Written by: Tomas Brogan
Published: 31 January 2025
I passed the Diploma in Translation (DipTrans), working from Dutch to English, in two sittings. In a perfect world the three exam papers would be passed in one sitting. Alas. In my case I passed two papers first time, and failed one. A year later I resat the failed paper and was given a distinction for that part of the exam. Here is my take on the value of the DipTrans qualification – and how to pass it.
High-level translation skills
The UK-based DipTrans exam is set at Master’s level by the Chartered Institute of Linguists (CIOL), and accredited by the government’s qualifications office (Ofqual). It is renowned as a tough test of your translation skills, since the measure of your translation is whether it could be used for professional purposes. At heart the concept is simple: choose your source and target language, pay £895 and sit three exams with access to paper resources only. If you pass, you join the ranks of DipTrans holders for life.
To obtain a distinction in the exam there must be evidence of complete comprehension of the source text, no transfer of meaning can be missed, and all target-language conventions must be adhered to. For a merit or a pass some slip-ups may be acceptable, for example with punctuation or spelling. But too many small mistakes or one incorrect transfer of meaning can result in a fail for that paper. Any combination of passing grades across the three exams (pass/merit/distinction) will result in a ‘pass’ for the DipTrans as a whole.
The ideal qualification for translators?
Whether the DipTrans is ideal for you will depend on a few factors. It can be useful for translators with a university education in languages and some translation experience who are looking for a translation-specific qualification before they approach agencies. In this case the DipTrans is an excellent option as holding the exam will boost your confidence, as well as your clients’ confidence in your work.
The DipTrans can also be seen as a quicker and cheaper alternative to an MA in Translation. Finally, when applying for the Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI) Qualified Translator assessment, holding the DipTrans, along with references and Continuing Professional Development (CPD), can obviate the need to sit an ITI translation test, which again shows the DipTrans’ worth in the translation business.
Pricing
The price can initially be off-putting, particularly if you consider that resitting one exam paper will cost up to £500. However, remember that the DipTrans is a serious piece of CPD that proves you can translate at a high level. Because sitting two exams is almost as expensive as sitting all three, there are two basic strategies. First, you can sit all three exams at once and hope for the best possible result. Second, you can take one exam at a time. The second strategy would however cost £1,270 instead of £895 if all papers are passed on the first try – and this strategy could take a lot longer. Once one exam is passed, you have three years to pass the remaining exams before the ‘pass’ expires.
Three remote exams without internet access
In addition to the translation of a three-hour, 650-word general text, you will choose two semi-specialized papers of 450 words from the following subjects: technology, business, literature, science, social science, arts and culture, and law. Both of these papers are two hours in length.
The exams take place twice a year, in January and July. When I sat the exams in 2022 and 2023 they were spread out over two days, with the general translation exam on the first day. The exam has to be taken at your place of residence (do not book a hotel!) and as you might have guessed, it has to be quiet because you must be undisturbed for the duration of the exam, which is recorded and proctored remotely. It is then a lengthy three-month wait for the results.
Paper reference works only
Only paper resources can be used, which is a great excuse to bring out the old-school dictionary nerd in all of us. You will want all your good dictionaries and a great thesaurus. An up-to-date target language dictionary is a must. Subject-specific dictionaries, works on idioms or punctuation and style guides are all helpful. If you are well prepared, you will most likely not use these, and you will not have time for extensive research in any case. But having a pile of reference works at the back of your desk does calm the nerves somewhat.
Note that in-person exams may also be available, check the CIOL website for details.
Sounds good, but how do you actually pass the exam?
If you’re like me, you’ll want to pass the DipTrans in the most efficient way possible. The time investment is considerable and while a couple of misses is par for the course, failing papers can quickly get frustrating – and expensive. To pass as quickly as possible, I recommend the following:
- Find a DipTrans training provider who will advise you which course to take and will assign you a tutor. I used and can recommend www.translator-training.com. My tutor’s advice was invaluable. See the CIOL list of recommended providers here.
- Practice. By the time I obtained the diploma, I had completed over 25 DipTrans papers in exam conditions. It might sound like overkill, but unless you have tons of experience you will need to invest a lot of time and money to have a serious chance of passing the exam. You need to regularly find two or three hours to write the practice exams, plus time to consider the feedback you are getting.
- Digest the feedback from your tutor (i.e. identify your ‘favourite mistakes’). Do you consistently misspell certain words or accidentally use homophones? Your tutor will flag your errors, but it is up to you to collate and learn from them. Categorizing your errors will help you improve.
- Find and consistently execute your exam strategy. To save time, you will want to have as many logistical decisions as possible made before you enter the ‘exam room’. Which of the semi-specialized papers will you choose? Will you read through the entire text first or begin translating immediately? What will your final checks consist of? My strategy for a two-hour paper of 450 words was 30 minutes reading of the source text followed by translation of 40% of it, then 20%, then 40%, then 15 minutes revision. The point is to have time markers so you know how much time you have left – know this and you will know when to accept a reasonable solution to a translation problem, instead of a perfect one.
- Time management goes down to the next level. When organizing your revision of the paper after writing, the checks you carry should be completed one at a time and preferably in a set order that remains the same for every paper you write. Check that your translation has the same number of paragraphs as the source text. (Missing more than 5% of the source text will result in a fail.) Check that all dates are correct. Check that all names are spelt correctly. Check every subject-verb agreement. Check that all sentences end with a full stop. Check whether cultural terms are correctly translated. It can be difficult not to just ‘work on the paper’, but having the discipline to check one thing at a time will pay off.
- Be ready for the unexpected. Just like in real life, sometimes the source text is not perfect. Stepping back and looking at the text as a whole will help, for instance when the last sentence of one paragraph would be better at the beginning of the next one. Depending on your level of experience, translation problems like this or, to use another example, French or German words appearing in a Dutch source text, might throw you off. When issues like this cause a ‘user error/brain freeze’ in the exam, keep moving and come back later.
- Trust yourself. The 2018 edition of the Collins English Dictionary does not have the word ‘humanities’ in it. Cue exam room panic. Is it a word? Is there a better solution? Will I fail on this? Sometimes you will have to lean on your common sense and translation experience so as not to waste too much time.
- Be relentless in questioning your language choices. One of the most important skills in the exam is to continue doubting your language decisions, or at least to subject every decision to doubt.
