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Can Proofreading in fiverr be trusted?

by shikato
18 replies
Dear all,

I'm currently trying to finish my Msc Dissertation (15,000 words) and I was considering to find a proofreader. As you may already have known, they are not cheap. The prices were just far too expensive for me. I know that students ask their friends and family to proofread their dissertation. The thing is, most of my friends and family's first language is not English or are just too busy to proofread my dissertation. My Supervisor would not proofread it as he is my marker as well (heck he doesn't even reply to my emails, which increased the need for a proper proofreading).

My friend found a website named Fiverr. A lot of them proofread documents such as dissertations at the rate of 3000 words for $5. So 15000 words would be around $20. This seems too good to be true? I'm feeling desperate to the extent that I really want to give this a go but one little mistake can screw everything up. If anyone has any experience regarding receiving proofreading services in fiverr, please let me know. Are they reliable? Are they even real? Or will they post your document online which will lead to plagiarism? This may be a stupid question (as the rate is unbelievably low) but I can't seem to find posts that invalidate the services provided by fiverr. Maybe I'm searching wrongly. Any other advice would be appreciated too. Thank you!!

P.s I've found this seller with a small number of reviews and they are all positive. It feels like she is new in the business and I would imagine a scam seller would have more positive reviews? Though this could the the plan to trick people all along. Plus, she has no negative reviews at all. I'm really uncertain about this
#fiverr #proofreading #trusted
  • Profile picture of the author mrgoe
    You get what you pay for. You pay $20, you should double check the results. Fiverr isn`t all that reliable at these kinds of chores to be honest. Got myself a few articles writtent in asian engrish if you know what I mean.
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    • Profile picture of the author morg2k2
      A few weeks ago I did find someone there that proof reads my article like a charm!

      Here is the link:

      https://www.fiverr.com/outlawsphinx/...4-1612ae3774ce

      Please be clarified that i am not affilated to her in any way.

      So i suggest that you order a small article to be proof read, if you like it then throw the big one.

      I ordered from her because she proof read 5000 Words for $5.00

      I loved the results.
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      • Profile picture of the author webmarketer
        How much is your dissertation worth to you? $15? $20?

        If it's too good to be true, it usually is. You pay for value and quality.

        Caveat emptor. You get what you pay for. But, if you want to roll the dice, go ahead. Maybe you'll get lucky. How much faith would you put on luck?
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  • Profile picture of the author Nisip
    Banned
    generally understand that this website offers the lowest quality, and has the highest intermediaries fees.

    3.80 $ get to the seller only, from the 5.50 $ that the buyer pays for one basic gig.

    a lot of people have destroyed the reputation of their businesses because using gigs from this website
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  • Profile picture of the author nmwf
    Originally Posted by shikato View Post

    I'm currently trying to finish my Msc Dissertation (15,000 words)
    Constructing a dissertation is your responsibility from start to finish. And reputable services don't allow academic work as job submissions. If you want to prove you're worthy of that doctorate, proofread the thing yourself. You can do at least that.
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    • Profile picture of the author Sandra Martinez
      Originally Posted by nmwf View Post

      Constructing a dissertation is your responsibility from start to finish. And reputable services don't allow academic work as job submissions. If you want to prove you're worthy of that doctorate, proofread the thing yourself. You can do at least that.
      You can't proofread yourself. The mistakes go under your nose no matter how good you are. But for a dissertation there should be one or two people in the research group able and willing to give it a hard look.
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  • Profile picture of the author David Beroff
    Agreed that you get what you pay for. One of my associates, also a Warrior here, will do proper and complete copy editing for US$0.02 per word, so 15k words would cost you US$300. This is not an affiliate link, but rather a quote from his website:

    I will make your manuscript the very best it can be in terms of spelling, grammar, usage, tense, readability, overall cohesion, and a certain amount of fact-checking.
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  • Profile picture of the author JohnnyFanta
    If your dissertation is very important, I don't think Fiverr is the best resource unless you do some research. I've had articles written there from people that claimed to be able to write English and there was errors everywhere, so the results could be similar for proof reading.

