Editing or Proofreading for the ESL EAL Market

(These details are from work I did several years ago. Rules may have changed.) 

 

With so many new immigrants both to Canada and the USA, there is a writing, proofreading and editing market for the EAL and ESL sectors. The work can range from a newcomer needing to fill out government forms, to an engineer writing a report. Just today I saw a Twitter post about a new immigrant finding it difficult to fill out an application for her child to attend summer camp. I got work for a university professor submitting a scientific journal and students submitting papers (they had approval to have editing help). 

Some people I've helped with their written work have included:

• A scholar submitting scientific journals  
• An executive needing his CV tweaked
• A BSc student applying to med school
• High school students needing essays proofread
• An MBA student's multiple submission of documents 
• A recent immigrant's government documentation 
• A Professional Engineer's report

I offer my services virtually.  I don't ever have to meet a client face-to-face, but I can if necessary.

If you are a writer and want to help out this market try these methods:

• Put ads for your services on online directories such as  www.Kijiji.com; www.craigslist.com; www.foundlocally.com (these may no longer take such ads as they did years ago)
• Use social media to get the word out.
• Post an ad where a local school or college student will see it.
• Spread word by word of mouth.
• Spend time in the ESL/EAL communities getting to know people who may need your help.
• Do quality work and don't get pushed around.

If you want to do this type of work, set boundaries. For instance, it won't help a student if you significantly change their writing. Their professor or potential employer needs to see a true representation of their abilities through their writing.

Use the Right Style Guide 

Be careful to ask if there is a specific style guide you're to follow eg. APA, ALA, CMOS, or other. Scientific writing is much different than writing for the arts. 

Decide how you will do this work. When I started, I worked in person with one client.

Another author brought a thumb drive to my house and picked up the changes a few days later. 

Then I began email exchanges with clients. 

How to Do it

I always edit in MS Word with track changes on. I send back a marked-up and a final copy. I allow one revision in the price quotation.

I have found I need to charge more for most ESL/EAL writing when the grammar is extremely choppy. It takes time for me to understand what is being communicated. That is more time-consuming than simple editing. It is about making the writing make sense. 

Getting Payment

I usually send back the work and then forward an invoice to be paid through PayPal. 

I had one student who wanted to ignore the invoice and when she did pay it, complained about having to pay the Paypal service fee. In the future, I may only return half a document until it is fully paid. 

If you have an idea of how to do this more effectively, perhaps with a document download prevention program until payment arrives, that would be ideal. 

Editing and Proofreading Help for the ESL/EAL Student

I live in Southern, Ontario, Canada but I can edit your ESL/EAL work, in most cases, no matter where you live!