Tuesday 14 April 2015

Do You Really Need Medical and Academic Editing Services?

Most journals today recommend that ESL authors (authors for whom English is a second language) seek the help of a professional academic editing service or a native speaker of English before submitting their manuscripts. Why has academic editing become such an integral part of the publishing process? Isn't research about the subject and not the language?

As research output the world over increases and researchers compete to publish their findings in the most reputed peer-reviewed journals, the journals themselves are raising the bar for submissions. Authors now need to ensure that apart from submitting interesting, novel research, they are submitting a well-structured, grammatically correct, and well-formatted manuscript. Moreover, several studies have revealed that "poor writing" is one of the top 10 reasons for rejection at the peer review stage. This means that if your manuscript is not written in clear English, you run the risk of rejection. That's where academic paper editing services step in-they ensure that the language and formatting within a manuscript matches international standards.

Specialized academic and medical editing services staff professional English-language editors who edit your manuscript to make sure that it is written in native English and reflects current research writing conventions. Trained editors understand not only the minutiae of grammar-punctuation, spelling, sentence construction, word choice, etc.-but also the nuances specific to your subject. They ensure that your manuscript is written in a lucid, unambiguous way that communicates the true value of the manuscript content. So hiring an academic editing service is not simply about getting a language check; it is about enhancing the overall presentation, flow, tone, and structure and ensuring that your manuscript makes a good first impression.

Given the competitive nature of journal publication, even native speakers today are seeking out professional academic editing services. Of course, that doesn't mean that every researcher requires academic or medical editing help. So how do you decide whether or not to seek professional editing help? Here are a few pointers.

• You probably don't need an editor if most of the following statements are true:

o You're an experienced researcher with published papers to your name.
o You have a good understanding of English grammar and idiomatic expressions, and are experienced when it comes to writing in English.
o You understand the publication process, academic writing conventions, and subject-specific writing conventions
o You know how to format a manuscript to meet journal requirements

• You need an editor if most of the following statements are true:

o You have not published many papers in English-language journals.
o You are not confident of your English-language writing skills.
o You are not very familiar with the journal publication process and academic writing conventions.
o You are not experienced in formatting a manuscript to meet journal requirements.

In sum, for researchers who do not have much experience publishing in English or who are not fluent in English, seeking professional academic editing help is the recommended route. An editor will enhance the language and presentation of your paper, giving you a better shot at acceptance. If you're still unsure, consider this: your decision to hire an editor might be the difference between a rejection letter and a more favorable outcome.

"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind." Rudyard Kipling

And I am admittedly a word addict, ever enthralled by the infinite potential of words to enable people to reach out, express, forge relationships, and build our own languages, histories, and futures.



1 comment:

  1. Rephrasing your word will be creating a brand new word which uses a similar syntax since the initial and this contains the identical problematic text. Most of us try this to ensure we could assess the design along with phrase choice in a less complicated, safer to understand word. See more medical editing services

    ReplyDelete