When you choose a thesis correction service, you are buying the highly individualized work of a single proofreader. Therefore, it is important to know what qualities to look for in that corrector, since making sure that the right professional is hired is the only way to ensure that the correction of the thesis is carried out at the right level.
The first thing to look for – and this is universally true for all proofreaders, regardless of what they are reviewing – is attention to detail. Much of the task of a proofreader is to detect minor errors, such as incorrect apostrophes, semicolons that pose as a colon, or footnotes that are on the wrong side of a period. To realize these details you have to have a certain mentality.
In this sense, the corrector must have a systematic approach to its work and be able to detect inconsistencies. Inconsistencies are not the same as mistakes, but occur when there are several possible ways to do something. For example, a work that uses the Harvard Reference System may have some references in the format (Author, date) and others in the format (Author date), or perhaps some that look like (Author and author, date) and others that look like (Author and author, date). These inconsistencies are correct in themselves, but it creates a better impression if your work is very coherent, so it is important that, when correcting the thesis, your proofreader is able to remember the list of styles you have chosen throughout your thesis to ensure that they remain consistent.
On whom should fall the thesis correction
The most obvious thing is that the thesis should be corrected by someone who is not only an expert in the subject (see below), but also has a solid knowledge of English grammar.
This seems like common sense, but you’d be surprised at the number of people who don’t seem to think it’s a priority for their concealer. The truth is that without an expert grammar checker, you are likely to receive a job with errors, no matter how attentive and diligent your proofreader may be.
It is also important that the correction of the thesis is carried out by a specialist in the subject you are studying. The reason for this is perhaps less obvious: academic papers often rely on obscure and technical vocabularies and phrases, and it requires someone who is familiar with this type of writing to identify when it is being used incorrectly and when non-standard English is being used correctly. The risk of not employing a proofreader specialized in the subject is that the revision of the thesis may result in some of the important technical aspects having been misinterpreted and “corrected” in standard English, which will not impress the proofreaders, especially since the correct use of academic terminology is usually an important and explicit part of the scoring system.
Finally, it is important that your concealer is diligent, reliable and discreet. Your thesis is a very important document and you will not want to risk handing it over to someone irresponsible or unreliable and therefore potentially expose yourself to error, plagiarism or even fraud. In addition, the thesis correction is usually done with fairly strict time constraints, close to rapidly approaching deadlines, and you need to be able to trust that your work will be finished long before you have to submit it.
How to make the correction of your thesis
You’ve just finished writing a 300-page master’s or doctoral thesis. It has taken you two years of research late into the night, organizing quotes and presenting mountains of data to support your thesis.
Before you impress the committee with your text, you have to correct this huge tome several times. The aphorism of journalists: “Edit, re-edit and edit a little more” is an absolute truth when your professional future is at stake.
With this in mind, here are some practical tips on how to correct your thesis or dissertation.
Review the rules
Before you start writing your thesis, the committee set the rules. Review the style established by your academic institution. Depending on your department, your thesis or dissertation may follow the style of the American Psychological Association (APA), the Modern Languages Association (MLA), or the Chicago/Turabian style.
Review the style of your thesis and review the main guidelines. Make sure you haven’t overlooked any key elements you need to include in your thesis or dissertation. Once you’ve become familiar with the rules, read your work once to see if something seems out of place. Then, review your text more closely.
Determine your method
You have not written your thesis or dissertation overnight, nor can you correct this work in a single session. Review your work methodically in small chunks each time. In the end, you’ll get to the last page.
Some people prefer to sit in front of the computer screen and edit, while others print a copy to physically write the correction marks. What works best for you is what you employ. Remember where you leave it in the correction process by making a mark on the paper or on the screen.
Anyway, you need to create an index for your text, so take advantage of this effort and correct your work at the same time. Start with the first page and go through the first 10 pages or any small portion that works well for you. Then, it’s time to write down the errors in the text and its organizational structure.
Know what to consider
When correcting your thesis or dissertation, you already know that you must be aware of errors such as misspellings, grammatical errors and punctuation errors. However, you should also examine the organizational structure of your work.
Review each paragraph to see if every detail is essential to your writing. When you discover something you don’t need, delete it. Add the omitted information to your thesis or dissertation at the appropriate point.
