Wie zijn de Scribbr-editors?

My background is in Literature and Philosophy in which I have a PhD from the University of Sydney. I have worked for a number of years as a university lecturer teaching courses in literature, writing studies and critical thinking in Australia and New Zealand.  I have also taught ESL as having a Japanese father and European mother meant growing up with an awareness of the vagaries of language. I have been in love with words since my mother first began reading me bedtime stories and, for this reason, desire always that every word be treated with respect. What does that look like? It means using the right word in the right place at the right time. Doing so almost guarantees that your readers will want to keep reading because they can fully grasp the ideas being communicated. How is it achieved? Curiosity. Curiosity about what it means to really think well, curiosity about those who have done so, and the certain knowledge that it is a skill that can be learned.

Hi! My name is Amin Ahmed. I’m currently a freelance editor with Scribbr. I have 7 years of experience working in the field of academic copyediting and proofreading. I have a bachelor’s degree in science (major: microbiology and chemistry). I love traveling, and I have special passion for editing and proofreading articles and theses because it gives me the sense of achievement and having an impact.

My tip for all students is, "Read again what you wrote!" This will definitely help you point out any mistakes that you could've missed.

A lifelong reader and writer, I was born and raised in the United States and hold a BA in English and a certificate in copyediting. In addition to editing for research and literary journals, I've written research articles and fiction, which has given me experience with the editing process from both sides of the red pen. My favorite part of editing is continually learning about language and the many ways writers use it.

Tip for writing: Once you've finished your first draft, take a break. Go on a walk, read a book, watch something, hang out with friends. When you come back to edit, you'll be able to see it with fresh eyes. You'll see where your argument needs improvement, notice typos you glazed over before, and think of fresh ways to express your thoughts.

Born and brought up in Zimbabwe, I studied Classics at the University of Cape Town. Most of my career has been in the parliamentary field. I worked as a Hansard editor and translator at our national Parliament in Cape Town, and then spent 20 years as head of Hansard at the Eastern Cape Legislature.

Currently I am freelancing as an editor and translator in Cape Town, my other languages being Dutch, German and Russian. And I now have more time than before for my great passion – the piano.

Thought for the day: "I'm exhausted. I spent all morning taking out a comma, and all afternoon putting it back again." Oscar Wilde

I hold a BA (Honours) in English and political science from the University of Ottawa, as well as an MA in English and a JD from the University of Toronto. I am called to the bar in Ontario, Canada, and I have over 13 years of experience as a writer and editor in academic and legal contexts. I currently work as a programme lawyer for an organisation specialising in labour and employment law. I love editing for Scribbr because it is a valuable opportunity to continue learning about new subjects while providing a helpful service for students.

Writing tip: “Read, read, read. Read everything—trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You'll absorb it. Then write. If it's good, you'll find out. If it's not, throw it out of the window.” —William Faulkner

I taught English to international students in universities in Vietnam and Australia for many years. My favourite part was always helping students improve their writing. We worked on their grammar and vocabulary, giving them greater accuracy and flexibility, and we also looked at how to enhance the structure and ideas in their work, making sure they met the academic expectations for their papers. I understand that expressing yourself clearly in a second language can be challenging and frustrating, and I'm excited to be able to help you achieve your full potential as a writer in English.

I grew up in the UK but have now lived in Australia for 15 years. I'm a total foodie and spend a lot of my spare time browsing for ingredients in the local market, cooking and eating. I love bushwalking (the Aussie term for a nice long walk in the countryside), but I'm also an urbanite - don't take me away from my artisanal coffee shop and art house cinema for too long!

Writing tip - I'd give this advice to a writer in any language, but I think it's especially important when writing in your second language: don't self-edit as you go. The best thing is to get all your ideas written down first without worrying too much about spelling, grammar or vocabulary choice. You don't want to spend five minutes agonising over the correct verb tense at the writing stage because it will stop your flow and create blocks. Write first, edit later.

Language has always been my passion, and I have formally studied English, Latin, Ancient Greek, Ancient Hebrew, and Spanish. That knowledge of how language works has helped me live out my other passion: teaching others to use language. My experience includes a year of EFL instruction in Mexico and seven years of high school English, Spanish, and Latin. 

I also have earned a master's degree in education, writing my thesis on how to increase students' intrinsic motivation. That experience in the world of academia and research was so fulfilling that I now use my love of teaching and language to help other academics create their best possible work.

Writing tip: If you can say it in fewer words, you should!

I began tutoring others in English during my sophomore year of college. I found I loved helping people transform their writing into something they could be proud of, so I continued tutoring college students after I got my degree in English and began editing academic theses. I’ve now edited hundreds of theses and tutored countless students. Although I’ve expanded my editing services beyond academics, academic writing is still my favorite. I love learning about the varied topics each new thesis offers.

Quick Writing Tip: Don’t let a blank page daunt you. Just start writing without worrying about how every sentence sounds. It’s a lot easier to go back and revise once you've written down your general ideas than it is to write those perfect sentences the first time.

I'm a native New Yorker settled in Cape Town. I love our long summers, moody mountains and two oceans.

I live in Cape Town, South Africa. I have a master's degree in English literature from the University of Stellenbosch. In my career of three decades I have worked as a journalist, editor and translator for parliament, corporates, magazines, book publishers and websites. Teasing out the meaning from a badly constructed sentence is my greatest joy!

Writing tip: Don't try to sound intelligent! Clarify your thought, then express it as simply as you can. Honesty is always the best policy in writing.

I'm a writer with a BA in English (creative writing) and a minor in Game Design from Chapman University. I've been reading, writing, and editing for as long as I can remember, and I've done a variety of freelance writing and editing work over the past few years. For me, editing is like a puzzle: taking something apart, piece by piece, and strategically putting it back together to form a greater picture. It's incredibly fulfilling and I'm grateful that Scribbr has given me the opportunity to help students work on their own puzzles and tell their own stories.

I spend most of my free time doing indie video game work (I do character and narrative design, and I write a LOT of dialogue), but I also enjoy writing fiction, drawing, and going for walks.

Writing Tip: If you get stuck or find yourself rewriting something over and over, take a break, focus on something else, and come back to it later. Even if it's just for a few minutes, coming back to your writing with fresh eyes will usually allow you to spot mistakes that you might have missed the first time around. Alternatively, if you just can't get writing out of your head, try walking around or going over the problem out loud, either to yourself or to someone else. Even a little change in the process does wonders, especially when you're working on something creative.

Hi everyone. 

My background is in law, an area full of lofty language and convoluted sentences. I love drilling down into a sentence and figuring out how to express the idea in a precise and clear way.

I'm looking forward to helping you out. I always learn something new each time I take an assignment, and it is really a pleasure to help people express themselves.

Teacher, Writer and Editor based in Amsterdam. Has a research background in arts/culture, and an unhealthy obsession with pop culture and electronic music.

I chose to become a Scribbr editor to use my background in education and teaching, editing expertise, and love of all things language to help students graduate. Right after completing my undergraduate degree, I received a Master of Education in curriculum and instruction in preparation for a career in teaching. I spent some time teaching public school before deciding that a career as a teacher was not the right fit for me. However, I am grateful for much of what I learned from working in the classroom, including how to give gentle but effective individualized feedback to students, a skill I still use today as an editor. In my current position as a technical writer and editor at a small consulting firm, I edit documents by authors who are subject matter experts in a diversity of fields—not unlike the students who use Scribbr's services. 

My one piece of writing advice? Say less. As William Strunk Jr. of the Elements of Style puts it, "A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell."

My educational background in Journalism has provided me with a broad base from which to approach many topics, including business, management, leadership, social sciences, humanities, and social media. My experience as an associate editor at a regional magazine catering to CEOs and other top-level decision makers has also enhanced my skill in developing compelling content. Moreover, my stint as a manuscript consultant has afforded me the opportunity to work on the studies, dissertations, and books of academics from renowned business schools in Southeast Asia such as the Asian Institute of Management and the Ateneo Graduate School of Business.

I have been working with writing challenged clients for several years. My objective has always been to uphold the accuracy and consistency in messaging and style across all job orders and ensure the flawlessness of written material. This objective is complemented by my desire to help clients improve their writing.

My tip for writing: Spend a considerable time on preparing an outline before working on a paper. A detailed outline helps identify a strong thesis and follow up with ideas and examples to build on that thesis. Referring to an outline during the writing process gives you a better sense of focus.

