Quality Assurance

Even the slightest mistake in writing can undermine your entire offering. It will make you look unprofessional and make it more difficult to connect with your customers.

We have therefore a developed a rigorous quality control process that guarantees that every text you receive from us is fault free, ready to publish and ready to do its work for your business.

Your document – particularly if it is intended for publication – goes through a four-step process from the moment it lands in our inbox to the time it is returned to your desk, in English and ready to print.

First draft – overview and initial research

We make sure all the text is translated in draft and that nothing is missing. Some initial research will be carried out but the aim is not necessarily to pin things down conclusively at this stage. We may often have different versions or approaches to sections of the text. The objective is to gain an overview of the document.

Second draft – stylistic review

Now that the whole text has been translated, we can see the overall picture. The editing stage is about improving the flow and consistency of the text. As such, it is likely that we will carry out further research, as we can now be more focused on the critical issues. It is at this point that we go back through the translation and make decisions on terminology and select the most appropriate version in sections where there were several options.

Research and refine

The translation is checked again, this time as a hard copy. By looking at the text on paper rather than on screen, we can better check for flow, formatting issues, logical inconsistencies, clarity, style and terminology consistency. To make sure we achieve the right tone with the document, we may also reread any background material.

Final proof – ready for publication

Ideally at least a day after checking the translation on paper, we go back and give the text a final read-through on screen to ensure that it is ready for publication and error-free. As this is the third time the translation is being proofread and we are sure of the terminology choices, we can focus more on polishing the text and giving it a final touch-up at this stage.

Are all the stages really necessary?

If your document is for publication, yes, we would always recommend you let us apply all four stages of the quality assurance process to your translation.

However, we understand that you sometimes need the translated document returned as soon as possible. For texts that are not intended for publication or for documents where you require a quick turnaround, we can tailor the offer to include stages 1 to 3 or stages 1 and 2 only.