Cost of proofreading: How much to proofread my academic writing?
Most universities recommend that your written work is proofread before submission so what is the cost of proofreading? We undertook some research to find out. Here’s what we discovered.
What is proofreading?
Proofreading is the process of checking text for errors and mistakes. It normally focuses on aspects of writing such as grammar, spelling and punctuation, but more in-depth proofreading might also pick out questions of structure, style, and clarity.
Why should I get proofreading?
An experienced academic writer writing in their native language would have limited benefit from professional proofreading and may prefer to do it themselves. It is true though that if you missed an error when you wrote it the first time around you may not pick it up subsequently. For those writing in a second language, or those who are quite new to academic writing, proofreading really is a must if you want to maximise your grade.
Difference between proofreading and editing
Proofreading is not the same as editing. The best way I can explain the difference is using the metaphor of having work done on your car. Proofreading washes and polishes your car to give it a better outward appearance while editing means opening the bonnet and checking the mechanical functioning of the car. In my experience editing takes roughly twice as long as proofreading and this is reflected in the cost. In addition to proofreading the text, editing will normally include restructuring paragraphs and ensuring paragraph flow, clarifying meaning and overall argument, style and logic and if you’ve written too much editing can reduce your wordcount.
Cost of proofreading
Before revealing the cost of proofreading for academic writing, there are some factors which can affect the price including:
- How quickly you want it completed and returned
- The level (undergraduate, masters, PhD etc.)
- The volume of words
- Whether the service provider is VAT registered (if they are they will add 20% to your quote)
Proofreading quotes are normally calculated per 1000 words or sometimes per page. For our purposes here we use the 1000 words approach for 7-day turnaround.
We surveyed 20 proofreading services seeking an instant quote for proofreading a 3000-word undergraduate assignment using a 7-day service. The average price per 1000 words was:
£15.50
The lowest cost was £12 per 1000 words and the highest was £21.75.
Why are proofreading rates different?
We found that there were two main types of providers offering proofreading services. One type was an agency-style provider that sends the assignments out to a network of proofreaders and editors. These proofreaders do not work directly for the marketing agency but are themselves freelancers. These agencies tended to be more expensive because they needed to pay the freelancer and cover their marketing costs and make a profit themselves. It’s important to note that if you used one of these agencies you will not have contact with the proofreader actually dealing with your document.
The second type of provider we found was the one-person freelancer. Some of these were clearly one-person providers while others gave the appearance of being a large global organisation. Using such a freelancer is on average cheaper (no agency costs to cover and no VAT) and you will get to communicate directly with the person doing your work. One drawback is that as it is just one individual it’s possible they won’t be able to complete your work as quickly as you want.
A few other tips
We noticed that some websites include the logos of universities to create the appearance of a formal connection between the university and their service. This is misleading. We also found that some proofreading services are not based in an English-speaking country and may be using non-native speaking proofreaders. We would also mention that very few of the ‘reviews’ published on these websites can be verified. This is a general problem with reviews published online for any products and services. Finally, it is also difficult to verify whether the ‘experts’ with their impressive qualifications and experience are real or really just basically avatars.
Main takeaway
The average cost of proofreading an undergraduate assignment was found to be £15.50 per 1000 words with a range of £12.00 to £21.75. There are two types of service providers: the agency and the one-person freelancer. If you have a really urgent task the agency may be better (but more expensive). If you value being in contact with the proofreader then you may be better off looking for a freelancer.