You want to ensure the effectiveness and accuracy of your communications. You know what you are trying to say, but you also want to be certain that it will be understood by your audience, whether that is the lecturer you want to impress, the reader you want to educate and entertain, or the potential customer you want to win over.
With a PhD in physics and fifteen years in the IT industry, I know the necessary components of academic and business documentation. I have completed proofreading and copy-editing courses with the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and the Publishing Training Centre, and am an intermediate-level member of the CIEP.
I am Juliet Foster and I offer proofreading, copy-editing and English language localisation services to students, academics, authors and businesses.
Why use an independent proofreader or editor?
Sometimes, when rereading your own writing, an ambiguity or inconsistency leaps off the page or a grammatical error becomes embarrassingly obvious. A second pair of eyes can be invaluable in spotting mistakes before they are committed to publication.
But MS Word checks my spelling and grammar for me!
Those little red and blue squiggles are really helpful, but they won’t make it obvious that you’ve used the word ‘form’ instead of ‘from’. If you are using technical terminology or referring to unusual names, you may see so many squiggles that you end up ignoring them and so miss a mistake.
This is where professional proofreading and copy-editing become crucial. For more information about what these services entail, see my services and fees page.
What can I do for you?
Academic services
Has your thesis/article/book taken over your life? Have you got to the point where you are unable to work out whether or not it makes any sense? Are you unsure how good your written English is? Are you confident that what you have written is basically sound but are too busy to proofread it yourself?
In the academic and professional spheres, it is vital to communicate what you have done effectively. I eliminate errors that would otherwise detract from your message and damage your credibility. As a native English speaker, I ensure your words flow in an efficient and accurate manner. For more information on how I can assist with your communication, please see academic services.
Business support
You are up against tight deadlines to publish your report or get your leaflets printed. You know the core of your business inside-out, but documentation may not be what you’re best at, or you are simply too busy doing what you are best at.
While some people won’t notice a few spelling mistakes or a misplaced apostrophe, for others, that lack of attention to detail could be the reason they recycle your leaflet or move on to the next website the search engine offers. I root out these potentially off-putting errors and ensure consistency within your documentation. To find out more, see business services.
I would love to help you your latest piece of work: please get in touch.
J T Foster Proofreading 