This guide provides a practical framework you can apply to real drafts. Use the sections in order for a complete editing pass, or jump directly to the part of your workflow that needs attention.
Review in the right order
A polished sentence is not useful when the underlying claim is wrong. Review from the largest risk to the smallest: purpose, facts, structure, voice, then grammar and formatting.
Verify facts and sources
Check names, dates, statistics, quotations, links, and technical statements against reliable sources. Do not treat confident wording as evidence that a claim is accurate.
- Open and verify every cited source.
- Confirm that numbers still describe the right period and population.
- Remove quotations you cannot trace to an original source.
Add expertise and original value
Readers need more than a fluent summary. Add the examples, constraints, decisions, and opinions that come from knowing the subject. This is where a generic draft becomes a useful piece of work.
Complete a dedicated voice pass
Read the draft as your audience will encounter it. Replace unnecessary formality, vary repeated sentence openings, and remove transitions that explain relationships the reader already understands.
Run the publication check
Before publishing, confirm ownership, disclosure requirements, brand terminology, accessibility, links, formatting, and final approval. Keep a copy of the reviewed source when the content supports an important decision.
Automatic rewriting can accelerate editing; it cannot transfer accountability away from the publisher.
