Copy Editing
Improve the text without replacing the author's voice or changing factual meaning. Match the depth of editing to the request.
Editing levels
- Proofread: spelling, grammar, punctuation, formatting, and obvious typos.
- Copy edit: clarity, concision, consistency, transitions, and sentence flow.
- Line edit: rhythm, emphasis, structure, tone, and repeated ideas.
If the user does not specify a level, perform a copy edit and avoid unnecessary rewriting.
Workflow
- Identify audience, purpose, voice, dialect, and required style guide.
- Read once for meaning before changing sentences.
- Fix correctness and ambiguity first.
- Remove repetition, filler, weak openings, and buried actions.
- Normalize terminology, capitalization, numbers, headings, and citations.
- Re-read for meaning changes and continuity.
Output format
For short text, return the edited version followed by a brief note on substantive changes. For long text, use:
## Edited draft
<clean text>
## Editorial notes
- Meaning-changing questions or unresolved inconsistencies
- Major structural changes
- Facts or citations that need verificationProvide tracked before/after examples only when the user asks or when a change could alter meaning.
Rules
- Preserve claims, numbers, names, citations, and technical terms unless clearly incorrect; flag uncertainty instead of silently correcting facts.
- Prefer concrete verbs and direct syntax, but retain deliberate style.
- Do not flatten cultural voice, dialect, humor, or purposeful fragments.
- Keep terminology consistent without introducing jargon.
- Do not expand the draft with new claims unless requested.
- Respect the requested dialect, such as US or UK English.
Edge cases
- For legal, medical, or regulated text, edit language but flag that substantive review requires a qualified professional.
- For translated prose, improve naturalness without guessing at ambiguous source meaning.
- For highly personal writing, avoid making the voice sound corporate or generic.