The DipTrans is a rigorous exam that can help you achieve your career goals. The standard is high and unwavering, which will set you apart when applying to agencies and for employment. If you choose to take the exam, set aside at least six months to prepare, work with a tutor and celebrate every improvement. With intensive preparation the exam is achievable for university language graduates with some experience in translation.
In each stage you need to be obsessive about your interpretation of the information in the source language and word choice in the target language. Do this and stick to your timings, and you’ll have a great chance of passing.
Blog post by: Tomas Brogan LinkedIn: tomasbrogan |
Written by: Paula Truyens
Published: 21 January 2025
Mom and I were clearing away a corner of my garden to put up an inflatable pool for the summer. This involved trimming down a pyracantha that had taken on the proportions of a stegosaurus through years of neglect. Mom, an intrepid and experienced pruner of trees and shrubs, shot up the ladder without waiting for me to hold it in place. As she started pruning the beast, the ladder leaned over and before I could intervene, she toppled into the bush. Luckily, the pyracantha broke her fall and apart from being quite painful, the spikes merely deflated her gusto.
Naturally, Mom didn’t fall silently… her squeals alerted my brother Ben, who was enjoying a beer in the hammock. He came over to see what the hullaballoo was about and saw Mom lying in the prickly pyracantha. He helped me pick up Mom and as I took her inside for a calming cup of tea, I solicited him to finish the pruning job we’d started. In typical Ben style he mumbled ‘Yep, no problem’, but I wondered if he, the ladder or the pruning shears would come out of the job unscathed.
Fifteen minutes later, after we’d had tea, I went outside to see how Ben was getting on. To my surprise, he had disappeared and the ladder and shears were nowhere to be seen either. I did hear several thuds, clanks, and tap-tap-taps coming from behind the shed and, as I got closer, some choice expletives.
‘Ben, what’s going on, what are you doing?’
‘One of the ladder pads has come loose, so I’m fixing it.’
‘Do you think that’s what caused Mom to fall from the ladder?’
‘Yep.’
I went back inside to tell Mom about the loose pad and that this was probably what caused the ladder to slip and her to fall. ‘How is this possible? The last time I used the ladder it was fine, and it’s not that old.’ Knowing how my brother manages to break even the most solidly built objects in the strangest of ways – even a robust metal spatula (which he’d used for something it wasn’t designed for) – I started to suspect that maybe the loose ladder pad was no coincidence…
Two days later, Ben’s best mate Phil popped by with a couple of six-packs and snacks and they invited me to join them on the veranda. A favourite spot of ours on a sunny day, as you get a sweeping view of the magnificent, snow-topped Pyrenees. When Ben went inside for a pee, I told Phil about the ladder.
‘I think Ben broke it and didn’t fix it properly – you remember that time he broke my bike? He said he’d fix it but the next time I rode my bike the chain came off. So I think he didn’t really “fix” the ladder.’
‘But he did fix the bike, I was there and saw him working on it. The chain coming off probably had nothing to do with that,’ said Phil.
‘And what about all that smoke in the kitchen last year? He’ll put something on the stove and forget about it.’
‘He told me something was wrong with the toaster and it was burned bread that caused all that smoke.’
‘Hmm, I’m not sure. He’s just naturally accident-prone; he has some kind of reverse Midas Touch.’ I told him about the strange mishap with the spatula.
‘Yeah, but that spatula was probably one of those cheap, flimsy ones.’
I suspected Ben had misled his bestie…
Mom Knows – at least, I think she must do. She’s our mother, and if anyone knows Ben, she does. So when I popped by for a cup of tea the next day I asked her about these ‘mishaps’.
‘Phil seems to think Ben is perfectly innocent in all this, but I’m not so sure.’
‘Hah, Ben doesn’t do it on purpose, but he’s the most maladroit person I know. But rather than just owning up that it was a clumsy accident, he’ll make out there was something inherently wrong with what he broke.’
‘So do you think he could have broken the ladder?’ I asked Mom.
‘Could well be, and if it was him and he doesn’t fix it, he’ll damn well get me a new one.’
I felt my heart sink for Ben, because he wasn’t exactly strapped for cash and now more shame, guilt and pissed-off-ness at having broken something. But as I leafed through the local newspaper at Mom’s kitchen table, I saw a small piece tucked away on page nine that would normally escape my attention. ‘Escalade Idéale are recalling their X-135 ladder due to defective base pads. If you have one of these, get in touch with us as soon as possible.’ I rushed out to see if the ladder was indeed an X-135 Escalade Idéale. If it was, Ben might be off the hook!
I decided not to tell Mom or Ben about this until I’d made quite sure it was a product fault and not Ben’s fault. So I went over to where Ben had abandoned the ladder, evidently not that concerned about doing anything to fix it or, for that matter, to smooth things over with Mom. To my delight, it was indeed the model and make mentioned in the newspaper blurb.
As I rushed back to tell Mom, Ben strolled past me to where the ladder was. ‘Are you still going to try and fix it?’ I asked him.
‘Yep.’
‘Don’t bother, it was a product fault, I just saw it in the paper! We’ll bring it back to the shop.’ His face lit up and visibly relieved, he said, ‘Cheers, sis.’
When I told Mom, she managed a chuckle but also ‘Hmm, he got lucky this time.’
After the scare of Mom’s fall into the pyracantha, aspersions cast on my poor clumsy brother Ben and the relief (for me at least) of knowing it wasn’t his but a product fault, I felt lunch out on Saturday would do us all good. Mom was up for a walk through picturesque St. Bertrand de Comminges and a visit to the gothic cathedral in the village – which bizarrely houses a large stuffed Nile crocodile. Ben said he’d meet us at the restaurant.
As it was lovely weather, we decided to sit outside, overlooking the village square. Just as the waiter brought us our main meal – boar stew and a jug of Madiran wine – we heard strains of windpipes, drums and lyre strike up a jolly jig. When the troupe came into view from around the corner we saw it was Prima Nocta, a favourite medieval band of ours. Such merriness was just what we needed and I could see Mom and Ben were enjoying themselves. But right after dessert, Ben got up and said, ‘Thanks, sis, I’m heading back home now. See you later!’ Which I thought was odd as we hadn’t even finished the wine and the music was still building up.
When we got back home a few hours later, I heard the familiar clip-clip of shears in my garden and to my surprise I saw Ben on a brand new ladder finishing the job Mom had started a few fateful days ago.