I grew up in the Midwestern United States, graduating with a BA in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin. Don't let that social sciences degree fool you -- language is, and has always been, my true love. Despite never having left the 48 contiguous states (or, perhaps, as a result of this fact), I have an insatiable curiosity for the cultures of and experiences offered by various countries around the world. Editing and learning from the theses and dissertations of students who not only attend universities from all over the world, but have conducted research in some of the most amazing places, is something that I am extremely grateful to be able to do. 

Writing tip: Read. Your brain is constantly forming new connections, through every little stimulus it's given. As you read, you are subconsciously reinforcing the "right" connections -- the ones that tell you how a word should be spelled, where a comma should actually go, or which "there" (they're?) to use in a particular context. It's a simple, yet effective way to improve your grammar and spelling in the long term (no memorization required!).

Courtney started with Scribbr as an editor in June 2017. She has a Bachelor in Communication and a Master in Editing and Publishing, and has worked as a freelance writer and editor since 2013. She loves helping students and academics all over the world improve their writing (and learning about their research while doing so!).

I am a passionate writer with experience editing a wide range of academic and fiction texts. My editorial career began in scientific publishing and medical communications, after which I spent the next several years working as a teacher. As a result, I realise just how important it is to give clear and concise feedback, and how critical it is to ensure students receive adequate support! Now I am back in science publishing and frequently edit and beta-read for fantasy writers, and in my spare time, I write fantasy and science-fiction novels myself.

Here are a few of my favourite writing tips:

1. Don’t panic. If a sentence really isn’t coming together, highlight it and come back to it later. Honestly, sometimes looking at your work with a fresh pair of eyes is all you need.
2. Be concise. If you’re worried that you’re using too many words, you probably are. It’s easy to think that the longer a sentence is, the more impressive it will sound. This is a myth. If you want your work to be easy to understand, keep it simple and concise.
3. Use simple language. Again, it’s easy to think that your work will sound more intelligent if you use complicated words. Unfortunately, that really obscure word you found in the synonyms section of Word might actually just confuse your reader. Also, try to assume your reader doesn’t know as much about your topic as you do. Guide them by explaining concepts carefully and simply.
4. Self-edit. It’s so tempting to get to the end of a piece of work that you just want to be rid of and to submit it straight away. Resist! Always check through your work – try reading it aloud – because it’s so easy for small errors to slip through the cracks.

I am currently an MA student studying Gender and Women's Studies in the Middle East/North Africa at The American University in Cairo. Prior to this, I was working at a refugee organization in Cairo in education and community outreach. I believe strongly in writing as an important tool for shaping and clarifying our ideas, and it is always a tool that we can learn to use not only with a more critical outlook but also with more patience and generosity.

My writing tip would be to remember that the more complicated the argument your writing is, the more guidance your reader needs. Being clear and concise with your word choice becomes much more important than showing off your extensive vocabulary.

I'm driven by my deep love of the English language and have spent many years studying grammar as both a hobby and a passion. I was born and raised in Pennsylvania and received a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Penn State University. I currently reside in upstate New York, where I have worked as an electrical engineer in the office and an aspiring fiction author at home. By honing these skills every day, I have found that my combination of scientific and creative interests complement one another and diversify my lifestyle. 

In addition to writing and engineering, I take great interest in film, application design, and website development. Above all else, I enjoy helping others. For this reason, I appreciate all that Scribbr has done for students worldwide, and I enjoy the opportunity to offer my service as a Scribbr editor.

Writing Tip: If you're struggling to explain a topic of your paper in writing, try explaining it out loud first, as though you were giving a presentation. Some of the spoken words may be too informal, the sentences in need of polish, or the structure repetitive, but these can be corrected when adapting your speech into text or during the revision step of the writing process. This can help you overcome your writer's block and aid in finishing your rough draft more easily.    

During my many years at the University of Toronto (Canada), I studied philosophy during my BA, focused on grammar and linguistics in my postgraduate TESL degree, and researched second language acquisition during my BEd. Philosophy has continued to be a love of mine to this day, as have grammar and logical reasoning.

Once I finished schooling, I first taught English in South Korea and then in Taiwan, where I still am today some 15 years later. Here in Taiwan, I have quite a wide mix of jobs: I proofread at a local university and teach English and writing classes at two other local universities, plus a little tutoring on the side. Combine that wife a wife and two daughters, life is hectic yet fulfilling! 

Now, as a qualified Scribbr editor, I look forward to working with you. I am certain that by working together we can bring out the best in your writing. 

A tip I have often given to my Taiwanese students in the past is this: "Try to develop your 'English brain' so continuous mental translation can stop." 

Hello :). I'm David. I am a freelance editor, a PhD student and university seminar teacher. 

I grew up in the UK, in the north of England, where I still live. Though I also spend a significant amount of time in Vienna. I have a social science BA and an MA in Gender Studies and (sociology) Research Methods.

I am currently doing my PhD in sociology, but I began my undergraduate degree in Law originally. I struggled a lot during my undergraduate degree, and it took me a long time to build my writing skills and become confident in my academic work. Academic writing didn't really click with me until I left university and started writing for pleasure.

I believe that this experience of struggling with writing has given me a strong position from which to help others who struggle with academic writing – whether that be via editing texts and giving feedback through Scribbr or when helping my students to understand difficult theoretical concepts in seminars.

Writing Tip:

Pay attention to structure first. Make sure your introduction tells the reader what you are going to be discussing, the order you will be discussing it in and what your conclusions will be. Make sure every section has an introduction that performs the same function for that section. 

Make sure every paragraph has a single, clear point/topic and that each paragraph begins with an introductory sentence and ends with a sentence that links to the topic of the next paragraph. 

Pay attention to that kind of communication first, and readers will often be able to understand you even if you make a few mistakes here and there. 

I retired in March 2018 from a 41-year career as a daily newspaper editor, but I’ve found that I miss the fulfilling work of editing. Thanks to Scribbr, I’ll continue to have the opportunity!

My husband and I share a household with our daughter and 6-year-old grandson, so there’s always something lively going on here. We live in Daly City, Calif., a next-door suburb of San Francisco.

Writing tip: Simple, direct writing can be very powerful. When in doubt, use fewer words.

Hi! I love film and hope to live my life as if it is one (more Wenders than Leone though). I've taught English in Japan, was an adjunct professor in New York, and wrote blogs and books in London. I'd really like to help students with their theses and dissertations; I imagine I could learn a lot. :)

I live in South Africa and am proud to call it home.

I am an independent translator/editor for a prominent publisher in South Africa, which I balance with the academic demands that editing theses placed on me. As a translator, I understand the mental gymnastics needed by students who are not writing in their mother tongue.

My advice to students who have a hard time with English:

1. Relax. Take a deep breath. English is a beautiful and versatile language. Don't be scared of it.
2. Don't try to sound smart by using difficult words and complex phrases. Keep it simple, because your supervisor is impressed by your knowledge of your subject, and it is difficult to convey that knowledge if you don't fully grasp the meanings of the words you are using.
3. Make use of the SCRiBBR resources provided on the website. Everything you can possibly need to know is there. Print out the information and refer to it when you are unsure.
4. Read your own writing aloud. Your ear is sometimes a better proofreader than your eye is.
5. Read, read, read. English novels, classics, thrillers, romances--it doesn't matter what you choose to read. Reading is the most effective way of improving your English. Just by reading a simple novel, you learn about sentence structure and where to place your subjects and verbs. Without even knowing the technical requirements of an English sentence, you will be able to 'hear' if your sentence structure is correct--provided that you are an avid reader.

If you have accepted the challenge of studying in a language that is not your home language, you have my greatest respect and admiration, and I will gladly help you polish your writing to perfection.

Hi! I'm an education consultant with a doctorate in higher education. I have a strong passion for academic writing and research, and I look forwarding to editing your essay, thesis, or dissertation!

Hello! I earned my bachelor's degree with Highest Honors from Washington University in St. Louis, with a major in Art History and minors in French and Studio Art. I have always had the opportunity to write, as I have worked for several years as an independent researcher and academic writer, and I am now currently a Curatorial Assistant in an art museum. I relish the opportunity to read papers in different fields and help people, as it helps me broaden my own horizons while helping others achieve the best outcomes possible.

I am a PhD student in Archaeology at a major Midwestern university with a decade of experience in editing, proofreading, and translation. I studied everything from English Literature to History and Gaelic Studies during my undergraduate degree, and I still get excited whenever I can learn about a new discipline. In other words, I look forward to reading your theses and papers! 

My writing tip isn't about writing at all; instead, I want to encourage anyone hoping to become a strong writer to read. Reading high-quality writing, whether it's John Banville's amazing novels or Ta-Nehisi Coates' top-notch journalism, is the best way to learn how to compose a text with an easy flow, clear argument, and elegant style.

