Are native English speakers really better at writing?

I am not sure why it's assumed that natives are necessarily good at writing??

Nobody's suggesting that. Native speakers can also be horrible writers; but if someone can barely express himself in English in the first place, the chances that he can write well enough in English to satisfy the needs of a native-English-language client is zero. (Not all sighted or sober drivers are necessarily good drivers, but nobody wants to get in the car with a driver who's almost blind or drunk.)

This argument has continued on this forum for a long time; however, most of the writers here agree that the debate is most probably not between native and non-native writers, it is between qualified and unqualified writers.

A parallel theme that has also continued here (since the genesis of the mighty forum) is whether native English speaking clients should be served by non-native or native English speaking writers.

The native English writers assume a very clear position that native English speaking clients should be served by native English writers only: dot. The ESL writers (like me) and may be some EFL writers (no one that I know of to date) extend that native English speaking clients can also be served by ESL writers given that they're (i) qualified and (ii) honest.

This position has not gained much acceptance on this forum (among the native English writers), to be honest. And, this is a clearly justified position.

However, when it comes to the WWW, things change.

Globally, the non-native English speakers aggressively 'outnumber' native English speaking population in real life (and the number is multiplying by every passing day).

Access to Internet and communication technologies is fast becoming part of global life. As more and more people participate in the global marketplace, the competition becomes more lethal.

Most of the ESL/EFL countries like India, Pakistan, Malaysia, China, etc. were 'trained' by native English countries to save aggravating labor costs on their products: OUTSOURCING.

Not me. I've always said that I have no problem with any ESL writer who is honest about it (like you); my problem is strictly with ESL writers who deliberately try to conceal that from clients, especially, when they're also unqualified. I've also acknowledged that there may even be a legitimate market for ESL writers who don't write that well in English (such as for clients with similar non-fluency), as long as they're honest about it.

Im ESL but I write that:

2 x 12 = 24 even

Must I tell math client Im ESL even if result is perfect? Or if writing is perfect should MeoCon tell client he is in real black (or he is not native writer?). Why you are racist?

NATIVE SPEAKERS REPRESENTIN'!!!!

I dont think they are better writers, because their command is poor.

I just saw you're from Pakistan. I wouldn't have guessed that. Your English is really good. I take back what I said.

This is the crux of the matter. To add to this viewpoint, I think most ENL writers champion this ENL-ESL dichotomy because they fear that they are increasingly losing ground to an emergent class of excellent ESL writers who deliver equally good (and in many cases better) papers often for considerably lower prices. I have noticed that students do not shout themselves hoarse in stating their preference for ENL writers. What they generally seek are competent writers to deliver good, well-written papers. In fact, native writers tend to play up this ESL-ENL division as a positioning/differentiation strategy to gain or maintain ascendancy.

A student's decision to hire an academic writer should not be based merely on ENL/ESL considerations. Several factors underpin an excellent paper, including the thoroughness of research, analytical rigour, ability to ideate and 'conjure' creative angles or dimensions that enhance the argument or amplify evidence, sequential flow/presentation of one's case, and the overall quality/style of writing. These elements require a degree of brilliance, learning, and experience that have little to do with whether a writer is a "native" or "non-native" English speaker.

NOBODY asserted such. Do a little more research in the forum. The problem is that countless unqualified, ESL writers LIE about being qualified, native writers. That, my friend, is against the law in the United States.

Well, not exactly. I appreciate your honesty and hope that you get a lot of work. Your remarks are helpful and cause me to ponder a few issues. I'm not so sure that the competition has become lethal as much as it has become muddled. The number of scammers encountered by any one person on the web has seemingly increased over the years. I'll just speculate now and say that the ratio of good to bad ESL ghostwriters seems to be very low.

I may be wrong, but as I push my way to the academic ghostwriter's table it seems a major way to remain competitive is to set myself apart from the ESL folks. I imagine that it is even more difficult for the legitimate (I feel weird using that word here) ESL ghostwriters. There are simply a lot of ESL scammers out there - they have flooded the system. There seem to be many fewer scam writers within the U.S. And I'll speculate further that this is because the authorities would catch on quickly, whereas there is little that can be done to someone scamming from a foreign country. Please, take me to task if you think this is nonsense.

