What is Presubmission Review/VIP Editing?

AJE’s Presubmission Review service provides comments from expert AJE Presubmission Review editors (also called Manuscript Reviewers) throughout the entire manuscript or proposal. Specifically, a Manuscript Reviewer evaluates the structure, consistency, and level of detail throughout the manuscript.  These comments are added directly to specific sentences by a Manuscript Reviewer, indicating where further attention is needed on the following topics:

• maintaining reader focus on the key aim of the study
• improving readability by establishing a narrative that flows naturally
• clarifying sections by optimizing the logic of the organization 
• assuring readers that ethics and field standards are met
• providing information at the proper level of detail

Examples:

- Authors may be asked to move background information presented in the Discussion to the Introduction to provide a clear rationale for the study.

- Authors may be advised to restate the study rationale and aims so that the description is consistent in the Abstract, Introduction and Discussion. 

• Authors may be asked to break up long paragraphs or add transition statements that tie paragraphs together. 
• Authors may be prompted to add definitions of control groups or provide explanations on experimental conditions, field sites, or sample sizes or locations.

 – Authors may be asked to consider removing or revising statements not supported by data.

• Authors may be asked to identify the practical aspects or societal impacts of the study.

We expect authors to revise their manuscript in response to the suggestions we provide with Presubmission Review, and sometimes, these revisions can introduce language errors. Therefore, we strongly recommend purchasing one of our language editing services after Presubmission Review or choosing our VIP Editing service (which includes Presubmission Review and unlimited language re-editing until the paper has been published). With this approach, we can ensure all language errors are corrected before the authors submit the final version to a journal (or funding agency for proposals).

Manuscript Reviewers will not remove or add text. The author ultimately decides on which recommendations to implement before submission to a journal or funding organization.