Creating a dissertation proofreading checklist might seem simple at a glance, but there are multiple factors involved that you need to double-check before submission. From formatting and mechanical errors to writing styles and language usage, everything needs to be checked to ensure academic standards and professionalism.
However, if you are short on deadlines and don’t have enough time to go through each and every detail comprehensively, you should consider acquiring an online dissertation proofreading service UK. The experts here are more certain of meeting the academic standards than a beginner researcher with a shortage of time.
This article will explore every aspect of creating a checklist to proofread your dissertation professionally and get amazing grades. Continue reading this guide and make the checklist with us.
What Is Dissertation Proofreading?
Dissertation proofreading is the process of fine-tuning and refining a dissertation/thesis before submission. Editing is also part of the dissertation proofreading process. This process includes reading the thesis multiple times and detecting and resolving minor and significant issues with formatting, language, grammar, and images. Let’s now learn how to make a comprehensive dissertation proofreading checklist.
How to Create a Dissertation Proofreading Checklist?
Creating a thesis proofreading checklist seems simple to the naked eye, but when we look at a checklist prepared by industry experts, we see multiple factors to look for. We are going to share the checklist creation framework and what factors you should consider adding to your list.
Without further delay, let’s dig deeper into the details.
1. Dissertation/Thesis Formatting
Formatting your dissertation should be the primary factor to watch out for getting it wrong. Formatting guidelines usually include the dissertation requirements, and you need to abide by them. Not following these requirements may result in getting your thesis penalised or rejected.
At the bare minimum, you might receive a “Rejected with major revisions” notification. To avoid all these scenarios, you should proofread your dissertation for the following factors. Adding them to your dissertation proofreading checklist is worth it.
a. Superscripts and Footnotes/Endnotes
These requirements may vary according to the preferred referencing style and guidelines provided by the institute. Superscripts are the symbols or characters mentioned above, and to the right of the word, an in-text citation is added. The footnotes are added at the bottom of the page to provide additional information about the cited source.
Adding these details is essential for proper citation structure and professionalism in your dissertation. You should definitely add these minor but important details to your checklist for proofreading your thesis.
b. Formatting, Presentation, Font and Size Details
As a professional researcher, you need to double-check the minor formatting details such as page margins, heading styles, presentation of the work and font and size. These details can be checked easily within the minimum time spent but confirming them is crucial to avoid revisions at all costs.
c. Preliminary Pages
The Preliminary pages come before the main content of your dissertation. These pages not only contain important information but also are part of the presentation and formatting of your paper. According to Harvard GSAS guidelines, the preliminary pages include an abstract, a list of tables, illustrations, and graphs and a table of contents.
You should check the required pages according to your institute and double-check them before submission. Remember to add this factor to your dissertation proofreading checklist.
2. Mechanical Issues
Mechanical errors in the dissertation represent typos, use of tense, spelling, grammar, and location-specific jargon issues. You should add this factor to your dissertation proofreading checklist in order to catch these errors and resolve them through editing. These might seem like minor errors, but they can cast an awful impression and damage the researcher’s credibility.
Below are the details of each factor and why they are important to take care of in the proofreading session.
a. Typos, Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation
Imagine someone starts reading your dissertation, and by reading the title and looking at font selection, the reader has a good impression of you in their mind. As the readers go in-depth and enjoy reading it, they start to locate typos, grammatical issues, punctuation errors, and spelling mistakes; the impression of a good writer will start fading away.
These mechanical issues turn readers off faster than anything else. Plus, they question your credibility and professionalism as a researcher and writer. Hence, to sustain your first impression and make your reader continue reading your thesis, this should be the prioritised factor in the dissertation proofreading checklist.
b. Consistent Tense Used Throughout
You need to check the consistency of verb tense used throughout your dissertation. Switching between the tenses without context or a valid reason will interrupt the focus and confuse the reader. Especially when describing a course of action, make sure your usage of tense while describing the same event remains the same.
However, if you need to change the tense, ensure a smooth transition without any abruptness in the flow of the text and the coherence of the ideas. So, this factor also deserves to be in your dissertation proofreading checklist to ensure your reader is focused.
c. Country-Specific Spelling and Jargon
Spellings and technical terms for certain things can differ based on the country in which you are submitting your dissertation. For example, a “Lift” will be called an “Elevator” in American English. So, whatever your native language is, you need to use the language of the country your institute is situated in.
Note: If you are an international student and face difficulties in using country-specific language and technical terms, you can seek help from reliable dissertation proofreading and editing firms. These platforms have native writers who provide tailored services for your academic work.
Hence, you need to recheck if you have made language-related mistakes or employed or not the local jargon in your dissertation. Although these mistakes will not make a lousy impact, they may still bag some revisions for you. So, it’s worth adding this point to your checklist.
3. Academic Writing Style
To meet the academic standards for your dissertation, you need to take care of everything to enhance the quality and credibility of your work. Things you need to cater for while defining the correct writing style include the usage of lucid prose, maintaining coherence, choosing the right words, and avoiding the extra use of adjectives.
Below are details of factors you need to include in your thesis proofreading checklist while checking for academic writing standards.
a. Lucid Prose
According to the Cambridge Dictionary definition, “Writing that is easy to understand and is expressed clearly is Lucid.” The dissertations are lengthy assignments; as a researcher, your job is to write them as clearly as possible to increase the readability and understanding of the reader. Add to the list that you will read, and remove any complex words and lengthy sentences from the thesis before submission.
b. The Tone of The Writing
Dissertations and academic assignments are bound to be scholarly, formal, and direct in tone. Adding unnecessary fluff and an informal tone of writing can ruin the professionalism of your thesis. Not only that, your institute might consider it a manipulation technique to complete the word count by including unnecessary and fluffy information.
So, while checking the writing style of your work with the recommended style guidelines, make sure to check the tone adopted in your writing. Add this factor to your dissertation proofreading checklist as well.
c. Coherency
Another detail you should not miss out on at any cost is the coherence of the argument of your thesis. You need to maintain the coherent arguments and main theme of the work. Suppose your reader is reading your dissertation and ideas flow abruptly throughout the thesis, so the reader needs to put more effort and cognitive energy into reading your paper. How far do you think he will continue reading it? Maybe a few paragraphs.
Because reading this sort of work for a longer period of time is challenging. As a writer, your mission has to make it easier to read and understand for readers at any cost, yet maintain the professionalism of your work.
Folding the Thoughts In
To wrap up the discussion, when creating the dissertation proofreading checklist, you need to add everything that could potentially impact the quality of your research. The major things that are worth adding to the list are formatting, mechanical errors, writing style, and infographics. All of these things have some sub-categories that are worth checking for.
However, if you are still writing your thesis, this guide will help you avoid these mistakes in the first place. If you think you will not be able to meet all these criteria, exploring the best dissertation editors in the UK is worth it because they can maintain the highest standards while meeting the looming deadlines.
This guide has jotted down everything that can be included in your checklist. Taking care of everything mentioned here can make your thesis meet academic standards.
