LANGUAGE TRAINING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT UNIT
Guidelines in Proofreading Services of Research Theses
The Language Training and Professional Development Unit (LTPDU) presents the following set of Guidelines for Proofreading researches and theses. This specifically outlines the extent and nature of proofreading services that the pool of professional proofreaders can provide.
Moreover, these guidelines have been developed primarily to give guidance NOT ONLY to the professional proofreaders, but also to the research advisers and student researchers, since they, too, have to carefully understand the proofreader’s roles.
Why Proofread?
1. Text looks different on a computer screen. Proofreading from a hard copy, would certainly show errors that might have been missed.
2. Part of proofreading is a word-by-word check for spelling and grammar. Computer checking programs won't catch errors like the word "pain" instead of "pane."
3. To check word use( if there is any doubt) if a word is used correctly.
4. To carefully survey the document to ensure it is well organized and the information is presented clearly, completely and accurately.
Guidelines:
1. The researcher should first obtain permission from his/her adviser and respective Dean if he/she can already seek the help of professional proofreader in preparing his/her thesis for submission by filling out a form which has to be signed by both the Dean and Research Adviser concerned.
2. The researcher and the Thesis Adviser should affix their signatures in the guidelines certifying that they both understand and are amenable to the terms and conditions presented in the guidelines.
3. Materials to be proofread should be submitted to the Proofreaders in electronic or hard copy (although if an individual academic institution prefers editing format, this should be followed). If the thesis is to be proofread electronically, the proof reader and student researcher need to agree on the process by which the student will check each suggested change before accepting it.
4. Finally, the researcher needs to be cleared about the scope and limits of services that the professional proofreader offers.
Scope and Limits of Services Rendered
1. It is expected that the Academic Advisers of student researchers will provide their students with editing advice relating to matters of language structure and use of illustrations and tables. They must
be cleared that the service offered by the proof readers is focused only on proofreading specifically on:
• Logic & Grammar: Errors in grammar are also errors in logic, since they easily confuse the reader, making it appear that the premises of the thesis are incoherent or unsound. Here, the proof reader corrects subject-verb agreement, pronoun referents, run-on and fragmented sentences, weak or improper verb usage, and other fatal grammatical mistakes.
• Style & Voice: Once the thesis is structurally sound, the proofreaders work is to give it a unique style and voice, eliminating awkward or vague words and phrases and replacing them with elegant and precise ones. This helps to make the writing not only more consistent, but also more professional.
• Formatting: This depends on institutional /collegiate requirements for standard formatting styles
Payment:
• · Proofreading: Minimum of 50 pages-Php750.00 and Php150.00 for every additional 10 pages
• · Translation:
Kind of material/s (research tool, survey form, module, article/s, and others) Undergraduate: Php150.00/page
Master’s Thesis /Dissertation: Php200.00/page Professional Research: Php200.00/page Creative writing (poem, essay, short story, and others) Process to follow in securing the Professional Proofreaders’ Services:
1. The student researcher coordinates with the Chairman of the Professional Proofreaders
2. The Chairman designates the proofreader who will do the proofreading of the student researcher’s thesis.
3. The Chairman decides on the number of days that will be spent to complete the job.
4. The following mode of payment shall be used:
Pages Fee (in Peso)
Below 50 pages Php750.00
51-60 900.00
61-70 1,050.00 71-80 1, 200.00 81-90 1, 350.00 91-100 1,500.00
101-110 1,650.00
111-120 1,800.00
121-130 1,950.00
131-140 2,100.00
5. The student researcher pays at the Accounting Office
6. For further inquiries and clarifications, visit the Chairman’s Office.