Blog post by: Paula Truyens Website: www.truyenstext.eu LinkedIn: paulatruyens |
Written by: Frans Kooymans
Published: 8 January 2025
A unique opportunity presented itself last year for me to visit the Pacific Northwest. I was invited by the American Translators Association (ATA) to address its Dutch Language Division (DLD) at its annual conference, held from 30 October to 2 November 2024 in Portland, Oregon, in the US. My translation into Dutch of ‘All God’s Dangers’ by Theodore Rosengarten, the oral history of an illiterate Black sharecropper from Alabama, was the instigation for this invitation. I had spent the better of two years on the translation, which was published in October 2022 as ‘De kleur van katoen’ (ISBN number 978-90-832122-7-2 published by ISVW Uitgevers, part of Internationale School voor Wijsbegeerte). The crown on my translation career, I might say, which allowed me to survive the Covid pandemic unscathed. Tony Parr and Marcel Lemmens, who were distinguished speakers at an earlier ATA conference (as well as Joy Burrough-Boenisch), alerted me to get in touch with the DLD, and an opportunity became a happy reality for me.
ATA65 – yes, the sixty-fifth annual conference of this association of translators, interpreters, and other language specialists – was a big event. It attracted some 1,200 participants from all over the US and abroad, and many languages could be heard at the Oregon Conference Center, ranging from Spanish to Arabic and from French to Chinese and Japanese, as well as English in various accents. During four days close to 200 sessions were held, small as well as plenary, thus plenty to choose from for the often colourful participants. As the conference coincided with Halloween, various witches and ghosts could be discerned during the event, including SENSE member Nina Woodson and her husband, who featured as Alice and the Mad Hatter, straight from Wonderland.
I got the invitation for the conference nearly five months in advance, which meant lots of time to prepare. Too much almost, as it stays on your mind the whole time and leads to a lot of writing and rewriting and then partly deleting to keep the presentations within manageable proportions. I presented two one-hour sessions. The first one titled ‘From All God’s Dangers to De kleur van katoen’ covered the whole process of how I converted the original American English text from 1974, all in the local dialect of a Black cotton farmer from the Deep South, into understandable Dutch, and of the close collaboration with the author, the sometimes frustrating search for a publisher, and the promotion of the Dutch translation of this big book.
My second session covered ‘The State of Literary Translation in the Netherlands’. To prepare for this, I got a wealth of information about the promotional efforts by Expertisecentrum Literair Vertalen (Centre of Expertise for Literary Translation) and Nederlands Letterenfonds (Dutch Foundation for Literature). So my presentation focused, on the one hand, on the efforts to support and train literary translators (a university-level programme, courses, mentorships, etc.) and the grants available to qualifying translators, and on the other hand, on the low level of compensation for literary translation and the difficulties of attracting enough young people to choose a translation career.
The conference started with a Buddies Welcome Newbies event, where long-standing participants (for some this was their tenth or more ATA conference) met newbies such as I. Aside from all the information to be garnished at the numerous sessions, these four days constituted a tremendous networking opportunity. Name badges, which also identified language and nationality, had to be worn to gain attendance to the Oregon Convention Center, but these also stimulated contact between strangers. So I was approached, for example, by the Belgian translator of one of Geert Mak’s books into French.
Four days in a part of the US that I had never visited before was reason for my wife and I to extend our stay to a full three weeks. So we got to see a good bit of the city and its surroundings. The Columbia River Gorge with its many waterfalls, the Mount Hood volcano, the Japanese Garden in the wooded western part of Portland, the rugged Oregon coast – all quite impressive. I have, meanwhile, recovered from the jetlag caused by the nine-hour time difference with home and can look back on a rewarding time in Portland.
Part 1. ‘From All God’s Dangers to De kleur van katoen’
In the autumn of 1974 the literary world saw the publication of ‘All God’s Dangers’ by Theodore Rosengarten, a young historian from up North. This volume of oral history, which won the prestigious National Book Award, tells the life of Nate Shaw, an illiterate Black sharecropper from the Deep South. Rosengarten recorded Shaw’s compelling stories exactly as he had heard Shaw tell them.
Fifty years later Shaw’s history remains relevant, including in the Netherlands, where black lives matter as much as in the US, all in light of its own history of slavery and colonialism (think of Suriname and Indonesia) that is getting much attention these days. So, I set out to translate this big book into Dutch, and two years ago it was published as ‘De kleur van katoen’. The title is a tribute to the storyteller, who took great pride in the lily-white cotton that he produced his entire life, fighting the lifelong odds against him.
‘All God’s Dangers / De kleur van katoen’ continues to captivate the reader. The civil rights movement has meant much for the Black population in the US, but the racism and social discrimination have largely remained. The book shows the hard reality of life in the South and the resilience that is needed to fight on.
Part 2. ‘The State of Literary Translation in the Netherlands’
The archetypical book translator in the Netherlands is a woman aged around sixty. She translates a quarter of a million words of fiction from English to Dutch, earns around €20,000 per year, and often has another language-related job (editor, teacher or subtitler) to make ends meet.
These are findings of a detailed study of some years ago into the job market position of book translators, commissioned by a leading literary foundation that is heavily involved in the training of literary translators, in an effort to attract younger people to the profession.
No one will doubt the importance of literature, but what about the translation of literature? Without a dedicated translator, the Diary of Anne Frank would have had a dreadfully small number of readers, and without the translators duo Bindervoet and Henkes, the Dutch reading public would still be struggling through James Joyce’s Ulysses. So, what keeps students from pursuing a translation career? Is the profession still interesting enough to attract talented candidates? And how are these issues addressed in the Netherlands?
There are enough threats that inhibit a healthy Dutch translation culture. One example is the decline of interest in languages other than English. Another, the limited number of programmes to train translators. And above all, their poor compensation, making it difficult to attract enough young candidates.
But we see solid initiatives in the Netherlands to counter these trends. Training facilities are provided by the Expertisecentrum Literair Vertalen (ELV), including personal coaching, mentorships, and a translators’ house. The Nederlands Letterenfonds provides subsidies to translators: essential since few Dutch books get published in English without a grant. And a Master’s programme in literary translation has been developed by the universities of Utrecht and Louvain.
My recent work
More recently, I have translated from Dutch into English 'Van Alabama naar Margraten' by Mieke Kirkels. The book is about the life of a Black soldier who was involved, towards the end of World War II, in digging the graves at the military cemetery in Margraten at a time when the US Army was still entirely segregated. The title of the translation is, not surprisingly, 'From Alabama to Margraten'. The book will be published this coming spring by Amsterdam University Press, in time for the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Limburg.
