Blog

Jan 13

What are weasel words?

By Cristina N. Short and sweet, Vocabulary, Writing

Compare these two sentences:

Frankly, I really think you are a very good employee and, obviously, you are perfectly able to do your job, but I am quite sure you would be significantly better off if you worked for someone else.
I think you are a good employee and you are able to do your job, but I am sure you would be better off if you worked for someone else.

Which of the two versions sounds more honest?

In the first sentence, the intensifiers in italics (frankly, very, obviously, quite, and significantly) make the statement less credible. These intensifiers are examples of weasel words. Other examples are virtually, clearly, somewhat, undoubtedly, reportedly, and arguably. Read More

Jan 03

Is it acceptable to use many abbreviations in a research paper?

By Cristina N. Academic papers, Short and sweet, Writing

It depends on the type of abbreviation.

In technology and science, many abbreviations are essential. These include the abbreviations for units of measurement (cm, °C, Hz, ms, and many more), statistical abbreviations (ANOVA, OLS, RMS, N, sd or SD, and so on), and symbols for chemical elements.

In general, you may use these and other common abbreviations without spelling them out on their first occurrence. Well-known abbreviations include common acronyms (such as IT or DVD) and abbreviations of Latin expressions (et al., i.e., etc.).

In contrast, you need to define a new or less-known abbreviation on first mention of a term; then you use the abbreviation instead of the spelled-out term.

By using abbreviations in scientific papers, you write faster, the reader reads faster, and you save space. Read More

Dec 03

12 Common punctuation mistakes in business writing

By Cristina N. Business, Proofreading, Punctuation

Many of these 12 common punctuation mistakes don’t matter much in informal writing, and very few people apart from your proofreader will care about them. But just be aware of these common errors when you’re writing a formal business letter, investor report, or any other document that must be error free. Read More

Nov 03

Should you use trademark symbols in scientific writing?

By Cristina N. Academic papers, Editing, Writing

When writing a research paper, you may need to mention a brand or a proprietary building material, machine, medicine, or any other commercial product. Should you use trademark symbols in scientific writing every time you mention the name of a trademark?

In product documentation, trademarks usually appear together with the ® or ™ symbol. But this doesn’t mean you have to use either of these symbols every time you write the name of a trademark. In fact, there’s no legal requirement to use trademark symbols in academic writing.

So, if you’re wondering if you should use trademark symbols in the research methodology, abstract, or introduction of your paper, the short answer is no. The following is a more detailed explanation of the use of trademark symbols in scholarly publications. Read More

Oct 01

Freelancing myths: What people think freelancers do (and what we really do)

By Cristina N. Freelancing, Lessons learned, Tips

What’s it like to be a freelancer? If you’re not one of us, you’ll tend to believe the freelancing myths populating the analog and digital worlds: If you’re a freelancer, you work only a couple of hours a day, pick your clients, have no boss, and can set your own schedule. Just add “you can wear your pajamas all day” and the freelancer stereotype cocktail is ready to serve.

Over the years, I’ve heard all kinds of comments about freelance life, covering the whole spectrum from funny to offensive. Here are a few:

Close family member: “When do you plan to get a real job?”
Not-so-close family member: “Right…you ‘work’ from home.”
Other people:
- “What’s it like to sleep as much as you want every weekday?”
- “I wish I had a good work-life balance like you.”
- “A freelancer? So you married rich, huh?”
- “Will you do these errands for me while I’m at the office? You must have tons of time.”
- “Freelance editor? I wish I could quit my job and do what I like.”

Sep 01

What’s the difference between editing and proofreading?

By Cristina N. Definitions, Editing, Proofreading

What’s the difference between editing and proofreading? Ask a few freelance editors and proofreaders to answer this question and they’ll likely give you different definitions of editing and proofreading. That’s because there’s no global standard that regulates and defines editing and proofreading services.

In this article I’ll use various reliable sources (including reference books and professional organizations) to answer the question, What’s the difference between editing and proofreading? In addition, I’ll clarify what editors and proofreaders do and don’t do so you have a better idea of what freelancer you may need to hire for your writing project. Read More

Aug 10

Write your research paper outline: A concise guide

By Cristina N. Academic papers, Tips, Writing

After doing the actual research, it’s time to write your research paper outline. If your paper were a building, the outline would be its architectural plan. The purpose of a research paper outline is to help you plan your paper and organize its content in logical sections.

Here is a concise guide to writing a research paper outline and some advice on how to use it to write your paper. Read More

Jul 16

Tips from an editor on managing content writing projects

By Cristina N. Editing, Project management, Writing

If you’re interested in creating digital marketing content, an online training course, or any other type of written materials for your business, you’ll need to develop content. To keep costs relatively low, you may prefer to hire freelance editors and writers rather than work with a marketing agency.

