BLDE University


A Brief Introduction To Effective Dissertation Editing


Editing is an inevitable part of the whole dissertation writing process. You may not feel enthusiastic about this type of work, because it may seem too boring and routine to you. Though editing is not a creative job to do, you have to remember that without it you won’t manage to produce a final PhD thesis good enough to be highly evaluated. The following recommendations are aimed to help you understand some peculiarities of editing and cope with this task effectively.

  1. Save some time beforehand.
  2. Before you even start writing your dissertation, don’t forget to envisage some time for its revision, for you may spend up to several weeks to make it perfect.


  3. Draft a plan of your editing work.
  4. Proofreading, i.e. spelling, punctuation and grammar check should be included in this plan. Remember that you have to figure out whether your paper is readable enough. It may also seem to you that your thesis is overwhelmed with lengthy descriptions etc. Envisage deleting of some unnecessary details in your plan in order to meet the requirements concerning a word limit.


  5. Evaluate your work globally.
  6. Make sure you’ve managed to cover the topic of your dissertation. Be certain you’ve explained all concepts you develop on in your thesis. Imagine that you are a reader, take a look at your paper from the outside and check if it’s readable and logically built. Make corrections in order to ensure that your work will be read with delight.


  7. Edit your paper section by section.
  8. Delve deeply into each section and every paragraph of your thesis. Every part of your work should be aimed at developing on this or that concept. Don’t mislead the audience by confusing your ideas and thoughts. Theoretically, every paragraph of your dissertation should be structured in such a way: a definition of a concept you are going to speak about, a citation or some other evidence that supports the above definition, your own judgment as to the concept and finally, the encouragement of some further discussion.


  9. Revise your thesis sentence by sentence.
  10. Proofread each sentence of your paper in order to eliminate any spelling, grammar or punctuation mistakes. Ensure that sentences are understandable enough and aren’t too lengthy. It would be extremely useful not just to look through the sentences, but to read them out loud. Check if every sentence has a keynote. Read thoughtfully in order to eliminate needless words; make sure that every sentence is informative.