Blog post by: Frans Kooymans Contact: LinkedIn: frans-kooymans |
Written by: Peter van Gelder
Published: 22 December 2024
The final talk in the 2024 UniSIG programme featured Dr Kate Mc Intyre’s presentation of ‘A critical role for author voice in scientific writing’. Kate is the in-house scientific editor at the Department of Genetics, University Medical Center Groningen and has had extensive experience as a researcher and writer of scientific texts. The presentation took place on Zoom and was attended by more than 20 participants. Kate articulated her position on the role of voice in scientific writing and the need to nurture its development, especially in junior research writers. The presentation lasted for about 40 minutes and was followed by a short period of questions and comments from participants.
Why does ‘voice’ matter?
Kate started by explaining her motivation for focusing on author voice in scientific writing, and offered two key factors. The first was her ‘gut feeling’ that, in the face of AI generative tools, the importance of personal voice is a key issue; the second was her overall impression that voice does matter based on her own experience of editing, teaching, and writing scientific texts. However, acquiring and purposefully using that voice can prove difficult for many scientists as they are neither natural writers nor have English as their native language. Moreover, to take a stance and use voice to project a position can lead to criticism from peers, which can be especially challenging for junior members of a team. In a recent poll of researchers in Kate’s department, many named ‘writing’ as what they least like about their job. Kate believes that this attitude, especially prevalent among junior researchers, can be linked to their struggles to find a personal voice that is independent of the more experienced voices in their research teams.
What is voice?
Kate quoted several definitions of voice, which she condensed into two essential elements: the reflection of self that is expressed in text and the consequent creation of identity, agency and power. Kate then explored two theoretical frameworks of voice in academic texts by introducing Ken Hyland’s stance and engagement model (2005) and Sachiko Yasuda’s more recent model of concepts and categories signifying author voice (2022). Hyland’s model accentuates interaction as he divides the framework into two sections: the first contains the linguistic elements by which writers communicate stance through voice and the second contains the ways that writers engage directly with their readers. Yasuda’s framework addresses the various concepts that convey voice in three categories: voice at the linguistic level, voice at the whole text level, and voice at the non-linguistic level.
How is voice expressed in scientific writing?
We next looked at how voice is expressed in scientific writing, exploring three areas of choice by which authors can use an array of tools to produce personal voice to engage with their readership. The first area of choice is what authors choose to say (and not say). This includes choosing what to describe in the research gap and its relevance to the field/world problem to provide motivation, choosing what previous research to include (or not), choosing what experiments/results to include in the main text as opposed to those moved to supplementary material, and choosing what (and to what extent) to discuss in the Discussion section. The second area of choice is how authors can use linguistic devices to express their voice. This includes word choices (hedges, boosters, attitude markers), choices of how ideas are presented and structured, and the choice of what to say when introducing other research (whether to support a general observation or to explicitly name or express an opinion of a study). The third area of choice deals with what and how to choose the schematics, data visualizations and tables, and how to treat the data and statistics that describe them.
Author’s voice vs field-voice
Kate then introduced the bigger picture of how author voice is expressed and modified within the larger ecosystem of other voices present in the process. In the collaborative journey from writing a scientific text to having it published, the predominant voice may start with the primary author(s) but, along the way, there are others who can exercise a ‘field-voice’. These include co-writers (both supporting and passive), supervisors and senior authors, journal editors and reviewers as well as peers in the research field, all of whom can exercise their voice to influence and merge the original author voice into a field-acceptable voice. Although the inexperienced primary author may be aware of the need to merge their own story with the field-specific voice, they struggle to maintain their personal voice as the writing develops. In the face of this erosion and merging of their personal voice and the pressure of being able to navigate scientific storytelling, how does this affect junior researchers? Kate gives their answer: ‘It can be hard to write when you can feel everyone breathing down your neck’.
Problems and solutions
How can we, as teachers and editors of scientific writing, help science researchers and writers, especially the junior members, develop their personal voice? How can we help them create a narrative in which they are able to express their ideas and, at the same time, merge their voice with that of their research community? The answers to these questions begin with first understanding the problems. Kate presented us with five problems and their solutions.
Problem 1. Very linear storytelling
Problem – Author can only tell the story in their way
• Struggles to merge IMRaD structure with their narrative
• Trouble with transitions and paraphrasing
• Tendency to repeat factual statements in total, often multiple times
• Trouble with self-editing
Solutions
• Lessons on
− transitions and paraphrasing
− how to summarize and reference
− how to refer to what was said earlier in a text
• Explanation of reader needs
Problem 2. Navigating a ‘big swerve’
Problem – Research did not go as planned/hoped
• Disappointment/frustration creeps into the text
• Lackluster prose and language, devaluing their own work
• Failure to adequately address important (if disappointing) findings
Solutions
• Show them how to edit out emotion markers
• Propose ways to emphasize the importance of findings
Problem 3. Navigating a ‘side-quest’
Problem
• Author struggles to tell a story that deviates from the overall narrative
Solutions
• Be explicit about the deviation, why it is there, and who it is for
• Clearly signpost the transition back to the main story
• Usually takes more words and more writing, which is something many authors struggle with
Problem 4. Not enough self (yet)
Problem
• Stodgy, overly cautious, formulaic text
• Unclear connections
• Weak or no message (often also repetitive)
• Referencing poor/unclear (performative rather than informative)
Solutions
• Highlight where they need to say more
• Tell them if you see bigger points that need to be made
• Ask why they are referencing specific references, ask them to be explicit with the reader about this (show them how)
• Make them write the cover letter!
Problem 5. Graphical ‘voice’ doesn’t fit field
• There are field norms for graphical representations
─ meeting reader expectations enables faster comprehension
• Can be good to upend norms in pursuit of new paradigms
─ sometimes just gets in the way of the message
The ChatGPT elephant in the room
In addition to these problems, we were given something else to confront: addressing the ChatGPT elephant. After analyzing the good, the bad, the beautiful, and the ugly characteristics of this new tool for generating text, Kate assessed the emerging relevance for its use in scientific writing. For those senior-level users who have already developed a personal voice and know what they need to develop their text, but who are also aware that the generated text needs careful editing, ChatGPT can be a useful tool. However, many junior-level authors are not confident enough of their own voice to make the appropriate corrections in a text generated by ChatGPT. There is a need for deeper understanding of two issues. First, teachers and editors need to help students to develop a critical eye early and teach them how to judge a text on what is expected and respected in their discourse community. We also need to help our students understand voice, how it is expressed, and why it is critical in engaging with their scientific storytelling and, consequently, with their readers.
