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"Before
and After" with Keezing.com...
Our editorial program focuses
not only on grammar and usage (the typical "native-speaker
check"), but also on idea formation, logic, organization (at the
sentence, paragraph, and structural levels), tone, consistency, style,
sourcing, specificity... the entire constellation of factors where
excellence separates merely good writing from great writing, and where
different cultural writing conventions put even the finest non-native
writers at a disadvantage.
Here's an example of "before"
text drawn from a research proposal which was submitted to Keezing.com
for editing (though our
contribution was properly attributed in the proposal, details have been changed to protect client
privacy):
An outline on the research project I wish to
investigate and the reasons why I am interested in this particular
area
I would like to develop my research on Shakespeare
and other Elizabethan writers, which I have already been studying for
four years in Japan...
The aim of my research is to reveal the process of
manipulations made by Shakespeare and Jonson in order to establish the
'virtuous' writer's attitude in the Elizabethan period, and to define
the shifting boundary between dramatic arts and documentary writings,
which certainly represents the Elizabethan way of distinguishing fact
and fantasy. In order to achieve the end, a course of precise editing
and reconstruction of the extinct original fragments as accurately as
possible, must be needed above all...
In the
form in which we received it, this research proposal had serious
problems not only in the areas of grammar and usage, but also in its
organization. After we edited this document, we sent the author a
document similar to this:
{An outline on the research project I wish to investigate and the
reasons why I am interested in this particular area -- I RECOMMEND
THAT YOU CUT THIS AND SUBSTITUTE A REAL TITLE, SOMETHING LIKE: The
Autobiographical Shakespeare in Fact and Fantasy}
Four years of research on Elizabethan writers have led me to a
particular interest in the Elizabethan autobiography, and especially
in the surviving autobiographical writings of William Shakespeare...
{FOR GREATER IMPACT AND CLARITY, PRESENT THE TWO STAGES OF YOUR
RESEARCH PROJECT IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER, AS FOLLOWS:} The initial aim
of my research will be to {map the shifting frontier} between the
fictional and documentary arts in these texts, defining the
Elizabethan approach to distinguishing between fact and dramatic fantasy. To
this end, I hope to pursue a course of reconstruction and redaction of
the extant original fragments...
On the basis of a reconstructed autobiographical text, I plan to
extend my inquiry to the question of how Shakespeare and Jonson
arrived at their {distinctive negotiation} of the border between the
genres of dramatic and non-dramatic writing...
Note that
in our easy-to-use notational system, simple editing changes are made
without comment, substantive changes requiring inference or
clarification are made in {braces} for easy double-checking, and
editorial comments are made in {BRACES AND ALL CAPS}. Editing using the
Track Changes features of MS Word is also available.
After an e-mail
exchange to discuss questions and comments, the client produced a
document like this:
The Autobiographical
Shakespeare
in Fact and Fantasy
Four years of research on Elizabethan writers have led me to a
particular interest in the Elizabethan autobiography, and especially
in the surviving autobiographical writings of William Shakespeare...
The initial aim of my research will be to map the shifting frontier
between the dramatic and documentary arts in these texts, defining the
Elizabethan approach to distinguishing between fact and fantasy. To this end,
I hope to pursue a course of reconstruction and redaction of the
extant original fragments...
On the basis of a reconstructed autobiographical text, I plan to
extend my inquiry to the question of how Shakespeare and Jonson
arrived at their distinctive negotiation of the border between the
genres of dramatic and non-dramatic writing...
As this example reflects,
Keezing.com
provides
comprehensive editing to address the full range of challenges faced by
non-native English writers.
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