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An editor revised a sentence in my essay as follows. I don't quite understand why he revised it this way. Originally "Distinctive from" was used as an opening adjectival phrase, but it was then amended to "As distinct from" that seems not grammatical as an opening adjectival phrase? (Because this kind of phrase should start with an adjective directly, instead of the word "as"?). Thanks!

Original sentence: Distinctive from traditional deceptions, phishing is characterised by the following aspects.

Revised version: As distinct from traditional deceptions, phishing is characterised by the following aspects.

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    'Phishing is different from traditional methods of deception in the following ways:' sounds more like plain English to my ears. But perhaps 'Phishing is very different from traditional methods of deception. It has the following characteristics:' is preferred to emphasise that this is a very different type of deception. If this is the case, I'd want two sentences, to support the emphasis and to make the meaning easier to grasp.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Sep 28, 2019 at 15:45

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Your editor is actually right. I am an editor too, and I would have made a similar change. This is about the difference between "distinct" vs. "distinctive." "Distinctive" implies a characteristic that makes something distinguishable. In your sentence, however, it has been used to mean "As opposed to." Your editor's suggestion definitely improves readability. Also, there's nothing wrong with beginning the sentence with "As distinct from."

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