Portfolio
A selection of my blog posts, articles and features that I have created and edited. You can also read some articles that I have translated from Italian into English. I work with a number of agencies and companies providing informative, readable text that engages English-speaking audiences. Most of my professional copywriting, editing and translation work is for clients working with major multinationals. Since this work is undertaken on a freelance basis, I am not able to use the material here – but you can still get a pretty good idea of my skills from the examples given below.
To find out more about how I can help your brand or organisation deliver its message to your key audience, please contact me and I will be happy to discuss some exciting ideas with you!
EasyMilano.com
I am a regular contributor to the website EasyMilano.com, an established news and lifestyle brand that has been serving the expat community of Milan, Italy since 1999. I have written about local neighbourhoods, places to visit, travelling with pets, driving in Italy, concerts and plays, film locations, vegetarian and vegan dining, architecture and other topics.
Pay As You Learn
Are you studying Business English for your work? Would you like to improve your ability in speaking, writing, reading and listening to help develop your career? PayAsYouLearn.com is a website with everything you need: realistic and useful dialogues and articles in English, business situations including meeting new people, getting a job, talking about your work, telephoning, writing emails, taking part in meetings, doing presentations and much more.
Milan English blog
A blog I started in 2008 when I moved to Italy. I have covered events, conferences and plays over the year. I’ve also written book reviews, interviewed a wide range of people and published articles on business topics and lifestyle in Italy’s capital of fashion.
Groundwork UK
Groundwork UK is the umbrella organisation for a network of over 50 Groundwork Trusts around the country. Groundwork supports communities in need, working with partners to help improve the quality of people’s lives, their prospects and potential, and the places where they live, work and play. Many Groundwork projects involve the physical improvement of underused or neglected areas of land to improve amenity and community involvement. In 2006, I was asked to edit their Annual Review.
Vegetarian and Vegan Places in Milan (2024)
Every vegetarian and vegan in Italy has a story to tell that involves going to a restaurant or bar, asking about the veggie options and ends with the bemused waiter shrugging and offering them a salad. However, in recent years, that experience has become increasingly less common as ever more people turn to vegetarianism and veganism (over 5% of the Italian population according to one estimate), a trend driven as well by younger, more demanding diners and customers, including a growing number of expats.
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Milan is now home to many of Italy’s most well-known veggie restaurants, from high-end establishments such as Joia, the first (and only) vegetarian restaurant in Europe to be awarded a Michelin star, to more affordable eateries, such as Flower Burger, serving vegan burgers in (literally) all the colours of the rainbow.
Milano Skyline: the Ever-Changing Landscape (2023)
This is the first in a series of articles about the most exciting modern architecture in Milan.
Milan’s best-known building is its statue-encrusted Gothic cathedral, the Duomo (started in 1386 and completed in 1965, which is a pretty long timeframe for a construction project, even by Italian standards). But the city is also a showcase of more recent architecture up to the present era: from the brutalist concrete of Torre Velasca, with its overhanging upper stories reminiscent of a medieval Italian castle, to Milan’s first skyscraper proper, the late 50s Pirellone, looming over Stazione Centrale, itself a grandiloquent architectural statement in stone from Italy’s fascist period. (Although, apparently, Frank Lloyd Wright considered it the most beautiful station in the world.)
Travelling with Pets – to and from Italy (2023)
The rules on larger dogs travelling in the hold of a plane are also very tight. The number of animals you can…
Exploring Milano: Palazzo Lombardia (2024)
WARNING: Given that’s there only so much you can say about the various configurations of glass…
NetworkMilan.com
A business-focused blog developed for the Milan Business English Network. I wrote articles, organised events and interviewed international entrepreneurs working in Italy.
Bradley Mitton is the founder and Managing Director of Mitton International Wines GmbH, Berlin.
OpenKnowledge
OpenKnowledge (established in 2008) is a consulting firm that empowers organisation to grow by balancing their digital transformation journey and their human-centric development. I have worked on a number of projects with OK and have translated several of their recent supplements for the Harvard Business Review Italia into English.
Robert English
I also have a regular section on EasyMilano.com called “Robert English” featuring articles on various Business English topics, such as doing a job interview in English, talking about your skills and how to sound more natural when you speak English. Each article is accompanied by a video specially made for EasyMilano.com.
What to Say in a Job Interview in English (2024)
By Robert Dennis for EasyMilano.com
How does your experience prepare you for this role?
Be specific about your past roles and how they relate to the job you’re applying for. Highlight your achievements and how the skills you’ve gained make you an ideal candidate. You might say, for instance:
“In my previous role as a customer service specialist, I handled over 50 customer interactions daily, resolving issues efficiently. This experience has honed my problem-solving skills and my ability to work under pressure, which are vital for this role.“
The word “hone†means to make something perfect, e.g. you can hone the blade of a knife to make it really sharp. We usually combine “hone†with “skillsâ€.
Conversation between a Medical Affairs Specialist and a physician
This imaginary but realistic dialogue between two medical professionals contains a lot of words and phrases used in medicine and the pharmaceutical industry. The Medical Affairs Specialist works for the fictional pharma company TMB Ltd. She is talking to a doctor about a fictional drug (Inventinitimab) used to treat Lorenzini Syndrome. (Yes, you’ve guessed it: the disease is also made up!) I have used this dialogue with students from a pharmaceutical company as well as medical professionals. It’s just a tiny part of the vast set of professional language resources I have created for my English-learning platform PayAsYouLearn.com.
Tricia Barker, a Medical Affairs Specialist at TMB Ltd is talking to a physician at St Cuthbert’s General Hospital about a new study into Inventinitimab
Dr Lawrence: So, this new study into Inventinitimab looks very interesting.
Tricia: Yes, it’s a really positive development. Inventinitimab has achieved its primary endpoint.
Dr Lawrence: Oh, really? What was that, then?
Tricia: Well, in clinical trials, our drug was shown to be significantly more effective than the standard available treatment for early onset Lorenzini Syndrome.
Dr Lawrence: Yes, that’s very impressive. Tell me more about the trial. How many patients were enrolled?
Tricia: OK, so we enrolled 157 patients aged 7-18.
Dr Lawrence: What was the gender split?
Tricia: It was 80 male patients and the remainder were females.
Dr Lawrence: I see.
Tricia: And this was a fully randomised double-blind trial.
Groundwork Thames Valley, Annual Review (2006)
What we do
Groundwork helps build sustainable environments, strengthens communities and develops businesses that allow local people to prosper.
We work to improve the places where people live, work and relax. Our aim is to make a positive difference to the quality of people’s lives by regenerating communities, improving the environment and creating business and employment opportunities.
Groundwork Thames Valley supports the most deprived communities in the Thames Valley and Heathrow area. We are part of a network of 50 charitable Trusts across England, Wales and Northern Ireland supporting areas in need of investment and support. Our not-for-profit programmes aim to make a difference by motivating local people to take an active part in improving the area they live in.
Every year Groundwork Thames Valley delivers hundreds of projects in neighbourhoods that are affected by high crime levels, low unemployment and run-down public spaces.
TRANSLATION
CircleMe celebrate the new look for the “made in Milan†app (2014)
Last week I attended the launch party of the 2nd Generation of CircleMe products for web and mobile devices. CircleMe is the “made in Italy†social network that allows you to share your passions for culture and media with a network of trusted people who share your interests.
Situated alongside one of Milan’s canals, the site of the former Richard Ginori porcelain factory, which dates back to 1830, now plays host to a cluster of creative businesses, including the Italian headquarters of CircleMe. (The company also has a London branch based in Silicon Roundabout in the City).
