Skip to main content
search
Feb 16

The art of writing PhD thesis acknowledgments: A guide for economics students

By English writing skills, PhD life, Tips

Blue baseball hat on top of a black Tudor bonnet to symbolize writing PhD thesis acknowledgments reflecting the author’s personality

After more than a decade spent copyediting and proofreading PhD theses for economics students, I can say that, in general, doctoral candidates view writing thesis acknowledgments as either a formality or a celebration of finishing thesis writing. Between the two extremes lies a unique opportunity to show your personality, strengthen your professional network, and enjoy the “warm glow of giving”—all without the constraints of academic writing.

In this long blog post, I’ll examine the seemingly trivial topic of writing acknowledgments to help you make the most of this thesis section. I aim to achieve two goals. The first is to change your opinion about the importance of PhD thesis acknowledgments. The second is to help you write memorable acknowledgments you can be proud of even when the euphoria of finishing your PhD is gone.

Although all the examples here are from economics theses, my tips should be useful for writing acknowledgments in any other academic field. Read More

May 19

How to reduce economics manuscript word count to meet journal guidelines

By Academic papers, Editing, PhD tips

Pair of orange scissors cutting a sheet of paper to symbolize reducing economics manuscript word count

“Please forgive the long letter; I didn’t have time to write a short one.”
― Blaise Pascal

When preparing a manuscript for submission to a top economics journal, word count can be a problem if you haven’t written specifically for that journal. For example, a job market paper or a PhD thesis chapter needs to undergo a metamorphosis before it becomes journal ready.

How do you shorten an economics manuscript so you don’t alter its content or your odds of a smooth review?

Reducing manuscript size doesn’t require an editor’s professional skills or experience, so it’s something you can do yourself. It does, however, require time, patience, and motivation. But with some tips, reducing the length of an economics manuscript gets easier.

Following these steps should help you reduce word count so your economics paper meets the submission requirements of your target journal. Read More

Jan 15

The generous, the versatile, and 3 other types of content writers to avoid

By Business, Content writing, Project management

Blue pencil with broken tip to represent types of content writers that undermine content marketing effortsAfter editing thousands of web content pieces created by hundreds of freelancers, I’ve developed a nose for the characteristics of the professional writers I’d recommend to any business. Though no two freelancers are alike, some are more likely than others to hinder your content writing projects.

When I say “type”, I mean a freelance content writer who acts in a certain way when hired to write for a client. Writers of any type can change the way they act from one project to the next. Also, since all the types I’m discussing here are professional writers, they are all capable of creating content that helps brands succeed.

That being said, if I had to hire a freelance writer, I’d steer away from these types, to make my life easier and avoid some risks to my content marketing project. Read More

Dec 08

Unraveling 5 content writing myths that are sabotaging your digital marketing

By business writing, Content writing, Lessons learned

Five partially unraveled colored yarn balls to represent unraveling content writing myths“Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.” — Malcolm Gladwell

I’ve edited about two pieces of long-form digital content a day, every day, for a decade. In this blog post, I’ll draw on that experience to unravel five content writing myths so you can make more-informed decisions about your digital marketing strategies. Read More

Jun 21

New content coming soon

By Blog

This blog is no longer dormant! As well as working (slowly) on new articles for this blog—and some for Medium—I’m revising my old articles to ensure their content is still relevant. Each post that I’ve updated with new information includes a “last revised” date at the end.

Some of the links to older blog posts may not work. So, if you’re here because you’ve followed a link from somewhere on the web and the page no longer exists, please use the search function (magnifying glass icon at the right side of the menu) to look up the information you need. Or, send me a message at editor@languageediting.com. Thank you. 

Would you like to read some of the articles I’ve recently revised? Read More

Mar 19

The most popular articles on this blog

By Blog

For several years, I’ve published regularly on this blog, doing my best to offer you useful and free resources each month. Judging by the emails I’ve received from readers, some of my articles have helped some people. That makes me happy and proud.

Here are some of my most popular articles: Read More

Dec 30

Common preposition errors and non-errors: Examples and explanations

By Grammar, Proofreading, Writing

Common preposition errors don’t escape a skilled proofreader’s eye. While there are rules that govern it, English preposition usage is often idiomatic. So, even if some expressions sound illogical (like center around), they may be correct. Here are some preposition examples inspired by the texts I’ve proofread. Learning more about these preposition errors and non-errors can help you make the right choice when writing a text that needs to be accurate. Read More

Nov 30

Why does it take so long to write a journal paper?

By Academic papers, Academic papers, Writing

Writing a journal paper takes more time than doing the actual research—I’ve heard this complaint not only from PhD students but also from experienced research scientists. Why does it take so long to write a research paper?

Obvious reasons include procrastinating, having poor academic writing skills, and not knowing how to develop an outline. However, as a freelance editor who has worked with hundreds of authors, I know there are other reasons writing a journal paper takes longer than it has to. Here are some of the main reasons I have identified. I hope reading this post will help you understand how you could write a research paper faster. Read More

Oct 17

Why do we make typos?

By Proofreading, Short and sweet, Typos

We rely on our computer’s spell-checker. We write in a hurry. We don’t consult a dictionary. We focus on meaning rather than form. We can’t be bothered to check our spelling. These are some of the possible answers to the question “Why do we make typos?”