Given my situation in the U.S., I know that I would be shut down immediately if I scammed the wrong client with the slightest inclination to take legal action.

It also seems much easier for my foreign clients to get the authorities breathing down my neck, whereas I do not have much recourse outside of the U.S. The level of risk associated with buying a model paper appears to be much reduced if a U.S. student sticks with a U.S. ghostwriter. Further, given the litigious nature of our great nation, it seems that the level of risk would also be lowest for many foreign-based students to contract with a U.S.-based writer or company.

Just for the sake of counterpoint, this makes me remember Gus, AKA Pheelyks, a Cali-based extortionist banned from this forum fairly recently, and then, as far as I know, banned again. However, he continues to do business, through his own website as well as by crawling around showing his belly for scraps on Essaychat (someone may want to fact-check me on that; I don't like the virtual smell of the place). Gus liked to rat out his own customers to their universities over payment issues.

I also worked for a US mill several years ago which extorted problem clients periodically. They're still doing business, as well.

It's easier for some people than others. As I've posted before, I can see the allure with some of these clients, because there are nightmare clients who, if I had had that power... I'm just glad I'm not on that end of things. It happens... this is an industry of shadows. It's an underbelly, no matter what your nationality. The stringency of the law is just a filter.

Counterpoint noted.

I guess that I should only speaking for myself on this point. I am in a situation where I cannot afford to fool around with scamming people. It seems that some folks can keep on scamming no matter what happens because they do not have much to lose.

That is not to say that I am a moral pillar in this shadow industry. The best I can offer is that I will not rip off a client, but even then you just have to take my word. Even if I had less scruples and less to lose, I don't think I have the stomach for continuously re-opening up shop elsewhere. I'd much rather try to build as much of a good reputation as I can.

I totally agree about the nightmare clients.

I have noted your points.

Just to extend the discussion, there are certain grey areas in the academic writing industry (from e-commerce to complaining about a scam). Writers from US and any other country can scam someone if they want. I do not want to go into the details of it. This forum is FULL of such information.

Now, your point for the rising number of scam ESL writers making it difficult for legit ESL writers to find work. The way you have positioned yourself as a US-based writer, a legit ESL writer can also do so. Positioning as a legit ESL writer (in sharp contrast to scam ESL/ENL writers) is the key for me. However, it is a matter of personal branding strategy; the better the strategy, the more work you would find.

Most probably, the same rule applies to the ENL writers. Would you agree with me that not ALL US/UK/Can.-based writers can get the same business as each other? Clearly, such factors as their skills as academic writers, their integrity as a person, their commitment to a client's work, etc. play a decisive role.

PS: I would refrain myself from saying anything against Pheelyks, who, I strongly believe, is NOT a scam. His controversial case, reported above without necessary details above by a person with rusted intellect, is available on this forum for anyone to go through and decide.

I think we should bring the discussion back to the original question: Are native english speakers really better at writing?

The question is simple, but the answer is complex. For example, most of my native English speaking academic peers (PhD scientists at the top research institutions) are horrible at writing. One of my dear friends is the daughter of two professors and hails from Oxford University. She has the greatest trouble getting published despite being an excellent scientist. Her writing just sucks - I know because I am her personal editor. Then there is a colleague from Switzerland who speaks several languages fluently with over 100 published works in all sorts of venues. I feel like a moron whenever he glances in my general direction. Technically, his English is much better than mine will ever become, however, his writing reads in a very mechanical way. Consequently, he often asks us native English speakers to adjust his writing for things as simple as newsletters. I'm not a cunning linguist, but I think that this is very suggestive on how much influence culture can have on how we construct our sentences.

I also work as a contract editor where my job is to take ESL manuscripts and make them sound like they are written by someone from either the U.S. or the U.K. This, combined with my professional experience has given me the ability to spot the ESL writer almost immediately.

