Mechanical Edit: Only correction of spellings, typos, grammar, and punctuation.

Line Edit: Addresses creative content, writing style, and language use at the sentence and paragraph level; Purpose is not to comb the manuscript for errors rather this focuses on the way language is used to communicate to the reader. (For example, Is your language clear, fluid, and pleasurable to read? Does it convey a sense of atmosphere, and emotional tone? Do the words convey a precise meaning, or broad generalizations and clichés? Is your language appropriate to your target audience/type of genre?)

Substantive/ Content Edit: Checking factual errors and correcting them, checking if the content that needs to be credited with footnotes is credited; suggesting changes in the sequence of article/piece so that it flows better; adding comments  (in track changes) querying/ suggesting any logical inadequacies in argument proposed or additional points that may add weight to the argument proposed; Helping the author revise style and content according to the final mode of publication or to better suit targeted readership.

Style Standardisation: Style Standardisation as per Style Guides in terms of spelling, punctuation, standardizing footnotes, and bibliography according to required style/ subject matter standard guide (APA, CMS, Turabian, SBL Handbook, etc.,)

Monster Content/ Rewrite: Pieces needing extra work-time as the content in itself is very weak, poorly written, and needing a complete English re-write as well as a re-write for the flow of the piece.              

Copy Edit: addresses flaws at a very technical level- to ensure the writing that appears on the page is in accordance with industry standards. This is like an incredibly high-end proofread. (Fixes grammar, typos, spellings). Preparing Copy/final manuscript for typesetting is a technical process to build-in format styles for headings, page numbering, table of contents, lists of abbreviations, tables, figures maps, etc., in a way that is easily understandable to DTP technicians or adaptable into typesetting software. [Note: Copy Edit follows Line Edit and/or Substantive Edit.

Proof Reading: After content has been laid out/typeset in the required format of the book/final product, it requires reading to comb for errors introduced during typesetting like missing words, new errors in spellings, heading styles, extra spaces, missing lines, missing punctuation, etc., This is reading against the Copy i.e., final manuscript given for typesetting.