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Writing and editing Editing and proofreading

Overview

Editing and proofreading are crucial steps in the content creation process. These steps ensure that your content is clear, focused, error-free and high quality.

Editing

When editing, focus on making sure your content delivers the information users need as quickly and easily as possible. Pay attention to the structure of your content (opens in a new tab) , overall, and in each paragraph and sentence. All content should follow the ONS content style guide (opens in a new tab)  and Writing for users guidance (opens in a new tab) .  

Research into how people read online shows people typically only read the first section of a page, so make sure you tell the story quickly and keep content concise. 

Editing tips

Ensure your content:

  • starts with the most important information – known as frontloading (opens in a new tab) 
  • has a clear structure and logical section headings
  • keeps headings, paragraphs and sentences short (25 words maximum) and aligns to best practice
  • has one topic per paragraph
  • uses plain language and short sentences – a maximum of 25 words
  • uses the active voice
  • uses consistent terminology, spellings, tone and formatting in line with house style; see our Words to watch guidance
  • explains acronyms and abbreviations on first use, avoiding assumptions about prior user knowledge.

To edit you should:

  • read the content aloud to identify overly long or complex sentences
  • read slowly to see exactly what is there – not what you expect to see
  • check every piece of content against your prioritised user needs – if it does not meet a need, or is not interesting, remove it 
  • ask someone else to read your draft for clarity and coherence  

Proofreading

Proofread your final, edited content to make sure your work is error-free. The proofread is your final check before you send content to be published.

Proofreading tips

  • Check for spelling, grammar and punctuation errors.
  • Review with house style and words to watch (opens in a new tab)  for consistency.
  • Read the content aloud to spot complex or awkward phrasing. 
  • Read it slowly so you see what is there – not what you expect to see.
  • Check for errors in any datasets and charts.
  • Ensure the formatting is correct, removing unnecessary line spaces and confirming paragraph formatting.
  • Ensure any headings (opens in a new tab)  are correctly labelled with the appropriate heading level.
  • Ask someone else to proofread your draft. 

The Content Design team also will do a final proofread of your content for house style, spelling and punctuation errors when you submit it. This proofread is essential for consistency and maintaining standards and cannot be skipped.

Using spellcheckers

Spellings should be checked against the Cambridge Dictionary (opens in a new tab) 

The only exception is that we use the “-ise” word ending and not “-ize”. Always use the spellchecker before submitting your content, and make sure that the spellchecker is set to UK rather than US spellings.

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