certificate of proofreading thesis

Frequently asked questions

Can i receive a certificate of proofreading.

Yes, we can provide a certificate of proofreading.

As soon as the editor delivers the edit, you can email us at [email protected] to request a certificate.

Please indicate the following in your email:

• Your order number
• Your full name
• The title of your work

We will create a PDF certificate and email it to you as soon as possible.

Frequently asked questions: Academic Editing Service

Yes, if your document is longer than 20,000 words, you will get a sample of approximately 2,000 words. This sample edit gives you a first impression of the editor’s editing style and a chance to ask questions and give feedback.

How does the sample edit work?

You will receive the sample edit within 12 hours after placing your order. You then have 24 hours to let us know if you’re happy with the sample or if there’s something you would like the editor to do differently.

Read more about how the sample edit works

The fastest turnaround time is 12 hours.

You can upload your document at any time and choose between three deadlines:

All Scribbr editors are language experts with interests in different subject areas.

You can indicate your field of study when you upload your document . We’ll make sure that the editor who proofreads your work is familiar with your discipline and its specialist vocabulary.

These are the fields of study you can choose from, and examples of the main subjects in each field:

• Business and Management: Business Administration, Hotel Management, Accountancy, Marketing
• Economics: Business Economics, Econometrics, Finance
• IT and Engineering: ICT, Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Applied Mathematics, Civil Engineering, Industrial Design, Electrical Engineering
• Natural and Life Sciences: Biomedical Sciences, Biology, Chemistry
• Geography, Agriculture and Environment: Ecology, Earth Sciences, Environmental Studies, Urban Planning
• Health and Medical Sciences: Medicine, Obstetrics, Pharmacy, Nutrition, Dentistry
• Arts and Humanities: Philosophy, History, Literature, Cultural Studies, Theology
• Law and Policy: Law, Political Science, Public Policy, Human Rights
• Social and Behavioral Sciences: Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, Communication Sciences

Editors don’t have to be experts in the content of your paper, but they do know how to present it in the best way possible! Our goal is to improve your writing and give you feedback on the readability, structure, logic, and clarity of your text. We know from experience that the most effective editors are specialists in language and academic writing.

We’ve carefully selected and trained all of our editors to proofread theses and other academic documents. Once they’re qualified, we continue to carefully monitor their work to make sure we always deliver the highest quality .

Ask our team

Want to contact us directly? No problem.  We  are always here for you.

• Email [email protected]
• Start live chat
• Call +1 (510) 822-8066
• WhatsApp +31 20 261 6040

Our team helps students graduate by offering:

• A world-class citation generator
• Plagiarism Checker software powered by Turnitin
• Innovative Citation Checker software
• Professional proofreading services
• Over 300 helpful articles about academic writing, citing sources, plagiarism, and more

Scribbr specializes in editing study-related documents . We proofread:

• PhD dissertations
• Research proposals
• Personal statements
• Admission essays
• Motivation letters
• Reflection papers
• Journal articles
• Capstone projects

Scribbr’s Plagiarism Checker is powered by elements of Turnitin’s Similarity Checker , namely the plagiarism detection software and the Internet Archive and Premium Scholarly Publications content databases .

The add-on AI detector is powered by Scribbr’s proprietary software.

The Scribbr Citation Generator is developed using the open-source Citation Style Language (CSL) project and Frank Bennett’s citeproc-js . It’s the same technology used by dozens of other popular citation tools, including Mendeley and Zotero.

You can find all the citation styles and locales used in the Scribbr Citation Generator in our publicly accessible repository on Github .

Your Writing, Expertly Edited

Get your work meticulously edited and proofread by PhD-qualified academic writing specialists, who know exactly what markers want .

Your All-In-One Solution

While many providers charge for editing and proofreading separately, our service includes both . This means we’ll take care of the following:

• Fix typos, misspellings, punctuation issues and ensure consistency of your spelling format (e.g., UK or US English).
• Undertake light rewriting of poorly presented sentences, to improve readability and ease of understanding. If substantial rewriting is needed, we’ll provide suggestions.
• Highlight areas where clarification and additional explanation are needed.
• Ensure that your in-text references are in the correct style, formatted correctly and are included in the end-text reference list.
• Ensure that your reference list is correctly formatted.
• Highlight areas where additional references are needed (e.g., sweeping statements, unfounded arguments, etc.).
• Generate the table of contents page, lists of figures and tables.
• Ensure consistent style for figure and table captions.
• Insert captions where we are able to, or highlight areas where captions are needed.
• Ensure consistency of heading levels and styles.
• Ensure correct page numbering (e.g., roman numerals for pre-matter).
• Ensure that your format/page layout is in line with your institute’s requirements.