Hi! I was the girl reading a book under the slide during recess. In 2013, I graduated with a BA in English. Pouring, drinking, and selling wine in Santa Barbara, California is my other job.

Reading fills me with joy. Writing allows my creative juices to flow.  Editing challenges my brain. I'm excited to be a new member of the Scribbr Editing team! 

Writing Tip: Simple is good. Don't try to use a lot of fancy words to make a point. 

My academic background is in urban planning and public policy; I hold a master's degree in urban planning from Tufts University. I've recently taken a break from my field to spend my summers studying Swedish in Uppsala, Sweden. As a student of foreign language, I understand how frustrating it can be to struggle to find the right word or phrase in English, and I strive to help students clearly express their ideas. 

Writing tip: Keep it simple! It's better to write short, correct sentences than complex sentences containing many errors.

I grew up in the small town of Ferrisburgh, Vermont and attended the University of Vermont where I majored in English, minored in sexuality and gender studies, and worked as a copy editor for UVM's newspaper. After earning my Bachelor of Arts degree in 2016, I worked as an archivist for an engineering firm, but I decided that wasn't quite for me. So I went back to school and earned a Certificate in Copy Editing from the University of California.

Because I love exploring English's rules and etymology, I love helping others navigate through what can sometimes be a dense, inscrutable forest of grammar rules.

My English writing tip: In the words of George Orwell, "Never use a long word where a short one will do."

I hold a BA in Political Science and Arabic from the University of Notre Dame. I have worked in career centers in both the United States and Egypt, and this experience fueled my passion for helping students effectively present themselves and their work. As a student of Arabic, I understand the difficulties of mastering the intricacies of grammar and writing in a foreign language, and I am happy to help you hone your writing while learning about new topics from your work! Writing tip: When you're feeling stuck, don't be afraid to write down the first thing that comes to mind even if it's messy, and come back to refine it later.

Between the ages of six and eighteen, I was never seen without a book in my hand – except perhaps if I was swimming. I’ve even been known to read while riding a bicycle (not on the road, I hasten to add!). This love of reading transitioned into a BA, then an MPhil and then a PhD in medieval literature; engaging with the mysterious peoples of the past through their literature is a pursuit that fascinates me. As a student, I learned to love helping others to improve their writing, especially those who did not have English as their first language. Friends would come to me the night before their presentations or submissions, asking for help to smooth out the wrinkles in their writing. I discovered a passion for ensuring that nothing would come between their argument and their audience. On entering the world of work, I found that proofreading became a constant feature of all my jobs: publishing test papers for schools, digital publishing, publication checking, composition or just helping colleagues check their reports and emails.

Tips for writing: I read once that a good writer sees words not as ingredients but as tools. Each has a specific use and produces its own distinctive effect. The aim is always the same whether you are writing poetry, fiction, magazine articles or academic prose: use the fewest words possible to convey the greatest possible meaning.

One side-effect of studying geosciences is being surrounded by amazing geo-jargon. Navigating such specific and lively technical language reminds me that not only do I love a good rock, but I truly enjoy figuring out how to describe complex processes in an understandable way.

With degrees in geology and marine sciences, I'm increasingly dabbling in multidisciplinary critical and art-science research projects, and continue to enjoy editing all kinds of texts for Scribbr since 2016.

My tips for academic writing:

• Don't fear simplicity - to help communicate something complex, try revisiting how you first learned to understand it!
• Break your document into chunks to define the purpose of each chapter, section, paragraph and even line! Once you have the story straight in your head, it might be easier to connect the chunks.
• To get some clarity, try describing your research to a friend, reading your writing aloud, or even making a drawing.
• And treat yourself to some tasty snacks as you construct your masterpiece!

I've made my living as a writer and editor for more than 30 years now. I have a BA in English literature from Fairfield University and an MFA in creative writing from the University of Michigan. I also hold a medical writer certification (MWC) from the American Medical Writers Association. During various stretches in my career I've crafted (and managed) communications for a large cancer research network, for one of the leading information science graduate schools in the US, and for a developer of K-12 school textbooks. I've also taught writing to undergraduates.

The most useful writing tip I can give is this: writing is rewriting. Good writers come in two flavors: those who spend most of their writing time reworking and polishing what they have put on the page, and those who lie about it.

I grew up in Cape Town, South Africa, but now reside in the Hague, the Netherlands, with my wife and two young boys. I have a PhD in Classics (Greek and Latin) from the University of Cape Town and spend most of my time working on arcane literary and philological topics which are best left undisclosed. My main area of linguistic interest is semiotics and semantics—uncovering the hidden meanings behind the words we use. I’m also a stickler for the Oxford comma.

Tips for academic writing. Economy. Try to condense your thoughts into tight sentences, where accuracy and simplicity combine.

I was born and raised in South Africa, but I’ve had the opportunity to travel and live in many countries: the USA, England, but mostly in South-East Asia and the Far East. After graduating with a degree in English and Philosophy, I qualified as a teacher, specialising in English and Business Studies. I’ve taught English as a first language for a long, long time, and EFL for more than 15 years, so I suppose you could say I’ve been ‘editing’ all my working life. At the moment, I mentor MSc and PhD students for whom English is a second or third language. I love seeing them reach the point where they don’t need me anymore, and our language sessions become coffee breaks!

The process of learning new languages myself, from Mandarin to isiXhosa, has made language teaching fascinating as I've shared the difficulties that my students experience. Helping them find ways to overcome those difficulties has been hugely rewarding. 

A tip about writing: just DO it, and don’t expect to get it right the first time. Like any good craftsman, start with the rough outline, chop out the bits that don’t belong, add in bits that make it more satisfying, and then polish and refine it until you have something that you feel proud of. It takes time and practice, but every step is worth it. And ... don't leave it until the last minute!

Hi, I'm Izzy and I live in the southwest of England. I've been a freelance editor since 2016, and have worked across a huge range of disciplines. I'm a true digital nomad and love the flexibility of being able to work anywhere, any time. As long as I have my MacBook and some decent coffee, I'm good to go! Freelance work allows me to balance my career with with my family and my studies. 

When I'm not editing, I'm juggling being the mum of a preschooler with working on a part-time PhD in Nineteenth Century British visual culture and literature. I earned my BA in 2008, worked in publishing for seven years, and then went back to school for my MA after I had my son in 2015. The last few years have been busy (to put it mildly) but I wouldn't have had it any other way.

My experience of returning to study as a student parent means I'm particularly adept at helping students who are from non-traditional backgrounds, feel like they've lost their writing mojo after a break from studying, or are part-time and trying to balance study with other responsibilities.

I have two writing rules that I swear by. My first tip is to relax; be confident about your voice and your argument. Even the very best writers sometimes struggle to express themselves or make mistakes, and this is totally normal. My second tip is to read what you've written out loud; it will help you spot overly long or complicated sentences, and will also give you a fresh perspective on your ideas and the flow of your argument.

As a Brit living in Amsterdam, I've joined the Scribbr team to put my lifelong love of language to good use. With an MA in literature and a habit of being immersed in three books at any given time, I've developed a pretty good intuition for language. And as someone still struggling to make myself understood in Dutch, I can sympathise if you're wrestling with English (whose rules are by all accounts much more arcane) as a second language.

Writing tip: 'Discrete' and 'discreet' are in fact discrete words. If you don't know the difference, try to be discreet about it.

(A lot of English words have very close neighbours with distinct meanings. Aside from the aforementioned, 'complementary' means something quite different from 'complimentary'; 'affect' and 'effect' are importantly different in both noun and verb form; and you definitely don't want to mix up 'comma' and 'coma'! Mistakes like these can be hard to notice, since your spell-check likely won't pick up on them. It's worth making sure you've got the meanings of tricky words memorised to avoid errors.)

In college at the University of Georgia, I thought I would be a government reporter, and that's what I did for about three years after graduation. When a copy editor position came open, I decided to try it and have been an editor ever since. Most of my editing work has been with newspapers, but in the last decade I have also worked in education and government. I am new to academic editing, so this work has been challenging and rewarding.

My main goal as an editor is to clarify the writing. If I have difficulty understanding the wording and the sentences, there is a strong chance that other readers will also struggle. Another key point is to understand your audience. Academic writing is more formal and sophisticated than other styles of writing. Another tip is to be careful with your word selection. Use an online dictionary (Merriam-Webster for American English, Cambridge for British English) if you are unsure.

I live in a suburb of Raleigh, the capital of North Carolina in the southeastern United States. I grew up in a town about 45 miles southwest of Atlanta and have lived in the Raleigh-Durham area for about 25 years. My wife is an English as a Second Language teacher at Duke University.

