix these issues.

What Artificial Intelligence Tools for Grammar Checking Can’t Do

While AI-powered writing assistants, online proofreading software, and grammar checking tools have significantly improved their performance over time, there are still limitations to what they can accomplish.

Google Docs’ built-in grammar checker and other online tools offer convenient solutions for basic grammar and punctuation errors. However, they may fall short in more complex writing scenarios that require the expertise of professional writers and editors. AI tools lack the nuanced understanding of context, style, and tone that human editors possess.

Even advanced AI proofreading tools may overlook certain mistakes or fail to provide accurate suggestions for punctuation mistakes. Moreover, while AI tools can detect common grammatical errors, they may struggle to identify advanced grammar errors that require deep learning and extensive linguistic knowledge.

Native speaking professional editors, on the other hand, have diverse skill sets that enable them to bring a more comprehensive approach to editing. Their expertise makes them powerful allies for enhancing your writing beyond what online grammar checkers and AI-powered writing assistants can achieve.

It is also worth noting that human editors also bring their own, real-life experiences to their work. AI tools and online grammar checkers don’t know what it feels like to write a cover letter for a job application or an essay that will determine the final grade for an all-important college course. Human editors, by contrast, do know how this feels. At TextRanch, our editors understand how important your emails, reports, papers, and other documents are to you. This motivates us to make sure your writing is the very best that it can be and it allows us to provide you with highly personalized feedback. 

So what does this all mean?

While automated tools like online grammar checkers and AI-powered writing assistants offer convenience and accuracy, they cannot match the experience, insight, and personalized touch that human editors bring to the editing and proofreading process.

Professional human editors possess a variety of tools, including their proficiency as native speakers, their ability to identify advanced grammar errors, and their keen eye for even tiny errors like punctuation mistakes. Their expertise and human touch make them a powerful tool in your writing arsenal.

If you want to achieve the highest quality and professionalism in your written work, consider harnessing the benefits of human editing services and unleash the true potential of your writing.