Although a good bit of this industry handles graduate level work, we're mostly talking about undergrad papers in this forum. Speaking as a lecturer who has received essays from students who obviously had no hand in the writing, an ESL writer would have likely served them better in terms of economics and by throwing me off their trail. Even though I cannot prove that many students are cheating, I will **** with them in variety of ways that satifies my level of sadism. Its much more effective, and easier on me, to make life difficult for a cheating student than it is to run them up in front of the dean. I truly believe that a good life is to understand that you never know when you are messing with the wrong person.

If you are a Chinese student who hands in a paper that sounds like it was written by a white guy from the New England, then your professor will likely be zeroing in on your little scam. You won't get caught, but you also won't get the benefit of having your grade lifted out of the failing zone - this is something that nearly all lecturers/professors do for lots of reasons that I do not want to get into. And, if you get a professor like me (there are a lot of us), we will ride you like a workhorse because our intellect was insulted by your blatant display.

Likewise, if you are Johnny Whitebread from suburban Sameness, U.S.A., then you probably do not want an ESL writer. The influence from MTV reality shows and the extreme desire to be famous simply will not come through. However, another twisty caveat is that most professors do not really read your essay. We skim through looking for gradable points and obvious errors. We do not have time to digest yet another ten page paper about global warming, hot and sweaty polar bears, and how Al Gore could have saved the world if he wasn't a fat slob. And we all sit around the table at the local pub and lament the fact that we do this. So yeah, an ESL writer might suffice here, but then again, maybe not.

Then we get to the upper level classes at a teaching school. You know, the one's where the professors are there to mostly teach. They will likely read your paper and will likely flip a ******* lid if they see you using the word 'whilst' instead of 'while' or 'amongst' versus 'among'. Catching this will just irritate them even more such that they will go back and re-read your crappy paper. Yep, they have that much time and they love having that little bit of insignificant power. It makes them gnash their teeth and pound their chests. Some of the ESL writers on this board are so verbose and use so many 25 cent words - nearly zero students in the U.S., even at the Ivy Leagues, speak or write this way. I'm looking at you Antarch!

Or maybe you are that student who was just a jerk the whole semester. I will zero in on your paper because I know for a fact that you are going to pull a fast one. I will **** you so hard with my red pen that it will really look like your a-hole was bleeding all over the paper. And your poor class mates. ****, man. Because I reamed your ream so hard, I now must grade your classmates with greater scrutiny so I don't get in trouble for singling you out. I know that you'll cry foul, and you'll be right, but can't prove it just as I can't prove that you hired some ESL writer from wherever. And it will all be worth it because those students who are the biggest jerks are the same who usually suck up most of my time. Payback *******!

That felt good to finally get off my chest.

So yeah, lots of caveats and pitfalls. The ESL versus native English writer debate, as it stands here, really falls short. As Meokahn suggests, there's a whole lot of gray territory. The original question of who is better is actually one-dimensional and doesn't address the reality. As far as I can tell, there seems to be room for everybody to have a slice of the pie.

There is another aspect that few of the ESL'ers here seem to get. Most of the ESL ghostwriters are scammers. Period. End of discussion. Don't fight it. I'm truly sorry, but this is your burden to overcome. Getting all worked up about this fact will not serve you in the long run. You absolutely must set yourself apart from the others because, like it or not, American's are an insular bunch and generally don't really see the difference between a Nigerian and a Kenyan. I know it is a sad indictment of my people, but this is the reality. You are not doing yourself any favors by trying to elevate the general population ESL writers.

I await the insults, slander, name calling, and general twisting of my words.

Dear Sir, you have summed up the discussion really well. There are quite a few points that can be argued. However, my current workload does not allow me to do so. Some other time maybe.

Your absolution about most of the ESL writers may be true. However, I was just thinking if you had added a little phrase like, most of the ESL/EFL AND some ENL can be scammers, it would have presented a more balanced picture.

