AI dissertation editing, returned in Word tracked changes

What's the difference between a thesis and a dissertation in the US and UK?

In the United States, a thesis is usually the project that completes a master's degree, and a dissertation is the long original research project that completes a doctorate, such as a PhD or EdD. In the United Kingdom the terms are mostly reversed: a dissertation is usually the extended project at the end of an undergraduate or taught master's degree, and a thesis is what a research student writes for an MPhil or PhD.

Usage varies by university and field, so follow the term your own institution uses. RightMyWork edits both the same way.

Thesis editing

Can I edit my dissertation chapter by chapter?

Yes. Upload a single chapter as its own Word file whenever it is ready, or upload the finished dissertation in one go. Each upload counts as one document: the Monthly plan allows 25 documents and 400,000 words per rolling 30 days, and the free tier allows up to 4 documents and 20,000 words, one time.

Chapters uploaded separately are each edited on their own. Before you submit, upload the complete dissertation once, so spelling, hyphenation, and citation style are held to one standard across chapters.

Can I use AI to proofread my dissertation?

Usually, but check first. Many universities allow help with correcting errors in marked work and restrict anything that rewrites it. In the UK, many universities publish a proofreading policy for dissertations, and some apply it to AI tools too. In the US, graduate schools and committees set their own rules on editing help. Read your policy, and ask your supervisor or committee chair when it is unclear.

If AI help is limited to corrections, choose Proofreading Only. There is no rewriting: only errors are corrected, and every correction is a tracked change you can show.

AI proofreading

Proofreading, copyediting or developmental editing: which do I need?

They work at different depths:

• Proofreading corrects errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation, and consistency. It suits a near-final draft, or a university that allows corrections only. In RightMyWork, choose Proofreading Only.
• Copyediting and line editing also improve wording, clarity, and flow, sentence by sentence. Choose Light Editing to tighten the prose, or Full Editing to improve flow, tone, and diction.
• Developmental editing looks at the big picture: your argument, your structure, and whether each chapter does its job. RightMyWork's editing levels work at the proofreading, copyediting, and line-editing depths; for developmental feedback, talk to your supervisor or committee.

How much does dissertation editing cost?

Your first 20,000 words are free, one time, as a preview: the opening and closing quarter of the document with tracked changes. Unlock one edited document for $10 and download it for 7 days. For a full dissertation, the Monthly plan is $15 for 30 days, covering 400,000 words and 25 documents, and the Yearly plan is $120 for 365 days. Both are one payment, never auto-charged.

Human editing services usually price by the word and by turnaround time, so compare the total for your word count before you choose.

See pricingCompare with human editing services

Will my Zotero, EndNote or Mendeley citations still work?

Yes. Citation fields from Zotero, EndNote, and Mendeley are kept live through the edit, so your reference manager can still update them. One caution: when you next refresh citations from your reference manager, it rebuilds them from your library, which can undo corrections made to them in Word. Fix the entry in your library as well, so the correction survives a refresh.

If you would rather have those sentences edited as plain text, you can flatten the fields before you start, but they will no longer update from your library.

Can it format my reference list to APA 7 or Harvard?

Yes. Choose APA 7 or Harvard (Cite Them Right) and the editor corrects the reference list and in-text citations to that style as tracked changes: author names, dates, capitalization, italics, and punctuation. It works from what is in your document. On Monthly and Yearly plans you can also switch on autofill to look up missing details such as DOIs; it is off by default, added details arrive as tracked changes, and entries it cannot verify are left for you to review.

To correct only the reference list without editing the rest of the dissertation, use reference editing.

Reference list editing

Will my committee or supervisor see exactly what changed?

Only if you send them the tracked file. The edited document shows each change the editor made as a Word tracked change, with editor comments on the key edits, so it works as a record of what the AI changed. You can also accept the changes you agree with and send a clean copy instead.

If your program asks you to disclose editing help, the tracked file shows what was changed. For a US dissertation, the graduate school's format review typically checks margins, pagination, and front matter against its own manual; RightMyWork edits language, citations, and references, not page layout.

How long does an 80,000-word dissertation take?

Edits average 5 to 10 minutes, and a book-length document can take longer. Upload it well before your deadline, and leave time to review the tracked changes, which takes longer than the edit itself.