Thesis editing includes comprehensive copyediting to ensure a professional academic style and writing that is clear, consistent and complies with university style requirements and word limits. As a former postgraduate researcher, academic and scholarly book reviewer, I am an expert in academic writing and research methodology, as well as being familiar with all common citation styles (APA7, Chicago, Harvard, Vancouver, AMA11, IEEEE, AGLC4, MLA and more). And having edited over 450 theses and dissertations across almost all fields and disciplines, for clients from over 50 universities in Australia and around the world, I know exactly where writers go wrong in translating their research into a clear and convincing narrative.
One of the problems with work that is poorly presented is that the examiner tends to lose confidence in the candidate and can become suspicious that there are deeper problems of inadequate and rushed conceptualisation.
All thesis editing complies with university policy and the Institute for Professional Editing’s Guidelines for Editing Research Theses to ensure your thesis or dissertation meets the highest standards of academic integrity and is ready for submission. Within the guidelines, thesis editing will address:
Language: typography, misspellings, punctuation, grammar etc.
Style: terminology, tone, signposting and scaffolding, consistency with style guides etc.
Consistency: citations, abbreviations, cross-references, redundancy etc.
Accuracy: contents, indexes, data, charts, symbols etc.
Format: headers/footers, fonts, pagination, captions, tables, lists, widows/orphans etc.
In addition to copyediting and proofreading, I fully format your thesis in compliance with the relevant university or faculty submission guidelines: I can create your preliminary pages, ensure tables and figures are properly presented and consistent, edit and format bibliographies and appendices, and ensure referencing is complete, accurate and complies with the required citation style.
For additional information on thesis and academic editing – including policy on plagiarism – please see the FAQs.
One of the most common descriptors of a poor thesis, across all disciplines, was ‘sloppiness’… demonstrated by typographical errors, or mistakes in calculations, referencing and footnotes… examiners considered it was an indicator that the research itself might not be rigorous and the results and conclusions could not be trusted.
Choosing Workwisewords to edit your thesis guarantees:
- Personalised expert editing from a qualified and accredited editor and experienced academic marker.
- Professional editorial support that meets national industry standards.
- Experience working with over 50 universities and tertiary institutions in Australia and internationally.
- Written confirmation with every thesis that editing complies with university policy and the Guidelines for Editing Research Theses.
- Ongoing support for changes until thesis submission.
- Clear costs based on word count and a range of payment methods.
- Confidentiality and security, with secure offline storage and options for password-protected file sharing.
ESL Clients
Researchers and graduate students who speak English as a second language face even greater challenges in translating their research not just into idiomatic English but into the specific requirements of academic writing. I work closely with ESL researchers and writers, providing editing services and writing advice to ensure that their thesis, paper or report meets the requirements for submission or publication and is assessed on its content, not its expression. Fore more informa
Do I Need an Editor With a PhD?
In a word – no. In fact, companies that highlight that their editors have doctorates are often trying to distract from the fact that they use editors who have no qualifications or accreditation in editing.
For thesis editing it does not hurt for the editor to have research or academic experience, but the editor’s role is to improve your writing, not your ideas or research. As such, it is important that they are experts in their field (writing), not yours. In fact, the Guidelines for Editing Research Theses prohibit editors from making substantive corrections to the intellectual content – so, while familiarity with postgraduate research may be helpful, a PhD is not relevant.
Rather than worrying about whether your editor has a PhD you should
- check their portfolio to see if they have worked on theses in similar fields, and how many theses they have edited – an editor who has worked on a hundred theses has seen ninety-nine more literature reviews, methodology chapters and bibliographies than someone who has completed only their own thesis.
- check that you will be able to talk with the individual editor actually working on your project – not just the company they work for – and that they are accredited under Australian editing industry standards rather than an amateur “overseen” by a qualified editor.
Accreditation is only granted to Australian editors following a rigorous examination and they are required to demonstrate that they qualify for re-accreditation every five years. Importantly, Accredited Editors are also bound the Australian Standards for Editing Practice and the university-endorsed Guidelines for Editing Research Theses, which set the boundaries between editing and plagiarism for Australian higher research students.
Workwisewords guarantees personalised, expert editing from an experienced academic researcher who is also a accredited and certified editor, and who has edited over 400 theses for clients from over 50 universities in Australia and worldwide.