A dissertation is one of the toughest forms of academic writing and requires the time and effort of a pupil.

The cherry on top to work on it is that the word count for this task is at least 5,000-10,000!

Yes, that’s right. In such situations, pupils often skip the important part to edit and proofread their document before final submission.

However, it cannot be skipped from the process. So what to do?

Well, in this guide, I have shared some essential tips to edit and proofread your dissertation as well as their do’s and don’ts.

So are you ready to find out? Let’s go!

What is Proofreading?

Proofreading can be defined as reading something prior to its publication to find out the errors or mistakes and correct them (Chang & Hsu 2009).

Be it academic tasks, books, online content, or any form of writing, all of them require proofreading.

Want to know how to proofread a dissertation? If yes, read the section below.

Tips to Proofread a Dissertation

Here’s a breakdown of some essential tips for proofreading a dissertation.

Tense Check

One of the top reasons for proofreading a dissertation is to check the grammar of the content. In addition, always remember that past tense is used to tell about something that has already happened; present to tell what is happening right now while writing; and future to predict something that might happen later.

So, make sure to check the tenses of your content or else you might confuse readers.

Grammar Check

Do you know that making minor grammar mistakes is something that even a pro writer does? Yes, that’s right!

This is why it’s important to re-read the content to identify the errors. These can be:

• Punctuation
• Spelling
• Typos
• Grammar

Thus, make sure to fix these errors before the final submission of your dissertation.

I know it’s not easy for a student to read 10,000-80,000 words of their dissertation and identify errors particularly, for nursing pupils. This is when it’s best to connect with nursing dissertation helpers and get their aid for proofreading.

Read your dissertation at least twice

Most of the time pupils often overlook some major errors in their content due to a hurry.

Therefore, it’s crucial to read it at least twice. In addition, it will help you to identify mistakes that you might have missed in the first read.

Adjective Check

While proofreading your dissertation, make sure to check that the adjectives go with their nouns in numbers. It might be singular or plural; feminine or masculine.

What is Editing?

Nordqueist (2008) concedes that the stage of the writing process is where an author or an editor works to improve the draft for the final publication to make it more precise, refined, and excellent.

Editing a document is when one has to go one step further from proofreading the content. In addition, one must check the content to polish it and make it look professional.

For that, an editor has to include or exclude information that would be best for the topic and cover the academic requirements.

Tip to Edit a Dissertation

Fresh perspective

When it comes to editing a dissertation, it’s very important to wait for a few days (if possible) and then read it.

In addition, it allows you to have a fresh eye at the content and decide better. Moreover, you may also ask someone else to read your content and get their suggestions. However, make sure that the person is not close to your project so he can give genuine feedback.

Note down the feedback

Once you are done with the first tip, make sure to keep writing down the key points from the given feedback.

After that, analyze the content and check whether it’s important to make those changes or not.

Read everything carefully

I know it’s clearly a difficult task to first write a dissertation and then edit or proofread it. But trust me on this, it’s actually worth your hard work.

So, make sure to read the content carefully and with complete concentration.

For that, get a good sleep or do some fun activity before reading the content. As a result, it might help you to focus better.

Do’s and Don’ts of Proofreading and Editing a Dissertation

Do’s

Do check if the content makes sense

While reading your dissertation, make sure that the sentences or paragraphs make sense. Indeed, a logical flow between your content is essential. For that, keep the research question in your mind by reading it. In addition, follow the lead and check if your material is addressing and relevant to the topic.

Do minor changes

Once you are convinced that the research and content are well-aligned, now you only need to make small changes in the content. In addition, these can be grammatical, spelling, punctuation, etc.

Do critical analysis

I know it’s not easy to critically analyze your own work. However, it can be really helpful to edit it and submit a winning dissertation.

Do connect with peers

Proofreading or editing a nursing dissertation is not child’s play. Thus, it’s best to connect with peers or experts to get their help.

Therefore, you may seek a reliable Nursing Dissertation Editing Service and make the most of their services.

Don’ts

Don’t edit as you write

Have you ever felt like editing the content while you write? Like oh, the last paragraph that I wrote should be written in a different way.

I know we all have been there. However, this is one of the biggest DON’T while proofreading or editing a dissertation.

It’s best to write down your thoughts on a separate piece of paper. In the end, you may make changes accordingly.

Don’t edit or proofread the entire file in one go

We often see students who are on a tight deadline or think that they’re some sort of superhero to edit the whole document in the first go.

Every topic and field of a dissertation is unique and comes with different levels of complexity.

Therefore, it’s best to divide your content into manageable and small parts and work and set deadlines to complete them.

Don’t rely on tools completely

I know it would be foolish of me if I say don’t use online tools to edit and proofread a dissertation. Instead, you must use them but DON’T completely rely on them to do your work.

Make sure to check the content manually as well for your own satisfaction and to get A+ grades.

Final Words

Editing and proofreading a dissertation is not as easy as it sounds. Pupils must invest their time perfectly and make sure to read the content multiple times to get good results.

In this guide, we have discussed the do’s and don’ts of working on it. So, make sure to read this guide carefully and follow the lead.

Moreover, it’s completely fine to get professional help for it as they can lessen the time and effort required in this task.