THESIS EDITING SERVICES
Thesis editing services: options
Are you looking for a professionally trained and experienced thesis editor? Someone who can format your manuscript to your university’s requirements? Check that every reference in your reference list is precisely formatted to your chosen referencing style?
I can help. After many years of working with doctoral and master’s candidates, copyediting and formatting hundreds of theses and thousands of references, I’ve carefully designed the following options with your needs in mind, and these can be tailored to your needs. See the Options matrix further down the page for full details of each option.
Option 1 Copyedit (one pass)
Option 2 Copyedit (two passes)
Option 3 Proofread
Option 4 Page proof
Option 5 Manuscript format
Option 6 Reference format
Experienced thesis editor
I have lots of experience editing higher degree research theses (see my Portfolio for broad research areas), and my services are recommended by universities in Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom, so you can rest assured you’ll receive a high-quality service. Read some of my clients’ testimonials here.
APA fluent
I work predominantly and am fluent with APA (sixth and seventh editions), but I also work with a range of other style guides, including the Australian Style Manual, the Oxford Guide to Style, MLA, CMoS and Harvard. Talk to me about your institution’s preferences.
Guidelines for editing research theses
As a professional copyeditor, I adhere to the Institute of Professional Editors’ Guidelines for Editing Research Theses, for students and their supervisors, which outline the extent and nature of editorial services I can ethically provide when editing theses (download the revised 2021 version [PDF; 141 kb]).
Per the Australian Standards for Editing Practice (2nd ed.), the involvement of a professional editor should be restricted to copyediting or proofreading — please see Parts D (‘Language and illustrations’) and E (‘Completeness and consistency’) of the Standards for further advice in these areas. Regarding substance and structure please see Part C of the Standards — a professional copyeditor may draw attention to such problems, but solutions cannot be offered.
All Australian universities are recommended to follow these guidelines, and your university most likely includes them in its information for higher degree research students. For students outside Australia, you should refer to your university’s ethics guidelines on contracting a professional editor. The Australian guidelines, however, are generally regarded as industry best practice.
Supervisor approval
Per the Guidelines, students are requested to obtain written approval from their principal supervisor to use a professional copyeditor and to provide this to their copyeditor before they start work. The supervisor should also confirm they have reviewed your full draft manuscript and it is ready for copyediting.
How to submit your manuscript
Submitting a manuscript to me couldn’t be easier. For details of the process, see the FAQs.
OPTION 1
- A first pass will address the vast majority of mechanical (language and style) issues. This option is recommended for lighter edits (which can often be determined during the sample edit; see FAQs):
- Ensure appropriate use of language such as grammar, syntax, punctuation, spelling (Australian, British, US, NZ etc.)
- Ensure consistent use of language (capitalisation, hyphenation, abbreviation, etc.)
- Ensure clarity of expression (e.g. removing ambiguity, wordiness and needless repetition)
- Ensure flow of text (e.g. clear and logical connections between phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs and sections)
- Ensure appropriate use of idiom, style and tone
- Review appropriate use of technical and specialised terminology, including discipline-specific items, abbreviations and units of measurement
- Ensure consistency in the presentation of illustrations, diagrams and other display items
- Crosscheck in-text citations with reference list, checking that URLs work and flagging omitted information
- Ensure adherence to preferred style guide, such as APA’s Publication manual, the Australian style manual, MLA, the Oxford guide to style etc.
- Create an editorial summary and style/vocab sheet, recording my decisions with regard to language, style and referencing issues
- Any items in Options 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 (unless specifically requested)
- Rewriting, restructuring or substantive editing
- Research or fact checking
OPTION 2
- A full second pass is for less routine matters that can often only be addressed after a first pass of the manuscript, particularly recommended if deeper edits are required during the first pass (often determined during the sample edit):
- Review appropriate use of language such as grammar, syntax, punctuation, spelling (Australian, British, US, NZ etc.)
- Review consistent use of language (capitalisation, hyphenation, abbreviation, etc.)
- Review clarity of expression (e.g. removing ambiguity, wordiness and needless repetition)
- Review flow of text (e.g. clear and logical connections between phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs and sections)
- Review appropriate use of idiom, style and tone
- Review appropriate use of technical and specialised terminology, including discipline-specific items, abbreviations and units of measurement
- Ensure consistency in the presentation of illustrations, diagrams and other display items
- Iron out any remaining inconsistencies
- Crosscheck in-text citations with your reference list, checking that URLs work and flagging omitted information
- Any items in Options 3, 4, 5 or 6 (unless specifically requested)
- Rewriting, restructuring or substantive editing
- Research or fact checking
OPTION 3
- Proofreading is the final review of your manuscript before publication and compares the previously copyedited manuscript with PDF proofs:
- Ensure that no errors have crept into the manuscript from previous rounds of copyediting or formatting
- Review visual elements (typography, heading hierarchy, page layout, figures, tables and captions)
- Review formatting (widows/orphans are eliminated, tables are not split unnecessarily, page layout)
- Ensure integrity (that all elements of the manuscript are present and in the correct place)
- Any items in Options 1, 2. 5 or 6 (unless specifically requested)
- Rewriting, restructuring, or substantive editing
- Research or fact checking
OPTION 4
- Ensure that no errors have crept into the manuscript from previous rounds of copyediting or formatting
- Review visual elements (typography, heading hierarchy, page layout, figures, tables and captions)
- Review formatting (widows/orphans are eliminated, tables are not split unnecessarily, page layout)
- Ensure integrity (that all elements of the manuscript are present and in the correct place)
- Any items in Options 1, 2. 5 or 6 (unless specifically requested)
- Rewriting, restructuring, or substantive editing
- Research or fact checking
OPTION 5
- Create and apply Word styles to every part of your document (headings, body text, block quotes, tables/figures, captions, bulleted/numbered lists, references, appendices, glossary and any other style you might need, ensuring adherence to your preferred style guide and/or university requirements
- Ensure correct table, figure and appendix numbering throughout
- Create the Table of Contents and Lists of Tables, Figures and Abbreviations, and compile Appendices
- Ensure correct page numbering (with preliminary pages using Roman numerals if required), applying section breaks where needed
- Assemble all parts of your manuscript and check all the elements are present and in the right place
- Ensure your manuscript presents professionally and beautifully
OPTION 6
- Format your reference list to the desired style, e.g. APA, Harvard, AMA, CMoS or publisher requirements
- Flag omitted information, inconsistencies and errors
- Check URLs and flag where incorrect
- Looking up omitted elements of a reference
- Creating a reference list from in-text citations
