Translation is not enough: A lesson from a publication failure

The quote from a reviewer “I understand what is meant, and sympathize with the idea, but the phrasing is awkward” sums up pretty much all the “why nots” for my article rejection. Sadly, all the translating, rewriting, and proofreading that my co-author and I did was not enough to put the pre-existing article draft written in Russian first into a publishable state in English. As painful as it was, most of the criticism voiced by the reviewer was valid. The most important point these comments highlighted was the difference in Russian and international academic conventions, resulting from different research approaches and publication traditions. After a proper grievance over the rejection, I’m going to analyze my mistakes and share academic “blind spots” to figure out better ways to meet international publication standards for pre-existing research. I’m also inviting you to share your success or failure stories. Speaker: Anastasia Artemova ABOUT THE HSE AWC The HSE Academic Writing Center (AWC) is a collaborative space where university faculty and researchers can get language support at any time. JOIN US AWC website: