Ok, so my second attempt at the pro test was successful. Yesssss! Eu fico feliz! Now I'm going to tackle the proofreading test, and I have a question regarding run-on sentences. The guidelines for proofreaders ask for you not to change the meaning of the translation. However, there's one sentence that appears in the test that appears to be a run-on - that is to say, there are enough commas that it doesn't appear natural in English, and for a proofreader correcting a text that originally appears in English you would probably want to suggest that the sentence be divided up to flow better. I'm a bit nervous about adding this correction, however, since it could be interpreted as interfering with a stylistic choice made by the translator. Any thoughts?
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Hello kind_of_drew,
Congratulations on passing your Pro test! :)
We actually recently updated the guidelines in the Translator Test Expectations for Proofread tests because we found that too many test takers were over-editing. They're not very different but they are intended to emphasize that test takers shouldn't only correct obvious errors.
The new guidelines (which haven't been published yet) read:
Proofread level tests are similar to Pro tests. However, proofreaders are tested on their ability to find and correct specific errors, and demonstrate careful attention to detail.
The Proofread test consists of a text in the original language and a translation containing a limited number of specific errors. A proofreader must find these errors and correct them, while not making any new errors.
A proofreader should not make significant changes to the translation or change the text to fit a particular writing style.
To pass, a Proofread test should have 0 errors and no unnecessary changes to the translated text (i.e., retranslation or rewriting).
The moment the test reviewer spots an error, or sees that significant changes were made to the text, they will stop reviewing the test and reject it.
I hope this helps! Good luck with your test and please let me know if you have any further questions :)
Thanks,
Natalia
Thanks, good to know! I actually already submitted the proofread test, my thinking is that even if I don't pass the first time I can still get some feedback and improve for the next round. I'll let everyone know how it goes. As they say in Brazil, um abraço!
Awesome attitude! Keep us posted :)
Well at least you had the chance for the second try. I did the proofread test and got 4/5, it appears I missed to correct a double space (which is not noted in Gengo's the test expectations file as a major nor minor mistake), and there are no more tests made for my language pair (they only made 1 example!), so I just have to wait now.... For whenever they decide to make another one... :(
Hi Tijana,
How many corrections did you make? It seems to me I changed a hundred details. The feedback was I had found "nearly all" errors, whithout specification what I had missed, and I was accepted.
So maybe it's okay to miss a double space and perhaps some more details, as long as you catch enough other errors, and the double space is just the one they picked as minimal feedback.
Still it's too bad you don't get a second chance. For me, the proofread jobs account for 7 percent of my income via Gengo. Not much, but still more than nothing.
Hi Alexander. This is the review I got: "You have captured 4 of 5 mistakes needed. „ Mediterranean milk run” has an extra space that you needed it to correct. More luck next time."
I made many corrections, but I missed this one. I didn't honestly pay attention to double space, I focused on grammar and punctuation, as well on the correct meaning of the sentences. It didn't seem like a major mistake to look for...but...I was wrong. The really frustrating thing is that I can't retake it, just because there is none available...
Thanks for taking an interest in my problem! All the best!!
@tjana: I have asked the Senior Translator to make another Proofread-level test in your language pair so you should be able to re-take this soon.
@ Megan Waters: Thank you for your help! I really appreciate it!
Well, 16 days passed and no news on the proof read test for English-Serbian language pair... :( I hope I will get the chance any day now...
@tijana stepic: The test is now available for you to take ;) Good luck!
@Megan Waters Thank you so much for helping me! Waiting for the results...
Passed it!!!
Congrats!
Way to go!
Thank you all!!! <3
@tijana stepic: congrats :) Btw, I am also waiting for the results of the profread test
I hope you pass it! I'm really not familliar about how common are the jobs for proofread. None came up yet. But at least now I have the opportunity to take them when they do. Or maybe one day we'll become the Senior translators...
Having just failed the proofreader test for JA>EN for the third time consecutively—thus having to now wait SIX months to take it again—I have to say I'm now pretty frustrated, having read this.
A comment above reveals that a user was approved on their proofreader test, even though they apparently didn't correct all the errors.
In my latest attempt, my feedback stated I missed ONE error and so my test attempt was rejected.
I realize that the Test Expectations state that all errors need to be located in order to pass; however, I think it's a bit unfair that these expectations are not being set consistently across the board. I don't know what language pair the user in question above attempted the proofreader test in; however, I don't believe that should matter.
This post probably sounds a little bit like sour grapes but it has actually made me lose a lot of faith in Gengo.
Hi mitchell.curtis,
Sorry to hear you were rejected because of a single error. Like I stated above, I was accepted after having found "nearly all" errors. I leave it up to Gengo to comment on this inconsistency. Just for the record: I did my test in June 2014, for English to Dutch.