I was born in London, England, and have worked there for most of my professional life, writing and editing. I have also lectured in English in China for several years, preparing undergraduate and postgraduate students for further study abroad.

As any good writer will tell you, the best way to improve is to read as much good and bad writing as possible, and then go out and write badly, making mistakes and receiving criticism. In particular, I have to remind myself daily of Orwell’s third rule for good writing: ‘if it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.’ Of course, he also stipulated that this rule could – and should – be broken. For a writer in a language with more exceptions than rules, this sort of advice seems appropriate. To all who write in English as a second language, you have my complete empathy and I will always be happy to assist (or at least share in your despair), wherever I can.

I have decades of editing experience in fields ranging from the arts and humanities to science, medicine, psychology, and marketing. Recently, I edited the upcoming book “Cultures in Bioethics” by internationally renowned scholar Hans-Martin Sass, formerly of the Kennedy Institute for Ethics. As the founding editor of a literary book review that ran for 10 years, I received the Women’s National Book Association’s “Bookwoman of the Year” award (for an “enduring and unique contribution to the world of books and through books, to society”) at a U.S. Library of Congress ceremony. I have a Master's degree in English Literature from the University of Virginia and have completed the coursework for the PhD.

I am from Cape Town, South Africa, and have a BA Hons from the University of Cape Town. Before becoming a freelance editor, I worked for the South African parliament as a translator and editor for more than 20 years. As a freelancer, I have gained experience in a wide range of language-related skills, and have experience of editing and proofreading manuscripts, theses, academic articles and educational material, and translating a wide variety of texts. I enjoy editing because I love the challenge of taking a text and making it the best it can be. Also, it’s great fun to broaden my general knowledge by reading about different subjects!

Writing Tip: If you have any doubt about what a word means, look it up in a dictionary. A thesaurus is your friend. Writing with a thesaurus next to you (or using an online thesaurus) will assist you to find the most appropriate word to express what you wish to say. Also, remember that you express yourself most clearly when you use simple sentence structures.

Hi, my name is Jed, and I am from rural Minnesota. For the past six years, I’ve lived in numerous places in Europe for work and university. I have master’s degrees in philosophy, international relations, and economics. However, I’ve predominantly focused on the philosophical side of things: the philosophy of economics, the sociology of international relations and international relations theory, and metaphilosophy and moral and political philosophy.

For most forms of academic writing, the most important thing is simplicity. When one writes simply, it’s easier to understand what each sentence means individually and how sentences relate to one another. Usually, simplicity also makes one’s writing more beautiful.

I grew up in Springfield, Illinois, then went to the University of Illinois to pursue a degree in biology. Along the way, I taught myself proficiency with computers, and veered off into an IT career for the next 15 years. I later earned a Master's in Library and Information Science, and in 2010 I took a job managing websites, writing newsletters and press releases, and producing podcasts for researchers in the field of animal sciences.

For most of my career, I have had the privilege to support students and the faculty who teach them. It is deeply satisfying to know that somebody was able to accomplish their goals in part because of assistance I gave them. That's why, when I decided to work as a freelancer, I chose academic editing as a field where I could use my skills and continue to help students.

My writing tip is related to workflow. I use color coding to help myself see which parts of a paper are done, and which still need work. So I'll use blue text for the first draft, then turn sentences or paragraphs black when I decide that they're polished enough. This helps me see at a glance what I still need to focus on, and helps keep me from getting overwhelmed.

I grew up in rural Indiana, then attended school at Ball State and received a B.A. in English. After completing my degree, I moved to Kyrgyzstan with Peace Corps, where I worked as a volunteer English teacher while learning Kyrgyz and Russian. I  also worked closely with native Kyrgyz teachers to improve their English ability and demonstrate new teaching methodologies and materials. Now that I'm back in the US, I'm happy to continue working with students through Scribbr!

Writing tip: If you aren't a native English speaker, don't let yourself get too frustrated! It can be easy to get hung up on the many small details of a sentence, but you should try to write what you mean first, then go back through and check your grammar. It will help make the writing process less painful, and you can pay better attention to your grammar afterward.

Hello,

I am a law graduate from the University of Oxford and the University of California, Berkeley. I love writing and language, so becoming a Scribbr editor made perfect sense to me. I love reading different academic papers from different disciplines!

When writing in English, the best advice I can give is to write sentences that are as concise as possible. Your reader will thank you for it.

I’m an Australian-based freelance editor/proofreader. I came to editing after a journey through many other professions (including public relations) and business enterprises, and helping friends and relatives with their writing projects. I have a Bachelor of Arts with a triple major (Education, Sociology and German). My interests include hockey, swimming, reading, writing, music and drinking coffee.

Editing is ‘home’ for me: I love the written word and I love to learn. Editing provides me with many words and a wide range of learning experiences!

Writing English: ‘Keep it simple’ is always best. As a general rule, English sentences are not complex: don’t complicate them.

Born and raised in Scotland, I studied computer science at university before working as an IT developer in the telecommunications industry. I now work as a freelance copy-editor, using the attention to detail required by my background in computer science combined with my interest in language and linguistics to help others improve their writing.

My tip to improve your writing is to have someone else look it over. Another pair of eyes often catches mistakes you overlooked.

​I am an active researcher in neuroscience based in Madrid. I did my PhD work at the Autonomous University of Madrid on synaptic plasticity in learning and memory—work that required all sorts of neurobiological techniques, like recording responses from neurons to see how they change over time, and following virally-introduced glow-in-the-dark proteins around the inside of the neuron to divine what their function might be. It was the grand philosophical questions that got me into all this, and since philosophical ideas can often be nuanced and counterintuitive, expressing these ideas with clarity is very important.

So aside from all the interesting quirks of history and evolution that can be inferred from the structure of language itself, that's where my interest in language is founded. Now I enjoy helping students in all sorts of disciplines to make their language clearer and more true to their ideas.

A native English speaker, I am an American born in Texas and raised in Indiana. I now live in New Mexico after spending a decade in Nebraska where I completed my B.A. in English and German. I enjoy working as an editor, as it allows me to immerse myself in the art of written expression while helping others improve their writing abilities. Quite fond of learning about other languages and cultures, I am also a voracious fiction reader, a lover of nature and the outdoors, and an avid student of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Writing tip: Perhaps less conventional, but take a break from writing and crack open a book! Reading forces your brain to process line after line of properly written text. This exposure helps imprint on your mind acceptable language use for whichever language you are trying to improve for writing. This experience with the more complex constructions of language likely to be found in published books can sharpen and expand your general written language knowledge, allowing you to better apply key principles and established conventions to your academic writing.

Julia honed her editing chops while working on deadline as a newspaper journalist and editor. She is adept at spotting minute errors and pinpointing the right term or phrase. When not at work, she enjoys trying out new recipes in the kitchen.

Tip: Look for and eliminate superfluous instances of the word "that" to make your writing more concise.

I have been a professional proofreader and copy editor for 16 years, having graduated with a BA in English and an MA in creative writing.  I work for commercial clients too, but have a preference for academic proofreading and find it a joy to read essays and theses on such a diverse range of subjects.

In my spare time I write plays, read widely for pleasure, and take French lessons.  I am British and living in France.

My writing tip is: precision.  Precision gives strength to a statement.  It cuts out background noise and allows the ideas to speak.  Inflated phrasing, repetition, and redundancy obscure the meaning of a text, which is particularly problematic for high-level academic works.  The more complex an idea, the greater the need for precise language.  This view is central to my practice as a copy editor.  

My name is Katherine, or Kat for short. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in History and English Literature from the University of McGill and a Master’s Degree in Religious Studies from the Université du Québec à Montréal. For the latter, I wrote my thesis in the interdisciplinary field of anthropozoology, focusing specifically on the evolution of the relationship between cats and humans. I currently live in Montreal, but I was born in Australia and have also lived in France, the USA, and Spain before ending up in Canada. I have always been fascinated with languages and culture, and I am a native speaker of both English and French and fluent in Spanish. I hope to continue working within the realm of academia, research, and teaching, and I plan on starting my PhD in the next couple of years to further my research on the relationship between cats and humans. Other interests of mine include a passion for travel, reading and writing, music, and films and television.

The only tip I can really offer students trying to write papers is to try to stay calm and figure out what works for them. Some people, for instance, are more productive at night. Some people need to work in short bursts, whereas others function better working for longer periods at a time. For some, company is a distraction; for others, it is helpful. There is no single right way to do things, and everyone is different.

I'm a Michigan native and currently live in Tennessee. I have a degree in Music Business and have always been passionate about writing and language. As a native English speaker working on French and Italian, I understand the difficulties and frustrations of not being able to express yourself as well as you'd like with a new language.

