At this point, it may seem like a waste of time and money to go through the extra step of professional copyediting. However, a professional editor is absolutely a necessity—for four good reasons:
In other words, you will naturally focus more on the big issues in your writing: the organization, the ideas, and the clarity, for example. When we become too close to our own texts, we become less capable of picking out fine details in expression, grammar, and formatting. At the same time, as we add detail, cut and paste text, and delete ideas, we may end up being less clear than we think we are.
A professional copyeditor will not have this problem. He/she will be seeing your text for the first time, and every comma, citation, and definition will be new to him/her. Copyeditors also have highly trained eyes and work to a system that enables them to focus on both minute details and the bigger picture. A copyeditor will read your text with fresh eyes and will catch the inevitable mistakes that you miss.
Reviewing a dissertation is a time-consuming process, requiring the examiner to not only read and understand your work but also critique it, articulate any issues, and make suggestions for improvement.
It is easy to understand, therefore, why an examiner will be more favorably inclined towards a student whose beautifully copyedited work is clear, easy to read, and demonstrates a level of polish consistent with care, attention, and professionalism. Working with a copyeditor can remove the chances of your dissertation making a poor first impression.
A good editor will not only correct mistakes but will also provide explanations for frequently occurring errors or suggested changes. These will help you become a better writer as you move on from your dissertation to revision or other writing projects.
To meticulously ensure that each apostrophe in a document is curly rather than straight, that the same line spacing is used after every sub-heading, and that the point raised in paragraph three really is summarized in the conclusion takes a considerable amount of time. So does making sure that every single one of those APA-style in-text citations matches up to a bibliographic reference correctly.
Think what you could do with those extra hours. You could take a nap. Bake a cake. Read a book. Go for a walk. Start your next job application. Give yourself a break, and hand the tedious work of final editing to someone else. It will make a huge difference to your levels of stress, your sense of contentment, and your overall wellbeing.
That’s worth it, right?
Dissertation coaches not only teach copyediting and proofreading skills – they can also do the proofreading for you. To find out more, book a free session today.
