Identify the voice to preserve
Look at your level of formality, preferred terms and sentence rhythm. Note which features help the reader and which merely make the passage harder to follow.
The style editor aims to retain the tone of the supplied text. It has no separate tone control for this text editing task.
- Read the original aloud.
- Mark essential terms.
- Identify one readability problem.
Compare meaning and tone
A warm note can lose its character if every sentence becomes formal. A technical instruction can become misleading if precise terms are replaced with casual wording.
Review each change in the context of the full paragraph. Do not select a sentence only because it sounds more impressive on its own.
- Compare the opening.
- Check specialist terms.
- Read the whole paragraph.
Keep your final judgment
Retain useful improvements and restore wording that better fits your purpose. Use the writing assistant for a separately described editorial task if you need alternative versions.
Finish by checking facts and grammar. Natural phrasing is useful only when it communicates the right message.
- Choose edits selectively.
- Restore necessary wording.
- Verify the final message.
Worked example
Thanks for sending the notes. Could you clarify the last example before we share the draft?
Thanks for the notes. Could you clarify the final example before we share the draft?
Both versions keep the polite request. The small change should be accepted only if it fits your usual wording.
Before you finish
- Formality fits the audience.
- Key terms remain precise.
- The request is unchanged.
- Your final choice is deliberate.
Questions and answers
Must I use the entire rewritten paragraph?
No. You can keep individual changes and retain the rest of your original wording.
Is style editing the same as proofreading?
No. Proofreading focuses on mechanical errors; style editing also changes ordinary wording and flow.