Your research, examiner-ready.
Academic editing for Masters and PhD dissertations, theses and journal articles, by PhD-qualified editors from your own discipline.
Based in Johannesburg. Serving Wits, UJ, UP, UNISA and researchers across Africa and beyond.
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Services and fees
Priced per 1,000 words of body text. Tell us whether your word count includes the reference list. You approve a fixed quote before anything starts.
Proofreading Only
- Spelling, grammar and punctuation
- Consistency of terms, numbers and abbreviations
- South African (UK) English, or US on request
Full Edit + Reference Cross-Checking
- Everything in Proofreading Only
- Clarity, academic tone and sentence flow
- Every in-text citation checked against your reference list
- Comments where meaning is unclear
Complete Typesetting & Editing Bundle
- Everything in Full Edit
- Headings, margins, tables, captions and table of contents
- Layout to your faculty template
- LaTeX on request
Minimum fee R500. 5% off documents above 60,000 words. Researchers at African institutions outside South Africa: ask for our regional rates.
How it works
Everything happens by email or WhatsApp. Your document never leaves our secure workflow, and is deleted 90 days after delivery.
Send your document
Upload it with your deadline, discipline and referencing style.
Approve your quote
A fixed price and delivery date within 24 hours.
Pay securely
Card or EFT. Over 20,000 words, a 50% deposit starts the work.
We edit and check
Your matched editor works in Track Changes; a second reader checks quality.
Receive your files
Tracked and clean copies, an editing report and your Editor's Certificate.
We edit. You remain the author.
Universities and journals rightly guard the integrity of research. Our editing improves how your work reads, never what it argues. Every change is visible in Track Changes, so you accept or reject each one.
Disciplines we cover
- Education
- Management and Commerce
- Public Administration
- Health Sciences and Nursing
- Psychology and Social Work
- Theology and Religion
- Humanities and Languages
- Law (language only)
- Natural Sciences
- Engineering and IT
Our Editing Ethics Charter
- We correct language, clarity, consistency and presentation. We do not write, add content, change arguments or analyse data.
- Suggestions about structure or meaning are comments for you to decide on.
- Your university's or journal's editing policy always takes precedence.
- Editors never use AI tools to rewrite your text, and never upload your work to public AI services.
- Your certificate states the exact level of editing performed.
- Your work is confidential, handled under POPIA, and deleted after 90 days.
For supervisors and departments
Spend supervision time on the argument, not the commas. Refer students knowing their editor is a specialist in the field, works within our Ethics Charter and returns every change visibly.
We are happy to edit a free 1,000-word sample from one of your students so you can judge our standard first.
Email us about a sampleJoin our editors
We are building a small bench of PhD-qualified freelance editors across disciplines. We find the clients, quote, invoice and collect payment; you edit pre-paid, clearly scoped work and are paid per 1,000 words.
Applicants complete a short editing assessment before joining.
Apply to edit with usQuestions students ask
Is using an editor allowed by my university?
Most South African universities permit, and many recommend, professional language editing of dissertations and theses. Check your faculty's policy and tell your supervisor. Our certificate states exactly what we did.
How long will my dissertation take?
Standard turnaround is about seven working days for 50,000 words. Express (72 hours) and Rush (48 hours) are available when an editor in your field has capacity.
Do you count the reference list?
We price body text. Tell us whether your word count includes the reference list; our Full Edit checks every citation against it.
What if my supervisor asks for changes afterwards?
Revised sections are re-edited at half price within 60 days.
Do you use AI to edit?
No. Your document is edited by a person. Editors may use spell-check and consistency tools, but never AI rewriting, and your work is never uploaded to public AI services.
How do I pay?
By card or EFT in rand, or by card or PayPal in US dollars or pounds. Documents under 20,000 words are paid upfront; longer documents need a 50% deposit, with the balance due before delivery.
Request your fixed quote
Tell us about your document and upload a 1,000-word sample. We reply within 24 hours with a fixed price, a delivery date safely ahead of your official deadline, and the discipline of your editor.
Prefer to send the file directly? Email it to quotes@scholarlyeditors.co.za.