Are you a postgraduate student looking for a thesis editor?
You’ve put significant time and effort into your thesis – years of dedication – but no matter how brilliant your research and writing, it can be difficult to edit your own work. The familiarity you have with your thesis can make it challenging to ‘see’ it critically.
If you want fresh eyes on your thesis, consider how a professional editor can help.
Engaging a professional editor means easing some of the stress in those final stages when you’re getting ready for submission, and making sure that your thesis looks and reads the absolute best it can. This makes the work of your examiners much easier. You want them to focus on the content of your thesis, not on any typos, spelling mistakes, grammatical errors or inconsistencies.
I can comprehensively copyedit your thesis to ensure it meets your university’s guidelines and has been checked for accuracy, clarity and repetition, as well as consistency in spelling, grammar, formatting and punctuation. I can also check that headings, tables, and illustrations or diagrams are accurately and consistently labelled and formatted.
If your thesis has already been copyedited to a professional standard, I can provide a proofreading service, which is a final check before submission. For this, I will check to ensure all elements of the thesis are complete, consistent and correct. This service also includes checking for spelling, grammar and punctuation.
Most students utilising the services of a professional editor require their thesis to be copyedited. The quickest and least stressful way to have your thesis looking its absolute best is to hire a professional editor to edit the whole thing.
How much does it cost to have a thesis edited?
In order for me to provide you with a quote to copyedit your thesis, I need to see the thesis, even if it is not quite 100% finished yet. The amount of work required to copyedit a thesis varies depending on the quality of the writing, whether there are tables that need formatting, how well your references already adhere to your chosen style guide, whether you need a table of contents created and various other factors.
If you would like some idea up front about expected costs, the Institute of Professional Editing has information on its website about indicative costs of academic editing in Australia (scroll down).
Some students obtain a grant for thesis copyediting, but this is sometimes not enough to cover the cost of editing an entire thesis.
If you have received a grant that doesn’t cover the cost of editing the entire thesis and are unable to spend above that, I can edit as much of your thesis as possible (based on a previously agreed-upon quote) and provide you with a detailed style sheet. The style sheet will enable you to edit the rest of the thesis yourself, making sure it is consistent throughout. If you decide to take this path, make sure you factor in enough time for editing before your submission date. It takes a lot longer if you do not have previous editing experience.
So, I can edit your whole thesis, or just a part of it, depending on your financial situation.
I adhere to the Institute of Professional Editors’ latest ‘Guidelines for editing research theses‘, which outlines the nature and extent of services that professional editors may ethically provide when editing students’ theses. It also outlines the responsibilities of editors, students and supervisors in relation to editing. In line with my ethical practice, I do not write essays on behalf of students.
Not sure whether you can afford a professional editor? I can edit a sample of your thesis so you can see my work and I can provide you with a quote—for a small fee and no obligation.