Your dissertation is the result of hours or months together of hard work. A finished dissertation should be at its best form as it can add value to your career and help you get recognised in the world of academia. 

Having crafted all the chapters, if you assume that your dissertation is ready for final submission, then beware, you are missing out the most critical process, i.e. the proofreading process. As per statistics, about 68% of the dissertation is rejected due to the snoopy errors and considered nothing but a pile of junk. 

Owing to time constraints and other factors, proofreading is often ignored in academia. Some of the reasons to perform proofreading process include:

• You are an ESL student

• Your dissertation includes several tables, figures, etc.

• Multi-level quotes are included within the chapters

Want to make your dissertation of the highest quality? Here’s how you achieve it

        1.Check for grammatical errors

Make sure there are no grammar, punctuation, and typographical errors. Punctuation when used wrongly, can change the meaning of the sentence. If you are unable to check for grammatical errors manually, you can use online platforms that check for grammar & punctuation errors. 

         2.Look for misspellings 

Check for the spellings. There are many online and free platforms that help you check and eliminate spelling errors. However, relying solely on spell checkers is not advisable as they may fail in identifying the homophones (site/sight, stationary/stationery, etc.). Also, make sure you are using the demanded English language, i.e., UK or US and the spellings are consistent. ( e.g. analyze in US English and analyse in UK English). 

          3.Scrutinise capitalisation & hyphensation 

Check for capitalisation and use of numerals in all the sections. Pay attention to hyphens (-), em dashes (—) and en dashes (–) as they all look very similar. 

          4.Check for acronyms & abbreviations

When using abbreviations and acronyms, write them in full in first use and then use the acronym. If you have included too many acronyms, then consider listing them. 

Proofreading process requires dedication and expertise. If you are unable to perform this process, consider taking help from professional proofreaders.