Here's just a little bit about me and why I established my own proofreading company in 2016. As a scientist by training, I feel it's important to share with you my motivation for setting up such a business. I graduated with a PhD (Biology) from the University of York, UK in February 2010, having previously obtained a BSc (Hons) Applied Biology from the University of Bath (2005) and an MSc Palaeobiology with distinction from the University of Bristol (2006). In 2010 I moved overseas to work in the Department of Zoology at the University of Tartu in Estonia and I have been living in this great little country ever since.
Robert B. Davis Proofreading Services was established because of an obvious need for native English speakers to proofread manuscripts and theses of non-native users of English. While services are available, for example associated with particular publishers, prices can be high. As a native English speaker, equipped with a scientific background I found myself in the perfect place to assist in the improvement of written scientific texts by non-native speakers. As a move to improve further the quality of my proofreading work, I obtained my Proofreading Level 1 Certificate in 2015 from the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) in the UK (at that time it was the Society for Editors and Proofreaders).
Very quickly I found myself receiving requests from outside the scientific community, from various individuals and organisations to help improve the English language in all kinds of documents across a range of fields from space technology to architecture to international relations to conservation, from jobseekers to entrepreneurs to museums to charities, and from beyond Estonia's borders too. Recently requests have also come from native speakers of English. With these numerous and varied requests, the time came to establish a formal proofreading service. I get an enormous amount of pleasure from my work and if you're reading this wondering if I can help you, then I'd be delighted to!
My academic background is in international relations and security studies, and I completed my PhD in 2022 at Royal Holloway, University of London, having previously attended Newcastle University and Durham University. Since 2018 I have been living in Estonia whilst working as a Visiting Fellow at the University of Tartu. During this time in Estonia, I have found my language skills as a native speaker to be in demand. I have completed numerous proofreading tasks for both academic and non-academic audiences on a variety of topics in the fields of international relations, history, geography, and linguistics, as well as non-academic assignments, such as company newsletters and websites. I have a Proofreading Level 1 Certificate from the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and I am happy to work on a wide array of subjects to suit your needs.
