Editing Work for ESL Tutors

In addition to teaching adult ESL students one-on-one, another way that I make use of my training and supplement my income is by editing students’ papers. These students normally aren’t my tutoring students, although I do occasionally edit some papers written by my students for their college courses. I don’t advertise as an editor (I only advertise on craigslist.org offering tutoring services), however, I have frequently received responses to my ads asking if I would be willing to edit someone’s paper. It could be a 2-page essay or a much longer term paper.

Before agreeing to edit a paper, I always ask for two things. I ask that the student send me the draft as soon as possible and I ask what the turnaround time is. Before I make a commitment to edit the paper, I want to see how much work will be involved and I want to know how much time I would have. On more than one occasion, I’ve had people send me very lengthy papers that need to be done overnight. I almost always say no to these offers. I refuse to take on someone else’s headache and make it my own. Also, I always agree to a price beforehand. I don’t give an hourly rate. Students always think that editing will take less than it actually does, so I want to avoid any disagreements.

I try to provide exceptional work. I make corrections, offer suggestions, and point out things that need clarification or that I totally cannot understand. No matter how long it takes, no matter how many times the student and I have to send the document back and forth, I always make sure that they are satisfied with the outcome.

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