The Laboratory of Genetics, Horticulture and Seed Science (GBioS) of the Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, University of Abomey-Calavi provides Editing and translation services for any type of documents in the field of Biological and Agricultural Sciences. The services include editing and translation from English into French and Vice-Versa. Our high quality translation and editing services and competitive rates are a direct result of our highly trained editors and translators in English and French.
Services we provide
Translation: we turn your document words or text from French into English or from English into French.
Editing: we ensure the technical consistency of your document by revising the lay outing, graphics, the spelling, and the grammar. Depending on the needs expressed by the client, Editing can include the following:
- Proofreading: correcting all errors: a last-minute check before printing;
- Copy editing: correcting spelling, punctuation and small grammatical errors in professionally written documents;
- Editing: all the above, plus rewriting ambiguous sentences, and restructuring some sentences, paragraphs and sections;
- Major editing: restructuring in a logical sequence, rewriting, checking content against external references, adding information that was omitted;
- Writing a business document: writing a document from scratch on behalf of the client or in consultation with the client. Seeking and selecting source material, and writing and editing the document;
- Web copy editing: editing or rewriting documents for the Web, when content is provided by the client. Organising information into directories. Writing titles, meta tags, etc. Editing for high search ranking, on-screen readability, credibility, etc.; and
- Web content writing: writing web content from scratch on behalf of the client or in consultation; organising information into directories; selecting and seeking source material, and writing and editing Web pages.
Our duties and responsibilities
- We provide and guarantee the highest standards of quality at a fair price. We provide support to the preparation of high standard publications through editing and translation.
- We strive to implement a pricing methodology that is clear and fair to the client. Hence, we always recommend a price per word methodology for translation services.
- We stand by all of the translations and editing performed by our team. If you are not completely satisfied we will work with you and/or your team until it meets your complete satisfaction.
- We ensure the timely delivery of edited and translated materials.
Our team composition
Our staff is made up of 14 men and women with outstanding skills and experience in translating technical documents. The staff has a proven experience in technical and language editing, proof reading as well as lay outing of documents and demonstrates ability and capacity to meet tight deadlines. The team is divided in two sections: the “Translation” section with all team members (14 persons) and the “Editing” section restricted to seven persons. We have a Leader who ensures the overall good functioning (e.g. communication, structuring, re-orientation) and a Manager who coordinates the practical activities of translation and Editing.
Our Pricing and rates
Our pricing for translation projects is mainly determined by the following factors:
- number of source words;
- complexity of the subject matter;
- language combination; and
- amount of time required to complete the assignment.
Our translation rates include:
- use of one or several native, educated and experienced translators;
- use of a second translator in each language to edit and proofread each file;
- use of a specialist as content manager or proofreader; and
- general formatting in commonly used software programs (e.g. Word, Excel).
Translation cost
Translation cost (flat fee basis): USD 1.00 / 70 characters (10 words) or USD 100 / 1000 words
Delivery time limit: 750 words / day.
- A text translation is valued in terms of the characters in the source text, with a minimum charge of USD 100 per project consisting of 1000 words. This means that if the total sum of the resulting character count is lower, you will still be charged USD 100, whilst if it is higher you will be charged for the actual total resulting.
- Perfect planning and, more importantly, enough time to line up resources let us deliver high volume outputs at the most competitive rates in the market. A minimum time of 3 days will be allocated to all projects to allow quality proofreading. Should the commissioner decide to reduce the delivery time, the fee basis will be revised. A translation project that needs to be delivered in a shorter time frame may carry up to a 50% charge above our regular rates. Despite this potential extra charge, we will always help you out by providing you with the staff and resources to accommodate your rush projects.
The schedule is one of the first elements discussed prior to quoting your project. We will work with your team to structure a delivery schedule that will maximize quality and minimize rush costs. If need be, we will deliver projects on a rolling basis with the most important documents being delivered first.
Editing rates
Depending on the number of source words and the amount of work that is necessary our rates can be estimated as in Table 1.
Table 1. Summary of editing rates:
| Proofreading | Full editing | Rewriting | |
| Per word | USD 0.020 | USD 0.040 | USD 0.08 |
| 1,000 words | USD 20 | USD 40 | USD 80 |
- NB. A project can be a combination of proofreading, full editing and rewriting. Consequently the price will be determined on the basis of the amount of work involved.
Billing
We normally require partial payment upfront and the remaining upon delivery of the final product. For clients with proven good credit or that have a good payment history, we can bill in arrears on a monthly basis. Notwithstanding the above, we will work with your company on a case-by-case basis to accommodate your billing needs.
NB: The estimates may not be completely accurate until we have seen the material you want translated.