Questions to ponder
Kate finished her presentation with two questions to ponder for the future:
- If a writer can ‘instantaneously’ merge their own writing with a field-average style, will the aspects of their writing that express their individual voice still be crucial for establishing their intellectual integrity?
- Is it only the data that matters, or is it also what you think of the data that matters?
On everyone’s behalf, I would like to thank Kate for an excellent presentation that clearly articulated the issue of recognizing the critical role of voice in scientific writing. For those of us teaching scientific writing, it is a call to go beyond this recognition and focus on the problems and their solutions facing junior-level researchers in navigating a personal voice in their storytelling.
Resources
Hyland, K. (2005). Stance and engagement: a model of interaction in academic discourse. Discourse Studies, 7(2), 173‒192. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445605050365
Yasuda, S. (2022). Natural scientists’ perceptions of authorial voice in scientific writing: The influence of disciplinary expertise on revoicing processes. English for Specific Purposes, 67, 31‒45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2022.03.001.
Blog post by: Peter van Gelder Contact: LinkedIn: pvangelder |
Written by: Curtis Barrett
Published: 16 December 2024
I’ve been a SENSE member since 2011 (has it really been that long?) and in that time I served on the Executive Committee (EC) as Programme Secretary (what is now the SIG and Social Events Coordinator), as well as convener of the SenseMed SIG and chair of the Mentoring Committee.
Three years ago I was approached to serve on the EC again, this time as Treasurer. I must admit my first reaction was ‘No way; I’m not a finance guy, and I don’t know a balance sheet from a dryer sheet!’ But after letting it simmer in the back of my mind for a while, I then thought ‘Why not?’ After all, I’ve been doing my own (admittedly simple) books for years, using an Excel file I created, and it’s really nothing more than adding and subtracting numbers. You start the year with €x in the bank, you bring in €y and spend €z, and you’re left with… what comes after ‘z’?
So I decided to go for it, and I’m so glad I did! My first order of business was to make life so much easier for the Treasurer (i.e. me!) by signing up SENSE with an online bookkeeping program, e-Boekhouden.nl. I was then able to create a series of ledger accounts for our various activities (membership dues, events, etc.), and I linked the program to SENSE’s bank account. So, now everything is nearly foolproof, as each transaction in the bank account gets imported to the bookkeeping program, and I just need to assign it to the proper ledger column. And with just the click of my mouse, I can see a complete summary of our finances, export the balance sheet, profit & loss statement, etc.
By serving as SENSE’s Treasurer, I’m in the unique position of having an overview of our finances, and I get to work closely with the rest of the EC, our Team Leaders, and SIG conveners in deciding how SENSE spends its money (it’s made me quite popular in the Society!). Plus, I’ve learnt so much about finances (yes, I now know the difference between a balance sheet and a dryer sheet), and it’s helped me better organize and maintain my own books.
Although my experience has been hugely rewarding, a term on the EC is three years, and I decided it’s time to pass on the Treasurer’s baton at the next AGM in March 2025. So I’m hoping one of my fellow SENSE members is interested in taking over. Are you that person? If so, please contact me at
Blog post by: Curtis Barrett Website: www.englisheditingsolutions.com
|
Written by: Monique Oude Luttikhuis
Published: 6 December 2024
For the past twelve years I have been working as a translator and editor of medical and scientific content. Some of the work involved preparing research manuscripts for submission to a scientific journal with the aim of publication. As a former biomedical researcher, that really caught my interest and I decided that I wish to focus more on this type of editing.
With that goal in mind, and to get some more formal training, I took the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) courses ‘Copyediting 2: Headway’ and the ‘Non-Fiction Developmental Editing’. But I knew of one other training course I thought would be a good addition and that was the European Association of Science Editors (EASE) School for Manuscript Editors and Academic Authors. I had to wait quite a few months since the course doesn’t run often. In fact, this was only the second time it ran. Therefore, I was rather excited to register and do it last September – it was a good way to get back to work after the summer holidays.
The EASE training course
This course was ‘designed to help researchers, academics, technical writers and copy editors who edit technical documents to make them more acceptable to journal editors and publishers, less likely to be desk-rejected, and once accepted, be published ahead of other manuscripts’. The training was held over the course of four weeks. Each three-hour session addressed two topics that covered the publication process, presentation of the manuscript and data, and effective writing skills.
The course was presented by Yateendra Joshi, a copyeditor and trainer with over 30 years’ experience. Two of the topics were presented by guest speakers who shared their in-depth knowledge. The 33 attendees came from all over the world, from four continents to be precise, and had various backgrounds: manuscript editors, authors, researchers, author editors, journal office staff, copyeditors and proofreaders.
What I learnt
1. What are the steps in the publication process
I knew from experience that there are multiple steps involved in getting your research published: choosing a journal, preparing an article manuscript, submitting it to an appropriate journal, peer review and responding to peer review and, ultimately, publication. However, my time as a researcher had been quite a long time ago and things have changed. So, I could do with a reminder of how it all works. And I was not disappointed.
All steps involved were discussed in depth. Consequently, I now have a much better understanding of the route to publication. I think it is helpful to be aware of what happens before and after submission because it clarifies where manuscript preparation fits into the process. It reminded me of my teacher training, when I had to do something similar. I was training to teach children aged 7 to 11 and we had to spend time in schools with children aged 5 to 7 and in schools with children aged 11 to 14 to find out where the children came from and where they were moving onto.
2. How to prepare a manuscript for submission
Manuscript editors can help with correcting spelling, punctuation and grammar, ensuring good sentence structure so that the author’s message can be understood by the reader, and formatting the manuscript so that it complies with the journal’s instructions for authors.
