INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS ARE NOW HAVING TO TURN TO PROOFREADING AGENCIES TO GET SUPPORT.
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS ARE NOW HAVING TO TURN TO PROOFREADING AGENCIES TO GET SUPPORT. Proofreading agencies are filling an academic support gap in UK universities, raising concerns around policy and plagiarism. "Most students who ask me for a quotation are from outside the UK and English is their second language," reports one proofreader. "Many of them simply don't have the access to sufficient language-support services at their university." Proofreaders have experienced an increase in the number of foreign students seeking proofreading support, which is in line with the rise in the number of international students studying in the UK Is Proofreading Classed as Cheating? Whether it's acceptable or not for students to use proofreading services to help them with their work has divided academic opinion. Some say the practice is blatant cheating, while others argue that it can help students with weak English language skills and dyslexia. Proofreaders say "We don't think most students are trying to cheat – they're trying to do the best they can with the language skills they have." "If the student is submitting ideas, arguments, original work, research etc., for credit (so, content not text), then using a proofreader seems a very useful thing." Proofreading agencies are well able to correct and develop language skills and offer the academic support which they claim universities have failed to provide. They also empathise with students on the difficulties of studying for a degree in a foreign language. Another agency, in the South East, states: "Most students are being let down by their universities in providing them with adequate tutorial support ...This is where proofreaders are of great value!" But all this comes at a price. Students can pay anything up to £19.35 per 1,000 words for an essay under 80,000 words, depending on their requirements. Others are far more economical. Check: www.christalclearproofreading.com Do Students Know Where They Stand? The use of external academic support services is now more generally accepted and students are clearer about the use of proofreader input. It is however up to all universities to present a unified policy throughout the UK so that both domestic and foreign students know exactly where they stand. Since international students are increasingly recruited to UK Universities, it is up to proofreaders to help, within guidelines, these students to achieve their best possible grades, to maintain the academic prowess of a UK degree and also to preserve professional integrity and standards. For proofreading information please visit www.christaclearproofreading .com