    If you are going to use them, try getting a native English speaker.
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  • Profile picture of the author hannahlist
    Don't let your DISSERTATION's final quality ride on Fiverr...

    You might burn through a lot of time and end up outsourcing to another site.

    Look for freelancers on upwork who focus or specialize in academic editing.

    Regular editing is not enough.
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  • Profile picture of the author Naseer Ahmed
    it;s simple bro
    what you expect in $5 ? huh ? want some quality go for freelancer and upwork
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  • Profile picture of the author laurencewins
    Others have already said a lot of truthful things to you.

    I AM a very experienced proofreader/editor and may be able to help you.
    However, you're obviously looking to pay a very low amount and I'm NOT a low budget worker. You get what you pay for, of course. How important is it for you to hand in a high quality dissertation? That's what it comes down to in the end.

    Perhaps you could share with us your rough budget and expectations.
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    Cheers, Laurence.
    Writer/Editor/Proofreader.

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  • Profile picture of the author deessell
    No way would I trust my thesis to someone from fiverr. They will probably use an online checker, they could also sell it. When your university checks your thesis through turn-it-in you won't know where your work is over the web. The digital footprint could come back to haunt you.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ghoster
    Sadly, no. Others may disagree. I don't think anything on Fiverr is worth buying.
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    On the whole, you get what you pay for.

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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by nmwf View Post

      Constructing a dissertation is your responsibility from start to finish. And reputable services don't allow academic work as job submissions. If you want to prove you're worthy of that doctorate, proofread the thing yourself. You can do at least that.
      You may be mistaking or mixing the concepts of proofreading and editing.

      I'm a native English speaker with a college degree, and I find proofreading my own stuff challenging sometimes.

      For a non-native speaker, it makes sense to hire someone to check things like grammar, spelling, word choices (think to, two, too).

      What makes less sense is trusting the culmination of several years of study to a stranger charging $15-$20 for a 15,000 word academic paper.

      What passes for "articles" these days? Sure.

      My only advice to the OP in this matter is to be very careful. Check references, start with a test as advised above, and maybe double down by having the proofread copy proofed a second time.
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      • Profile picture of the author Sandra Martinez
        Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

        For a non-native speaker, it makes sense to hire someone to check things like grammar, spelling, word choices (think to, two, too).
        Those are not usual mistakes of non-native speakers, because the written language is learned after being fluent both writing and speaking in the home language. You are going to find them more often in young native speakers who started school after it became forbidden to correct those mistakes during the learning process.

        Typical non-native speakers' mistakes are related with prepositions--those kill me even now--and grammar structure--when phrases are proper English but not quite. Another one is people taken as singular--especially for Spanish speakers.
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      • Profile picture of the author nmwf
        Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

        You may be mistaking or mixing the concepts of proofreading and editing.
        Going by the direction of this thread, I don't think I even know what a dissertation is anymore! I thought it was a Ph.D. requirement. Why is outsourcing even suggested for such a thing?
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      • Profile picture of the author Frank Donovan
        Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

        What makes less sense is trusting the culmination of several years of study to a stranger charging $15-$20 for a 15,000 word academic paper.
        ^^ Exactly this ^^ . An additional problem for non native English speakers - and many native speakers - is being able properly to assess the finished work of any self-proclaimed proofreader.

        For a dissertation that has taken perhaps several years to compile, my advice would be to seek out a professional proofreader, experienced in that type of project. The Society for Editors and Proofreaders have a directory in which all listings are from professional members who specialize in dissertations. Here's the (non affiliate) link:

        SfEP Directory of Editorial Services - Society for Editors and Proofreaders

        .
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  • Profile picture of the author Randall Magwood
    For a dissertation I wouldn't leave it up to a seller on Fiverr. Get someone professional. A former or local high school English teacher or something.
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