Purpose:

One main goal of the American Arachnological Society is to strengthen the bonds between arachnological researchers across the Americas, and the world. An issue faced by many researchers whose first language is not English is the challenge of writing manuscripts in the English language, which are subsequently submitted to English-only journals. Writing in a non-native language is difficult. There is no such thing as “proper English”, however, correct grammar and varied vocabulary improve readability of scientific articles. As such, the purpose of this initiative is to provide free English language reviews of submission-ready manuscripts for arachnologists in countries who do not speak English as a first language and are submitting manuscripts to the Journal of Arachnology. The manuscripts will be reviewed by fellow friendly arachnologists resulting in an improved manuscript ready for journal submission.

The review process will be completely transparent, meaning the corresponding author and language reviewer will be put into direct email contact. The goal is to have reviews complete within two weeks of submission.

If you would like to volunteer as a reviewer, or have any questions, please contact the ELRAW manager (Shahan Derkarabetian): elraw.aas@~@gmail.com

Submission guidelines:

• This service is primarily to review English language clarity of arachnological manuscripts, not methodology or content.
• Manuscript should be in final draft format, i.e., ready to submit to the journal.
• When you are ready to submit the manuscript for language review, the corresponding author should contact: elraw.aas@~@gmail.com
• Include the formatted manuscript file (.doc, .docx) and any associated supplemental files that need language review.
• Please acknowledge the AAS DEI committee and associated reviewer by name (if available) in the manuscript’s acknowledgements section.