Another culprit is the human brain: We’re not motivated enough to not make typos, because we read words, not letters. If there are mistakes in a text, such as a few missing letters, our brain fills in the gaps. In essence, to our brain, misspellings don’t count—we’re still able to read a text despite it having misprints. Read More

Sep 03

What to do if the journal editor recommends English language editing services

By Academic papers, Editing, Short and sweet

It’s not uncommon for authors to receive a note from the editor of a peer-reviewed journal that says,

  • “the authors are advised to get professional English language editing services”,
  • “have the manuscript checked by someone with full professional proficiency in English”,
    “the authors need a native English-speaking co-author to thoroughly revise the grammar of this manuscript” (as Adriana Romero-Olivares received), or
  • “seek help from a native English speaker to correct the grammar of the manuscript” (if you’re a journal editor, please read this brilliant article by Small Pond Science).

Read More

Sep 02

On writing: Interview with scientist-author Katharina Vestre

By Author interview, Inspiration, Writing

“Writing is my way to keep falling in love with science.”— Katharina Vestre

In The Making of You, the author’s talent for storytelling coupled with a scientist’s eye for detail makes readers turn page after page, while the fresh, clean, and lean writing style appeals to everyone. To discover the secret of Katharina Vestre’s writing process, I decided to interview her.

You started writing your first nonfiction book, The Making of You, in 2015, when you were an undergraduate. It’s unusual for students to spend their summer breaks working on a book. Apart from your genuine interest in the subject, what made you decide to write a pop science book? Read More

Aug 10

The best nonfiction books I read in 2020

By Book reviews, Inspiration, Reading

Watercolor of some of the best nonfiction books I readThe 2020 lockdowns forced me to swap my long daily walks for long reading sessions, so for the whole year I was many books ahead of my Goodreads Reading Challenge. Here are five of the best nonfiction books I read during the Covid-19 pandemic.

A note on how I choose the books for my lists: If I think about a book long after turning its last page, it’s a great book. If I read it again, it’s a book I love. And if it’s a great book that I love and I think you might like it too, I add it to my list of the best nonfiction books.

The Making of You: A Journey from Cell to Human by Katharina Vestre (author) and Matt Bagguley (translator) Read More

Aug 03

Impact vs. effect in academic writing: Which one should you use?

By Academic papers, Short and sweet, Vocabulary

The noun impact has replaced the noun effect in many types of writing, especially in business and web writing. Forceful and charismatic, impact is the life of the party; effect is the shy noun in the corner. It’s no surprise impact has been driving effect out of the academic writing scene.

Those who care about the impact vs. effect difference may wonder, May I use impact as a synonym for effect in academic writing? Depending on context, you may. Having worked as a freelance editor and proofreader for many years, I’ve noticed that many economists and social scientists prefer to study impacts, not effects. But should you use impact when you mean effect in academic writing? Here’s some information to help you decide. Read More

Jul 20

My online volunteering experience: Why I proofed free e-books for free

By Freelance, Inspiration, Proofreading

This post is about my online volunteering experience between 2015 and 2020. During this period I proofed English texts for Distributed Proofreaders, a not-for-profit organization that digitizes books and converts them to e-books, which you can download for free from the Project Gutenberg website. Most of them are public domain books, and the rest are copyrighted texts distributed with permission in the United States.

(Unfortunately, Italy has blocked access to Project Gutenberg since May 2020, because its website was blacklisted as containing material that infringes copyright laws.)

Here’s what I did as a proofreader volunteer and why I loved contributing to creating free e-books for Distributed Proofreaders and Project Gutenberg.

How I became a proofreading volunteer

Read More

Jul 09

What’s one thing that could improve communicating EU research?

By business documents, Project management, Short and sweet

Communicating EU research is a requirement for those receiving project funding from the European Union. Unfortunately, communicating their research results effectively isn’t.

Browsing EU project websites will reveal that many project teams are unaware of audience analysis. So, understanding the reader’s needs is one thing that could improve communicating EU research. This short post will explain how understanding your audience will improve the quality of your EU project communications.

Who’s your reader?

Read More

Jun 18

Things I’ve learned from eight years of freelance editing

By Blog, Editing, Freelancing, Lessons learned

Cake made of books to represent 8 years of freelance editingThis month I’m celebrating eight years in the business of English editing. I’ve spent more time working as a nonfiction editor and proofreader than as a geologist, the profession for which I trained till PhD level. It’s about time that I looked back at my freelance editing career to see what big lessons I’ve learned along the way.

Most people are trustworthy

Read More

Apr 23

Writing geoscience papers: A list of useful resources

By Academic papers, Editing, Writing

Open book with globe behind to represent writing geoscience papers resources“About 10 percent enjoy writing; the other 90 percent consider it a necessary chore”, says David R. Lindsay in Scientific Writing = Thinking in Words.

Writing geoscience papers becomes less of a chore if you have access to all the resources you need. Having to pause in the middle of a sentence to look up whether a term is hyphenated or check the capitalization of a geological unit can slow you down. And being unsure about what to include in an illustration can set you back days or weeks.

To help you speed up the process of writing and editing geology manuscripts, in this article I will discuss several resources for earth scientists and editors. Read More

Close Menu