Copyediting: Correcting grammar, syntax, and usage; standardizing spelling, capitalization, hyphenation, punctuation, and numbers; making sure that tables and illustrations agree with the text; checking proper names, citations, and website addresses; clarifying the text, querying the author when necessary; and addressing other matters of editorial style as needed, including styling references and citations.

Substantive editing: Refining the presentation and organization of a piece of writing, including rephrasing for smoothness and to eliminate ambiguity, tightening, reorganizing, eliminating unnecessary repetition, reducing or simplifying (or requesting additional) documentation, recasting tables and figures, and querying the author to provide clarification and additional text as needed. Usually includes copyediting.

Developmental editing: Addressing more radically the content of a work, its presentation, and needed documentation, often including rewriting or reorganizing the work.

Proofreading: Reading a typeset version of a manuscript word for word against the edited version to make sure that no errors have been introduced during typesetting; that all punctuation, capitalization, hyphenation, spelling, fonts, and spacing are correct according to the edited manuscript; and that all editorial changes have been correctly incorporated. Querying the author or editor about anything else that seems to be wrong.

Indexing: Within an established and agreed upon format, creating a paginated reference list of concepts, terms, and proper names of sufficient importance that readers of the work might want to look them up.