There may be many reasons for manuscripts not being accepted for publication: some related to the study itself or the manuscript not falling within the scope of the chosen journal, and others related to language errors or not adhering to the journal’s instructions for authors. I wish to help researchers with the latter and, in doing so, improve the chances of their manuscript not being rejected at first sight and, therefore, being considered for peer review. Spelling, punctuation and grammar must be perfect – or near perfect. As editors we know how to spell or if we are unsure, we can consult a dictionary. We also know how to use punctuation and grammar correctly. But there is so much more to creating a well-presented text. Do we know what to do with numbers in a manuscript? In which situations is it appropriate to use percentages? And what about levels of precision? Is there a space between the percentage sign and the number? Or between the number and the unit? What units to use? And are we using the correct multiplication sign? No, not the letter x. All this may sound rather dull, but it wasn’t. The explanations of the finer points were interspersed with engaging anecdotes. As a bit of a perfectionist, it was music to my ears. I was very happy to have all the above questions – and many more like those – answered.
It didn’t stop there. Citations and references were also discussed in detail, as were the different reference styles. Again, multiple examples showed the many ways in which citations and references can be formatted. That’s why it is so important to look at the instructions for authors for the particular journal you wish to publish in and its recent issue. They all seem to have their own preferences, for example, in author-year citations, a comma before the year or not and in numbered citations, the number in italics or roman. There were too many options to mention. I found out though that I truly enjoy looking at texts to that level of detail.
3. How to prepare tables and charts
Many academic articles include tables with numerical data. But do we know what makes a good table? What headings should be used? Should numbers be left-aligned, centre-aligned or right-aligned? And what to do with cells that have no data? I never knew there was so much to designing a clear and informative table. Many examples were shown to illustrate what makes a good table and why some tables are just too difficult to interpret.
We can ask the same question about charts. What makes a good chart? How do you know which chart is right for your data? As a tutor of maths, biology and chemistry I am familiar with the common types of chart and I know which one to use when: line graphs, box plots, bar charts, histograms, pie charts, kite diagrams and scatter graphs. But there are many more. Here I was introduced to some new charts – at least new to me. For example, I had never seen violin plots, heat maps and Coxcomb charts before. Thanks to the examples shown and the detailed explanations, I now understand much better which chart to use for what type of data and I have an insight into the large variety of tools available for creating any type of chart. Although I do not need to know how to produce tables and charts, I want to know what they are telling me.
4. How to improve effective writing skills
I know that to be a good editor, it is essential to also be a good writer. Effective writing is a skill and, therefore, it can be learnt and, of course, improved. To write effectively you must write in such a way that your readers understand what you are trying to tell them. The writing needs to be clear, concise and accurate. The course offered much advice on how to tackle writing in a systematic way and how to become an effective writer, and that it is normal for a good piece of writing to have gone through many drafts.
It was pointed out that writing skills can also be improved by extensive reading, in particular books by good writers. That’s certainly not a chore. I was especially excited about the Very Short Introductions series by Oxford University Press and the shortlist for the Royal Society Science Book Prize. These have introduced me to a lot of books I would otherwise not have read.
What I liked and why
I enjoyed the course immensely; the breadth and depth of information that was presented was extraordinary. Almost too much to grasp first time around. If anything hadn’t fallen into place, we could watch the recordings that were made available to all attendees.
What I found particularly helpful is that the trainer, Yateendra Joshi, showed so many examples. He explained very carefully how some things didn’t work, which made it much easier to understand the points he was trying to make. And if you still had questions, you could ask either during the session or by emailing him – I frequently did and always received a helpful answer within a few hours. Or you could try to find the answer yourself, since every session concluded with a long list of recommended reading.
After taking the course, many aspects of the editing and writing process have become much clearer. And I have this extensive list of helpful sources that I can turn to.
I hope this post has given you an impression of what the course has to offer. If you have any questions about the course or anything you think I may be able to help you with, feel free to
Blog post by: Monique Oude Luttikhuis Website: tuitionandtranslationservicesspalding.com LinkedIn: monique-oude-luttikhuis |
Written by: Lizzie Kean
Published: 28 November 2024
I’m sure a lot of people recognize this: you love to write but you can’t seem to find the time. A write-along, by analogy with the MALs and CALs (make-along; crochet-along) from the world of handicrafts and of course the good old sing-along, is a big friendly nudge to help you find that time. A write-along means working on the same project at the same time as other participants. You get instructions one at a time, sometimes every day, but in the case of the first SENSE Write-along that was launched last April, one a week, for twelve weeks. And by the end of that time, you will have written a short story! The assignments are designed to cost you no more than ten to fifteen minutes in actual writing time.
As with all activities you have to find time for, like going to the gym or weeding the garden, actually getting started is the hardest part. With the write-along, most people are hooked on completion of the first assignment. As language professionals, whether translators, copy-writers, editors, or working in other directions, we have to be good writers too. And practising is the best way to keep that skill sharp.
We started the SENSE Write-along with 31 participants and only three dropped out after the first week or two (they shall be nameless here). As far as I know, all the other participants completed the whole process. Sadly, only five chose to post their stories in the section of the Forum set aside especially for them. But those five made me very happy. When you read all of the texts, it’s hard to remember that they were all written according to the same assignments. That’s part of the fun of a write-along and of reading the resulting stories.
A big thank you to everyone who took part this time!
I will be starting a new write-along on 3 January 2025 and I invite you to participate (send an email to
The writers of the first write-along who agreed to their texts being published will see them appear sometime on the SENSE Blog, but in the meantime I leave you with the short story written by Sally Hill.
A walk in the park
By Sally Hill
Jeannie always let Prince off his leash when they reached the park, and just could not understand how he had ended up at the edge of the duck pond with a broken leg and the life sucked out of him. As she kneeled next to his lifeless body, her neighbour Brenda – uncharacteristically dressed in a boilersuit – approached to offer her sympathies.
Jeannie was surprised at her concern given that Brenda had never previously given either Prince or Jeannie the time of day – and had certainly never been so neighbourly. In response to Brenda’s questions as to what had happened, Jeannie could only reply that it had to have been something to do with the group of teenagers who were always hanging around under the oak trees near the pond. Brenda agreed, but as she helped Jeannie clean the mud off Prince’s coat and wrap him in a reusable shopping bag, Jeannie couldn’t help noticing a stain on Brenda’s boilersuit – a dark red stain that was not mud and looked suspiciously like blood.
After returning home from the vets to dispose of Prince’s muddy body, Jeannie mentioned her suspicions to her boyfriend Chris, and the rumours she’d heard that Brenda was a notorious dog hater; but she was not able to persuade him that Brenda was the culprit. Was she just imagining things after all?