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That apart. I honestly feel that your post above is most probably aimed at self-promotion where we learn about your incredibly learned self. I feel impressed. I am sure other readers do too :).

Thanks, I think. Yeah, at least part of it is self-promotion, otherwise I wouldn't write anything at all. All of what I said can be argued one way or the other. I just needed to blow off some steam and threaten people with my red pen.

I forgot to mention the size of my red pen. It is quite large.

I disagree. At least that's not how I read it. In my view, graphophobius offered a pretty balanced, honest, and accurate view of the issue. Had he been interested in self-promotion he could easily have made a stronger case against ESL writers.

This obsession has caught on with you, too? You really need to get off your high horse. How about "easily" making a stronger case FOR yourself and your competence/experience as opposed to making a case against other writers, ESL or not?

I don't know you, and I have only been participating in this forum for a few days. I assure you that I am not "obsessed" with this issue, nor am I on any sort of high horse. In fact, I don't have a strong opinion on the matter either way, largely because I've not given the issue much thought. I am inclined, at this point, to take the position that ESL and ENL writers each have their places in this business.

I find it ironic, however, that in defending yourself, you demonstrate your personal inability (at least in this case) to understand what I was saying.

My point was about the rhetorical approach taken by graphophobius. If he was primarily engaged in self-promotion, he could have easily CHOSEN TO make a stronger case against ESL writers. Instead, he chose to build a fairly balance argument. I wasn't speaking to the veracity of his arguments; I was simply commenting on the fact that he chose to build a balanced argument instead of a one-sided argument. It was a comment on his approach, not the facts of the case.

It seems to me that you're pretty defensive; as I said, I don't know you, I have only been here for a few days, and I have no dog in this fight. I was not trying to make a case against other writers, nor was I trying to make a case for my own competence/experience. I was simply participating in the conversation. You not only misread my point and my motives; you then assailed me based on your misreading. Perhaps you should take your own advice, and "make a stronger case FOR yourself and your competence/experience as opposed to making a case against other writers."

Since I am not a mind reader, I'll have the "personal inability" to understand what you MEANT to say. Therefore, your inability to express your thoughts effectively should not be blamed on another. "Could have easily made a stronger case against ESL writers" arguably conveys a different connotation from "could have easily CHOSEN TO make a stronger csse against ESL writers". The former suggests that it is easy to make a strong case against ESL writers (ostensibly due to the irritating stereotype championed by many of your kind here).

By the way, I do not go about sniping and making cases against other writers. I only attempt to set the record straight whenever malicious 'ENL' writers like you insinuate or allege that ESL writers (in their entirety) are incompetent and fraudulent.

Listen, Antarch, I'm new here, and I'm not looking to get drawn into your personal dramas and obsessions. What I wrote was very clear, and it is entirely your fault that that you misinterpreted it to read as some sort of insult or slight to ESL writers, or took it as evidence of some sort of "obsession." In the future, I suggest you simply refrain from commenting on my post so as to avoid similar misunderstandings.


This is simply not true, at least in this instance. You most certainly did snipe at me, and you "made the case" that I am both "obsessed" and "on a high horse." As I noted, I have been participating in these forums for all of 72 hours; that is hardly enough time to demonstrate any sort of "obsession."

You very obviously have an obsession with this issue. That's your problem, not mine.

Very well, then. I apologise.

Dear Antarch, I was wondering probably you're getting emotional at the mention of ESL writers being scams. I can feel that you're trying to defend the whole lot of ESL writers. This is probably not our job. We're responsible for what we do individually.

Let's also admit the fact that there most probably are such ESL/EFL writers that misrepresent themselves. I would also claim to state the not all ENL writers are angels. I have had ENL clients that were scammed by ENL writers. The only thing is that their way of scamming is different. I do not want to get to that side for now.

As for Lovecraft, I do not personally think that s/he is trying to shoot directly in the face of ESL writers. Lovecraft has simply shared his/her opinion which is fine. The person has also clearly stated his/her position.

There is no point in getting heated. I am very sorry for sounding sort of judgmental here. This is not what I do here. My focus is to add meaningfully to a discussion.

