Ms Hilary Wright |

Introduction

I have been a freelance editor since 1997, working mainly on academic papers and doctoral theses. I specialise in working with writers whose first language is not English and have many Chinese clients, helping them hone their prose into clear, compelling academic style. Most of my clients are referred by existing clients, many of whom I have collaborated with for many years. I do not work with undergraduates.

My copy editing expertise lies in the humanities and social sciences, for example:

• History (especially British, European and Hawaiian)
• Cinema and television
• Classics
• Philosophy
• Politics
• Psychology
• Theatre
• Art history
• Music
• Business and finance
• Criminology
• Sociology
• Anthropology
• Economics

I also have a number of coaching clients. We meet on Zoom (or in person, if you live in London) to work through specific issues. These sessions are enjoyable and productive and tend to book up fast.

Qualifications

• Master of Fine Arts (University of Hawaii at Manoa)
• Professional Editing (University of Hawaii at Manoa)
• B.A. (Hons) German with Music (University of Birmingham)
• Editing in Word (CIEP)
• Efficient Editing (CIEP)

Testimonials

Hilary Wright is an outstanding editor and proofreader. I have drawn on her services extensively for the past seven years and she has always produced the most brilliant work. She has helped me to craft the prose, structure and flow of research grant applications, psychological case studies, book chapters, peer reviewed journal articles and the sleeve notes to a blues album.

Hilary has extraordinary abilities. At the most rudimentary, she is able to swoop through a document and identify grammatical, typological and punctuation errors with unusual rapidity and accuracy. At the most far-reaching she is able to condense text and reduce verbiage in ways that make deletion invisible, sometimes reducing word-count very considerably. She is also able to suggest re-structuring and other radical revisions gently and with the greatest respect to the written work and with patience with the author.

My writing has improved considerably as a result of Hilary’s interventions. My written work has been praised by colleagues and critics as being admirably clear and beautifully drafted and much of the credit for this must go to Hilary. I have also recommended Hilary to a number of doctoral candidates and I believe that these students (now academics in their own right) recognise Hilary’s contribution to their work and recommend her to others.

Hilary works at a very high level of technical competence, has maintained a superlative relationship and flow of communication with me as her client, and has performed to the very highest standards during her substantial experience working on my writing. I am delighted to be able to recommend her most highly and without reservation.

Benjamin Bowling, Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, King's College London

Hilary is the best and most professional language tutor I have ever encountered. We have been working together since I was a PhD student in 2011; benefiting from our long-term collaboration, my written skills have greatly improved. Hilary’s tutorials focus on two major parts: academic writing and presentation skills. She’s a friendly and charming teacher with great enthusiasm. Moreover, she provides valuable suggestions on how to write an introduction, how to structure my academic paper, how to polish my language and how to write a good conclusion. Thanks to her help, my PhD thesis was published by Oxford University Press and I have published more than ten articles in top journals in my field.

Although grammar and academic writing are so hard for Asian students like me, Hilary finds the simplest way for students to grasp the rules of writing. Her encouragement and hard work help me build self-confidence. If you are seeking a good language tutor, editor or proofreader, Hilary is highly recommended.

Peng Wang, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, The University of Hong Kong

I wholeheartedly recommend Hilary. Over the past seven years I have submitted a significant number of essays, dissertations and even my PhD thesis to Hilary for proof-reading, and Hilary has never let me down. Firstly, Hilary is very committed to deadlines and she has never missed a single deadline. Secondly, she is so professional and she pays so much attention to detail. No minor typos and punctuation errors were ever ignored by her. Thirdly, she is so generous to share her professional knowledge. I have received so much practical, beneficial writing advice from her. She has helped me a lot with shaping my own writing skills. Fourthly, she never stops learning new things. Instead of merely focusing on grammar, Hilary always explores what my paper is about. From her comments, I can always tell that she has done some research on my topic.

I recommend Hilary without hesitation.

Dr. Chuchu Gaoxin, Fellow in European Political Economy, London School of Economics

Hilary’s editing helps me to improve my writing. More importantly, she shows me the importance of confidence in writing. It may be hard to write in English for non-native speakers because of multiple concerns such as grammar, essay structure and argument development. I used to have such concerns, even when I wrote my PhD research proposal. With Hilary’s encouragement during each coaching session on Zoom, I realised that instead of worrying about how to solve writing issues, the first step is to start writing. Then she gave me advice on how to edit my own writing effectively. These strategies have helped me overcome several difficulties in written English. A highly recommended tutor for non-native writers!

Fontaine, PhD candidate, The University of Hong Kong

I am delighted to provide a testimonial for this amazing proofreader who deserves all the recognition for the excellent support and assistance provided throughout my Ph.D. writing journey. Writing a Ph.D. is already a demanding and challenging process, but it can be even more daunting when you are writing in a language that is not your mother tongue. However, with the help of Hilary, I was able to confidently and accurately present my research in a clear and concise manner.

Hilary's attention to detail and dedication to perfection was exceptional. She provided me with valuable feedback that helped me to fine-tune my writing and convey my ideas more effectively. She was patient, kind, and always available to answer any questions I had, no matter how simple or complex they were.

Overall, I can confidently say that without the help and support of Hilary, I would not have been able to complete my Ph.D. with such high standards. I highly recommend Hilary's services to anyone who wants to produce high-quality writing that is free from errors and presented in a clear and concise manner. Thank you so much for all your hard work, dedication and positive energy!

Myrto Theocharidou, Cyprus University of Technology

I started working with Hilary when I was finalising my PhD thesis about craft projects in the context of grassroots empowerment in Pakistan, and it was an absolute pleasure to collaborate with her.

I had ended up with a large amount of data that led me to proposing a new design framework for such craft projects. Much of the data collection process was of ethnographic character and included a significant amount of detail.

Hilary helped me in more than one way to finalise the thesis. Firstly, she corrected my English as I’m not a native speaker, including tightening some sentences and eliminating my German 'false friends'. Secondly, she pointed out logical gaps, for example when I mentioned a term casually that I had not explained earlier in the text. Thirdly, especially in the chapter in which I explained my framework, which was the most complex section of the thesis, she recommended rephrasing some parts for better understanding.

Hilary is very encouraging, responsive, humorous in her comments, and above all skilful in explaining the details of the English language and their application. What I enjoyed also was that Hilary often suggested a reformulation but would check whether the meaning was still correct, sometimes providing me with different choices for terms.

This collaborative approach and Hilary's feedback were extremely helpful. They surely contributed to the thesis examiners’ understanding of my work and to their comment that ‘it is a pleasure to read complex content in understandable language.’

Dr Gwendolyn Kulick, Associate Professor for Design Theory at the Faculty of Applied Sciences and Arts, German University in Cairo.

• Editor