submitting my PhD - is professional proof reading necessary?

[lookingouttosea]

I'm on track to submit in October but I'm still doing loads of last-minute edits and changes. Can anyone tell me if its necessary to get a thesis professionally proof-read? Like, does everyone do this? Because I barely have the money or the time, at this stage.... Also I have 2 very small children so I haven't slept in 4 years (as in, there's probably heaps of mistakes!). I've never fully understood the role of my supervisors here - I'm assuming it's not their job to read this with a fine-tooth comb...

I didn't - had members of family and friends do a chapter each though.
My internal examiner made me take out every oxford comma in my minor corrections though...

It is definitely not your supervisor's job. It is in your interests to make it as good as it can be. It does not need to be a professional - many do their own. You will have to correct each typo in any finished final version.

I didn't - got some grammatically literate friends to read bits, but that was all.

I did my own. I passed with minor corrections, and then had to go and pick up lots of silly mistakes at that point.

I didn't, but really wish I had (am apparently much more dyslexic than I realised, and my external's professional training meant he could spot - and be irritated by - the most incredibly tiny details, such as apostrophes in italics not regular next to an italicised word).

However, I don't think it's usual to have it done professionally, and definitely not the supervisors' job.

I didn’t bother - but I was early 20s when I did mine with no other commitments. I put it in a huge ring binder and went through it line by line to correct it. I also used to have it on screen zoomed in and with the button clicked in word that shows spacing, so I could check for double spaces or repeat words (it was long before the days of word having the grammar checking function). I passed no corrections and was told by my mock examiner that it was one of the ‘most remarkably free of typo’ theses they’d ever read.

However, I’m in awe of people of do PhDs with kids and jobs. In this circumstance and if my eyes were what they are now - I might consider a proof reader. You get sick of the thesis by the end I find.

Agree, Gwyn. I couldn't actually read mine by the end - it would blur in front of me. Not an eyesight thing - I could read anything else without problems.

How good is your English and how good is your grammar? I did mine myself in the days when people would have been shocked at the idea of professional proof readers, but I'm horribly perfectionist with my academic work. If you know you are likely to have problems then either hire a professional or cajole some friends into helping. As an examiner it's always nice to see a well-presented thesis.

I didn't. I did get my mum to read through each chapter as I went along (she offered and spots grammatical errors easily). I also checked through it all, starting with the first chapters I wrote and ending with the introduction- I found it difficult to check the parts I had written the most recently though.

I didn’t, DH should have read it for me but he was too busy looking after our children and trying to do his own job whilst I raced to the end.

I had to sort out all the errors that proof reading would have picked up as part of my minor corrections.

I proof read my own, it helped me to read it out loud, punctuation wise and I generally went through it with a fine tooth comb. I passed with minimal corrections.

My trick for proof reading is to read it outloud. It's time consuming but I found it effective.

I didn’t, although I printed out the final draft and made my husband read it. I passed without correction.

I didn’t. I was 27 with no commitments abd plenty of sleep. Despite lots of reading, minor corrections etc 18 years ago, there are still typos which really annoy me! I was allowed Oxford commas though!

I had a typo in my title page. Both examiners agreed they had never seen that before . I did pass with no corrections, although they said they trusted I would sort out that typo at least....

I would personally recommend it but you certainly don’t have to. Sure it’s fine as it is.

No. I finished 2 years ago and passed with minor corrections. Editing helped me prepare for my viva.

Not a PhD but I used to have to write a lot of big reports for a company that was hyper picky about reports going out with no errors. They had a strict quality control policy that the report was quality checked twice before issue - once by someone who knows the subject so can sanity check what you’ve written is factually correct and makes sense, and once by somebody who didn’t know the subject area who did the grammar l style check (they had a big style guide we all had to follow).

It’s a good way to proof read - the factual check to make sure all the details are correct (especially where numbers are involved which can be easy to type wrong without noticing), the readability check to make sure it reads well, as others have said doing it out loud is slow but a good way if you have to do it yourself and then the grammar/typo/style check. If you’re able to go through it several times and check different things it can help - so checking that all the right styles and spacing have been used for each section, then that all diagrams/charts/etc have their right titles, formatted and numbered correctly, then that all lists use the same format with the same use of punctuation and spacing, then for typos, then for full stops and so on.

Even if you do do it yourself, if it’s at all possible, try to get someone to read the abstract and first few pages to make sure it makes a good first impression, and then the conclusion, to make sure they’re left with a good impression too.

Good luck!

Thanks everyone. Its difficult to decide because in one sense I'm usually very good at writing and I've even been paid to proof-read peoples dissertations before. However I have 2 babies now and I haven't slept in 3 years so....!