Revision errors are more common than authors think

Text familiarity and avoidable errors go hand-in-hand with the necessary process of revising an article for resubmission. Here are some of the common pitfalls that authors need to look out for to avoid recurring revision errors.

Reviewers often provide authors with detailed comments on how they can improve their article for a resubmission. Reviewers can suggest additional references or ask authors to flesh out text that is too thin. Responding to line-by-line comments from two or more reviewers can be time-consuming and generate avoidable revision errors in the text.

It is likely that some errors occur because the authors are viewing a body of text in a piecemeal fashion.

Sentence fragments and missing words

Even with the best intentions, authors overlook missing words. Authors often forget to delete sentence fragments when revising parts of sentences and moving text from one section to another. It also happens when authors subdivide very long, complex sentences into shorter sentences to improve readability.

Word count reductions and disappearing citations

I have edited many manuscripts with missing or incorrect citations or missing references. The golden rule is that all in-text citations need to be in the reference list and all references need to be cited in the text.

When authors need to reduce a manuscript’s word count, they can inadvertently delete an in-text citation buried in the middle of a paragraph.

Substantial word reductions from say 14,000 words to 6,000 words can occur when a rejected manuscript is revised for another journal submission. A lot of text and non-essential in-text citations are culled in process. Sometimes reference lists are only partially updated.

Key takeaway

Resubmitting an article or revising one for a new submission can be stressful and time-consuming. Working with an academic editor can help to avoid common revision errors and ensure that the manuscript’s structure has not been compromised.