Jane Clark
-
Editing and proof-reading of theses (non-native English)
-
20 years' experience proofreading diverse topics
-
A British native with extensive experience of Middle Eastern/Arabic Culture
I provide a service to check your work, correcting errors and making suggestions, if appropriate, to ensure your thesis is clear and ready for examination
The importance of presenting a well-edited thesis for examination cannot be overstated. Examiners expect to see a clean final version of your thesis, without unnecessary grammatical and typographical errors. After years of study, make sure your presentation is a pleasure for your examiner to read.
My native language is English. I have, however, worked in countries outside the UK and with colleagues of many different nationalities in academic departments in the Humanities and Social Sciences at the Universities of Exeter, UK (Arab and Islamic Studies) and Sydney, Australia (Politics and Government Administration, Architecture). With over 20 years’ experience, I have proof-read academic papers and edited postgraduate (MA and PhD) theses on diverse topics.
My most recent subject background relates to the Arab world and Middle East. I have studied Arabic (including a period at the University of Damascus) and have travelled to many countries in the region.
Using ‘track changes’ I can proof-read and edit your work. If English is not your native language, I will provide suggestions for improving your presentation. As a simple example, the frequent use of ‘furthermore’ or ‘however’ on the same page
is stylistically inelegant, although not technically wrong, and should be avoided.
To discuss your needs, and for a competitive quote based on a sample of your work, simply contact me at
Costs and Contract Agreement
My rates are:
£20 per hour
€25 per hour
US $30 per hour
Payment is by PayPal or direct bank transfer.
Bank details provided on agreement of service.
I issue an invoice with every chapter completed and request
payment before editing the next chapter.
All correspondence and editing is treated with total confidentiality.
Feedback
As part of my service, I provide feedback on any correction or
comment, free of charge, if you need clarification on a point.
Recent PhD theses include those by students from:
Kurdistan
Iran
United Arab Emirates
Saudi Arabia
Spain
Italy
Germany (Master’s)
Topics include Islamic philosophy, Arab history, socio-anthropology in
Lebanon, politics and literature.
All students have successfully completed their PhDs and continue to
keep in touch for other work such as editing papers and chapters, job
applications etc.
Examples of editing
I noted that many researchers disagreed with the empirical data. Smith, for example, noted that…
corrected to
It was noted that many researchers disagreed with the empirical data. Smith, for example, argues that…
A thesis should generally be written in the third person, using the past tense. Avoid the use of ‘I’. Citations of other works should be in the present tense.
However, it was showed that many…
corrected to
However, it was shown that many…
A common error in the use of the verb ‘to show’.
Furthermore it was however an issue of contention…
corrected to
Furthermore it was an issue of contention…
Use of too many conjunctions or use of the same word too often is not good stylistically, and will irritate the reader.
There was a revolution in 1950. Then a new government came to power and brought in many new laws.
corrected to
There was a change of government following the revolution in 1950 and many new laws were introduced.
The structure here is simplistic. Joining the two sentences together makes the point more interesting.
The prime minister liaised with his colleagues to find a solution to the problem. It was belieed that the Minister of Justice…
corrected to
The Prime Minister liaised with his colleagues to find a solution to the problem. It was believed that the Minister of Justice…
It is important to be consistent with capitalization. Also, spelling must be correct.
TESTIMONIAL
Dr. Ana Almuedo-Castillo
PhD in Politics, Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies
University of Exeter
Ms. Jane Clark revised my PhD thesis last January 2018 that I conducted on civil marriage in Lebanon at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter. Ms Clark was very understanding and flexible on deadlines and she made sure to proof-read my thesis on time. Her comments and suggested changes really enriched my thesis and it made it more clear and coherent. You may judge yourself: Her job was so good that my examiners could not even find a typo - I had no corrections on my viva.
TESTIMONIAL
Dr. Mohammad Mustafa
I have known Ms. Jane Clark as an outstanding, brilliant and understanding proof-reader. Prior to knowing Jane, sometimes, when I used to send my work to be proofread, the proof-reader would not quite understand the meaning; thus, she changed the context to something that I did not mean. Hence, there was always the danger of the essay diverging
to something else. Jane, however, makes sure that she gets the message, and then does an appropriate proofread. Whenever, she needs further clarification, she will ask, and never assumes something when she is not sure about the meaning or context. She would never write something that may be confusing, even to yourself, as some other proof-readers do, she always checks with you. Therefore, I recommend her as a star of proofreading.
TESTIMONIAL
Leila Chamankhah, PhD
Adjunct instructor, Department of Philosophy University of Dayton,
Ohio, US.
I used Thesis Perfect
to edit and proofread my PhD thesis.
Ms. Jane Clark’s service was impeccable–timely, thorough and clear.
She was always supportive of my work, making helpful suggestions and
explaining what she had done, if I had any queries.
My thesis was accepted by my examiners, who did not question my English. I passed–I am Dr!
I still use Thesis Perfect to edit and proofread my articles and chapters and have no hesitation in recommending this service to others.