Each paragraph should flow into the next, and each paragraph has its own thematic sentence and conclusion before moving on to the next. Does each paragraph fit into the overall scope of your thesis or dissertation? Does every detail support what you write? Text correction allows you to limit your focus to eliminate superfluous information.
When you reach the end of the review of your thesis or dissertation, each paragraph should fit into your work. Don’t forget to use all the tools at your disposal to help you analyze your text.
Use tools
Online tools or computer programs look for various problems in your work. Some tools are free to use once or twice, while others require a subscription to have premium access.
Grammarly contains free tools through its website or a Google Chrome extension.
Readable.io counts the words in your text, examines their readability level, and gives you a score that correlates with a certain reading level. Your thesis or dissertation must have a university reading level for academic work.
Slick Write represents another online tool that critiques your writing, analyzes the passive voice and even judges the fluency of your writing.
Proofread Bot allows you to paste the text to check for errors.
Ginger receives high ratings from users for its thoroughness and easy-to-use interface.
If writing isn’t your strong point, you can have someone else correct your thesis or dissertation. The caveat of this tool is that some universities may consider third-party correction as academic dishonesty. Check your university’s policy before hiring someone to review your text.
Remember some general tips
Sometimes, it’s worth taking a step back and stopping correcting your thesis or dissertation. Take a few days off to recharge your batteries before re-examining the text. Examine your text at least three times for grammar, fluency, style, and structure.
Find a quiet corner to correct the text. Think of your university library, an empty conference room, or noise-cancelling headphones and classical music at home.
Don’t rush into the correction process. Give yourself a lot of time before the deadline to correct your thesis or dissertation, and budget your days and weeks accordingly. In the end, your hard work will be rewarded with an accepted text and your brand new title.
How can I find a thesis proofreader?
There are many academic proofreading services available on the Internet, and every graduate student looking for a thesis proofreader should consider their budget, preferences, and field when choosing one.
The quality and reputation of academic proofreaders and academic proofreading services vary greatly and graduate students should always inquire about the proofreader or company offering professional proofreading services before making a final choice. If a professional proofing service is chosen, it is also important to verify the skills and experience of the individual proofreaders working for the company.
To choose a professional thesis correction service, think about your budget.
Check with your university’s newsroom first to see if they offer free services or if they have recommendations from proofreaders or local proofreading services. These would probably be the least cost services for the correction of your thesis. Thesis proofreaders and correction services companies charge a wide variety of prices, and you need to understand how the price of your thesis correction is calculated. Is it based on the number of words, on the number of pages or is there a fixed fee for thesis correction? You not only have to compare the price indicated by the proofreader or the company, but also the price calculated based on your thesis, such as the number of words or pages.
Some proofreaders will work on a thesis within any field, while others have a niche and focus more closely, perhaps just thesis correction in the social sciences, engineering or humanities.
Do you prefer a thesis proofreader specialized in your field, or do you want someone who has a broader knowledge of academic proofreading and documents? Do you want to work with an individual proofreader or do you prefer to work with a proofing services company? In any case, you will want to check that your thesis will be corrected professionally and that it will be returned within the agreed time frame.
If you think you’ll continue to use academic proofreading services in the future, you may want to select a proofing services company that offers a team of proofreaders so you can develop working relationships with multiple proofreaders. In addition, you can always hire a corrector when you need it if there is a team of correctors, while if you work with a single corrector you may find yourself in a situation where that person is not available when you need it. Having a team of academic proofreaders on demand is also useful if you need a professional correction for various types of documents. With a team of academic proofreaders, you can choose the proofreader that best suits the document you’re working on.
If you think the only time you’ll need a professional academic proofreader will be your thesis, a team of proofreaders may not be that important.
In this case, you should choose a qualified person to correct your manuscript, making sure to verify the training, reputation and reliability of the proofreader. This way, you can make sure that the proofreader has the right skills for your project.
As a thesis writer, you must also take into account the delivery times offered by the different professional thesis proofreaders and thesis correction services companies.
Some offer a faster lead time, but this can also be associated with a higher cost. Always make sure there is a clear deadline to receive your corrected thesis before choosing a thesis correction service. In addition to a firm deadline, you choose a company that is known to meet your deadlines (this information is often discussed in third-party reviews of professional proofreading services companies). It can be very frustrating to anticipate a deadline that is not met by the thesis proofreader, especially considering the strict deadlines of graduate school within a university.
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Thesis Correction
