Rachel Duncan

Testimonials

Having worked with Rachel previously it was an easy choice for me to go back to her as a proofreader, this time for my PhD thesis. Just like earlier, working with her has been an absolute pleasure. I had very little time to hand in my PhD thesis, but Rachel managed to work on my tight schedule, sending all her feedback timely. She also added comments and explanations to her proofreading-edits and sent a very useful personalised style-guide, which made it easy for me to follow the rationale behind her work and, I believe, has improved my writing as well. I would always go back to Rachel for proofreading any type of work, and would highly recommend her to anyone who needs an excellent proofreader!

Monika Hirmer, PhD candidate, SOAS University of London

I’ve been very impressed with Rachel’s work; not only is she fast, efficient and accurate, but she is also clearly aware of the subtleties of the subject matter.

I recently employed her, along with three other proofreaders, to work on a multi-author academic volume of African studies. Rachel’s work was significantly more accurate and responsive to the authors’ intentions than was the others’ work. She was also able to ensure good use of English while preserving the author’s style – a valuable skill which goes beyond regular proofreading, and is especially useful in international academic work. She liaised with me well and generally made the whole project go much more smoothly than it would have without her input.

I highly recommend her work.

Jessica Aitken, Inkwell Proofreading and Editing

I have worked with Rachel for some time, including sometimes subcontracting academic proofreading work to her. She pays attention to detail, is thorough, has a good grasp of English grammar and is qualified to teach English as a Foreign Language, so she is also very good at proofreading documents written by non-native speakers of English. I work to a high standard and Rachel’s reliability, professional approach and the quality of her work make her a pleasure to work with and easy to communicate with. I have no doubts in recommending her to anyone looking for an academic proofreader.

Dawn Leggott, Dawn Leggott Consulting Ltd

I have worked with Rachel in the past two years as Principal Investigator of Project dldl/ድልድል. Rachel helped to proofread our English website (projectdldl.org) and dedicatedly supports the proofreading of our blog. Her work is highly professional, thoughtful and considerate of our contributors’ diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Rachel is very conscious of epistemological inequalities in knowledge production and publishing and is very careful not to impose Anglophone or other rigid standards when proofreading the work of our diverse contributors, allowing them to express themselves as well as guiding them to write clearly and effectively in English. I consider it a privilege to be working with Rachel and I would recommend her without any reservations.

Dr Romina Istratii

I am very pleased with Rachel’s proofreading - I would call it First Class professional proofreading. Rachel is extremely thorough, and made excellent suggestions, and was extremely helpful at very short notice. Rachel is flexible, and so easy to work with, I highly recommend Rachel for academic work.

Dr Saleh Dhumad

Consultant Psychiatrist
Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, 
the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences

Rachel is a wonderful proofreader to work with! She communicates with me in a timely manner and is very flexible in terms of adapting her work to my needs for presenting and formatting ideas in my academic field. The quality of her work is exceptional, with attention paid to details that might otherwise go unnoticed. Her comprehensive and constructive suggestions not only helped me improve one piece of work, but may also benefit my future academic writing.

Zihan Xu, University of Oxford

As a non-academic, finishing an MSc later in life, considering and contacting a proofreader was not a comfortable idea. However, from the first contact Rachel was so supportive and warm in her professionalism that it added a hugely important element to her service that was much needed at a stressful and uncertain time. Her work elevated my thesis to a thing of concise elegance, by comparison to the original, and her insightful and thoughtful comments improved my own understanding of my writing. Regarding the meticulous attention to detail, you do not find this level of diligent work-ethic in modern life anymore. I look forward to working together again on a PhD.

Heather McLeod, University of Glasgow