It would be great if we can collectively move on avoiding any unnecessary conflict.

Effing wow, man! You are not a reader. There's just no comprehension skills coming through. I've been following you here and I am amazed at how well you can mimic. Your writing has changed over a few short days. It's subtle to be sure, but you've absorbed a bit here and there from the others on this thread and quickly metamorphosed your writing style. That is amazing.

What is not so amazing is that while you obviously understand the basic meanings of these words, including the slang and jargon, you assemble them into grammatically correct sentences that don't make any effing sense. Your brain has hit a wall. I guess to some you might look really smart, but I don't think any of the writers here can be fooled that easily. I've seen your kind in the past, most of them academics that looked fantastic on paper - all words and no substance. Some of these dudes had encyclopedic knowledge about some crazy crap. I'm talking Ken Jennings-level. But after you spent some time listening, then it would be become increasingly apparent that these guys just knew a lot of facts and could only string them together as other people had done before. Their memory is incredible whereas most people's are crap such that it was difficult to sort out that they were verbally plagiarizing other people. Again, I'm looking at you Antarch! I saw one of these guys try to write a master's thesis. While he did it in short order and it was technically correct, there wasn't any evidence that he had actually committed one of his own thoughts to paper. There was no comprehension or the ability extrapolate to new situations.

Being able to apply previous experiences and accumulated bits of knowledge toward novel solutions is the hallmark of a smart fecker. You, Antarch, are not one of these feckers. I'm not even sure if I am one of these feckers. And that would suck fecken donkey balls if I ever find out.

Antarch, every single one of your sentences can be picked apart and shredded into their nonsensical component parts. But to do so would be incredibly tiring. You're too just too weird, man.

Sorry for my post after this rightly-timed apology. It came in while I was writing my post. :-p


Honestly, the anger or maybe anguish you've expressed here doesn't suit a learned person like you.

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That said, your prose sounds like I am reading a story. I enjoyed reading it.

Ditto. Again, I have no quarrel with ESL/ENL writers who are legit.


No anger, but maybe a bit of anguish. Antarch reminded me of some of the frustrating moments I've had in the past. So I guess maybe I was projecting a bit.

But then I was reminded about how the academic system basically sets us all up to plagiarize. As students, we spend most of our time memorizing and regurgitating. Its maddening and did cause me a lot of anguish. Those who are really good at this end up going forward thinking a little too highly of themselves.

So probably, your anguish has been caused by the inherent inadequacies in the system and your interaction with these asymmetries. But still I personally feel that it doesn't suit your learned person who teaches others the academic integrity and being calm while arguing. No offense.

Yes, Meokhan, you are correct and have hit the hot nail in my hot head. That aspect of my personality has certainly done a disservice to my career at times. However, it has helped in other ways, particularly with respect to my sense of humor and fending off those who would tread on me. Part of me believes that this bit of edginess contributes to my own unique voice. That part of me might also be a bit delusional, which is a problem because I have great difficulty reasoning with my delusional self.

To quote Henry Higgins from "My Fair Lady"; "In America, they haven't spoken it (English) in centuries". UK and American English are living languages that goes through a constant evolution. The meaning of words, the usage of the words, even the words themselves, are constantly changing. Based on these changes, it could be difficult for a non-native speaker to keep up. While he might know enough English to get by in the writing of simple papers, college level papers and advanced education papers require a higher level of English language use that the ESL writer may not be able to deliver. The native speaker, who lives and breathes the language would simply keep writing without missing a beat as the evolving language is a part of his everyday life. That is not so for an ESL writer. That is why it becomes difficult for the non-native speaker to write a paper that has proper vocabulary and presents itself in a coherent manner. Native English speakers are the better writers because of their continuing familiarity with the language. We can write in English without having to think about the proper word to use or how to use it in a sentence. The writing is better because the thought process is in English, written in English. Not thought of in a different language, transliterated to English, then written down. These are the reasons why I believe native English speakers are better at writing than a non-ESL writer.

