Are you an aspiring scholar who writes increasingly in English in order to reach a wider audience
for your academic articles?
Are you a professor trying to convert the elegance you write in German into refined text in English?
Are you interested in the kind of light copyediting that will make your text sound more natural
and boost your core arguments without compromising your original voice and style?
Are you a German speaker whose English is excellent but as far as writing goes, your texts lack
that finesse and flow needed to get published?
Do you have a small budget for proofreading/copyediting and want to make the most of your funds?
I’m the woman for you in your pursuit of an authentic voice in English!
This is specifically the experience that I’ve had in recent years. I combine a unique blend of proofreading and light copyediting for German-speaking scholars’ needs and have a proven track record in assisting professors in their efforts to write model, excellent academic articles.
IMPORTANT TIPS BEFORE THE WRITING PROCESS
Are you just beginning to write your article? Here are some important tips I have for you from the beginning!
1. Don’t say ‘the authors decided.’ You wrote this article, so you own it. There’s no need to write in the passive voice when it comes to identifying the parties behind the study. It not only sounds awkward but also 19th century. It’s also very uncommon in the English-speaking world to refer to anyone but “I” or “we” when referring to your work and what measures, methods, theories and other elements you applied in your pursuits.
2. You’re probably overusing the word ‘therefore’. There are plenty of better alternatives. For that reason, as a result, and on account of that — are at the top of my list.
3. You’re definitely not using enough transition words. Transition words are the nuts and bolts and screws holding up your arguments. Without proper transition words, your reasoning sounds barebones and in some cases, the whole meaning gets underemphasized or lost altogether.
4. Shorter sentences in no way detract from your logical reasoning! On the contrary, shorter sentences help drive home your point and communicate your arguments more effectively. It is in no way less academic to express yourself in succinct thoughts. Long sentences are definitely cumbersome and in some cases, confound matters entirely. Embrace succinct and powerful thoughts to help get your point across!
5. Don’t forget to introduce the quotes! Quotations cannot stand alone without a short introduction. You simply must say something in the same sentence leading up to the quote before you actually quote someone. It can be as simple as ‘Jones et. al made a compelling case when they mentioned: “____”’ or ‘Spellmann put it very well when he said: “____”.
6. Read plenty of academic articles written by native English speakers in the very journals that you would like to contribute to before you sit down to your own writing process. Highlight some phrases that you found very powerful and convincing and try to embrace them in your own way.
7. An occasionally informal tone does not have to convey unacademic approach in any way. On the contrary, an occasional burst of colloquialism ⎯ especially when you’re summarizing several ideas or providing the core analysis ⎯ can help highlight your point in a very lucid and vigorous way.
8. Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater in that way, however, by adopting elements that are definitively too informal, such as the ampersand- & - does not belong in an academic text! It only belongs in a text message or in a big banner advertising the Barnum & Bailey Circus!
9. Consider embracing the em dash - .. Here is the full explanation as to when you can use it. LINK. It’s one of my favorite tools for including extra information in a way that helps the reader digest the whole thought as best as possible. The em dash is like an enzyme for your mind consuming a lot of diverse kinds of brain food.
10. Semi-colons do not replace transition words. Your two thoughts might be related and one thought might even feed directly into the next. Simply connecting them with a semi-colon, however, in no way allows you to get out of using transition words! Semi-colons are to be used very sparingly, as a result.
