English scientific proof reading help from student

[DrugDeveloper]

I am a Swedish doctor in medicinal chemistry who is frequently writing articles for scientific journals, particularly in pharmacy. These articles must be written in perfect English. Although my English is good, I am not quite there yet. I therefore need help with proofreading. Is there maybe some student studying pharmacy, medicine, biology or chemistry who would like to earn some extra by helping me out with this? Also, you will get an acknowledgement for your help in the papers which you can refer to as a merit in your CV. If you like writing scientific papers yourself, you can perhaps be a co-author of some paper by participating in the writing later.

 

Please, send me an email or message here if you are interested. I would like to have a short summary of what you have studied, for how long and any other information that indicate that you are skilled in this if you like to do it. English must be your native language. My email:

Edited December 17, 2012 by hypervalent_iodine
Personal info removed.

[proximity1]

There are established professional agencies which handle such work--for a fee, of course. My advice, (which is free, just as you are free to take it or leave it,) is to decide one way or the other where your priorities are--cost saving or an imaginary perfection in editorial skill.

 

Since your case is that of a researcher with a continuing need for Eglish-language editing of your present and future papers, you can choose the cut-rate route--that is, seek a student in your field or a related field and give him or her the time and patience to develop the skills necessary to produce finished work which is up to your standards or you can prefer a professional agency and pay its going rates for the work in question. As you must know, editing is an art, not a "science" and there is no one with a perfect (flawless) command of English--not even those whose mother tongue is English. And a truly first-rate command of English is not necessarily going to be found among those who are already experts in pharmacology. Reality is going to impose something of a compromise on your desire to find a candidate whose talents combine excellent knowledge of English, superb writing skill and expert knowledge of the realm of research in pharmacology and medical chemistry.

 

That sort of person is rarer today than ever before for the simple reason that our societies' literary habits in both reading and in writing have declined across the board--that is, in all fields, sciences included.

 

If you are determined to avoid resort to a professional agency, then I recommend you look for, as a priority, someone with the habits that come from long-standing practices of high-quality reading and writing as part of his or her culture; and then look next to the matter of your candidate's competence in scientific knowledge. This latter is something which can be gained in less time and with less effort than is required to make a fine writer-editor. Your editor should not be charged with vetting your papers' technical points, their scientific quality, in addition to their literary quality. You, not the English-editor, should ensure in the first place that the technical English vocabulary is correct, that you have not misplaced or confused a technical term--though, with practice, that is a skill an editor should also come to develop.

Edited December 17, 2012 by proximity1

[DrugDeveloper]

Thanks for sharing ideas!

 

I have used agencies but I think I can handle this good enough myself. I am almost skilled enough to send in my manuscripts without somebody proofreading them first. However, I sometimes make mistakes that are fundamental, like choosing the wrong one between was and where. I have previously had a student looking at my manuscripts and it has worked fine, so I don't think I will go to some agency with this.

 

Andreas

[CharonY]

I was under the impression that English was taught at a fairly high level in Sweden. Wouldn´t it be better to have someone in-house to look over things? Usually it is easier to coordinate that way.

[proximity1]

Thanks for sharing ideas!

 

I have used agencies but I think I can handle this good enough myself. I am almost skilled enough to send in my manuscripts without somebody proofreading them first. However, I sometimes make mistakes that are fundamental, like choosing the wrong one between was and where. I have previously had a student looking at my manuscripts and it has worked fine, so I don't think I will go to some agency with this.

 

Andreas

 

I suspect you intended to write, ...' "between "was" and "were".' In any case, I note your e-mail address was deleted. You could use the feature at your profile-page to contact a potential candidate. How would determine your choice? A sample editing task? What level of experience/training are you requiring? Formal student (graduate, or undergraduate) only?

[medrad]

Dear DrugDeveloper,

I stumbled across your post whilst looking for new work. I am not an agency, but an individual trying to make a living in difficult economic times. I am a mother-tongue English speaker and have started my own business proof-reading scientific articles. My website is www.medsted.eu and if you are still interested then I think you will agree that my prices are significantly lower than agencies. In any case I am looking for the maximum publicity to promote my work, so if you are interested then please get in touch!

MedRad