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Meredith Harris
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Last updated: 7/22/2025
Meredith Harris
Professional
Profile Link: http://community.the-efa.org/member/client-firstediting
Personal Information
Seattle
Washington
United States
804 4609197 (Mobile)
  They/Them
  Yes
  Bachelor's degree
  No
Professional Information
Founder & Editor
Visit Website »
  Meredith@ClientFirstEditing.com
  Client-First Editing
  5.5
  1.5
  Hi! I am a freelance editor with over five years of experience and training. My specialties are:
-Working with graduate school and fellowship applicants to draw out a clear and compelling narrative in personal statements and statements of purpose by asking relevant questions and encouraging an open and honest discussion about the applicant's motivations, goals, and experiences.
-Translating complex technical information so it can be understood by a more general audience by tackling assumptions about widely-held knowledge, clarifying the language used, and reducing excessive jargon and other industry-specific terms.

Beyond these areas, I also edit research manuscripts and grant proposals for academics and social impact organizations (i.e., think tanks and non-profit organizations). I conduct this work at any stage of the writing process through the following types of editing:
-Brainstorming and outlining: Discussing what you're hoping to accomplish with your writing and how to organize your thoughts to further this goal.
-Developmental editing: Helping to expand your ideas or arguments in writing and playing around with the structure of your points to maximize their impact.
-Line editing: Re-working sentences or paragraphs to improve the tone or flow of your writing.
-Copyediting: Tweaking the grammar, spelling, and punctuation to make your text shine and prevent errors from changing or impeding your message.
-Formatting: Standardizing the style of headers, tables, captions, and reference lists to make your writing clear and easy to follow.
-Proofreading: Conducting a final check of your writing to catch any stubborn errors (typically after a document has undergone the typesetting stage).

These are some kind words from previous clients:
"Meredith is extremely knowledgeable and patient, helping me significantly improve my personal statements for graduate programs. She guided me through the entire process, from brainstorming to outlining, and helped me restructure my essays to ensure my ideas were clear and concise. . . ."
"Meredith helped me build confidence in my writing, allowing me to progress at my own pace. She did amazing helping me revise a few of my essay prompts for a highly specialized field. It was nice to have someone interpret the flow of my essay and help me get across what I wanted to even without knowing the in/outs of my field."
"Meredith was extremely helpful in providing feedback on my statement of purpose. She asked thoughtful questions when reviewing my document, which helped me add my authentic voice and present my unique experience. I would highly recommend her and hope to work with her again."
"Even when sharing personal stories through my application materials, she creates a safe and comfortable environment, making it easier to be vulnerable and open in my writing. Her comprehensive approach and personal touch make her one of the best application editors out there, and I highly recommend her services for any type of application or writing prompt!"
  Copyediting, Developmental/Substantive editing, Formatting, Line editing, Proofreading
  International Affairs, LGBTQIA, Linguistics, Medicine, Political science, Public Policy, Sociology
  Academic Materials, Blogs, Corporate communications, Creative nonfiction, Dissertations/Theses, Essays, Grant proposals, Journals, Multimedia, Newsletters, Obituaries, Other, Promotional materials, Reference materials, Social media, Speeches, Technical materials, White papers
  Graduate school and fellowship admissions essays (personal statements and statements of purpose)
  Adult, College, ESL
  English
  American Medical Association (AMA), American Psychological Association (APA), Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS)
  Acrobat, Excel, Google Docs, Google Forms, Google Sheets, PowerPoint, Word
Additional Information