English is recognized as the lingua franca for scientific publications. This might be considered to be a deterrent for Non-Native English Speaking (NNES) authors because they find it difficult to assemble their thoughts and prepare their manuscripts for submission to the leading journals. Therefore, many new scientific researches or revelations might never come to light.
NNES researchers and authors usually seek international recognition instead of being confined to their national boundaries. Consequently, they opt for international journals in English. However, these journals are very particular about the language structure and a manuscript with poor language is inevitably rejected. Even if the paper is accepted, the journal reviewers will come down hard on any ambiguity in the language and give a negative feedback. In few cases, they can reject the manuscript citing lack of relevance to the journal’s scope.
In this scenario, NNES authors can seek solace in proficient editing services, which can help bring their manuscripts to the required standard. Professional editors can tweak sentences and content to expunge ambiguous statements, so that the research is presented in a clear, lucid, and cogent manner.
Common mistakes by NNES authors
The most common mistakes committed by NNES writers include the following:
- Sentence structure: They commit mistakes in basic English writing, particularly grammatical mistakes.
- Clarity: They often face the problem of expressing their ideas in English, which leads to complex and wordy sentences that impede understanding.
- Subject specific terms: They are often unable to use technical terms appropriately, which might lead to serious fallacies.
The way forward for NNES authors
Rather than being disheartened, NNES authors should take measures to overcome the obstacles on the way to getting published in reputed journals.
Before hiring a professional editing service to review their manuscripts, they need to take care of the following points to communicate their research ideas better through their writing:
- They should keep the text as simple as possible by reducing the sentence length, vocabulary usage, and complexity.
- Usage of idioms and phrases should be minimized.
- The paper should contain only subject-related technical terminologies.
- The context of the paper should be clear and concise so that the referees build-up an understanding about the subject while reviewing.
These writing guidelines, coupled with the expertise of a professional editor, can go a long way in ensuring publication in renowned journals.
