To err is human. We make
mistakes - big or small - everyday. Language editing has to do with rectifying
errors in a written communication. These faults range from spelling mistakes to
wrong grammar use, from improper punctuation to using words out of context.
This has nothing to do with a writer’s level of sophistication, or writing skill – even
native language speakers and esteemed writers make some of these mistakes.
We write for different reasons.
We may write a casual SMS or e-mail to a friend. Our friends generally make no
fuss of our writing mistakes. However, an attempt should be made to get rid of
writing mistakes and typing/typographical errors (typos) – this is a good foundation of
professional writing. Your friends may be your business partners, and formal writing
is important between business partners. Such communication may form part of the
business archives. For such things as SMSs and e-mails, simple spelling-check software should suffice.
Writing may be for formal
reasons, to your research supervisor, for example. This may be for your progress
reports, theses, dissertations, etc. Professionals are very strict when it comes
to presenting your findings. They want them conveyed in the most comprehensive
manner possible. It is disturbing to read a document that has so many writing
errors that it makes no sense. Your superior should correct your points about
the findings and the overall presentation, without the interference of a lot of
mistakes in every paragraph.
After reading through an
annoyingly, poorly written research report by a fellow postgraduate student, my
former supervisor asked me, “What does this tell you about the attitude of this
student?”. I did not answer directly, out of sympathy for my fellow student. I
tried to justify what caused the student to make the mistakes he did. But I
knew what the supervisor wanted me to say: The student did not take his work
seriously, and he was careless and unprofessional.
My background makes me understand
very well the writing challenges second language English speakers have. The
home languages of some, for instance, use only the singular auxiliary verb “is”. Some
don’t understand the difference between “Price” and “Prize”, and others don’t
know the nouns from some verbs as well as the past participles of those verbs.
This is why I clearly understood my fellow student’s case.
There is no valid excuse for any poor
writing though, for professional and academic documents in particular. For all writers, especially English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) writers, in various fields of study, there are plenty language-editing services. It’s advisable to select a person/company with the relevant background
in the area to which the writing belongs. If you are an English-as-a-First-Language (EFL) writer, then you need only the proofreading service, which is the process of checking the layout of the entire
document and other finer details.
Make sure that you go for the
best language editor, not the cheapest.
Remember : Even editors need editors for their
professional writing.
The
quality of your writing can say a lot about you, including
your
attitude towards the language of interest.
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Zero027 Editing is one of the finest English editors
and report writers in the world, specializing in academic, business and technical editing. We don’t only edit
the document but also ensure that the quality of the final document is
outstanding.