I agree that ESL writing is usually very easily identifiable and that projects written by the vast majority of ESL writers are, therefore, only suitable for ESL students. There are definitely exceptions, including my father and uncle and one of my high school English teachers, as I've acknowledged many times.

However, I disagree that it's the modern evolution of English as a language that's the issue. Most of those changes are colloquial, which means they don't really belong in academic writing in the first place. IMO, what makes ESL writing so obvious has much more to with ordinary (meaning traditional and not newly-evolved) use of standard English idioms and the correct use of standard articles, especially "the," which ESL writers typically omit from many places where it's absolutely required and typically add where it's completely wrong to do so. Professors expect that from ESL students and usually make corrections but don't downgrade the project for them. However, when those same characteristically-ESL mistakes appear in projects submitted by native speakers, they're red flags to any professor who knows that the student is American that someone else who is not American wrote the project for the student.

When it comes to the modern evolution of English as a language, I'd be curious to see an example of what you have in mind that you think might be characteristic of ESL writers to get wrong.

A lot has been discussed on this very forum about this dichotomy, and I feel adding more is still justified because the mighty debate continues as people from top up to those on the ground continue to revisit this position.

There can be no doubt that an ESL/EFL writer would present some obvious deviations in their spoken/written verity of English from ENLs. However, within ENLs, I have discussed it quite a few times already, there are a number of varieties that are different from each other: Even British vernacular is different from that spoken in American. Within US, there is this North and South-ness of English.

Australia and New Zealand stand to be distinct versions; let's, at this point, drop the pidgins and creoles of English.

There is tremendous linguistic variation within the ENL concept, and it is now well established that not just language but also cultural tones are better described on a continuum than something as a fixed concept.

Not just English, every single language and culture on this planet continue to evolve as long as people represent these.

This is well justified that a student from an ENL background (again, which ENL background?) is logically suited to be assisted by an ENL writer who is well-versed in their version of the language: use of certain words, articles, etc. This market positioning is most probably every ENL writer's niche. With their competence of language and research, their assistance to an ESL/ENL writer is probably equally rewarding.

However, let's change the ENL perspective and see the world through a different lens.

Middle class populations from India and Pakistan (leaving aside China) make an enormous number to the world's population so much so that some of the universities in US and the UK are dominated by students from these three countries. Google is our friend here.

Original research and development and knowledge generation is no longer dominated by the West. Major publication houses feel increased pressures to situate research produced in other countries. While English remains at the center of the development, certain discounts are being made.

I started off as a writer to primarily serve our ESL/EFL students. However, I started assisting ENL students who came to me voluntarily. Though I worked much harder to do their papers in the beginning, they were more than satisfied. Currently, I serve MORE ENL students than ESL/EFLs. I am convinced that my written English is different from an ENL writer, but then there comes in the role of the quality of research and academic jargon which, most probably, pretty much put aside the intricacies of language (something I have learned from my experience).

Probably, I would conclude, the dynamics of our industry are far more complex than considering the command/use of English, which certainly counts.

Command of English is what we would call a necessary but insufficient requirement to produce high-quality projects for ENL clients. By itself, perfect command of English (obviously) doesn't necessarily mean that someone also has all the other skills required for the job; it's just one basic necessity. It doesn't matter how good someone's research is if his English isn't up to ENL standards; conversely, perfect English isn't going to be much help if someone isn't also a very good researcher and writer with enough experience to produce excellent academic work. There are many people who speak perfect English but couldn't write well to save their lives and there are many people who have great research skills but just don't have the ability to express themselves clearly in good enough English to pass for ENL.

Not all native English speakers are better at writing. Native English speakers also make grammatical errors. That is why Spellcheck was invented. In addition to that, not everyone born speaking English has the ability to write. This is where the left brain, right brain discussion comes in. Some people, such as those good in the field of arts and sciences, more often than not find that they are not gifted with the ability to write interesting papers that do not relate to scientific formulas, mathematical equations, or even a properly worded research paper. These are the left brained people. The right brained people are those gifted with the ability to write interesting papers, have the creativity to make something out of a boring written piece, and also, they have the gift of gab, which makes the papers they write interesting to read. It is not an all or nothing type of situation, it is more of a half and half scenario.