What exactly you get  

Every editing and proofreading project includes the following key deliverables:

A perfectly edited document

You’ll receive a clean, finalised version of your document, fully edited and proofread. You’ll also receive a second version with all changes tracked , as well as our comments and suggestions to improve your writing further.

A detailed plagiarism report

If you’d like, we can run a comprehensive plagiarism scan on your document and provide you with a detailed report that outlines potential plagiarism issues and provides a similarity index. This is included free of charge.

A polished conceptual framework

If your document includes a conceptual framework, we’ll polish your design into a high-quality visual to give your work a professional look. Again, this service is provided completely free of charge. 

A certificate of editing

If your university requires a formal certificate of editing or confirmation letter, we’ll draft this according to your institution’s specific requirements. We can also provide copies of invoices and receipts if required by your sponsor. 

The Grad Coach Difference  

Editors are a dime a dozen  and there’s always someone who can do it cheaper. Here’s what makes Grad Coach’s editing and proofreading service different.

Academic Writing Specialists

Our PhD-qualified editors specialise in academic writing, so they know exactly what markers want.

Combined Editing & Proofreading

Our service includes both editing and proofreading, while others charge separately for each.

Full Plagiarism Reporting

In addition to editing and proofreading, we can also provide a  plagiarism report , completely free of charge.

Get Your Dissertation Edited Today

Or book a free, no-obligation consultation .

Frequently Asked Questions

Below are some of the most popular editing-related questions we receive.

Editing & Proofreading

How do you edit and proofread.

Our editing and proofreading process is 100% manual - in other words, it's handled by a team of highly qualified human editors, not machines . We don't use any automation software or tools, as nothing can beat the quality and accuracy of human editing.

Our editing team consists of a diverse mix of Doctoral and Master's-qualified language specialists . The team is managed by Dr Eunice Rautenbach , who holds both a Master's and Doctoral degree in language practice. All team members have extensive academic editing experience, are native English speakers (from the US, UK and SA) and have worked on numerous dissertations, theses and research projects.

Can I see an example/sample of your editing?

Certainly . You can download a sample editing and proofreading project here .

Will you sort out my references and citations?

Yes . As part of the editing process, we will ensure that your references and citations are in the correct format (e.g., Harvard, APA, etc) as per your university's requirements (you'll need to advise us what these are).

However, keep in mind that we can't fill in incomplete references or find the relevant sources for you (as it's impossible for us to know which sources you've referenced). We also cannot check whether the references you have are accurate or suitable for the arguments you make in your writing.

Can you fix/build my table of contents?

Yes , we can create a table of contents based on the headings and subheadings throughout your dissertation or thesis. This table of contents will include the respective page number for each heading or subheading.

Can you lower my word count?

Yes - as part of the editing process, we will edit your work for concision. However, we cannot guarantee a specific word count or percentage reduction, as this would risk cutting out important content.

Can you check my work for plagiarism?

Yes - we can provide a detailed plagiarism report with every editing and proofreading project. However, please keep in mind that universities use a variety of plagiarism-checking services. Therefore, if your university provides you with a plagiarism-checking facility (as they often do), you should double-check your score on that system.

How long does the editing and proofreading process take?

It depends on the length of the document, the overall quality of the writing (i.e., the number of issues to be resolved) and our project load at the time of submission.

Generally speaking, we can complete a standard dissertation/thesis of 20,000 words within 2-3 days , but this varies depending on the factors above. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you pre-book your editing with us for a specific date. For pre-booked projects, we can provide a guaranteed timeline, which is generally shorter than that of "walk-in" projects. Please email us to pre-book your project.

Can you provide a certificate of editing?

Yes , certainly. We can issue a certificate according to your university's requirements. We can also sign any paperwork required by your university as proof of editing.

Will my document be treated as confidential?

Yes , absolutely. Your work will be treated as strictly confidential and will never be shared or published. We will gladly sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with you if you wish.

How much does editing cost?

Our fee is based on the total word count of the document. This includes the body content and the reference list (as we need to review this). You can also include the appendices if you wish, but it's generally not required.

