Proofreading and language editing of a thesis are allowed at the universities quoted here, on conditions the university and program set, and some programs allow no outside editing at all. This page quotes policies from Canada, the United States and South Africa on five points: permission before anyone edits, a limit to language, misconduct, AI tools that may need your advisor's approval first, and acknowledging the editor in the thesis. They differ in the details, so check your own university's policy before you hire anyone or use a tool.
No one sees their own blind spots, with or without AI help. Esmond points them out in your draft from within your field, along with factual errors and inconsistencies.
Taken together, the policies quoted below come back to five points. Not every policy covers each one, and your university may add to them or be stricter.
A hypothetical example of a commentYour acknowledgments thank an editor for "help with chapter 3", but chapter 3 is where your argument changes direction. Does your permission form cover that chapter, and what kind of editing?
A first comment on one part of your own draft, right away and without an account.
Get a free previewThe University of Calgary's graduate calendar sets conditions on copyediting. One of them: “Prior to hiring a copy editor, permission from the supervisor(s) must be obtained.” It also sends you to your program first: check your program's entry in the calendar to see whether copyediting is permitted at all before you hire anyone. Calgary's graduate guidelines on generative AI likewise ask for written authorization before AI is used, so at Calgary, ask your supervisor before you use Esmond for your thesis.
In the United States, the University of North Texas College of Music uses a form for this. It opens with the condition: “A student may make use of an editor, paid or unpaid, in the editing of their final critical essay/thesis/dissertation only if the major professor and Director of Graduate Studies approve this course of action.” Paid or unpaid makes no difference there. At Waterloo, a friend or relative who has been paid for editing before can count as a professional editor, and a supervisor may recommend editing but may not require it.
Calgary draws the outer line: “Under no circumstances should the copyediting alter the content, structure or contribution of the thesis.” The UNT form, signed by student and editor, lists what is in scope: “We, the student and the editor, agree to limit any editorial intervention to matters of citations, grammar, style, and formatting, as well as overall clarity and structure. Such intervention will not pertain to content.”
Note the difference. At UNT, an editor may work on overall clarity and structure; at Calgary, copyediting may not alter the structure. The same word gets two answers, which is why the permission form or agreement should name the tasks.
| Task | In the policies quoted here |
|---|---|
| Spelling, grammar, punctuation | Within scope in every editing policy quoted |
| Style and formatting, citation format | Within scope at UNT; check your own agreement |
| Overall clarity and structure | Within scope at UNT; at Calgary copyediting may not alter structure |
| Content, arguments, findings | Out of scope in every policy quoted |
| New technical content or interpretations | Not to be introduced, in Buffalo's rule for AI editing aids |
The University of Waterloo is explicit: “It is important for the student to be aware that unauthorized use of editing services at any stage of the thesis production constitutes an academic offence.” The offence is the missing permission, at any stage, not only in the final version.
The University of Victoria's academic integrity FAQ, written with coursework and course outlines in mind, separates basic aids from the rest: “Students can usually use basic writing aids (spellcheck, grammar), but any tool that generates or substantially revises content must follow the instructor's course-specific guidelines, as indicated in the course outline.” And: “If your instructor prohibits use of a tool, it is considered an academic integrity violation if you use it.”
Some departments now set editing rules for AI. The Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University at Buffalo allows AI as an editing aid on conditions, the first being: “Use is restricted to grammar correction, typo correction, and minor refinement of text originally written by the student.” Another: “Generative AI tools must not introduce new technical content, interpretations, or structure.” Students there discuss any such use with their advisor in advance, and advisors may restrict AI further. In that department, ask your advisor before you use any AI tool on your thesis, Esmond included.
Carleton University's Department of Psychology allows the same narrow use: “Students may use AI tools to address basic editing typical of standard proofreading.” It also states: “The routine use of spelling, grammar and formatting tools does not need to be disclosed.” Other uses must be declared, and students discuss all AI use with their thesis supervisor, so ask yours before you use Esmond. The University of Alabama's Graduate School frames it from the student's side: students produce the manuscript themselves, and generative AI may be used for editing, with a disclosure statement in the opening pages.