But managing content writing projects can be a herculean task. You need to define your project’s goals, budget, and schedule. You need to put together a team of freelance writers and editors. You need to train your team and define ground rules. You also need to create an editorial style guide. Finally, you need to take care of all the logistical details—from the cloud platform to use to NDAs.

Here are some things you should know before getting started with your content writing project to increase its likelihood of success. Read More

Jun 19

Should you quit your PhD?

By Cristina N. Inspiration, Lessons learned, PhD life

Maybe a major event happened in your life that reshuffled your priorities. Or you’re thinking about switching careers and no longer need an advanced degree. Or maybe you’ve been offered a great job that won’t leave you time to continue your doctoral studies.

In any of these scenarios, answering the question “Should I quit my PhD?” shouldn’t be too hard for you.

But if you’re like many doctoral students, you’re considering quitting your PhD because you no longer love your research, you still haven’t got the data or funding you need, your doctoral advisor ignores you, or you feel your research is going nowhere.

In these other scenarios, “Should I quit my PhD?” is a difficult question. To find the right answer, you first need to examine a lot of things. These include your reasons for choosing to pursue a doctorate in the first place, your reasons for wanting to quit, your alternatives, your economic situation, and much more.

Having been in your shoes, I know how hard it is to make the right decision. The following information is meant to help you decide what you should consider before you make a choice. Read More

May 24

Number formatting in Europe vs. the U.S.

By Cristina N. Europe, Punctuation, Writing

As a freelance nonfiction editor, I work on many financial, scientific, and technical documents, and number formatting is something I always pay particular attention to. In this post, I’ll discuss this topic so that you’re better prepared to read, write, or edit documents in which numbers play a crucial role.

Numbers with multiple digits and decimals are written in different ways across the globe. For example, number formatting in most European countries is not the same as in the United States.

If you’ve ever received an invoice from a contractor in the EU, you might have noticed that some numbers are not written the same way as in America. Instead of a dot between euros and cents, you might have seen a comma. And instead of a comma as a thousands separator, you might have seen a space or a dot.

Why is the European number format different from the American? In this post I’ll answer this question and discuss the decimal point vs. decimal comma and the thousands separator to help you understand how number formatting in Europe differs from that in the U.S. Read More

Apr 27

How to minimize the cost of editing

By Cristina N. Editing, Freelance, Tips

Freelance English editors charge different rates depending on many things, including their location, experience, and specialty. However, professional editing services do not come cheap. The recommended hourly rates for editing nonfiction documents are between $40 and $70 according to the Editorial Freelancers Association and at least £31 according to the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading.

If you have a nonfiction book manuscript, technical course materials, or a few hefty business reports, hiring an experienced editor may end up costing you as much as a nice overseas vacation.

Whether your budget for editing is tight or limitless, keeping the cost of editing low means you’ll have more money for marketing your publication or for other writing projects. Here are four things you can do to minimize the cost of editing regardless of which freelance editor you hire. Read More

Mar 23

Verb tenses in scientific writing: Which tense should you use?

By Cristina N. Academic papers, Editing, English writing skills

If you’re fluent in English, using tenses in scientific writing should come naturally to you. You shouldn’t need to flip through a grammar book, ask a freelance editor, or search online for “methods tense” or “literature review tense”.

But verb tenses may start to haunt you if you’re writing an article for a top peer-reviewed journal and you know you have to get every detail right. For example, you may wonder, What tense should be used in methodology sections? Should the introduction or literature review be written in the present tense or past tense?

In this post I’m going to answer these and other questions on verb tenses in scientific writing to make it easier for you to understand which tenses to use in a research paper.

Jan 30

Why your grammar checker can’t make documents perfect

By Cristina N. Editing, Grammar, Proofreading

No matter how much technology has advanced, English editing and proofreading can’t be left to computer programs. Grammar checkers—such as Microsoft Word’s built-in tool or Chrome extensions that check your grammar while you type—can spot many kinds of errors, but they ignore many others.

Grammar apps are good at finding many misspellings, repeated words, usage and punctuation errors, and other blatant mistakes. But there’s a long list of what these apps can’t do. That’s why they won’t replace professional English editors anytime soon.

Here are just 10 things an English grammar checker tool cannot detect: Read More

Dec 08

The funniest typos of 2017 – Part 2

By Cristina N. Funny stories, Typos, Vocabulary

A few years back, I wrote an article for a project management website. In the final draft I submitted for publication, I left an error: Scum master instead of Scrum master. How could I have missed such an embarrassing typo? Now I know: When we read our own work, we don’t focus on the words themselves but on the message we’re trying to communicate, so our typos tend to hang on until they meet an objective eye.

My job as a freelance proofreader is to seek and destroy typos in other people’s work, but I have a nerdy hobby: I collect the funniest ones and then write blurbs inspired by them.