My favorite aspects of editing are that I get to help students strengthen their academic writing skills and become more confident writers.

One of my favorite Ernest Hemingway quotes comes from his memoirs, A Moveable Feast, when he struggles with writer's block. Hemingway looks out over the roofs of Paris and thinks, "Do not worry. You have always written before and you will write now."

Although Hemingway's words were in reference to a different kind of writing, it's easy to get discouraged in the world of academic writing as well. Sometimes it helps to step back, take a deep breath, and know that the words will come to you.

Another tip I have for writing is to read, read, read! When you experience different types of vocabulary and varieties of sentence construction through reading, you will inevitably become a better writer.

Born in the United States but raised mainly in Canada, I have always been fascinated by the many different cultures found both in North America and around the world. Most interesting to me is how our cultures set us all apart but communication--no matter the language--brings us all together. Our various abilities and passions allow us to tell engaging and inspiring stories, and through those stories, we connect with one another. This fascination with culture and communication is what led me to complete a BA in Honours English, a certificate program on publishing, and a certification course on TESL. With the hope of helping others to refine their writing skills, I have been working as a freelance editor ever since.

I am thrilled to be a Scribbr editor because it means I will have the chance to connect with both editors and students from those many different cultures I mentioned and not only learn from them but also share my own North American culture, English language, editing abilities, and passion for reading (and learning from) all the things. After all, a well-written and informative thesis can and should be just as engaging and inspiring as a work of fiction, and the best advice I can offer to any writer, let alone academic writers, is to read voraciously and try to learn as much as you can from the writing. Fiction, non-fiction--anything and everything will do.

"If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that."

-- Stephen King

Hello! My name is Kira, and I'm a qualified Scribbr editor. I have a passion for correcting written text so that people can communicate more effectively. I love the focused quiet of editing, and I live for the feeling that comes when I perfect a piece so that the words and ideas flow. Academic papers are an area that I have both interest and experience in. I consider education and the dreams that are propelled by academic achievement to be of high importance.

I am a native English speaker from the U.S. who excels in this language. In 2016, I earned my BA in English from Brigham Young University - Idaho. In the course of my degree, I wrote a variety of high-quality papers, and I worked as an English TA helping general education students improve their essays. Prior to my time at Brigham Young University - Idaho, I attended Adams State University and worked as the head copy editor of their student newspaper. Outside of college, I’ve worked as a freelance editor on websites like Fiverr, Freelancer, and Guru. I’ve also been a regular editor for five different blogs, one of which had an average viewership of 1,200 per post. Though I struggle with multiple chronic illnesses, I've been able to thrive as a work-from-home freelancer in both editing and writing.

My top piece of advice for writers is to know what does and doesn't work for you. Figure out when, where, and how you write best! Part of this process is learning what mistakes you often make and what words you tend to overuse. Word cloud websites can help you with that last one.

I currently live in Seattle, although I have lived and worked all over the world, including in Greece, Australia, and Nepal. I have an MA in Public Administration and a BA in English and Political Science. For the past 14 years, I have worked as a freelance and newspaper editor, and as a writer, researcher, and English teacher. My students include both native and non-native English speakers, and over the years I have taught everything from business English to Shakespeare.

My favorite part of teaching English is helping others to improve their writing. I pay very close attention to detail, and I assure you that I treat your papers and theses with as much care as if they were my own. Helping you to improve your written English and to succeed academically is extremely rewarding for me. The other amazing part of working for SCRiBBR is that I learn something new from every paper I edit.

When I am not working, you will most likely find me dangling off a cliff somewhere in the mountains. I am an avid rock climber and mountaineer, and I still occasionally work as a guide and outdoor educator.

Tip for Writing in English: Although he was not likely thinking about theses at the time, Albert Einstein had great advice for writers everywhere: “Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.” Keep your sentences as short and concise as you can, without sacrificing meaning. In many cases, two shorter sentences are much better than one longer sentence. 

I have a bachelor's degree in philosophy from the University of Colorado and was a print journalist for 20 years, most of that time at The Denver Post. I've written many short plays; several have been produced, including one of my favorites, "The Bipolar Express." Over the years, my writing has been published in magazines ranging from Arthritis Today to Focus Santa Fe as well as in "Chicken Soup for the Soul" books. As a free-lance editor, I've worked for clients as diverse as the University of Notre Dame and the state of Colorado. I strongly believe that clear writing reflects clear thinking. To the maxim "Know your audience" I would add "Know your material."

I am a Hungarian–American, born and raised in the USA and currently living in Budapest. Before moving to Hungary, I worked in Holland as a freelance English instructor and editor, helping on countless theses and copy-editing two books. My work and personal academic experiences have provided me with an intensive exposure to academic writing and have fueled my obsessions with grammar and etymology! 

In Budapest, I am working as an ESL teacher and freelance editor while attending a university program in Hungarian language. I love languages and have studied Latin, Italian, and Mandarin Chinese while earning a BA in international studies from Kenyon College (USA). After graduating, I moved to Shanghai where I earned an ESL degree and taught English full time.

I understand the common diffulties and problems faced when trying to master English, and I love helping my students not only correct, but also understand their mistakes so that they can be avoided in the future. 

Writing tip: It is easy to get lost in specific terminology when describing a complex topic, and sentences often become lengthy, confusing, and equally as complex! I always encourage my students to try to be as clear as possible and try to read their own sentences from the perspective of someone who is not familiar with the topic. Clarity and consistency can go a long way in making a complex concept easy to understand. 

I grew up in West Yorkshire, England. I have a BSc in chemistry from Durham University and a PhD in polymer chemistry from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh. I’m now based in Edinburgh.

Since I left university, my  working life has varied widely to accommodate raising my two sons; however, the English language has remained one of my strengths and interests. Spelling and grammar errors have frequently drawn my attention and at times I have had to restrain myself from correcting them.

I have over five years’ experience as an academic editor and have edited well over 1,000 academic texts in both British and US English, specialising in scientific papers for publication in academic journals.

In 2015, I completed a TEFL course and began running a weekly EFL conversation class. Teaching English as a foreign language has made me more aware of concepts that I previously took for granted, such as uncountable nouns. It’s also given me an insight into the difficulties faced by those who learn English as a second language.

I enjoy improving a piece of writing and helping people to write better English. For me, one of the best things about being an editor is that I am always learning something new.

Academic writing tips:

Write concisely – never use several words when one works just as well.

Read your work aloud – this highlights grammar errors as they generally spoil the flow of the text. I often use Microsoft Word’s Read Aloud feature for this.

My background is in the humanities. I hold a PhD in Medieval Art History, an MA in Contemporary Art Theory and Criticism, and BAs in Art History and French Language, Literature and Culture. I'm originally from Colorado, but have moved all over the US, and since 2013 I have been living and working in Paris.

Having just finished my own dissertation, I am intimately familiar with the challenges of academic writing, and am looking forward to passing along many of the tips and tricks that I learned along the way to you in my work as a SCRiBBR editor. I am also very well acquainted with the difficulties of writing in a foreign language. I am currently working to receive French equivalency for my American PhD - a process which includes re-writing or translating a good portion of my dissertation into French!

Additionally, I have experience as an ESL teacher, having spent a year working as an English teaching assistant in a high school outside of Grenoble, France. As an instructor at a large American university during my doctoral work, I also have many years of experience working with non-native English speakers in a university classroom. I'm happy to bring all of these years of experience to my work as an academic editor.

Writing tip: When you're feeling stuck, find a quiet place and read what you've written out loud! This can help you catch instances of awkward syntax, missing words, and repeated words or phrases. It also helps to give you a different "vision" of your text because it forces you to slow down and read each word carefully and consider your text in a new way.

I have an honors degree in BA Journalism, a certificate in Professional Education, and an MA in Educational Psychology. I have been an English teacher for almost 15 years. I have taught various classes in speaking, reading, writing, literature, and research to high school students. I have authored three textbooks in English used by private schools in Manila.

I recently moved to the Netherlands. Aside from attending my Dutch classes, I spend my time exploring every bookshelf at the public library and helping a number of students prepare for the Cambridge English Test.

Writing tip: KEEP IT SIMPLE. As Kurt Vonnegut puts it, “Remember that two great masters of language, William Shakespeare and James Joyce, wrote sentences which were almost childlike when their subjects were most profound. ‘To be or not to be?’ asks Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The longest word is three letters long.”

