Approve EN section → MS abstract workflow in Lattuce
Approve an English section, then produce the Malay abstract — author and translator hot path in Lattuce.
Journals and faculties often want the English section locked before anyone writes the Malay abstrak. In Lattuce the hot path is short: author approves the EN abstract in Writer, syncs segments, translator drafts MS, author reviews the target column, then you export.
EN↔MS is the documented example in this guide. The same approve-then-sync loop works for other locale pairs your household configures.
Platform primer: Collaborative translation on Lattuce. Journal-length checks (word count, keywords, names) live in Bilingual journal abstracts.
Audience split
| Role | Tool | Day-to-day job |
|---|---|---|
| Author / corresponding author | Writer + Translate mode | Finish and approve the EN abstract; sync; review MS |
| Translator / bilingual co-author | Translation editor | Fill MS segments; use TM and suggestions; mark reviewed |
| PI or supervisor | Review in Writer | Sign off register and lab terms before submit |
Translators do not need the full Writer compose UI. Authors do not type the abstrak into a side document that then drifts from the paper.
There is no separate “translator app” inside Writer — translators use the editor; authors sync from Translate mode.
Workflow overview
Hot path (every abstract, once accounts are linked):
- Author drafts the English abstract as its own section in Writer.
- Author approves that EN section — same section gate as the rest of the paper.
- Author opens Translate mode and syncs abstract paragraphs as segments to the MS project.
- Translator produces Malay in the editor (TM + glossary assist; human owns the string).
- Author compares EN source vs MS target in Translate mode and approves the imported abstract.
- Export the bilingual block to Word or paste into the publisher portal.
Cold path (first paper only): each person links a personal translation account in settings — not a shared password. Details: Collaborative translation on Lattuce.
Why approve English first
| If you skip the EN gate… | What goes wrong |
|---|---|
| Sync a still-moving draft | Translator redoes sentences after every author edit |
| Translate from a stale Word paste | Abstrak and paper abstract diverge |
| Let AI fill MS with no review | Register and lab terms slip |
Approval on the EN section is the handoff. After that, sync is cheap; re-sync only when peer review changes the English.
EN↔MS as example pair
Malaysian submissions often look like this:
| Part | Locale | Who locks it |
|---|---|---|
| Abstract | English | Author, in Writer |
| Abstrak | Malay (ms) | Translator, then author review |
| Keywords | Both, per journal rules | Author after MS review |
Keep numbers and proper nouns stable across columns unless the journal asks otherwise. Narrative sentences are what you translate.
Other pairs (EN↔AR, EN↔ZH) use the same section-approve → sync → review loop. Change the target locale on the translation project; do not change the roles.
Hot path — author
- Open the paper in Writer. Isolate the Abstract heading (add Abstrak in the template if your faculty uses both).
- Finish the English. Run the same section approve you use for body chapters.
- Translate mode → choose target ms → Sync only the abstract segments if the rest of the chapter is not ready.
- Wait for the translator. When segments return, read the MS column beside EN.
- Flag awkward academic Malay; send those segments back rather than silently rewriting in a local file.
- Approve the imported abstract section, then export.
If the EN abstract changes after review, re-sync. Translation memory highlights what must move again.
Hot path — translator
- Open the assigned project in the translation editor (the link or project your lead shared).
- Translate each abstract segment. Accept TM or AI suggestions only after you read them.
- Honour glossary locks for method names, drug names, and institution names.
- Mark segments reviewed. Do not wait for a perfect literary rewrite — abstracts are short enough to fix in a second pass with the author.
Day-to-day translation does not require opening Writer.
After both sides approve
| Check | Owner |
|---|---|
| Journal word limit per language | Author |
| Keywords match author guidelines | Author |
| Terms match a thesis abstrak you already published | Author + translator |
| Export or portal paste | Author |
For a full chapter (not only the abstract), use Translate a thesis chapter. For lab-wide TM and locales, see Multilingual research lab.
AI suggestions are drafts. The approved EN section and the approved MS abstract are what you submit.
Related reading
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Bahasa Melayu: Luluskan seksyen EN → aliran abstrak MS dalam Lattuce