The "requirement" to be a native writer....

I have been browsing this forum for a few days now and I have found many helpful threads and hints, valuable comments and "stay-away-from"-recommendations. One of the threads I found particularly interesting was initiated by a forum user who, like me, is an ESL/EFL writer, or what some companies would class as a non-native English writer. The user had learnt English from age five and obviously had excellent language skills. Several posts in the thread pointed out that learning a language from a young age would effectively leave the person with native-level language skills.

On to my concern and question. I was brought up in Scandinavia (my first and second languages are Swedish and Danish). Akin to the user previously mentioned, I learnt to speak and write in English at a young age (6). I have lived in the UK since 2009. I did my PhD here, I have my family here and I consider myself bilingual. After 14 years in academia, and three degrees, I have recently decided to have a go at academic writing. I have completed creative writing courses and had academic articles published. However, most of the companies I have contacted are no longer interested when they realise that I am not a native English speaker. Are there any people with experience of this here that could perhaps give me some advice? (I know there are rules about naming companies.)

Apologies for posting this to a new thread, but I cannot seem to find the older thread initiated by the other user. Also, I wrote this in a rush, so there might be a few errors (please don't chastise me too much). :)

I don't understand. You did your PhD in the U.K. and have published several academic articles in English? I know of at least a few companies that would hire you based on these credentials alone (outside of the U.K.), but I'm not so sure that I am allowed to mention them here. And if they are truly not interested, then I'd be happy to discuss this further.

It also may be a matter of how you sell yourself and the way you have formatted your CV. For example, nobody has checked my nationality (American). My CV is almost indistinguishable from an Indian colleague who went to the same schools. If I were ESL with your credentials, then I would strive to hide that detail as much as possible because, in the end, what matters is that you produce quality work.

graphophobius: the articles were indeed in English. And you are right; it might very well be how my CV is formatted with regards to nationality. Even though I don't state my nationality (except from my last name), the question often arises from the company representative when they go over my educational background. Two of my degrees are from another country (bear in mind though that the course language was English), while the PhD is from the UK. A while back, I did try to remove the degrees and work that I have done in countries other than the UK from my CV. I was left with giant gaping holes on my CV, which just made the person who was looking at it even more curious (not in a good way). Not to mention that it does feel kind of unfair to have to remove achievements and background information simply because some people have a preconceived idea about nationality and language skills. ;/

I think the key for you here may be to realize that this shadow industry is based on partial truths. I have not seen where anybody is being expressly dishonest, but there is certainly a lot of playing one's cards close to the chest. As a fellow academic I am certain that you can relate to this behavior.

Also, from what I have read here, there have been some issues with ESL writers who will scam the companies and take their clients. This is a huge no-no. Unfortunately, it seems that the scammers are causing the legit companies to clamp down on who gets to work. You'll have to find a way to work around this problem.

Thankfully, objective students share this viewpoint.

The seemingly maniacal obsession with ESL/ENL differentiation is a competitive strategy (or in fact, stratagem) 'invented' by "native" writers to undermine the emergent breed of "non-native" writers, retain/increase their market share, and justify their comparatively higher fees. Discerning students care little about that, and they know better than hire writers based on superficial considerations.

In the end, producing an excellent academic paper often does not require a pedantic approach to grammar or language usage, and it certainly does not demand native-level apprehension of English. For most disciplines in the social sciences and humanities (which are my core areas of expertise), elements such as extensive research, critical thinking/interpretation/analysis, engagement with the question(s), application of relevant concepts/theories/examples, clarity of argumentation, and appropriate referencing are the most important determinants of quality and grades. These elements require good old intelligence, creativity, experience, diligence, and overall competence - all of which do not depend on one's nationality. Sensible students know that.

Umm, yeah, that's just not true. Nobody is being maniacal here. It's about the risk associated with scammers. Unfortunately, there are more scammers from foreign countries. It is a very useful heuristic to just simply exclude foreign-based writer when most of them are scamming. Again, this is unfortunate for those ESL ghostwriters who are legitimately trying to gain a foothold in this illegitimate industry.

Also, I am competing with you. The academic ghostwriting community does not need to invent or create a straw man as you have here. Generalizing to the native English speakers and bashing them isn't going to help your cause.

It is absolutely clear, at least to me, that a lot of my clients would be better served by an ESL writer. And I'm just as sure that the opposite is often true. So maybe a better question would be: How is it that we pair the right clients with the right writers in a business that is simply about the bottom line?


I find it hilarious that you are being just a tad pedantic here.

In my opinion, the origin of this ESL/ENL distinction as a focus of this industry is simply that many American and British customers reported having been ripped off by receiving work that was useless to them because it was written by ESL writers whose writing didn't sound anything like ENL writing. In many cases, the customers had ordered the work from companies whose websites offered no hint that orders might be completed by ESL writers.

The only two reasons that ESL/ENL is an issue for customers in the first place is that: (1) Most ESL writers don't write English as well as the ESL writers posting in this thread, and (2) Many ESL writers (and many companies employing them) purposely avoid disclosing their ESL status. The victims of that deliberate nondisclosure includes customers, ENL writers, and also qualified ESL writers whose work is probably substantially indistinguishable from that of many decent ENL writers. The problem isn't "finicky" American and British customers or territorial or "racist" American and British writers or companies; the problem is bad ESL writers and the companies that employ them and deliberately avoid disclosing their ESL status to customers.


The simplest system would be for writers to just disclose their English-language fluency to prospective customers; that would enable customers who demand ENL writers and customers who prefer ESL writers to find exactly what they want. The two main reasons that doesn't work in practice is: (1) many ESL writers don't want to limit their (first-time) customer base to customers who want work written by ESLs, and (2) many ESLs are genuinely oblivious to (if not downright delusional about) how bad (and immediately recognizable as ESL writing) their English writing is, as evidenced by some of their posts throughout this forum, although not in this particular thread.

