I am very happy to be contacted about the proofreading of PhD theses and dissertations. I offer a set, discounted hourly rate for student manuscripts. I ask that potential customers send me an accurate sample of their thesis, which is representative of the standard of English across the entire document, and a reasonable estimate of their total word-count ( inclusive of footnotes), so that I can make an estimate of the length of time I think it will take me to complete the work and, in turn, an estimate of the cost. I work out an estimate based on the word-count, the quality of writing, the competency of English, and the amount of time I think the piece will take me to read (often in relation to other theses of a similar standard that I have read in the past). I tend to give quite a wide estimate of cost because I have a policy that where I have received a fair and representative sample of work from a prospective customer, I will not charge more than the amount given at the highest end of the estimate, even if the thesis takes longer to read than I thought, and I will only charge for the amount of time the thesis takes to read should it take me less time than anticipated.

I include basic editing in this service as required. I am very pleased to read any tables of contents, footnotes/endnotes, acknowledgements and indices and will take these parts of the thesis into consideration when creating an estimate.

Samples should be sent to me as a word document and should ideally consist of several pages or, where possible, a chapter. Samples should always be typical of your writing and style. If samples sent to me do not represent the thesis overall, I reserve the right to change the estimate if I feel this is necessary.

I am also happy to read bibliographies, but these are charged additionally to the thesis.

I am happy to receive chapters one by one if needed, although I request that chapters are sent to me in order, and my preference is that I can return the entire thesis in one go by a deadline arranged in advance.

Please note that because thesis proofreading is already heavily discounted in the rate that I charge per hour for this particular type of work, student theses do not qualify for an additional discount of 10%.

If you are considering having a thesis read, please contact me as early as possible to save a spot in my schedule. It is usually not possible for me to read a thesis with short notice.

Sarah[@]proof-ed.com

Thank you for considering Proof-Ed.