As a student, I used to redraft my essays a lot. It taught me that academic writing is about building bridges between minds – the reader’s and the writer’s. First, I had to learn how to transfer my thoughts onto the page in an organised and coherent way. Then, to think about what the reader didn’t know and what I needed to explain.
Good academic writing, I discovered, was about helping readers follow my thinking. After all, they wouldn’t know what was inside my head unless I told them.
I learnt to signpost the connections between my ideas, explain why I thought some things deserved attention, and warn when I was about to change direction or introduce new points.
The role of editors
Getting academic thinking onto a page can be complicated. Academic editors exist because writers recognise the need for help.
Academic editors learn to follow writers’ thoughts very closely and make edits to clarify their expression. I think of it as adding small repairs to a bridge crossing a river.
I still work like that today, when appropriate, even on texts written with AI assistance. With technology adding an extra layer to the writing process, building that bridge isn’t always easy.
How AI is changing editing
Editors tend to be vocabulary enthusiasts. It’s a good thing too; AI can have significant problems with the meanings of words.
Vocabulary is such a sensitive and nuanced area that AI sometimes struggles with it.
Words can be very similar but vary in rightness for a situation, strength, feeling, and fit. Many have more than one meaning and evolve through use.
When AI makes mistakes with word choices, it confuses readers and introduces contradictions into texts. Even when words are technically correct, they can be too obscure or communicate the wrong tone. It’s now the editor’s job to sort that out.
I’m looking forward to seeing how AI develops to tackle this vocabulary problem in the future. I believe it has improved in recent years.
Even in a world with very advanced AI, people will always need to learn how to explain what they’re thinking. I suspect that traditional academic writing skills will be valued for a long time yet.
Tide & Canute Editorial 