Presentation of the Thesis and Editing Assistance

Whilst you are ultimately responsible for the content of your thesis, the University would be remiss in permitting a thesis to be sent for examination that was below the standard required for the degree and/or which contained numerous typographical and spelling errors. Careful proof reading of the text is essential to ensure that such errors have been corrected and you should not rely on your supervisors to undertake this task for you. Textual errors are a source of irritation to examiners and suggest a lack of care and attention on your part.

If desired and provided that the assistance is acknowledged in your thesis, you may engage the services of a professional editor to assist you in preparing the thesis. In such cases the editor, must be provided with a copy of the Australian Standards for Editing Practice (ASEP) and advised to restrict their assistance to the standards for 'Language and Illustrations' and for 'Completeness and Consistency' in accordance with the University's policy. Material for professional editing or proof-reading should be submitted in hard copy; the submission of an electronic copy and the use of ‘tracked changes’ by an editor is unacceptable.

The ASEP standards are available under 'T' section: 'Thesis: Editing Standards'.

For your convenience, the Researcher, Education and Development Unit in the Adelaide Graduate Centre now maintain a register of Professional Editors who have been provided with the ASEP requirements. For further information, please contact the RED Unit.