Richard J
Montreal, Canada
“Relaying the message without ambiguities.”
Specialist subjects:
Editing formats:
Education:
MA in TESOL with Applied Linguistics
University of Central Lancashire
2015–2017
Favorite referencing style
Having written my MA dissertation in the field of language studies, I am the most familiar with the APA and Harvard styles of referencing.
Why I became an editor
Having lived in China for over 20 years teaching English as a second language and working for a state-owned enterprise, I have often been called upon to proofread, edit, and ameliorate text. This, with my combined experience as a language examiner, led me to want to offer editing services to individuals and organizations. Proofreading and copyediting is also a good way to learn more – to see what someone has to say and in what way. This makes my work interesting.
Background and experience
With my background in aircraft maintenance and computer and electronics technology studies, I am comfortable working with technical documents and general nonfiction text. I worked for 12 years for a petroleum company in China and frequently edited technical manuals, guides, business correspondence, and some of the engineers' dissertations. As an EFL teacher, I spend numerous hours reading the learners' assignments and making suggestions to help improve their writing.
Why I love proofreading and editing
As mentioned previously, proofreading other people's work is learning. I love reading, understanding, and helping the author to make their work more concise, clear, and interesting for the target audience. Proofreading is an enriching experience in some ways.
Favorite book:
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey is my favorite book.
Hobbies:
I like to play jazz guitar.
Editing tips:
I read the document to get the gist of what the author is trying to convey. For detailed scanning of errors, I sometimes read a sentence erratically (i.e., re-read chunks of it over and over).