As a child, I loved the library. My passions included cats, my cousins, and re-reading Harry Potter ad nauseam. While I (eventually) graduated from that phase of my literary development, I continue to have a passion for writing that conveys a message with clarity and conviction. After completing an undergraduate degree in Political Science and Latin American studies at UC Berkeley, I taught English as a foreign language for two years. I have lived in five countries: the United States, Colombia, Morocco, Spain and Mexico. Recently, I completed a master's degree in Secondary Education, with a focus in History, Geography, and Art History. I just finished my master's thesis, so I very much empathize with your thesis-writing woes. 

A quick tried-and-tested writing tip, given to me by my mother: When you are revising your writing, go back and circle the prepositions. Try to eliminate prepositions wherever they are not necessary. The more deeply you understand your topic and the more passionately you care about it, the fewer prepositions you will see in your writing. If you don't believe me (or her!), take a look at something you wrote when you were really fired up: an angry email, a passionate speech, or a text to a friend who did something really nice for you. You'll find it's full of vivid verbs and very few prepositions.

My mom often tells the story of my first day of kindergarten: apparently I came home from school furious that I hadn't learned how to read yet. I quickly became a voracious reader, devouring every available bit of text--cereal boxes, shampoo bottles, and junk mail were my daily fodder. I remember clearly the moment in third grade when diagramming sentences suddenly made sense to me. I've had a love affair with words ever since.

I still love to read--and I still read cereal boxes. 

I enjoy editing because I delight in the process of enabling ideas to shine brightly. I've been privileged to edit in different fields throughout my career; I began by working for several real estate magazines, and then I was employed in the nonprofit sector, where I edited newsletters, donor support letters, books, and conference materials. After my sons were born, I volunteered for any editing I could get my hands on, which usually consisted of scads of newsletters and the occasional newspaper article. Editing academic work is especially interesting because of the wide array of topics I encounter. 

My tip: serial commas, also known as Oxford commas, are your friend. They eliminate confusion and lend a rhythmic cadence to your writing.

My editing career began in September 2016, when I obtained a full-time, in-house academic-English-editing position in Taipei, Taiwan, where I have lived for the past 10 years. In 2019, after working in this role for two and a half years, I decided I wanted to expand my editing experience by seeking work for other organizations and in a wider variety of fields. I therefore left my full-time position in search of freelance jobs that would enable me to work from anywhere in the world. Over the past few years, I have built up a broad range of relevant experience, including academic editing and proofreading, writing magazine and newspaper articles, writing content for IELTS and TOEFL test papers, and songwriting and other musical composition.

I enjoy editing a wide variety of documents. Fictional and creative writing pieces are always fun, and regarding academic papers, I find social science and medical articles highly engaging. In addition, I am well versed in music theory, so any time I have an opportunity to edit a music-related paper (and such opportunities do not exactly come around frequently), I jump at it. I also have a keen interest in literary studies, having studied English Literature at university, and I am well read in the social sciences, especially psychology, linguistics, history, and economics.

My main interest outside of my editing career is music; I am a long-term guitarist, bassist, singer, songwriter, and amateur producer. During most of my free time not spent music-making, I am reading, cooking, hiking, jogging, or watching football (...English football that is). I also speak conversational-level Mandarin Chinese, so I make sure to brush up on that once in a while too.

My degree is in English literature, and my home is subtle, storied, cow-friendly England. I work with international students from all over the world and help them acclimatise to life and language here in the UK. 

Having studied English, Spanish, French, and ancient Greek, I’ve learned that each language carries its own uniqueness and eccentricity. Languages and their rules are like puzzles. Locating the right pieces and building a cohesive picture is so fulfilling to me. It's also a great joy to share that picture with others; I view helping others edit their essays as a brilliant opportunity to do just that.

On that note, I may be biased, but my most favourite essays to edit are my husband’s. Thanks to him, I’m currently using my editing skills to enjoy a vicarious postgraduate education in Hellenistic Near Eastern history. 

Writing Tip: Reading your paper aloud can help you spot some of the more prominent mistakes, and it can also help you develop your voice as a writer. It’s harder to gloss over major errors when you’re reading aloud, and it builds your confidence at the same time!

I graduated from Towson University in 2019 with a BS in English Literature and a minor in Business and Communications. My passion for the English language, interest in helping others, and background in editing with various literary and publishing organizations made Scribbr the perfect fit for me. In addition to online editing, I am currently a general publishing intern at Graywolf Press.

My best writing tip is to read! Especially if you are writing a very particular type of paper or in a specific academic field, take some time to thoroughly read and understand papers and reports of a similar type to the one you are writing. Nothing else will give you as good of an understanding of how things are typically done.

I am originally from the urban sprawl of Southern California. I studied English literature at university, and shortly after graduation I moved to Spain where I began work as an English tutor and teaching assistant. After three years  of in-class teaching and a rigorous copyediting course, I became a freelance editor and English teacher.

Now based in France I am usually busy learning French, visiting village flea markets, watching films, teaching English, or editing your paper!

Writing tip: When reviewing long sentences in your writing, find the basics: where is the subject and what is it doing?

Happy writing!

I come from Massachusetts and am currently living in New Orleans. I studied English at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

I love to read, write, travel and learn new languages. I am thankful for the opportunity to hone my editing skills with SCRiBBR, while reading interesting academic work.

Tip for writing in English: A lot of grammar and style rules in English are up for debate and not particularly strict. My number one tip for writers is to be consistent in your grammar and style choices throughout your writing project.

I am a writer, yoga teacher and mother. I've had a column on Elephant Journal since 2010. In my former life in Austin, TX, I was an advertising copywriter, then a bilingual elementary school teacher, and now I am a freelance writer, editor and translator. I have lived on beautiful Lake Atitlan in the Guatemalan highlands since 2012 with my partner, daughter and fur family. 

I live in South Africa and I specialise in editing academic papers for second-language English speakers. I am a published academic with a doctorate of philosophy in theology - so I have a keen sense of logical consistency and will point out any logical difficulties with your text. I also have more than 20 years experience in the newspaper industry, where I "subbed" and rewrote stories (mostly for second-language English writers), and also mentored reporters. The newspaper environment is a fantastic training ground for learning all the little tricks of the trade, such as common mistakes to look out for and little things you can do to improve the writing. You cannot imagine all the details involved in editing copy!

Tip for students: if English is not your first language and you are studying in English, read, read, read and read some more English books! I mean good, classic novels - not just articles on the internet, which are often full of mistakes. This will give you a good feel for the language. Begin by getting an English copy of a novel you have already read in Dutch. Then you will have a sense of the content. Read a chapter a night, taking special note of the use of prepositions. These are non-native speakers' greatest difficulty with English. Keep doing this until you are thinking in English.

I am a language acquisition and language assessment expert, and I have been conducting research in these areas for over 15 years. I veered into testing and assessment after obtaining my PhD in theoretical linguistics from the University of Cambridge, UK, where I also worked for a few years before moving to the US. I currently live in San Diego, where I investigate language development of students learning the so-called less commonly taught languages. Although I love research and find it very rewarding, editing provides a healthy dose of variety to my daily work: I enjoy reading students’ work because I learn so much from it. Also, I don’t get much opportunity to teach these days, so helping students with their writing helps fill this void.

When I am not at work, I spend time with my family, play percussion with a few local bands, and climb rocks.

A writing tip: Remember, thesis writing is not a race to the highest page count; don’t waste time padding. Also, keep in mind that some readers will read your work from start to finish, some will read only the introductory and concluding chapters, some might scan or search for what they need, and some might only flip through it: a well-structured thesis will satisfy them all!  

I completed my Bachelor of Applied Science degree at the University of Toronto in Engineering Science, with a specialization in Biomedical Engineering, in 2017. Since then, I have been a student in the MD/PhD program, also at the University of Toronto; I am in training to become a physician scientist. I am currently in the PhD phase of training and as such, I have a lot of exposure to academic and scientific writing from a variety of areas. I am a Native English speaker who is passionate about scientific communication, so I am very excited to be working with Scribbr to help other students improve their academic writing! 

My quick tip for writing in English is to familiarize yourself with the conventions of academic writing before you begin! Formal written English often differs quite a bit from the way you would speak the language. Even native speakers have to learn these conventions, often over many years of academic training, so do not worry if you make mistakes - that's what the editors are here for!

I’ve been a voracious reader and a committed writer since the time I learned to string sentences together. I have two post-graduate degrees, one in Business Communication and one in Creative Brand Communication. I’ve worn the informal title of Pro Wordsmith, both professionally and as a favour to fellow writer friends and clients, throughout my very colourful career. I write opinion pieces for various reputable publications and online sites, including my own website. I’m a self-published author. And I’m going to keep writing – more books, more opinion pieces, more words of encouragement – because it makes me feel alive and expressed and of service.

