How to Improve writing as an ESL writer

Over the few days I have been on this forum, I have come across threads, new and old, that bash ESL writers and claim that they are no good. The claims have been discouraging but since I have a steady flow of work (mostly from other ESL students), I have not been completely discouraged. However, I believe that writing is a skill that one can acquire and that grammar can be learned.

I am therefore starting this thread to ask for tips and advice on how I (and any other ESL writer) can improve their academic writing skills.I pose this question because I wish to improve to a point where I am able to work with Native English Speakers on their Academic papers

I leave this question open-ended because I believe the answers will be valuable to both freelance writers like me and students.

Nobody bashes ESL writers who admit they're ESL and who are otherwise totally legit. The problem is that most of the scam essay companies (and individual scammers) in this industry also happen to be ESL. Once you reach your level of English fluency, it's tough to eliminate the tell-tale signs of being ESL through practice alone, because it's idiomatic expression more than technical grammar that makes ESL writing recognizable. There are also some characteristic mistakes in the use of articles that are subtle enough that nobody points them out to you to help you improve, but that are red flags of ESL authorship to any sharp reader. Frankly, the main reason NES students don't want ESL writing is simply that they don't want any hints in their expensive projects that they were written by someone else; and to any reviewer familiar with the student, ESL writing will call into question their authorship, even if the work itself is pretty good. I don't think anybody has anything against competent ESL writers who don't misrepresent themselves as being NES writers. In my opinion, the only way for you to eliminate those red flags would be for someone to highlight each of them to you or for you to live in the States long enough to pick up authentic idiomatic use through sufficient natural exposure to the way NES express themselves. For exactly the same reasons, many ESL students prefer ESL writers so that their writing doesn't sound suspiciously native.

@FreelanceWriter
Your answer sems to suggest that it is completely impossible to eliminate evidence of being an ESL writer from one's writing. If that is the case, then should people like me, fluent in English but ESL only stick to working with ESL students? I have to admit, I work with native English speakers from time to time. Usually, I admit to being an ESL writer, either directly by stating that English is not my firsl language or indirectly by stating my country of origin.None of them has expressed concerns about my quality of writing or language style. However, sometimes I feel like admiting that I am ESL holds me back and prevents me from working with many students who care so much about whether English is the writer's Native language.

You're right: you do seem to write well enough that being ESL shouldn't really be as much of an issue as it usually is for ESL writers. A NES client could easily go through your writing and correct any obvious idiomatic issues. I still think you should represent yourself honestly, perhaps with an explanation that your writing is substantially indistinguishable from NES writing, but might occasionally have an incorrect article or idiom that the client should fix after proofreading.

Unfortunately, if you're honest, you'll probably lose some work because of it, and mostly because many clients hardly bother to read the work they commission, let alone closely enough to proofread for subtle language-use discrepancies. If you're not honest about it, then one or two telltale ESL mistakes could really cause a problem for a lazy client with an eagle-eyed professor, so I wouldn't advise going that route. If you want to email me a representative page of your writing, I'll take a closer look and give you a more accurate opinion of how close your writing is to NES writing. But for it to be a useful exercise, you should send me something that's truly representative and not something that you've spent an extra effort perfecting.

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If students were to contact you, would these be the types of corrections that you'd teach, so that your clients won't make at least 12 obvious mistakes in 4 very short sentences ?


*an


*1 An
*2 essay, not "essays"
*3 paper, not "papers"


*1 lecturers want or lecturer wants
*2 an essay paper


*1 a
*2 find, not "take"
*3 give, not "gives"
*4 the, not "with"

I am not sure how you qualified to become an essay writer at any company. Well, I can only assume that you work for one of those fly-by night scam companies stemming out of a Third World country. I mean, the way you developed this post shows a transliteration way of thinking which will definitely prevent you from writing a properly developed essay or research paper. From the way that you wrote, I would even question whether or not you would be able to understand the provided instructions and required reading material. Please, don't waste the time of the students here. Go back to school and learn how to write. Enroll in English language and creative writing classes, that should help you develop some sort of writing skill that you can eventually polish to use in the essay writing business. Right now, any student who hires you will be in for a hellish experience. I would not advice that they hire your services unless they do not want to pass the class or, their own English usage skills are even far worse than yours.

My eyes watered as I read that post. I believe that this writer definitely needs writing help if he has any chance of succeeding in this business. The first thing I would advice him to do is enroll in English language classes and never stop learning the language. Forget what his original language is and fully immerse himself in the world of English regardless of whether it is British or American, as long as it's in English. One cannot learn how to become a competent English writer. One has to develop the skills in that area, specially if one is not a native English speaker.

If a person is not born into the language, if he speaks a different dialect at home and then English when he is school, then he will struggle to learn the language in both spoken and written form. The OP is solid proof of that.

Uhm.... if I were a potential client, I would immediately decline. However, your post does illustrate exactly what NES writers are trying to convey here. Even the "best" ESL writer (which is not you, I'm sorry to say) will have traces of ESL in his/her writing. It cannot be avoided. You can follow the best examples of proper English writing, but you cannot remove the undertones of your native language. As a NES writer, I would not be able to write perfectly in another language, just as an ESL writer cannot write perfect English, regardless of how well they may actually "write." Now, I'm not saying that you shouldn't keep learning (yes, take English writing classes and practice, practice, practice), but to be successful as an academic writer you must admit and accept that perfect English from an ESL writer is not possible (unless you hire an NES editor to edit projects before sending to clients) AND never be dishonest about your background.

At least he tried to ask for help right? Then again, there are some ESL writers, and I speak from the experience of having hired some of them, who are beyond help. I have had a few ESL writers whom I hired to help out my ESL clients. The problem? The ESL clients eventually improved their English skills but the writer seemed to be stuck in a rut. I always encourage my writers to hone their skills so I did my best to get these writers enrolled into English grammar classes and I made sure to get them writing tutorials to help them out. I did these things for them because I knew they needed the job. However, they were just beyond help sometimes. Even if I laid down the law and told them that they had to improve or get fired, it did not help. They simply could not improve. I wonder if the OP ever improved his skills or, did he end up being fired from his job too. I mean, if a writer cannot get promoted, he will soon find himself out of a job.

I know of several ESL writers who have been giving their clients a bum deal because they use AI to review, revise, and edit their papers before sending it off to the clients. When that is the cause, the student will be better off just using an Ai writing app for his paper and save himself the money. If you are not proficient in the English language, if your grasp of how to speak and write in English is no more than slightly higher than a high school student, then you have no place working as an academic writer in an English speaking industry.

Working as a student assistant at a Writing Center, I've seen firsthand how much our university is leaning into this immersion campaign. It's honestly such a win that they're offering free English writing and grammar classes specifically for ESL students.

The goal is really to help non-native speakers get comfortable with the language and give them that much-needed confidence boost. It's a lot less intimidating to tackle college-level English when you know there's a dedicated support system here to help you bridge that gap. We're basically here to make sure the transition into English-language academic life is as smooth as possible for everyone.