Tools and services that reword AI-generated text so it reads as the student's own do more than these policies call editing. They reword whole passages, not only spelling and grammar, and the result is presented as your work. Carleton's psychology policy is direct about the second part: “Misuse or misrepresentation of AI-generated content as original work will be treated as a breach of academic integrity and is subject to university policies.”
Under the UVic wording above, such a tool would likely count as one that substantially revises content, so it would fall under the instructor's rules and not under basic aids. If your program asks you to declare AI use, that use belongs in the declaration too. AI disclosure statement for a thesis shows what such a statement contains.
Waterloo requires it: “In all cases where an editor (professional or otherwise) has been used, specific acknowledgement must be made in the completed thesis.” At Waterloo the acknowledgment names the editor and briefly describes the services. Calgary asks for a disclosure that the thesis was edited: “A disclosure statement is required in the thesis (e.g., a sentence in the preface or acknowledgment stating that the thesis has been professionally edited).”
Keep the versions. Waterloo notes that a department or supervisor may ask for a tracked-changes copy next to the final version, and the UNT form asks the student to keep drafts with the editor's annotations.
At some South African universities the question runs the other way. Nelson Mandela University's page on finishing a dissertation states: “It is strongly recommended that a professional language editor is engaged to assist.”
At UNISA, the Procedures for master's and doctoral degrees (revised October 2025) have the supervisor advise the candidate on the need for language editing, and leave arranging and paying for it to the candidate. The submission list includes a certificate from a professional editor or proofreader where applicable, and colleges may make that certificate mandatory for their qualifications. So proofreading is provided for at UNISA, on your college's terms. UNISA AI policy for dissertations and theses covers the separate AI statement.
A 2010 survey of South African editors by Kruger and Bevan-Dye, held in the North-West University repository, describes a general lack of explicit guidelines for editing dissertations and theses at the time. It reported: “The findings of the study suggest that while editors view the majority of copyediting and stylistic editing tasks to be appropriate when editing dissertations and theses, the same does not hold true for structural and content editing tasks.” That is a survey of editors' views, not a rule, and it predates AI tools.
If you're not sure yet whether you need an editor at all, Do I need a thesis editor? has a checklist, and alternatives to a thesis editor compares the options.
Esmond evaluates every assignment before you submit. It never writes it.
Esmond is an AI tool that doesn't write for you. If your course doesn't allow any AI tools, don't use Esmond for that work. If you're unsure, ask your instructor or advisor.
Esmond is not an editor and does no proofreading. The editing rules above concern people and tools that change your text, and Esmond changes none of it. Your program's AI rules still apply. Where a policy allows AI only as an editing aid, as in the Buffalo department above, a review of your content is a different use, so ask your advisor before you upload.
What Esmond does: it reads your draft for content and returns comments in the margin of your own PDF. The sample report shows them, how Esmond works covers what happens to your file, and can I use Esmond? lists what to check. You decide what to change.
At the universities quoted here, yes, on conditions: permission from your supervisor or advisor first, a limit to language, and an acknowledgment in the thesis. Some programs don't allow outside editing at all. Check your own university's policy.
Not when your program permits it and you stay within the agreed limits. Without permission it can be: at Waterloo, unauthorized use of editing services at any stage is an academic offense.
UNISA's procedures for master's and doctoral degrees provide for it: the supervisor advises on language editing, and the submission list includes an editor's or proofreader's certificate where applicable; colleges may make it mandatory. Ask your supervisor what your college requires.
At Waterloo, no: a supervisor may recommend editing but may not require it, and may also refuse a professional editor. Elsewhere, check your own policy.
The format, sometimes: UNT's form includes citations in the agreed scope. Adding missing sources or changing what you cite is content, and stays with you.
At Waterloo, yes: the acknowledgments name the editor and describe the editing. Calgary asks for a statement in the preface or acknowledgments that the thesis was professionally edited. Check what your own university asks for.
Read on November 8, 2026.
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