Welcome! With an educational background in the health and life sciences, I offer English language writing and editing support to help brilliant minds express themselves with clarity and precision. I specialize in medical, scientific, and academic documents, including grant applications, manuscripts, reports, and theses, but I can also help you with business writing or web copy – anything intended to convey information.
How can I help you?
The services I offer fall into several broad categories, outlined below. Keep in mind that any given project may or may not be limited to a single category.
Writing
Writing involves drafting original text based on content you have provided to me. The content is yours; I simply help you express it. You might, for example, give me a rough draft, an outline, some stream-of-consciousness notes, or tell me about something in a conversation, and I would take that and write something for you to vet. Some examples of writing services I can provide include
- consolidating input from several authors and finding a unified voice to give a cohesive narrative in a grant application, manuscript or report;
- writing a scientific or lay abstract to summarize your paper or grant application;
- drafting responses to reviewers to accompany a revised manuscript;
- drafting correspondence (e.g., a cover letter) to a journal or publisher.
Editing and Proofreading
Editors Canada defines editing as “carefully reviewing material before it is published and suggesting or making changes to correct or improve it.” They divide editorial skills into several useful categories that I use as a template when working with a client:
- Structural editing – assessing and shaping material to improve its organization and content
- Stylistic editing – editing to clarify meaning, ensure coherence and flow, and refine the language
- Copy editing – editing to ensure correctness, accuracy, consistency, and completeness
- Proofreading – examining material after layout or in its final format to correct errors in textual and visual elements
Formatting
Formatting is a largely mechanical process, carried out in Microsoft Word, to ensure headings, figures and tables are formatted and numbered appropriately. Formatting also involves checking that page breaks and page numbering are appropriate, verifying in-text references, and generating tables of contents or indexes.
Who are my clients?
I have worked for academic researchers, clinicians, accountants, publishers, graduate students, and entrepreneurs. Read more about what clients and colleagues have had to say about my work here. A short summary of my background and experience can be found on the page About Me.