Good writing can avoid many problems of communication, but issues of structure, style and consistency still need to be considered. This is where editing comes in.

Editing is much more than eliminating errors. It is about making sure that your content is well structured and well written, so your audiences can easily find and understand the information.

Editing should make your content:

  • clear, with language appropriate to the audience and no unnecessary jargon
  • easy to navigate, with logical pathways and effective structures for text and visual content
  • engaging, to attract and hold audience interest with active voice and short sentences
  • accurate, with careful language to avoid misinterpretation or bias
  • concise, with no overwritten or repeated text
  • correct and consistent, with no errors or inconsistencies.

Caution! Although this manual gives advice and guidance on a preferred editorial style, many organisations and publishers have their own styles. These styles may differ from the Biotext content manual. Always follow the style requirements of the organisation you are working for.  

Download our quick guide for easy reference: Keeping up appearances: some basics of style [PDF 64 KB].

  • Stages of editing

    Learn about the 3 key stages of editing: substantive edit, copyedit and proofread.

  • Grammar

    Understand common grammar rules around word use, phrases and sentence structure.

  • Punctuation

    Correctly apply full stops, commas, hyphens, dashes, brackets, quotation marks and more.

  • Spelling conventions

    Understand spelling conventions and Australian spelling.

  • Compound words

    Use hyphens to correctly join 2 or more words together.

  • Capital letters

    Correctly use capital letters to give prominence to particular kinds of words.

  • Bold, underlining and italics

    Use contrasting fonts for headings, emphasis, and to create clear hierarchies of information.

  • Lists

    Break up complicated information into a list to present it an orderly, logical and concise way.

  • Shortened forms

    Use acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations and contractions forms to reduce the bulk of long terms.

  • Numbers and units

    Express numbers and units consistently and in line with international conventions.

  • Date and time systems

    Learn how to correctly show dates and times, including historical time and historical ages.

  • Cross-references

    Use cross-references to help users navigate to relevant sections of content, including footnotes and endnotes.

  • Presenting titles

    Correctly present titles of different types of publications.

  • References

    Learn about the main referencing systems and how to format a reference list.

  • Terms to watch out for

    Get explanations on the proper usage of commonly misused terms and words.