UniSIG: Student, proofreader and lecturer perspectives on proofreading practices: an overview based on ongoing research

From 10 December 2021 10:30 CET until 10 December 2021 11:30 CET
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The final UniSIG speaker of 2021 is Fiona M. Richards, a third-year PhD student in the department of English Language and Linguistics at the University of Sheffield (UK). She writes: 'My field of study is in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and my research is an investigation into proofreading practices at a UK university in which I consider the perspectives of L2 students (students who speak English as second language), proofreaders and lecturers. My interest in proofreading practices at tertiary level stems from my background in teaching pre-sessional courses in which I have witnessed the challenges that L2 students face when producing written work for assessment at a British university. Through my research, I wish to determine the extent to which a proofreader can be beneficial in helping L2 students improve their writing whilst adhering to proofreading guidelines in order to uphold academic integrity.

I will discuss the preliminary findings from my interviews with an EdD student writer, her proofreader, a senior lecturer and a retired senior lecturer. I primarily investigated their views concerning the ethical appropriateness of proofreading interventions that had been made to the EdD student’s thesis. Proofreading interventions concerned areas of addition, deletion, substitution, reordering, structural editing, rewriting, mechanical alteration and meaning and content. Having presented the findings from each stakeholder, I will briefly discuss the implications of my data and their bearing on university proofreading guidelines.'

After Fiona’s talk, there will be time for questions and discussion.

This online event will take place on Friday 10 December from 10.30 h – 11.30 h Amsterdam time (CET). Registration will close at 09.00 h on 9 December and registered participants will be emailed the Zoom link to the meeting. If you haven't received the link by 18.00 h on 9 December and it hasn't ended up in your spam file, please email me (Joy) and I'll resend the link to you personally. Anyone interested in acquiring a PE point for attending this meeting should also contact me.