Dear all
I thought you may be interested to see the policy here at Leeds, available on the web here: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/qat/documents/policy/Proof-Reading.pdf
Interestingly, this bans outright all proofreading by third-parties (friends, other students, family or professional proof-readers). The situation is slightly different for research students. In our proofreading workshops (and individual consultations) we used to suggest that people use a friend, preferably in a different discipline, to check, but no longer.
We do have a page about ‘drafting and fine tuning’ and the .pdf on Revising, Editing and Proofreading on this page is a regular supplement to our workshops (recently altered to remove the recommendation to ask for help…). http://library.leeds.ac.uk/skills-writing#activate-drafting_and_fine_tuning
From the other side: as I am now part time (working on a PhD), I recently considered supplementing my income by offering proofreading services (not to Leeds students!!), so signed up at http://www.freelancer.com/, citing ‘academic writing’ (meaning ‘support for…’) and ‘proofreading’ as skills. I’ve since unsubscribed from the service, but for a while it gave me tremendous insight into what is out there for our students to access. I had message after message detailing bids for work writing assignments from scratch. Many were from the US, but a significant number were from students in the UK wanting assignments done. The usual fees were very low, I suspect because those who are bidding are the highly educated English speakers in majority world countries.
The ban has the beauty of simplicity, but hides the murky reality or the ‘elephant in the room’ as Gordon puts it. Students from privileged backgrounds will still use family (= those paying the fees, I add cynically), and those with the money can afford to pay external services. Turnitin will pick up neither.
More problems than solutions, I’m afraid. I do like Lancashire’s approach, it seems so much more pro-active and positive.
Best wishes
Best wishes
Anna
PLEASE NOTE: I work one day a week for Skills@Library, my usual working day is Monday. If you have any urgent enquires, please contact Skills@Library: http://library.leeds.ac.uk/skills-contact
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From: learning development in higher education network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Lynne Gornall
Sent: 19 May 2014 15:21
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: International students are turning to proofreading agencies to get support
Thanks for the extremely useful guidelines and protocols Liz.
From: Austin, Elizabeth M [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 19 May 2014 13:35
To: Lynne Gornall; [log in to unmask]
Subject: RE: International students are turning to proofreading agencies to get support
I very much with Lynne’s position and arguments. Here is what is happening at Essex
- we have devised guidelines and protocols in relation to ’proofreading’ of degree course work. The guidelines are designed for use by for students, staff and proofreaders themselves. See http://www.essex.ac.uk/proofreading/
- the same web page hosts a register of local proofreaders (who have to attend a briefing meeting on the protocols and must agree to abide by them).
- Essex no longer allows other forms of ‘proofeader’ advertising e.g. on noticeboards or University email lists.
- we hold (fairly!) regular local proofreader networking events at which they can compare and discuss problems and experiences.
I recently attended a one-day event in Holland convened by SENSE (the Society of English-Native-Speaking Editors in the Netherlands). They are preparing for an increase in the number of degree courses which will start to be taught through the medium of English. It was an extremely interesting event, and we at Essex would like to run something similar. Would that be a good idea? Would many be interested in attending?
Best wishes
Liz Austin
Essex University
Director, University Skills Centre
From: learning development in higher education network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Lynne Gornall
Sent: 19 May 2014 12:04
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: International students are turning to proofreading agencies to get support
Hi all
I agree with Gordon (Scruton) . We had a very similar discussion about proofreading on this list in February and this was my contribution then:
Who in their right mind would submit an abstract/journal article etc, without having it proofread in some capacity? Personally, I have an accomplished scholar (my partner) available to proofread my writing when needed - am I breaking any rules if I let him proofread my work? International students who arguably need proofreading the most, are least likely to have access to a native speaker within their own 'community of practice' and are therefore at a significant disadvantage. Here at the Lancashire Business School we run a supervised, peer language advice service to try and redress the inequality and to provide work-type experience to volunteer language advisors. We train volunteers and get them to agree to a simple code of conduct roughly as follows:
Advisors can:
*Discuss and revise written mistakes in spelling, punctuation, word choice, and basic grammar/sentence structure
*Advise that other revisions may be necessary and refer to academic development tutor
Advisors cannot:
*Edit paragraph structure and organisation of material
*Alter, or offer comment on, the content of students' work.
In relation to dissertations, I advise students to get their work professionally proofread if they do not have any family or friends who can look at their work. I do not recommend specific proof reading services but do direct students to SFEP http://www.sfep.org.uk/default.asp who have a code of conduct, accreditation etc.
Cheers
Lynne
Lynne Gornall FHEA
Senior Lecturer
Lancashire Business School
Student Support team (Postgraduate & International)
Greenbank 061
Ex 4615
From: learning development in higher education network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Gordon Scruton
Sent: 19 May 2014 11:45
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: International students are turning to proofreading agencies to get support
Hi all, first time posting here so hope I'm doing this correctly.
My feeling on proofreading is that it is a no-brainer - everyone should be instructed on how to do it and getting a second pair of eyes to look through the work before submission is just good sense (there can't be that many of us who haven't done exactly this with our own dissertation/thesis/journal articles/chapters/monographs/etc.). However, when it comes to the next step on the ladder, the buying of essays, I completely agree with the quote that closes the Guardian article "If you can't be bothered to write your own essays, you shouldn't be at university." and having 'no time or inspiration' isn't any sort of an excuse.
That all said, there's that uncomfortable half-step between the two - professional proofreading. I've done some paid proofreading for international students and have justified it to myself as being about the clarity of the message - I've never understood the subjects being written about so there was no way I could correct or 'improve' the content. I also made sure that I used the 'track changes' facility which meant students had to actively approve of any corrections. (I'd like to point out that I don't do paid proofreading now in my current job as I feel it would present a conflict of interest.)
