Proofreading your thesis or dissertation

It’s that time of year. Spring is here and dissertation deadlines are looming.

Hours of reading, research and writing have gone into producing the final document. After all that you want the final product to be as good as it possibly can be. If you have done all the hard work, you don’t want to be let down by unfortunate typos and the odd comment you put in and forgot to delete (we’ve all seen the essays where someone forgot to change the title or delete a comment before submitting – writing I GIVE UP in the middle of an essay is not great!).

Proofreading your thesis takes time, but it is well worth doing. Remember that it takes time - it is not a quick skim through before you submit. You need to factor in the time to proofread whether you do it yourself or you get someone to do it for you.

If you are planning on using a professional proofreader it is worth getting in touch in advance. You will also need to check that it is OK with your supervisor. Different universities have different rules and it is your responsibility to ensure you are following the guidelines.

Your dissertation is your work. As a proofreader, I will not change your style or ideas. What I will do is make sure you are consistent, that references are formatted correctly and that any figures and tables are labelled in the correct order. I will look for typos, spelling and grammar errors. I will also highlight any sections where the meaning is unclear and you may want to consider a rewrite. I aim to provide advice to make your dissertation more readable and allow you to get your ideas across. I am not here to judge your grammar! No grammar police here.

If you want to get in touch about your thesis or dissertation, drop me an email at jen_howse@outlook.com or check out the contact form at https://www.jenhowse.com/contact