Edited Manuscript with Comments Sample

Receiving feedback from a native English speaker can sometimes feel intimidating. At TesScience, our goal is to make this process as smooth and supportive as possible. Our language editors often leave detailed comments, and you may need some help interpreting them. Below, we explain common types of editorial comments, but first, it’s important to understand the purpose of language editing so you know what kind of changes to expect in your manuscript.
What Is Language Editing?
Language editing is a service that ensures your manuscript is free from grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors. It also involves improving sentence structure, clarity, and flow, and may include suggestions to enhance readability. Language editors also correct inconsistencies, eliminate non-standard expressions, and provide feedback on potentially unclear or misleading statements.

Common Editorial Comments:

“Please ensure that this change retains intended meaning.”
The editor has revised the text but is unsure whether the intended meaning was preserved. Please carefully review the change to confirm it still reflects what you meant.

“This sentence is not clear. Do you mean X? Please clarify.”
The editor could not understand the original sentence and has proposed an alternative based on their best interpretation. If their suggestion is accurate, you may adopt it. If not, please revise the sentence to make your meaning clearer. You’re welcome to send it back to us for confirmation.

“It is not clear what X means in this context. Please provide an explanation.”
This comment typically arises when a word or phrase is used in an unusual or field-specific way. It doesn’t mean the word is incorrect—just that it may not be commonly understood. Please clarify or explain it further.

“You have written this as X here but as Y elsewhere in the text. Please choose one format and use it consistently throughout the manuscript.”
Consistency in terminology and abbreviations is vital in scientific writing. This comment highlights inconsistencies that should be resolved before submission to avoid confusion and improve your chances of acceptance.

“Your target journal’s guidelines state X. Please make sure you follow their guidelines.”
The editor has checked the journal’s submission guidelines and noticed your manuscript does not comply. Please review and revise the manuscript accordingly before submitting.

“This symbol appears as a box on my computer. Please ensure that the symbols are displayed correctly in the version you submit to the journal.”
This usually happens when special symbols—often in equations—do not render correctly. Before submission, ensure all symbols are properly displayed. You may consider locking formatting in Word, or using LaTeX in Overleaf for math-heavy documents.

“This sentence was redundant. Therefore, it has been deleted.”
The sentence repeated information already presented earlier, often in the same section. Editors may delete such sentences directly or leave it to you to decide. Review the change carefully to ensure no essential information is lost.

Other Guidance Comments
Examples：

• “This noun is singular, so the verb should also be singular.”

• “Use an en dash for ranges.”

• “When discussing results, the past tense is typically used.”

These comments explain why certain changes were made and are also intended to help improve your understanding of academic English writing conventions.

Whenever you need help understanding editorial feedback, feel free to refer to this guide. If you still have questions, your dedicated client manager is always ready to assist you.

Thank you for choosing TesScience!