Click here to view our pricing or book a free consultation to discuss your project.

When should I submit my document to you?

Generally, editing and proofreading should be the very last step in your writing process. This ensures that you don't "undo" any editing work, or introduce new typos or grammar issues.

However, if your supervisor has specifically instructed you to get your work edited before submitting it to them for final review, you should follow their instructions. If you're unsure which approach to take, get in touch with us.

Can you edit my dissertation/thesis as I complete each chapter?

We can, but we don't recommend it . By editing chapter by chapter, consistency is reduced and there is a strong chance that there will be conflicts between document versions in terms of references, page, table and figure numbers, and so on. As a result, a lot of the work will be "undone" and you'll need to spend a lot of time revising and checking each section.

How much time should I factor in post-edit to make corrections?

We recommend that you factor in a day or two to make your final corrections after receiving your document back from us. This is not essential (as you can just accept all our edits "as is"), but it is a good idea to have a buffer in case you want to make any additions or revisions. You might also need to fix issues highlighted by the edit, e.g., regarding clarity of meaning or problems flagged with your referencing.

Can you do a second review of my document after the first edit?

We can review your document as many times as you need , but each review is charged separately. In other words, we cannot provide a second review (after we've edited and proofread) free of charge.

Can you check that my Conclusions and Recommendations represent all my findings?

This is beyond the scope of language editing, as it involves data analysis and interpretation. If you would like assistance with this, we can assist with 1-on-1 coaching , where we review your work critically and provide in-depth feedback (you can view a sample of this here ).

Can you write my abstract (or exec summary) for me?

No , we can't. As part of the editing process, we will improve the quality of your writing, but we cannot write any section for you. Having any section written for you would constitute academic misconduct.

Can you rephrase text to reduce my plagiarism score?

No , we can’t. While we may undertake some very light rewriting of poorly constructed sentences to improve readability and ease of understanding, we cannot revise content to reduce plagiarism, as we are not familiar with the articles/sources being referenced.

Can you arrange the separate sections of my document?

No , we cannot arrange (or rearrange) sections of content on your behalf, as this may impact the core meaning and/or the thread of argument.

That said, if we feel that a section could be structured better for clarity, we will comment on this and make suggestions. Additionally, we will check that your headings and subheadings are numbered sequentially and are consistent in style.

I still have questions…

No problem. Feel free to email us or book an initial consultation to discuss.

Still have a question?  No problem – feel free to  email us  or  book a consultation .

What our clients say

David's depth of knowledge in research methodology was truly impressive. He demonstrated a profound understanding of the nuances and complexities of my research area, offering insights that I hadn't even considered. His ability to synthesize information, identify key research gaps, and suggest research topics was truly inspiring. I felt like I had a true expert by my side, guiding me through the complexities of the proposal. 

Cyntia Sacani (US)

I had been struggling with the first 3 chapters of my dissertation for over a year. I finally decided to give GradCoach a try and it made a huge difference. Alexandra provided helpful suggestions along with edits that transformed my paper. My advisor was very impressed.

Tracy Shelton (US)

Working with Kerryn has been brilliant. She has guided me through that pesky academic language that makes us all scratch our heads. I can't recommend Grad Coach highly enough; they are very professional, humble, and fun to work with. If like me, you know your subject matter but you're getting lost in the academic language, look no further, give them a go.

Tony Fogarty (UK)

So helpful! Amy assisted me with an outline for my literature review and with organizing the results for my MBA applied research project. Having a road map helped enormously and saved a lot of time. Definitely worth it.

Jennifer Hagedorn (Canada)

Everything about my experience was great, from Dr. Shaeffer’s expertise, to her patience and flexibility. I reached out to GradCoach after receiving a 78 on a midterm paper. Not only did I get a 100 on my final paper in the same class, but I haven’t received a mark less than A+ since. I recommend GradCoach for everyone who needs help with academic research.

Antonia Singleton (Qatar)

I started using Grad Coach for my dissertation and I can honestly say that if it wasn’t for them, I would have really struggled. I would strongly recommend them – worth every penny!

Richard Egenreider (South Africa)

Not convinced? Read more reviews and testimonials here .

Get A Quote For Your Project

Get an online quote in less than 60 seconds, or book a free, no-obligation consultation with a friendly Editing Specialist.