Academic, business and educational proofreading from Stephen York Editorial Services

Students: How a proofreader can help you with your essay

Not all students are blessed with a command of perfect or exceptional English. Many international students, for whom English is a second (or perhaps even third) language find it difficult to express themselves in writing when compiling essays or other written documents. A proofreader like myself can help by correcting spelling, punctuation, and grammar, and point out other errors such as inconsistencies in or the complete absence of references.

Students may have difficulty in various language areas, such as:

• knowing which tense to use
• if and when to use ‘the’ or ‘a / an’ before a noun
• knowing the differences between UK / British and US English
• being unsure of the correct word order
• confusion over singular and plural forms, and problems with verb and subject agreement
• overuse of capital letters, giving writing a disjointed appearance
• being unsure of the use of apostrophes for possessive cases, e.g. is it people’s or peoples’?
• using sentences that are basically lists, rather than using linking words such as ‘because’, ‘however’, and ‘since’ to join sentences together
• using sentences that are overlong and rambling, and repeating clauses
• repeating arguments or points that have already been made. 

I can assist students in proofreading their written work to advise on the above troublesome areas and to give their work a better flow and readability.

Essays using poor English are unlikely to be awarded top marks. It is often the case that a proportion of the marks for essays and other assignments are given for the standard of English used, the structure of the piece, and quality of referencing. Proofreading can assist you to maximize your marks.

Contact me today to discuss your requirements at yorkproof@virginmedia.com