There was only one thing for it – she decided to go round to Brenda’s house on the context of borrowing a cup of honey, to see if she could pick up any more clues. To Jeannie’s surprise, her repeated knocking kicked off a great deal of barking from behind the door, and when she peered through the double glazing to take a closer look, she counted what appeared to be nine puppies of various breeds, all in small cages!
As she later related to Chris, still shaking from her subsequent confrontation with her neighbour, Jeannie could never have imagined how right she had been to be suspicious – who would have thought that Brenda was in fact a vampire who survived on dogs’ blood. Chris was fascinated and amazed at this revelation and managed to persuade Jeannie to invite Brenda to join them at that Sunday’s Hollywood Vampires concert at the O2 Arena – imagine having a real vampire alongside him while listening to his favourite band!
The evening was a great success and from then on, the three of them were firm friends; although you will not be surprised to learn that Jeannie and Chris never invited Brenda to join them when taking their new puppy Bounce for his walk in the park.
Blog post by: Lizzie Kean Website: www.lizziekean.nl |
Written by: Liz van Gerrevink-Genee and Joy Burrough-Boenisch
Published: 19 November 2024
On 11 October, UniSIG was treated to the online talk ‘Making footnotes and bibliographies plain – decoding, readability, Zotero/AI, consistency’ by former SENSE member (and past convener of FINLEGSIG) Dr Stephen Machon, who is a highly experienced legal English editor/reviewer and trainer. He spoke on a necessary part of the scholarly and academic machinery of publications: footnotes and bibliographies. Having clarified that the information provided under the headings ‘Bibliography’ and ‘References’ is essentially the same, as both refer to a list of sources, Stephen pointed out that footnotes (and endnotes) may also indicate the sources substantiating an assertion in the main text as well as provide additional information or opinions not central to the narrative. Bibliographies and footnotes are both important because they contribute to an author’s academic standing.
There is no one agreed footnote or bibliographical entry style, which leaves editors, proofreaders and reviewers prey to the vagaries of publishers’ editorial staff and their style guidelines. Our job as editors is to ensure consistency and readability not only in the narrative but also in the footnotes and bibliography. Being aware of where we can make the coded language of footnotes and bibliographies plain can contribute significantly to the readability of a scholarly publication, whether an article, monograph, or PhD thesis.
One noteworthy difference between the Dutch and English footnote conventions that Stephen drew our attention to relates to footnote numbering: the Anglo convention is for the numbering to begin afresh for each chapter, but the Dutch convention is to continue numbering consecutively throughout the thesis or book. This can result in very unwieldy footnote numbers and vastly complicates any renumbering needed after removing or adding a footnote, so Stephen recommends advising Dutch authors to follow the Anglo convention.
Stephen showed examples of reference styles, explaining that he’s punctilious about ensuring consistency in the bibliographies and footnotes of the law PhD theses he edits, and is paid well for doing so. Lively discussion ensued about whether when dealing with a monograph thesis or an article intended to be part of a compilation thesis a language professional should rigorously copy-edit the bibliography or reference list and the citations. Alice Lehtinen’s comment in the meeting chat summarizes the feelings of many of the 17 attendees: ‘I think it depends on what your role is, on what you’ve agreed to do. In my case, I avoid checking bibliographies etc. like the plague, but I make this clear to the client. I consider myself the language expert, and that these things are down to the client to check.’
Stephen has kindly agreed to allow his PowerPoint® presentation to be sent to interested SENSE members, so if you missed this lively and informative meeting or would like to be reminded of what Stephen covered in his talk, please email Joy (the UniSIG convener).
Blog post by: Joy Burrough-Boenisch LinkedIn: joyburroughboenisch |
Blog post by: Liz van Gerrevink-Genee Website: www.transl.nl |
Written by: Cathy Scott
Published: 7 November 2024
Mysterious? You must be joking. Examples of copywriting are all around you, clamouring for your attention, demanding your approval, prising open your wallet, changing your mind and appealing to your basest instincts. The bombardment of commercial – and increasingly political – messages starts as soon as you open your eyes and ears in the morning, continues on billboards and bus sides as you wander down the street, and even unashamedly follows you into the loo. (Do remember to disinfect your phone on a regular basis.)
Yet members of this esteemed organization are often mystified as to what copywriting actually entails, let alone how to actually do it. (Preferably in exchange for more money than is generally available for translating or editing other people’s texts.) So here’s a quick overview of a vast and changing landscape.
What copywriting is
The term for text on an advertisement is ‘copy’, and the way it originates is by someone writing it. (Remove the silent ‘w’, and you’re in legal territory instead.) In general, copywriting simply involves coming up with words to persuade a target group to buy the goods or services of a particular client. It’s the advertising industry’s expression of the latest exhaustively determined marketing position. Unlike proper journalists, whose job is to tell a story objectively, copywriters are happy to present only one side of the argument while conveniently forgetting the rest. At one advertising agency I worked for, I was so utterly convinced by the studies presenting the superior benefits of medicated talc X versus cream Y for treating nappy rash that I wrote an entire consumer leaflet singing its praises. Imagine my surprise when, a few years and ad agencies later, I had to do the same thing again – only this time for cream Y, which came complete with equally compelling scientific reports drawing precisely the opposite conclusion.
Where you can find it
One reason for the confusion surrounding copywriting is its sheer variety and ubiquity. At the start of my glorious career 40 years ago, one would be briefed to write encouraging words for a finite group of media types: TV commercials (on a lucky day), radio spots, printed products (newspapers, magazines and direct mail) or posters. Since then, the number of possible channels has exploded, although the bread-and-butter work consists largely of websites, social media posts, emails, intranet updates, e-brochures and print-on-demand magazines. You can’t deny that many trees have breathed a sigh of relief.
The short and sweet of it
Yet one aspect hasn’t changed in the slightest: all of these diverse communications are expected to hold true to the key brand concept, which is usually summarized in what outsiders call a slogan (a term that makes insiders wince) or what we professionals knowingly refer to as a strapline, endline or tagline. The most successful of these tend to be short and sweet: ‘Beanz Meanz Heinz’ (remember that one?); ‘Reassuringly Expensive’ (Stella Artois); ‘Just Do It’ (Nike); or ‘Think different’ (Apple). You may also come across some hilariously optimistic ones, such as ‘Let’s make your home special’ (IKEA) or less innocent examples, such as ‘Take Back Control’.
