For students

Getting the details right

Proofreading for students

Look no further for academic proofreading — your writing is in safe hands. I’m happy to proofread student essays at all levels, including term papers, theses or dissertations. You’ve worked so hard for this — don’t fall at the last hurdle.

Many topics pass across my desk. I’ve worked on all sorts, from Marketing diplomas to Master’s level Educational Psychology, and PhD dissertations on Astrophysics and Post-modern Japanese Literature. I look forward to broadening my world with your paper.

What you need to know

Proofreading ensures that your thought process is expressed in accurate English. It’s about ironing out language mistakes or typos. However, it’s not about helping you with your content; the ideas, knowledge and logic remain your own.

This is why I only offer proofreading for assignments — not editing.

There’s more detail in the Student FAQs section on this page. You might also find the following blog post useful:

Academic proofreading — what to expect

Please check with your university or college for its policies on using an external proofreader.

  • Luckily, no. Very occasionally, I may need to query the meaning of some technical vocabulary if it causes confusion. However, I can recognise which bits of language are which, and whether they fit together correctly. You have your area of expertise, and I have mine!

  • Proofreading covers the following:

    • correction of mistakes or typos in spelling, punctuation and grammar.

    • consistency of, eg, names, titles, bullet lists.

    • checking the above in tables, charts, captions etc, as well as the main text.

  • Yes, if you provide me with your referencing style guide (eg, Harvard).

  • As with all my proofreading services, corrections are usually made using Track Changes on a Word document. (I can annotate PDFs, but it takes longer, and all changes will have to be implemented by you separately.)

    I may need to query areas where something is wrong but your intended meaning is unclear. In this case, any further changes by you would also need proofreading. You should allow time for this ‘back and forth’ part of the process.

    I work flexible hours and need plenty of time for longer projects. If you have a strict deadline, it may be best to get in touch before your assignment is finished.

  • I’m afraid not. You are being assessed on your ability to construct and present your ideas within certain parameters. There may be websites that offer this kind of service to students, but it is unethical. I offer a final proofreading polish only. (Corrections may change the word count very slightly.)

  • Sorry, no - please see above.

  • As above — no. For any other kind of text, I am more than happy to offer these editorial services, but for academic essays, I do proofreading only.

  • Sadly not. But I can guarantee that spotting even the tiniest of details will make your writing better.

  • Please see my Prices page for all the details.

English as an additional language (EAL)

If English is not your first language, please let me know; I would expect proofreading your essay to take a little longer.

Please note that I can only make proofreading corrections if I understand your intended meaning. If I cannot understand what you mean, I will ask about it in a margin comment. So, there may be extra changes for you to make, and these will also need proofreading.

You should allow plenty of time for this ‘back and forth’ process.

Student FAQs

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