# English editing checklist

Use this after a meaningful rewrite. It combines the checks in the no-ai-slop evaluation guide with the five editorial questions in stop-slop. Treat it as a review aid. A numeric result cannot establish who wrote the text or whether a draft is good.

## Meaning and voice

- The edit preserves the writer's point, facts, dates, names, quotations, uncertainty, and distinctions.
- It adds no unsupported example, statistic, cause, opinion, or source.
- It keeps the writer's vocabulary, cadence, humor, directness, and useful rough edges.
- It leaves clear sentences alone and limits cuts to material that delays, repeats, or distorts the point.
- It preserves the original structure unless a specific structural choice makes the piece harder to use.

## Sentence and paragraph pass

- Open with the subject or action when the reader benefits from it; keep personal setup when it supplies useful context.
- Prefer direct verbs when the source supports them. Do not invent a human actor to avoid passive voice.
- Replace generic claims with the supplied fact; if the source is silent, mark the gap instead of guessing.
- Check that repeated transitions, contrast formulas, triads, fragments, kicker lines, and recap endings each serve a real function.
- Keep paragraphs and lists sized for the genre. A report table, slide label, checklist, or legal sequence can be regular by design.
- Check bold, emoji, title case, dashes, and quote marks against the document's style guide.
- Preserve necessary cautions, citations, legal language, and technical precision.

## Five review questions

Rate each dimension from 1 to 10 only if a numeric editorial note helps:

| Dimension | Review question |
|---|---|
| Directness | Does the text state the point without announcing it first? |
| Rhythm | Do sentence lengths and paragraph endings fit the ideas? |
| Trust | Does the prose respect the reader without coaching every inference? |
| Authenticity | Does the revision still sound like the intended writer and genre? |
| Density | Does each sentence add a fact, relation, limitation, or needed transition? |

The stop-slop guide suggests revising a total below 35/50. Keep that number as a prompt to reread, not a release gate, style grade, or authorship measure. Genre, reader, and author voice can justify a low score on a dimension.

## Final read

- Read the full draft aloud or in one uninterrupted pass.
- Compare every changed claim with the source.
- Run the detector on changed text; resolve blocks and inspect each warning in context.
- Return the requested artifact. Mention a material limitation once in the appropriate channel.
- For a detection-only request, report the locations and candidate fixes; do not silently rewrite the draft or label its author.