+ it's not only about the quality of research, but also about integrity of the writer.


If you get accepted, first I'd try to focus on orders that pay less (or that are urgent) and once you prove yourself to be an excellent and reliable writer most companies will not be afraid to entrust you other orders.

Absolute nonsense.

And you are an absolute idiot, obviously. You need to stop quoting me and start making sense, Mr. "native" Maniac.

Well, your writing is a bit wordy and the argument doesn't make any sense. Its like you are showing off. I was trying to be kind, but writers2beware effectively did a better job than me by using two words to describe what I expressed with many. Your name calling is probably not going to get you much business here.

Why should I care what you think? Why are you convinced that you know what a sensible argument is? Isn't it presumptuous of you to assume that you know what would get me "much business" here and what wouldn't? You are a self-confessed (in another thread) "competitor", with nothing other than "nativeness" as your bargaining chip. Only a clueless student would form an opinion based on your needless - and apparently malicious - taunts here.

You are supposedly a "native" writer, and like your comrade-in-arms (so to say), your primary purpose here is to kill off imagined encroachers - mainly "ESL" writers.

You desperately want to hammer it home that African writers - or in general, "ESL" writers - should be avoided because they are 'generally' dishonest and incompetent. This is obnoxious and extremely provocative, and my main reasons for contributing to these kinds of threads is to counterclaim such nonsense, and to disabuse the minds of unsuspecting students. If smug bigots like you think that amounts to "showing off", then. . .

I would not deign to reply you again.

Because you have taken the time to respond.

If you are so different from the other ESL writers that pass through here, then why does your argument take the same vitriolic tone?

Step back, take a deep breath, and have some fun with us. There is nothing to get worked up about.


I think that you've drank too much of that Kool-Aid.

I will absolutely bury you in any debate, pal. The only reason why I haven't already torn to shreds your ignorant argument is because that would constitute beating a dead horse. Many "ESL apologists" have come before you, and I've schooled all of them.


That is 100% accurate, as it relates specifically to the American essay industry.

Don't believe your own hype, buddy. I know you have a reputation for peskiness, but your nemesis - the redoubtable Queen Sheba - has done a good job of putting you in your place in several threads here. I'll ignore your antics henceforth.


Well, I am an African; I have written a couple of essays for American (and Canadian) clients; and I have never been accused of dishonesty or incompetence. Unless you can prove otherwise, then you are clearly "100%" misguided.


Maligning others because of their nationality or location, questioning their integrity based on stereotypes and prejudices, and discrediting perceived competitors is not my idea of fun. On the contrary, exchanging ideas, sharing experiences, AND allowing students to make their own choices after due diligence - that would be fun.

A big Nope. You're still being pedantic and very un-fun. You should read the terms of service:

12. Due to a very competitive and humorous nature of the essay business environment and based upon the ideas of Freedom of Speech forum members may expect personal attacks or accusations from other posters. In order to avoid personal attacks, baseless accusations, or misinformation, or in order to avoid being ridiculed or name-called by other posters, one should not become an EssayScam forum member and/or one should not post any message on the forum.

LOL! Not a single time has that nutcase provided a SHRED of evidence to support ANY accusation/position/argument that she has EVER typed here. She is the owner of fraudulent essay sites that I exposed years ago, which is the precise reason why she came here in the first place. It's not at all surprising, of course, that she's your idle. The nuts don't fall far form the tree.


You have a comprehension problem. Do you personally and solely constitute the entire essay industry? Your painful inability to grasp small but critical bits of information is a perfect example of why even qualified, ESL writers often fail to follow English-language instructions properly.

Touché. I surrender!


Nope. But I "personally and solely constitute" part of the essay industry, and you did ascribe a certain negative quality to "100%" of Africans in this industry. The average third grader is more proficient in percentages than you will ever be, obviously.

Wrong. I stated no such thing, but you honestly believe that I did. You just don't understand certain intricacies of the English language. Thanks for proving my point again.

Good job with the insults, though.

It's surely not 100%. Trends don't lie and while they are not 100% accurate, they are accurate enough for a reasonable buyer.

This is quite a convincing piece of observation. I don't think anyone would disagree with it.

You are actually tri-lingual since you speak your native tongue (Swedish) and a second language (Danish). That makes UK English ( the difference between the English language forms must be referred to in this business for writing purposes), your third language. From the way your post was presented, I would have to say that you made very few errors and could very well write high level papers for students who require it. You could earn the sizeable fees if you decide to pursue this job professionally.

Such a highly skilled person should not be looking into academic writing alone. With these credentials, the person could pursue more than just research and writing opportunities.Translation services are also on the rise these days and offer people who speak at least 2 languages the opportunity to earn a premium salary depending on the contract duration. ESL writers these days no longer focus solely on academic writing. They believe they pigeon hole themselves in such instances. So they are also going after other writing opportunities in the transcription and translation fields.

The "Requirement" to Be a Native Writer: Is It Essential?

The notion that one must be a native writer to produce high-quality work is often debated. While native writers may have an intuitive grasp of idiomatic expressions and cultural nuances, it's not an absolute requirement for effective writing. A skilled Ghostwriting Company, for instance, employs writers who are adept at mastering various styles and tones, ensuring that the final product resonates with the target audience. Many non-native writers bring unique perspectives and exceptional proficiency to their work. Thus, the focus should be on the writer's ability to deliver compelling and accurate content rather than solely on their native language status.

This is a strawman argument. Nobody ever suggested that being a NES is the only requirement to being a good writer. Obviously, plenty of native speakers can't write very well. Native fluency is a necessary but insufficient condition to being a good academic writer in any language for native-language clients.