However, I do think that the international students (and some of the home students) are disadvantaged in this system. The international students rarely have friends, family or colleagues to read over their work and help them polish it up so this necessitates buying this service. Likewise, some home students may not have friends or family that they trust to proofread their work well. So it can become about two things:
a) How much money you've got.
b) Who you know.
Unfortunately neither of these things are related in any way to academic achievement or ability, so there is a problem.
The reality of the situation is that professional essay writers are out there and some students will use them because they just don't want to do the work themselves. I would agree with the sentiment in Guardian article that universities probably aren't doing enough to address this issue (likely because it is still an elephant in the room for many of us). My impression is that we could certainly cut the number of paid-for essays if university could provide proofreading services to students that would undercut the professional proofreaders and bring about more scope for regulating the issue. If a university isn't going to offer a 'legal' option for students, then we can't be surprised when we start receiving professionally written essays.
I recently recommended the setting up of a student proofreading service during a university-wide online brainstorming event. My proposal was that a proofreading service, run out of the Students' Union, could be a place students could get their work checked by other students. Applying to be a proofreader would give you access to a short proofreading training course - which hopefully would help to improve the proofreader's own work - and this volunteer work would be something else for students to put down on their CVs. You could even provide further incentives by having awards for best proofreading, etc. based on feedback.
There would always be givers and takers in systems like these regardless of what rules you put in place, but what I'd like to see is for this issue of proofreading/copywriting to be tackled and, if possible, for a current weakness and area of criticism to be changed into something that could be recognised as a strength of the university system. I'm not convinced that my idea completely hits the mark here, and probably no single solution will. However, it's important to think hard about providing more legitimate avenues of support that can effectively compete with other methods available we would like to be rid of.
Gordon
On 19 May 2014 10:20, David Peters <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
I work at MMU and this is an issue I often come across for both home and international students.
For international students we offer a series of 10-week classes named ELSIS (English Language Services for International Students) This is designed to help these students get to grip with
the area of language they might be struggling with. There is no ‘proofreading’ offered at these classes but students can arrange a one-to-one tutorial with an ELSIS tutor who will look at their
work with them, usually only a page or two, and will show them where the mistakes are and even correct them. The point being that the student sees where they are making errors and therefore
knows where they need to improve.
As I said, increasingly I’m also noticing ‘home’ students making requests for this service which I believe suggests students’ lack of belief in themselves and their talents/ability.
In one-to-ones and skills classes I teach, I try to emphasise the importance of proofreading and offer helpful tips and advice
‘Home’ students are also offered a series of further writing classes. Again there is no ‘proofreading’ as such but students are encouraged to see the editing/proofreading stage as a crucial component of the writing process,
not one to be skipped.
David Peters | Student Support Officer | Humanities, Languages and Social Science
Room G17, GM atrium (opposite central stairwell)
To provide feedback on the Student Support service offered by David, follow this link:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JFD7QH3
Phone: +44 161 247 6459
Web - www.hlss.mmu.ac.uk/student-support
From: learning development in higher education network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Kim Shahabudin
Sent: 16 May 2014 16:42
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: International students are turning to proofreading agencies to get support
I was one of the people quoted here so, to give a bit more detail, here is the actual reply I sent. (I should say that I wasn't unhappy about the quote that was chosen - it seemed to me to be fair and well-contextualised.)
Proof-reading is an important part of academic writing and also a transferable skill that students can benefit from later in their careers. We see independent learning as crucial to our students’ development and offer support and guidance [http://www.reading.ac.uk/internal/studyadvice/StudyResources/Writing/sta-proof.aspx] on how to make their proof-reading more effective. We do not recommend professional proof-readers because of the danger that intended meaning may be changed.
Students for whom English is not their first language also have access to additional language support through our International Study and Language Institute, which offers In-Sessional English Support and a Self-Access Language Learning Centre. We advise international students who are not confident about their academic writing to ask a fellow student, who is a native English speaker, to read through their work with them. This way they learn, self-correct and gain more confidence in their language skills at the same time. Friendships from ‘thank you’ dinners often develop this way, all adding to the student experience.
I do agree that it's something home students fairly regularly ask for too. In some ways, it's more of a problem, because they just send it home for their parents to proofread (and on the way they often rewrite and edit...). The international students don't usually have that luxury which is why their needs are more transparent.
That said, we do offer advice to home students on developing their academic writing. We also emphasise the importance of proofreading and editing as part of the writing process. If I was being harsh, I'd say why is it okay for students to ask someone else to proofread for them, when it's not okay to ask someone else to do their research for them - they're both essential aspects of the academic process?
But obviously I am not going to be harsh, because it's Friday afternoon, the sun is shining, and I'm about to go home.
Kim
Dr Kim Shahabudin, FHEA, Study Adviser, Study Advice & Maths Support
1st Floor, University of Reading Library, Whiteknights, PO Box 223, Reading, RG6 6AE
( 0118 378 4242/4614 : www.reading.ac.uk/studyadvice twitter: @unirdg_study
Please note that I now work part-time and am not usually on campus on Mondays.
From: learning development in higher education network [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Gordon Asher [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 16 May 2014 15:54
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: International students are turning to proofreading agencies to get support
Interesting article – wondering what others experiences are? Mine are that this is not limited to international students – though certainly this is by far the largest cohort
Perhaps particularly unsurprising, when at UWS we do not offer any English language support for undergraduate (and limited for postgraduate) students.
Am regularly asked by students – both home and international – to proofread their work – and have to explain that this is not part of the service we offer.
Glasgow University offers (and charges for – though below ‘market’ rates) an ‘essay checking service’ - http://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/mlc/languagecentre/efl/in-sessionalsupport/essaycheckingservice/
International students are turning to proofreading agencies to get support
Best
G
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