How long does dissertation editing take?

Dissertation editing takes as long as the pages, the condition of the draft, and the number of rounds require. A clean 80-page thesis and a 300-page dissertation with inconsistent citations are different jobs, and any editor who quotes the same time for both has not read the document.

Plan from your deadline backward, and ask your editor for a date after they have seen a sample.

What decides the time

• Page count. More pages mean more hours of careful reading. Editing cannot be rushed without missing errors.
• Condition of the draft. A draft with few errors goes quickly. A draft with long, unclear sentences or uneven grammar takes longer.
• Level of editing. A light copyedit for grammar, clarity and flow takes less time than heavy rewriting, which is a different service and is quoted separately.
• Citation style. Checking how citations read in the text under APA 7, Chicago, Turabian or MLA adds time, and a reference cross-check adds more.
• Revision rounds. Each round needs time for you to review the edits and for the editor to respond.
• Your response time. Questions the editor sends you wait for your answers, and the clock waits too.
• Your university's template. If formatting is part of the job, see formatting. Formatting and editing are separate services, and doing both takes the combined time.

How to plan around a deadline

1. Count back from the date you must submit, and include the time for your committee or graduate school to review the final file.
2. Send the document when it is complete. Editing a chapter and then rewriting it wastes both your money and the editor's time.
3. Tell the editor the deadline when you ask for a quote, not after you agree.
4. Leave room for your own review of the edits before the final version.
5. Decide the scope first. Editing, formatting, or both, and which citation style.

What editing does and does not do

Editing improves grammar, clarity, sentence flow and how citations are written in the text. It does not write your chapters, change your argument, or add research. If your committee has told you the argument is the problem, a chapter review or manuscript review is the right first step, and editing comes after the content is settled.

Questions to ask any editor

• What exactly is included: one pass or more, and how many revision rounds?
• Will you work in tracked changes so I can see every edit?
• What do you do with my citation style and my university's template?
• When will I receive the document, and what happens if I need it sooner?
• What is excluded, and how is extra work quoted?

Read our guide on whether to hire an editor if you are still deciding.

Need a quote with a delivery date?

Send your page count, citation style and deadline through the quote form. The Two Dissertation Moms will quote your thesis or dissertation editing with a date that fits your submission.