All of this is to say that I have a deep and on-going love affair with language. I’m delighted that I get to continue the affair here at Scribbr, and I'm especially thankful that you're going to benefit from it.


Writing tip: Keep it simple. Keep it clear. Keep to your topic. All of this helps to make your academic writing elegant and easy to understand.

Hi! I'm from Canada, and I grew up in Alberta and British Columbia. I hold a BA in political science and history, as well as a law degree. I'm very excited to take a look at your work because I love helping students with their writing and pushing them to achieve.

In my spare time, I'm a cat dad, a musician, a whisk(e)y enthusiast, a politics junkie, and an avid reader.

I have two writing tips. The first tip is to just start writing - this will help you organize your thoughts and get your ideas down, and then you can go back and polish later. The second is to finish a good draft of your writing at least a few days before a deadline, so you can come back with fresh eyes in two or three days. You'll notice all sorts of mistakes and areas for improvement.

I’ve worked as an editor and writer for 30 years. I began as a BBC radio researcher and script writer, and after my first book was published in 1994 (Maypoles, Martyrs and Mayhem, Bloomsbury), I kept the wolf from the door by writing magazine articles and copywriting for agencies and corporates. Most of my work has been freelance, enabling me to indulge a parallel life as a semi-professional musician. In recent years I've specialised in academic and book editing, along with charity content management, and blogging for clients great and small. I’ve also written another 10 books since that first one (most recently The Little History of Oxfordshire, The History Press, 2019); and edited several others (for example, Professor Michael Crawford's groundbreaking The Brain Under Siege, and ace fiddler Tom Kitching's Seasons of Change: Busking England, both due out in the first half of 2020).

The key to good writing is clarity. It's amazing how far the old format of 'introduction - method - results - conclusion' gets you, in any field of writing. Map out beforehand what you need to say in each section. You'll then have a framework, a path of least resistance down which your content can flow. It might not achieve full focus immediately, so take time out as and when necessary. Grab a cup of something, mess around on the guitar, whatever unwinds you, and then dive in refreshed.

I'm from India, grew up in Singapore and currently reside in Amsterdam. After earning a Bachelor's in English and psychology in the USA, I developed a passion for scientific research and academic writing. This led me to move to the Netherlands, where I earned a Master's in cognitive neuroscience. Since then, I've worked on several research projects in and outside academia.

Writing tip: practice reading your work for bias. Think about whether your choice of words may unintentionally exclude or make assumptions about groups of people. When using labels to describe groups, pause to consider whether there are more sensitive, respectful or appropriate alternatives. 

I graduated from Brown University in 2013 with a BA in Anthropology. Besides editing for Scribbr, I also work for Scientific Writing in Health and Medicine, a company that teaches healthcare practitioners to write case reports following health research reporting guidelines. Outside of helping others improve their written communication skills, I enjoy partner acrobatics, playing board games, and frolicking in the wilderness.

I’m from Dublin but currently live in Galway on the west coast of Ireland. I hold a PhD in English, an MA in Modernity, Literature and Culture, a BA in English and Philosophy, and a Diploma in Fine Art. In addition to working as an editor, I am a researcher of contemporary literature and theory. My current research is based on close stylistic analysis of literary texts, so I am especially alert to linguistic nuance and to the myriad ways in which meaning is generated not only by what we have to express but also through the very means of expression. I enjoy tinkering with sentences to find out how they work, and I take pleasure and pride in honing my craft as an editor.

Writing tip: learn to edit your own writing. Understand that getting your ideas onto paper and producing polished prose cannot be done all in one step. Allow yourself to write badly, and then revise, revise, revise. If your expectations for your first draft are too high, you will inevitably feel disheartened, because the passage from head to page rarely runs smooth. Writing is thinking, and thinking, especially when it entails engaging deeply with new ideas, is often messy and unpredictable. Embrace disorder in your early drafts, but respect your ideas—and your reader—enough to strive for elegance in the editing phase.

I grew up in the Canadian prairie provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan and continue to make Saskatchewan my home. I have a BA in Humanities with a focus in English literature, and I have also studied English literature at the graduate level. During my years of formal education, I worked as a writing centre tutor and faculty assistant and found that I really enjoy helping students learn to communicate more clearly through their writing, which is what excites me about working for Scribbr.

My best writing tip is that the better you want to write, the more you need to read! All kinds of reading are beneficial, but it's especially helpful to read academic texts in your field to get a feel for the style of language your discipline requires. Also, read your own writing! Proofreading carefully and even reading your work aloud will greatly improve your writing.

I write for a living at my full-time job, but I've always loved editing first and foremost. I love turning a rough draft into an engaging, readable piece of content, and I genuinely enjoy helping others become confident in their own abilities, discover their unique voices, and realize just how good their writing can be. 

Ever since I was little, I've read basically everything I could get my hands on, and I think my love for language stemmed from my passion for devouring books! I've earned two bachelor's degrees: one in English (creative writing) and one in mass communications. Nowadays, I work at a marketing company, writing content for websites and digital products.

Writing tip: Read as much as you can and pay attention to the aspects of the writing that you really enjoy. Where better to find ways to improve your own writing than in the work of authors you love? Plus, as you read more and more in your chosen language, you'll automatically become more familiar with the conventions of that language. It's a win-win!

I'm an English-speaking South African currently pursuing a PhD in Linguistics. My educational background includes a Bachelor in Linguistics, English Literature and Philosophy; and an Honours and two Masters degrees in Linguistics.

In the past I have tutored first-year university English, and I have extensive experience in editing academic texts and theses.

A tip for writing in English (or any language that is not your mother tongue): First and foremost, try to express yourself clearly. Using complex sentences or 'fancy-sounding' words that you've found in a thesaurus often makes your argument harder to follow.

I’m Sabrina, and I love words—how they originated, how they’re put together, how we use them to express ourselves. That’s what got me into editing, and I love what I do. I’m also a lifelong learner. After high school, I did a BA in economics at Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada, and then after working and parenting, I went back to school to get a BA in classics and an MA in history at the University of Windsor. I started freelance editing about ten years ago, and I have worked on both nonfiction and fiction. While doing my MA, I had the opportunity to edit student papers, and it was incredibly rewarding to help my students find the right words and improve their writing. I also love to travel, and I worked on an archaeological dig in Greece as part of my classics degree.

My best tip to improve your writing is to always read your work out loud. This helps you find run-on sentences, fragments, and subject/verb disagreements that your eye might skip over when you’ve read your paper on the page or screen so many times.

I grew up in a small town in the Western US in a home full of stories. My mother raised me and my brother on folklore from around the world, and my father worked as an English and Spanish professor. Reading was a favorite pastime in our home. As a result, language skills have always come naturally to me.

I attended university near where I grew up, but I spent two semesters studying abroad in Spain and one semester in Chile. During this time, I worked informally as an English editor/tutor and enjoyed helping my international friends improve their written and spoken English. I also experienced firsthand the challenges of studying and learning to write in a second language.

After completing a Masters in Plant Science and publishing a handful of scientific articles, I decided to pursue a career as a dairy farmer and cheesemaker. Nonetheless, the challenge of academic work continues to draw me in. I am thankful for the opportunity to continue practicing my language skills at Scribbr by helping students improve their writing.

Writing tip: Practice every day. Writing is a skill, and the only way to improve is through practice. When you need a break from the keyboard, try pen and paper. When you need a break from writing, read. Counterintuitive though it may seem, reading is excellent writing practice.

Hi! I grew up in the great state of Wisconsin in the northern USA, and I now live in California. I have a BS in history and Classics from the University of Wisconsin and a PhD in Classical Archaeology from Harvard. One of the things I have loved most about doing history, Classics, and archaeology is the opportunity to learn languages ("dead" and living!) and travel and live throughout Italy and Greece while playing in the dirt :)

My personal philosophy of life is that everything is connected. I love learning new things and making exciting connections across time and space. Recently I have been learning Norwegian and getting into Norse and Viking history, and it's been a lot of fun to jump into a new world! I enjoy reading and editing academic writing because I am guaranteed to learn something new on every page.

My writing tip is to always read your paper out loud to yourself when proofreading or improving a draft. Lots of mistakes and poor word choices that you may not catch on the page will jump out when you read them aloud.

I grew up in Oregon and have been interested in language and writing from a young age. In high school, I had the opportunity to study Latin, Italian, and French, which helped me understand and appreciate English grammar, and my interest in language deepened in college, where I studied both French and Russian, both of which I am continuing to improve independently. I am studying history and political thought in Central and Eastern Europe and am currently based in New York City, and I plan to pursue a Ph.D. in German Studies to study the rise of anti-Enlightenment fascist thought in Weimar Germany and its subsequent rediscovery in contemporary Russia. In addition to editing for Scribbr, I am on staff at the Studies in American Fiction literary journal and have worked variously as a language tutor and copy editor.

