Editing theses - worth it or not?

Are they willing to pay $500? They must be rich students!

I've edited undergrad essays of 2-3,000 words, and charged them a drink at the student union bar.

From my experience, it all depnds on what the students can pay, or are willing to pay. To some few, five hundred bucks is chump change, but to most, it may as well be five million.

A penny a word would about reasonable, I think. That's around the low end of what they would pay a professional service, and some charge much more. Since theses tend to be very long, are you sure you have the time for this? Depending on what shape the thesis is in, you will probably average about 1000 words per hour on an ESL thesis. That's about $10/hour for your time.

If I were helping to edit theses, I would charge very little if at all. They are students and may not be able to pay a lot.

Of course, there is always bartering-trading one service for another- which seems to have gone by the wayside. You help me paint my garage, and I will edit/polish your thesis for you. . Just an idea.

Here are the suggested rates from the Editorial Freelancers Association, the leading US professional association for freelance editors.

Since you're not currently a full-time professional editor, discounting your rates for services to some degree makes sense. But don't sell yourself short, either. You wouldn't mow a relative stranger's lawn for free or make their dinner for free, would you?

Are there also other resources for them at the university? The school I went to had a free writing lab for all students, plus an writing workshop specifically for my department. I don't know the logistics of being hired for something like this, but there might be other resources for them to utilize (or, at least utilize first -- I'm sure you want to be editing something that's as polished as possible). One of my professors would only discuss a paper after you'd taken it through the writing lab. You could try something similar to ease the workload on yourself.

IceCreamEmpress said:

You wouldn't mow a relative stranger's lawn for free or make their dinner for free, would you?

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You wouldn't charge them any more than they could reasonably pay, either. Or you shouldn't. Many college students don't live on Ramen Noodles because they like them so much.

If you intend to charge anything remotely close to what a professional charges, the students would be better off getting a professional. Except they couldn't afford them, either.

I worked at the writing center at my university for a couple quarters before I finished my undergrad. We actually refused to focus on grammar unless we'd been working with a student all quarter because people often came in thinking we were there just to help them edit their typos.

I've considered offering editing services, but I've never felt like I'd get any clients. Maybe I should just go ahead and advertise. I actually enjoy the somewhat brainless nitpicking of low-end copyediting/proofing. As long as students weren't expecting me to factcheck their thesis, I think it would be easy work.

I saw a sign advertising editing services the other day, but I don't remember what the sign said as far as price.

I don't know what university policy is in the states, but here you will be expelled if you employ editing services. The thesis must be entirely your own work, including editing and all drafts. It's in the terms and conditions of being offered a place and embarking on a course of study here.

shaldna said:

I don't know what university policy is in the states, but here you will be expelled if you employ editing services. The thesis must be entirely your own work, including editing and all drafts. It's in the terms and conditions of being offered a place and embarking on a course of study here.

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shaldna said:

I don't know what university policy is in the states, but here you will be expelled if you employ editing services. The thesis must be entirely your own work, including editing and all drafts. It's in the terms and conditions of being offered a place and embarking on a course of study here.

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I agree with Chris.

I've never heard of this either, my University actually offers editing services for students with dyslexia etc. For the rest of us, they recommend legit editors.

There is getting an essay mill to write the thing [which is covered in the plagiarism statement] and employing an editor.

Here you can have help if you are dyselxic, or have some other learning difficulty, but the rest of it is up to you. The main reason, according to my uni's (UU and QUB) is that there is no way to tell what is a 'guidance' service and what is a thesis writing service.

And in truth, having completed both a BSc and a BA, and and MSc and currently on an MA, the differences in disciplines are vast. Grammar an structure is not such an issue in science subjects as it is in arts, where students are expected to have a grasp of language etc. So if you do a science subject, you are not judged on structure and the writing in teh same way you would if you were an arts student.

In short, if you are able to study to that level then you should not need to employ the services of anyone else. I can't speak for other universities, or even other departments as I'm aware tat sometimes departmental policy varies, but outside help is very frowned on here.

Look at it this way, if you are studying creative writing or english and need to pay someone else to edit your thesis, then you are probably studying the wrong subject.

It's up to you, but I would personally check university policy on it before agreeing to anything.