I presented the first half of the funniest typos of 2017 in another blog post. Here’s the second half:

Nov 24

The dangling modifier: What it is and examples

By Cristina N. Editing, Grammar, Proofreading

Unraveling the intended meaning of a flawed sentence is hard detective work for a reader. A dangling modifier is one of those errors that leave you wondering what the writer meant to say.

Experienced writers and editors know that they shouldn’t waste the reader’s time. Once you understand how to correct a dangling modifier, you’ll make things easier for the reader while strengthening your own writing.

In this post I’ll first explain what a dangling modifier is and then give you examples of dangling modifiers and show you how to correct them. Read More

Sep 28

Why I worked as a freelance editor on Upwork and why I quit 2 years ago

By Cristina N. Freelancing, Inspiration

This post was written in 2017 and revised in 2022.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”—Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

This quote describes almost perfectly my experience as a freelance editor on Upwork.

When I decided to become a freelance English editor, I didn’t know where to start. I had no clue where to find projects and I lacked both professional editing experience and confidence in my skills. So I did what many newbie freelancers did at the time: opened an Odesk (now Upwork) account.

For those who have never heard of Upwork, it’s a website that connects freelancers with clients. Freelancers get paid through the platform, which keeps a big chunk of their earnings. Freelancers and clients rate each other at the end of each contract.

It took me several months to get my first job on Upwork. I completed it and received my first 5-star rating. Getting new contracts became easier, though still incredibly frustrating. Before I knew it, I was spending all my time on Upwork. I submitted proposals in the morning, and I worked on my projects in the afternoon and evening.

Almost 200 successfully completed contracts and thousands of unsuccessful job bids later, I realized I was just plowing the sands. I was wasting precious time completing applications for jobs that were later canceled, Upwork had doubled its fees, and the quality of the job postings was plummeting. What was I doing on Upwork?

So, in 2015 I made a big decision: quit Upwork, get a website, and work on building my own client portfolio, not Upwork’s.

In this post, I’ll describe what it’s like to work as a freelance editor on Upwork. Then I’ll tell you why I used Upwork for so long and why I decided to close my account. I hope this information will give you an idea about what to expect if you work on Upwork as a freelance English editor.

Are you looking for a freelance editor and want to make the most of your budget for editing? Avoid paying third-party fees by hiring a freelance editor directly. Send me a message at editor@languageediting.com.

Aug 22

What’s the plural of euro? Euro or euros?

By Cristina N. Europe, Proofreading, Vocabulary

If you’re American, British, or Portuguese, you probably say 2 euros rather than 2 euro. If you’re German or Italian, you probably say 2 euro. So, what’s the plural of euro? Euro or euros?

As a freelance nonfiction editor, I get to review many documents that contain financial information, and the plural of euro is a topic that comes up often in my editing work. So, I had to do research on this topic to be able to give my clients accurate advice. This research turned out to be quite interesting. In this article I’d like to share this information with you so that you have no doubts about the plural of euro, no matter what you write in English.

In short, the correct plural of euro is euro or euros, depending on whom you ask or what dictionary you consult. Let’s look at the brief history of the euro currency so you understand why the correct plural of euro is either euro or euros. Read More

Jul 14

The funniest typos of 2017 – Part 1

By Cristina N. Funny stories, Typos, Vocabulary

As a freelance proofreader, I get the chance to see all kinds of typos—many dull, a few irreverent, and some hilarious—before they reach the reader. Although it’s fun to correct misspellings, some are too creative to be buried under red markups forever.

To make you smile, here is the first half of the lineup of the most creative typos I came across in 2017:

Jun 28

Why the generic “man” is a sexist language example

By Cristina N. Content writing, Editing, Vocabulary

A couple of days ago a manager shared on LinkedIn a photo of a team of smiling men and women celebrating some achievement. Her message read, “A big thanks to my 15-man team”.

The photo, showing diversity at work, is such a great choice for a social media post. But the accompanying text isn’t. Instead, it’s a sexist language example.

To help you avoid using biased language in your social media posts, in this blog I’ll explain why the generic “man” is sexist and list some of the alternatives. Read More

Mar 25

Brioche and 7 other English words with surprising meanings in Italy

By Cristina N. Europe, Funny stories, Vocabulary

“Ecco le sue brioche” (“here are your brioches”), the baker said, handing me my order. “No, croissants, per favore”, I said, pushing the paper bag away. “Si, brioche”, he said, nodding. Frustrated because I couldn’t remember how to say “I ordered croissants, not brioches” in Italian, I opened the bag to reveal two croissants. The baker didn’t get my order wrong: brioche means croissant in northern Italy. Pan brioche (brioche bread) refers to the classic brioche.

More than 10 years down the road, I still love croissants and I still tend to raise an eyebrow when I hear an English word with a different meaning in spoken Italian.

Here are a few common English words you will hear often if you move to Italy. You might think you know what these words mean in your home country, but when you’re in Italy, you’ll be expected to use them as Italians do. Read More

AIM: Help and inspire people to improve their written communications