Manuscript Editing for Past & Present Journal Articles
Founded in 1952, Past & Present is the journal of the Past and Present Society, published quarterly by Oxford University Press. It calls itself the “liveliest and most stimulating historical journal in the English-speaking world” and publishes scholarly articles on historical, social, and cultural change worldwide. Its aim is research that specialists and non-specialists alike can read, and that starts debate.
Articles run 8,000 to 10,000 words before notes, with a hard ceiling of 12,000 including footnotes. Notes are footnotes in the journal's house style and rarely exceed ten to twenty percent of the text. Titles in languages other than western European ones appear in the original with an English translation in square brackets. The abstract runs 200 to 250 words, and review is double-anonymised. Off the Grid Editing trims notes toward the journal's proportion while keeping every citation. Submissions go through ScholarOne.
Our Promise
We will ensure that the final draft you receive is completely ready to submit to Past & Present. We work with you until it is ready or refund your payment in full. That commitment has held since 2002.
Our editors do not have access to your manuscript until an order is placed. Your draft is secure until you decide to proceed.
Manuscript Editing and Proofreading for Past & Present
We offer three levels of manuscript editing depending on what your manuscript needs. Each is described below so you can choose the service that fits where your draft is right now.
Grammar and usage, awkward phrasing, repetition, and passive voice corrected, then clarity, concision, sentence structure, transitions, and tone, with your style manual applied throughout and a final proofread. For authors whose argument and structure are settled.
Clarity, emphasis, and paragraph structure: topic sentences, transitions, and sentences reordered within a paragraph, with every fact and claim kept as you wrote it. Includes copy editing and a final proofread.
Spelling, punctuation, typos, capitalization, grammar, and usage corrected with minimal wording changes, for manuscripts that have been edited and need a last check before submission to Past & Present.
Oxford's general instructions cover length, footnotes, and translations. If you have reviewer comments from an earlier submission, send them with your manuscript and we will address each one. If you have questions about which service is right for your manuscript, contact us directly. We respond to every inquiry the same day during business hours.
Our journal article and essay editing page explains how we edit historical scholarship, and academic proofreading is the final pass. For books, see Oxford University Press manuscript editing. We also prepare articles for the Journal of Social History.
Instant Manuscript Editing Invoice
Ready to prepare your manuscript for Past & Present? Use our secure portal to generate an immediate, word-count-based quote and secure your delivery deadline.
Our editors do not have access to your manuscript until an order is placed.
Direct Support
Reach our editorial team directly to discuss your manuscript, your Past & Present submission timeline, or which service is right for your project. Initial consultations of up to 15 minutes are complimentary.
608-535-6324
editors@offthegridediting.com