Like @WriteReview said, not all native English speakers are better at writing. I know many people born right here in the US who can't write a decent sentence to save their life. However, they're brilliant at other things where I would fail miserably. It really depends on the individual and his/her talents, gifts, and yes, some education. I've know a few Kenyan writers who could compete with some great NES writers, whereas others would present work that was obivous ESL.

If you are an "okay" writer and are determined to learn and write better (i.e. practice, practice, practice, and get unbiased feedback on your work), you can do well. However, anyone writing in a language outside his/her native language will never be able to do it 100% all the time. I doubt anyone would want to rely on me to writer their paper in Spanish! I could, but it would be obvious that Spanish is not my native language.

I would admit that I was on the lower end of the spectrum when it comes to academic writing. My work didn't stand out in the beginning. After a year of working for pennies, I heavily decided on ensuring that I have quality output regardless of how much I was being paid. This was how I got to the top of the chain and made my mark on certain customers. Remember that the quality of your work determines (if you're under a company) how long you will last in the industry. If you cannot write with ease, you won't be able to make it out as well.

A native English speaking writer will only be as good as the materials he uses for research when writing the paper. If the ENL is a fantastic researcher, then he will turn in a good, if not impressive paper, that will benefit the person who hired him. If his research is bad, then the paper will also be bad and not help the client. The better writing doesn't come only from the writer's ability to write in fluent English. It also comes from his ability to analyze and explain topics and evidence in written form. I am not saying that the concept of ENL's as good writers is a myth. What I am saying is that any writer, ENL or otherwise, given the same materials, and with equal English writing abilities, should be able to produce a usable paper for the student.

That's equally true for both ENL and ESL writers. That makes it what mathematicians refer to as a constant; and it should be treated exactly the way mathematicians treat constants.


Negative. Being a good researcher has nothing to do with whether or not someone happens (also) to be a good writer. Likewise, both being a good researcher and being a good writer (in any language) have little to do with one another and nothing to do with how well someone writes in English if English isn't his native language. Is it possible for someone to become a good writer (in English) despite learning English as a second language? Definitely: both my father and my 10th-Grade English teacher were perfect examples. Do the vast majority of ESL writers write in English as well as ENL writers? Definitely not.


This is true. However, this is also a constant, precisely because it is equally true of both ESL and ENL writers. Aside from being a constant, research skills and English writing skills have nothing to do with one another: someone could be a great researcher and a horrible writer and vice-versa, because those two skills are almost completely unrelated.


Again, the ability to analyze issues and express ideas well in writing is another constant, and one that differs tremendously among different people, even within any given language, and that ability exists and varies irrespective of the language. If someone's writing is obviously ESL, it doesn't do an American or British or Australian client much good that the underlying research and/or strength of substantive argument might be good. There's no shortage of legitimate peer-reviewed journals published on other continents that illustrate the proposition that there are plenty of great researchers whose English writing is either bad or obviously recognizable as ESL writing (despite perhaps being pretty good otherwise). Writing well in English that doesn't exhibit any of the obvious indicators of (even pretty good) ESL writing is totally unrelated to how good or bad a researcher a writer might be.


Both skills are critical, but (again), they're unrelated. Each of those skills is something that lawyers and logicians would refer to as "necessary but insufficient conditions" for the quality of work in this this industry, at least as pertains to ENL clients. Neither skill is worth much without the other.


Nobody would disagree with that. However, that's the crux of the issue: If ESL and ENL writers all had "equal English writing abilities," this wouldn't be a topic worth discussing at all. The issue is, precisely, that the vast majority of ESL writers do not exhibit "English writing abilities" that are anywhere even remotely close to being "equal" to ENL writers, leaving aside any and all other issues and constants that ordinarily dictate the quality of academic writing.