Editorial Guidelines for Language Editing

These guidelines bring together key points that will help us maintain the highest academic and professional standards in the language editing of our manuscripts. They are based on patterns observed across past submissions and are intended to support editors in making well-informed, consistent decisions. We hope they will serve as a helpful reference in your editorial work.

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1. Adjectival Forms for Group Descriptors

• Please ensure that adjectives and nouns are paired in line with established academic usage when referring to learner proficiency.
• Examples:
  • Preferred: low-proficiency learners, high-proficiency group
  • Avoid: low proficient learners, high proficient group

2. Hyphenation in Compound Modifiers and Standard Test Names

• Kindly check that compound adjectives before a noun are consistently hyphenated and that standard terms remain intact.
• Examples:
  • Preferred: low-proficiency learners, pre-treatment session, post-test scores
  • Avoid: low proficiency learners (when used as a modifier), pre test.
• Tip: When choosing between variants (e.g., pretest pre-test), please select one form and apply it consistently across the manuscript.

3. Capitalization

• Please use capital letters within sentences only for proper nouns or acronyms.
• Example:
  • Preferred: Nevertheless, many scholars…
  • Avoid: Nevertheless, Many scholars…

4. Article Usage (Definite and Indefinite)

• Articles help signal specificity; kindly ensure they are used where context requires them.
• Example:
  • Preferred: the individual characteristics of learners
  • Avoid: individual characteristics of learners (when referring to known, specific characteristics).

5. Prepositions and Collocation Choices

• Please check that prepositions follow standard academic collocations.
• Examples:
  • perceptions of (not perceptions on)
  • channels for providing feedback (not channels of providing feedback)
  • on grammatical features (not in grammatical features)

6. Research Terminology and Statistical Reporting

• Kindly use complete, standard terminology for methods and tests, and follow academic style for statistical notation.
• Examples:
  • Preferred: the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test, p = .034
  • Avoid: a statistical test of Wilcoxon Signed Rank, sig = .034
• Please also avoid redundant constructions such as quasi-experimental experiment; use quasi-experimental study.

7. Punctuation for Clarity

Even small changes in punctuation, such as inserting or omitting a comma, can alter the interpretation of a sentence. We kindly ask editors to:

• Use the Oxford (serial) comma style.
  • Definition: The Oxford comma is the comma placed before the final conjunction (and, or) in a list of three or more items.
  • Example:
    • Preferred: The study analyzed grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation.
    • Avoid: The study analyzed grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. (unless the journal specifically omits the Oxford comma as a style choice)
• Insert commas to signal breaks that help readers process complex information.
  • Example (your original case):
    • Preferred: on the topic, including new approaches…(the comma here shows that including new approaches is an extra clarifying detail, not part of the main noun phrase the topic).
    • Avoid: on the topic including new approaches…(without the comma, it could be read as referring only to topics that include new approaches, which may not be the intended meaning).

8. Parenthetical Clarity

• If using parentheses to clarify a term, please ensure the meaning is clear.
• Example: (i.e., output) is clearer than simply (output) when the intention is to explain a concept.

9. Verb Tense Consistency in Research Contexts

• For reporting specific study results, please use the past tense consistently unless referring to general truths or theoretical claims.
• Example:
  • Preferred: The results showed a significant improvement…
  • Avoid: The results show… in a past-tense context.

10. Number and Agreement Accuracy

• Please ensure that number agreement is correct for both nouns and verbs.
• Examples:
  • this finding (singular), these findings (plural)

11. PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT: Consistency Between Statistical Values and Interpretation

• Please double-check that narrative statements match reported values.
• For example:
  • p < .05 indicates significance
  • p > .05 indicates non-significance
• A mismatch between values and text can cause reader confusion.

12. Lexical Choice in Pedagogical Contexts

• Verbs in teaching contexts benefit from precise selection.
• Example:
  • Preferred: providing corrective feedback
  • Avoid: conducting corrective feedback.

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Final Note

These guidelines are intended as a shared resource to make our collective work smoother, more consistent, and more aligned with best practices in academic publishing.

We greatly value the time, care, and expertise our editors invest in improving each manuscript. By applying these points attentively, we ensure our publications reflect the highest standards and communicate our authors’ work as clearly as possible.

 ISELT Editorial Office