• Before you apply for English proofreading service, please check the following points to make sure that your paper has already met the standard. Otherwise, your paper will get rejected by the proofreaders.

1. The author(s) should make sure that their field-specific terminology is correctly spelled and capitalized correctly, where applicable.
2. The author(s) should check their guidelines to make sure that their paper conforms to the guidelines of their journal of choice or research in their field of study, including formatting, capitalization of sections and subsections, etc.
3. Papers should not be run through Google translate and then sent to an editor. The author(s) should make an effort to improve the translation and to naturalize the English to the best of their ability.
4. The paper should include complete sentences only.
5. The paper should be run through "spell check" prior to submitting to an editor.
6. They should use a font that is standard for research in their field and a font size that is standard for research.
7. Papers should be submitted double-spaced in the form of a Word document. 
8. If you want your paper to remain British English, please inform us in the application form or in the email.

• 【Download】Application form for English Proofreading Service  (odt)   (pdf)

• The FLC will be closed from Feb. 1 to Feb. 6, 2022 as the public holidays for 2022 Chinese New Year. The application date for manuscripts submitted from Jan. 28, 5:00 PM to Feb. 6 will be Feb. 7 , 2022 when we resume service.
• As the end of the accounting year approaches, the FLC will need to stop providing proofreading service from November 27, 2020 to January 1, 2021. The application date for manuscripts submitted during the intermission will be January 4, 2021 when we resume service.
• A scanned file of the completed application form with the corresponding or first author's signature, along with the manuscript, shall be sent to the FLC (flcproofread@gmail.com) directly. 
• Since the proofreading levels and approaches vary from proofreaders to proofreaders, and each manuscript has different topics and quality, the proofreading fee for manuscripts of similar word counts vary, and a paper may be priced differently by different proofreaders . If an authors has limited funds, a request for "Price Quote" shall be specified in the application form and the email.

• A certification of English proofreading can be issued only after the finalized manuscript is verified and confirmed by the original proofreader. The verification fee is calculated by the time spent. Proofreaders may reject issuing the certificate, if the author's final manuscript does not reach the Center's standard.

Application Notes: 

• Please read the Direction Governing the English Proofreading Service. The corrected version of the manuscripts will be returned after the payment is made.

• If the application is sent after 17: 00 on a workday or anytime on a holiday (or typhoon day), the next workday shall be marked as the application date.  The application form is available to download at the FLC website. A scanned file of the completed application form with the corresponding or first author's signature, along with the manuscript, shall be sent to the FLC (flcproofread@gmail.com) directly. The manuscripts will be passed to the proofreaders only when the application form is completed. A new application shall be submitted by a new email thread in case of confusion. Successful application emails will be sent to both the proofreaders and the applicants. The applicants is advised to make a conformation call to the FLC to avoid mail lost during the process.

• To ensure a smooth administration process, the proofreaders, and the FLC, the FLC shall be included in the email correspondences between the applicants and the proofreaders. Failing to do so may result in conflicts that cannot be assisted by the FLC.

• The working days for proofreading exclude weekends and holidays. It takes a minimum of 7 business days to complete the text of 10000 words or below, and a minimum of 14 business days for texts beyond 10000 words, counting from the date when the negotiation among all parties is completed. Documents to be completed in a shorter time are considered rush service. Due to a large amount of manuscripts received in the FLC, the applicants are advised to sufficient time for proofreading and office handling. If a price quote is necessary, the working day shall start from the date when the applicants consent to the price quote.  

• Proofreading is not reviewing or translating. It aims at correcting spelling, grammar, punctuation, capitalization, word choice, syntax, cohesion, and other aspects in writing. In addition to the text, references and captions can be edited if the proofreaders consent. The proofreading scope excludes rewriting, simplifying repetitive sentences, or rearranging paragraphs, or other large scale changes in texts. Considering the professionalism and distinctiveness of individual research fields, the proofreaders will not revise the contents or question correctness of information and data. The FLC and proofreaders are not responsible for whether the thesis/dissertation advisors or the publication editors accept the manuscripts.

• Manuscripts that cannot be comprehended by the proofreaders (i.e., translated by software), or contain plagiarized texts from unknown sources, will be rejected. However, the applicants are required to pay for the revised sections. 

• The applicants who do not submit manuscripts via the FLC or fail to follow the Directions will not receive the University's official receipts.