Concepts and copy
Such deceptively simple phrases usually form part of the core advertising concept for which several ad agencies eagerly pitch every few years. Creative teams (each consisting of a copywriter and art director) battle it out to distil hundreds of pages of indigestible marketing bumph into a tasty little snack. Sometimes all these efforts boil down to a typical Holy Trinity consisting of headline + visual + strapline; sometimes the headline’s merely the product name; and sometimes the concept is further condensed into merely a picture of the product (or logo) with the genius new brand line.
From concept to campaign
Once that rather fun conceptual part is over, it’s time to craft the rest of the communication campaign. This can roughly be divided into B2B (business-to-business), B2C (business-to-consumer) and even C2C (consumer-to-consumer) items. Some of these, such as brochures and websites, will need long, descriptive explanatory copy that needs to be carefully structured. Others, such as Twitter (now X) posts and the more minimalist kind of press ads, will focus on conveying a key message or brand value in just a few words. But wherever you’re replacing grey lines (the ones drawn by the designer to indicate where you’re allowed to play) with actual text, you need to ensure that your words either complement, explain or add an extra dimension to the visuals that accompany them. This applies throughout the customer journey, which is the term used to describe all the interactions that a member of the target audience has with the product before, during and even after the purchase itself. No communication channel, no matter how small, should go to waste.
Welcome to your world
As a copywriter, your job will be to peek under the surface of an astounding array of different organizations in order to glean just enough knowledge to write about their business, products, services or aims without frying your brain. Once in a while, having found your niche, you may spend your time exploring a much-loved specialism in nerdy depth with a favourite client. You’ll learn a lot about social trends, innovations, economics and people along the way. Hopefully, you’ll also gain useful skills such as keeping a straight face upon being informed by market researchers that the persona epitomising the core user of Brand Fab is Julie, a mid-thirties career woman who lives in an untidy semi-detached house in a working-class area with a slightly incontinent, elderly Labradoodle called Muffin.
Write here. Write now.
If you’re interested in getting into this game, you need to be more than a wordsmith. You should also be able to create visual concepts, understand commercial goals, adapt your writing style to the agreed tone of voice, and ensure that everything you write is fit for purpose. Some clients may be impressed by a CV featuring a Bachelor of Arts from a famous alma mater, but what they’re really looking for is a portfolio of copywriting examples (which, in the beginning, will be private masterpieces that you would have written if anyone had been discerning enough to hire you). Meanwhile, look around you at the myriad of existing examples, study it all to work out how it’s done, and challenge yourself to learn how to do it better. For instance, you’ll probably notice that lots of long-copy items finish off with a Call To Action. So start today!
Blog post by: Cathy Scott LinkedIn: cathy-scott |
Written by: Paula Arellano Geoffroy
Published: 30 October 2024
Freelance translator Mahala Mathiassen (LinkedIn: mahala) joined SENSE in September. She is currently based in Mandal, on the south coast of Norway, and has been translating from Norwegian to English for the past 15 years. I invited her to share some of her story and she accepted with enthusiasm. Here’s what she had to tell.
Were you born in Mandal? Can you tell us a bit about where you are from?
I’m a British citizen and a permanent resident of Norway. I was born in Colne in Lancashire, but moved around quite a bit in the UK. I obtained an Honours Diploma in French, Spanish and Business Studies from Mid-Essex Technical College & School of Art in Chelmsford (now Anglia Ruskin University), and subsequently held administrative positions in the UK before mainly working overseas in Libya, Zambia and Spain. After some years in Norway, we relocated as a family to the US in 1982 when I was employed on a four-year contract with the US subsidiary of a Norwegian-owned company. After returning to Norway, I established a company offering tourist information, coordination of patient transport and translation services, and subsequently decided to concentrate on translation services and established my current company in 2008.
How did you arrive at translation as a profession?
I have always had an interest in languages. I gained translation experience at college, and I was able to practice my Spanish working for a British property company. I arrived in Norway with no knowledge of Norwegian and, without a work permit and with two small children, I had to learn by doing. Eventually, I obtained a position in the international marketing department of a consultancy firm, where my language skills proved useful. I have since passed the Chartered Institute of Linguists exam and obtained their Postgraduate Diploma in Translation. I took short courses in translation to and from Norwegian at the University of Bergen and passed their Advanced Test in Norwegian at the level of a native speaker. Additionally, I qualified as a member of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting in the UK and I regularly attend CPD courses and webinars arranged by various translation associations.
What kind of projects have you worked on?
The first Norwegian to English project I worked on was as in-house translator for a consultancy firm and involved translating a university textbook on geographical information systems published by John Wiley & Sons in collaboration with the author, Tor Bernhardsen. I was not credited as the translator, but the translation received positive reviews. My first project as a freelance translator involved translating a series of articles related to causes of kidney poisoning for a medical researcher at a Brazilian medical centre. This was a pro-bono project, with a nominal payment of $5; however, I was credited as the Norwegian translator on the final report. One of my earlier paid projects was a scientific article for publication relating to fisheries for a senior research scientist at SINTEF, Trondheim. Projects for agencies have covered a wide range of subjects, but I eventually specialized in financial, legal and business documents, including annual reports and accounts, contracts and agreements. I can credit my past and present business experience and background for leading me in this direction. I have also translated and certified personal documents, birth certificates, university transcripts and the like.
How did you learn about SENSE and why did you decide to join?
I first became aware of SENSE on Facebook and was at the time considering moving on from translation to proofreading and editing, and I was also motivated by the fact that I did not feel any sense of belonging to larger international translation associations. I also hoped to be able to contribute in some way.
What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
I am working at keeping my green plants alive, I enjoy cooking and am interested in Scandinavian vintage furniture and interior design. I tend to enjoy more intimate social gatherings, art and photography exhibitions, and regularly tune in to English language news channels, and enjoy listening to classical music and some pop music.
Do you read a lot? Can you recommend some books?
I used to read a lot of English and Norwegian literature, especially during my period of employment as the manager of a public library but have lapsed somewhat. Some Scandi Noir but also a variety of other authors – some in translation, such as Elena Ferrante. Nowadays, I tend to read more specialized publications, for example The Economist, and articles and blog posts on LinkedIn, as well as articles in Norwegian and English newspapers and magazines, and I listen to podcasts on various topics of interest.
Blog post by: Paula Arellano Geoffroy Website: paulaarellanogeoffroy.com LinkedIn: paula-arellano-geoffroy |