Writing

Jan 21

What I tell people who hire a freelance editor half-heartedly

By Cristina N. Editing, Freelance, Writing

People hire a freelance editor for various reasons. Here are just some of them:

“I want to hire a freelance editor to make sure my research paper has the highest chances of being accepted by a top journal.”
“Our paper was rejected, and we need to have it professionally edited before we can resubmit.”
“This is a patchwork report, so it needs a coherent voice and style.”
“My English is a bit rusty and I know I make mistakes, so I must hire a freelance editor.”
“The copy needs to be flawless, but I don’t have time to edit it myself.”
“Some reviewers said my [self-published] book needs language editing.”

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

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

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

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

Jan 25

Things you might not know about your web content writer

By Cristina N. Business, Freelancing, Writing

H. is a Cambridge graduate who found writing is better for her mental health than scientific research. T. is a part-time teaching assistant who writes part-time to make ends meet. L. is a freelancer who writes digital content when her baby is sleeping. M. is a retired IT technician with a career spanning from punch cards to cloud computing who writes to keep her mind sharp and a roof over her head. These, and many other people you’ll never know, ghostwrite web content for a living.

They’re professional writers who work full-time or part-time from their home offices. They’re not doing some freelance content writing on the side while hopping around the world.

Most of the content online—LinkedIn posts by thought leaders, company blogs by marketing experts, magazine articles by CEOs, whitepapers by Fortune 500 companies, and more—was ghostwritten.

Almost all businesses that have a website are publishers, and many hire web content ghostwriters. If you own a growing business and have a presence online, sooner or later you’ll need a content writer, whether on an ad hoc basis or on staff.

If you’ve never hired a web content writer before, you might not know many things about their work. This post illustrates some less-known aspects of a freelance content writer’s job to help business owners improve their relationships with their freelance writers. Read More

Jun 06

The best academic writing books: My list

By Cristina N. Academic papers, Book reviews, Writing

The best academic writing books are those you’ll refer to throughout your time in academia. They become your desk’s permanent residents and give you reassurance when you are struggling to write a paper, report, or thesis.

To make it easier for you to discover those books, I’ve created this list. As with many other lists of the best academic writing books, mine too is bound to be subjective. But I hope it helps anyway. My list comprises not only books about academic writing but also books on nonfiction writing that would benefit anyone who writes scholarly texts. Read More

AIM: Help and inspire people to improve their written communications