Through my work in international development projects in North Africa, I have the opportunity to collaborate with teams across the world and have developed greater empathy for my teammates writing in their second, third or fourth languages when we work in English. As a student of several foreign languages and linguistics, editing and revising papers with Scribbr is my way of paying it forward to the many gracious language partners I have had in my travels and work. The more I travel and the more time I dedicate to learning other languages, I realize how much the process depends on and requires collaboration and joint efforts. 

My tip for academic writing is to make visual maps of your paper at each level - the overall idea (macro), each chapter (meso), and finally, every paragraph (micro). Your reader should always be able to follow your logic, and guiding them through your points with clear language and a continuous train of thought is a key part of developing a mature writing style. 

I grew up in rural Ontario and spent a few years after high school making music at cafés and bars, before leaving for my university education. At Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, I completed a combined honours degree, first class, in Philosophy and English, returning the next year to complete an MA in English. My undergraduate work focused on philosophy of language and feminist philosophy, while my master’s thesis focused on ecology and contemporary Canadian poetry.

While at the school my writing interests were broadened well beyond the scope of my own disciplines. As I completed my undergrad, I spent five years as a university writing tutor, seeing students at all levels of education (from entrance level to PhD) and treating writing in most academic styles: scientific, creative, business, journalistic, argumentative, and so forth. About half of the students who came to the centre were accomplished writers in their native tongues. These students worked with our tutors to learn the nuances of English writing specifically, and they gave me plenty of practice working with writers who come to English from other languages. During these five years I also graded for the Engineering, Commerce, English, and Philosophy departments, and gained some teaching experience along the way. I work in writing because I find it gratifying to read interesting papers on subjects or arguments I’ve not been exposed to.

Tip for writing in English: English speakers find that writing tends to be clearest when the main verb in a sentence is close to the beginning of that sentence, whereas it is more common in other languages to push the main verb further into a sentence. Try to be attentive to the placement of that main verb, and try to place it early.  This advice, of course, does not apply to all sentences, but works well as a general writing guideline.

I have an international academic background in the humanities and the social sciences, including a double-badged PhD in sociology and philosophy and a PG certificate in applied anthropology from Macquarie University as well as extensive teaching experience across sociology, philosophy, cultural studies, intercultural communication, and anthropology.

I love travelling and writing about it, besides dancing tango and balfolk. I am always looking forward to planning my next trip to some beautiful corner of the world, meeting new cultures, and immersing myself in their stunning nature, arts, music, and foods.

My interdisciplinary background allows me to spot subtleties and inconsistent logical inferences in a great variety of texts, read beyond the lines, and polish drafts with appropriate advice on technical jargon, so that I can help writers get to the core of what they want to communicate.

My tip to become a good writer: read as many good books as you can 😊

Born in the United States, I belong to a multilingual family. Some of my fondest childhood memories are of trips to the library with my grandparents. There was no greater excitement than returning home with a large stack of books to devour. My love of learning has led me to pursue a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering, where I regularly write about science at a deeply technical level. 

Though I am a scientist and engineer by training, I enjoy expressing myself through creative mediums such as dance, music, and writing. I discovered creative writing in my high school years, and I use those storytelling skills to help my friends and family with their personal statements when applying to undergraduate or graduate programs. Moreover, I continue to develop my writing ability; recently, I took a science journalism class that helped strength my ability to write about complicated science topics in a simpler manner. 

My tip for students is to keep the reader and your purpose at the forefront of your mind when writing. This will help you remember that you are writing not for yourself, but to explain your purpose in a way that will compel your reader. While editing, you should evaluate every sentence by asking, "What does the reader learn from these words? Are all of these words necessary to convey my purpose?" In this way, it becomes easier to write concisely but effectively. 

I'm a South African by birth and residence. In addition to being a professional editor, I'm a writer and wellness practitioner. My degrees are BA English, BA Honours psychology, and MA research psychology (all with distinction). I often edit technical work and am statistically literate. My interests are broad, but I prefer working on post-graduate papers.

Tip for academic writers: Keep your sentences short and clear, and include only one main idea in each sentence. Many writers try to cram too much information into a sentence and the result is a loss of clarity.

I am originally from Wales but now live in the south of France with my wife and dog. After studying Theology (including a year in Israel) at university I headed off to teach English as a foreign language in South Korea. It was there that I met my wife. I returned to Britain and to university in Cardiff where I completed both a masters and PhD. in archaeology, graduating with the latter in 2010. Another couple of years in South Korea followed before we moved to France in 2012.

I adore reading, am an avid football (soccer) fan, and I am also trying to write a novel. 

Writing Tip: Keep it simple! When writing an essay, dissertation, or thesis it is important to use formal, academic language, but this does not mean you should try too hard to impress with unnecessarily long or difficult words. The subject being written about is often specialized and complex enough, do not make it more so. Using simple, straightforward language to explain your ideas and opinions will make it much easier for the reader to understand.

I come from Ohio in the United States, and I currently live in Amsterdam. My educational backgrounds are in politics, literature, creative writing, cultural studies, and the history of science. I earned my Ph.D. from the University of Amsterdam in 2015, where I also now teach in rhetoric, literature, literary theory, and cultural analysis. My own academic research and writing investigates the ways neuroscience weaves its way into popular and literary fiction. I am continuously struck curious by the ability for a sequence of words, commas, and metaphors to make characters fleshy, neurological, and humorously neurotic.

One moment that unites us all as writers—through sheer terror—is opening up a fresh Word document and encountering that icy, white blankness. Even if you’re the most well-funded chemist, cloistered in your laboratory for twelve hours a day, at some point you’re going to need to articulate your brilliant research to others. Ditto for students who shooed their final essays away for weeks until the night before. My advice? Free-write. If you’re under a deadline and your head feels like it’s in a pressure cooker, this is actually the optimal time to close your computer, shut down your mobile phone, grab a sheet of paper, and just write. Let it out: random phrases, thoughts, fragments of lyrics, etc. Don’t edit, don’t stop, don’t look back. Just keep that pen touching the paper. Do this non-stop for fifteen minutes. This is an exercise I’ve done in the mornings for years now, and it’s also a workout my students perennially find valuable. It’s like flushing the gunk out of your mind. Ahh, that’s better. Now, go forth and fill that Word document with what you really wanted to express!

I am a native English speaker and an experienced editor and writer. I was a UK academic for many years working with undergraduate, MA and PhD students on their essays and theses. I have a BA and MPhil from Oxford University in English Language and Literature. I have an MA in Creative Writing and a PhD in Contemporary Curating and Critical Writing. I enjoy working with language and texts, just as a sculptor enjoys working with stone or a painter with oils and watercolours. I write fiction and non-fiction. My books – early medieval novels, future fiction, art history – are published by Impress Books, Phaidon, Routledge, Palgrave and others. My novels have won and been short-listed for a number of prizes including Impress Prize, Rome Film Festival Book Initiative, Santander Research Award, Literature Wales Writers Bursary and Authors Foundation Award. I also write book reviews for Times Higher Education and Historical Novels Review and a regular column about writers living abroad for The Displaced Nation. Currently I am teaching art history to American Study Abroad students in France and running creative writing workshops. I was formerly senior lecturer in art history and theory at Oxford Brookes University and Dartington College of Arts and guest professor at Bauhaus University, Weimar and Piet Zwart Institute, Rotterdam. I divide my time between the UK and France. When I’m not working I’m playing with my grandson, reading books, chatting and walking with family and friends. I am an avid swimmer and own a waterproof Kindle.

Tips for writing: Notice what your bad habits and repeat errors are in writing and make sure you read through your text to edit them out. For example, I use “that” too often. We all have little tics that are a kind of throat-clearing in writing. Keep an eye on incorrect apostrophes especially in its/it’s. If you are struggling with your sentences or the flow or coherence of your writing, read it aloud to yourself. Think about who your readers are, what they know and don’t know, to help you decide what you need to tell them, how to keep their interest. The best way to learn how to write is to read constantly. Read anything that interests you: English newspapers, magazines, blogs, novels and textbooks.

I have 15+ years of experience editing a variety of documents, including theses, dissertations, and juried academic articles. She has a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Communications, both from Texas Tech University. I've spent much of my professional career helping students in one way or another, and I'm very pleased to help you with your writing. Thanks for letting me contribute a bit to your academic career.