Regulation and code of practice on proofreading

This regulation, intended for the guidance of students and staff, relates to the proofreading of any text to be submitted as part of academic coursework and projects, including dissertations and PhD theses.

This regulation sets out what the University considers to be appropriate with regard to proofreading and what checks should be in place when proofreading is undertaken.

Students must undertake initial proofreading themselves; it can be a valuable learning experience for students to identify their own errors and inconsistencies. However, the University recognises that, in the course of producing a high-quality piece of work for assessment, students may wish to ask a third party to proofread work prior to submission. 

Proofreading might be undertaken by peers, housemates, family members, academic members of staff and professional proofreading companies.

Whilst mindful of the parameters of the policy set out below, appropriate members of staff may use their professional judgement to provide advice and guidance during the course of formative assessment, based on the individual needs of a student to maximise their opportunity to learn and understand what is expected of them academically. Those staff members are:

1. Dissertation or project supervisors (UG and PGT) and PGR thesis supervisors

2. Staff from Disability Support Services and Academic Support Tutors

3. English for Academic Purposes Tutors

In some disciplines and for particular pieces of assessment it may not be appropriate for any proofreading to take place e.g. where correct grammar is part of the assessment criteria or assessed work submitted relating to language and translation. For example, proofreading is not acceptable for pre-sessional courses (CELE) because language proficiency is one of the key learning outcomes.

Where it is inappropriate for students to have their work reviewed, Schools and Departments should make students aware of this in guidance and in advance of students undertaking the assessment, for example, if project partners are not to be permitted to proofread each other’s individual reports.

The University acknowledges that some assessments require students to work closely to produce a collaborative piece of work for assessment. The content for these assignments will necessitate a process of drafting and re-drafting of content by a number of different members of the team. This process is a key part of the learning experience. In these cases, students may actively edit content of other students within the group although it is expected that, collectively, the group is bound by the expectations set out in this Policy in respect to engaging with further third parties. This exception only applies to those pieces of work that are explicitly assessed as part of a group exercise. No form of collusion should take place regarding standard individual pieces of work and when detected, such cases may be subject to referral under the processes outlined in the Academic misconduct procedure (more information is provided in the ‘Related Regulations, Policies and Procedures’ Section below).

The University expects that any piece of work submitted for assessment, whether credit-bearing or not, is the student’s own work.

The Academic misconduct regulation provides a non-exhaustive list of examples of academic misconduct, which include plagiarism, false authorship and collusion. See ‘Related Regulations, Policies and Procedures’ section below for the link for the full definitions and explanation about what constitutes Academic Misconduct.

Students who submit pieces of work for assessment where proofreaders have acted in a way that compromises the authenticity of that work and who have acted outside of the limitations set out in this policy will be investigated under the Academic misconduct procedure. 

3.1 Student Responsibilities

Responsibility for proofreading student work prior to its submission for assessment rests with the individual student as author.

It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that their proofreader is aware of the regulation and proofreading must not be undertaken if the individual concerned does not agree to align their practice with the conditions in this regulation.

It is the student's responsibility to check their own piece of work prior to submission to ensure that it is in line with University regulations, policy and expectations.

At the point of submission, students will be expected to declare whether or not they have had their work proofread and if so, indicate that the proofreader has worked within the regulations’s restrictions (set out here).

3.2 Proofreader responsibilities

Any third party reviewing work must be familiar with this regulation and agree to operate within its expectations. 

Third-party proofreaders must not actively amend existing, or create new, content in draft work; instead they should support the student by identifying errors and/or making suggestions relating to, but not creating, content. 

The University considers it acceptable for proofreaders to:

• • Identify spelling and typographical errors
  • Identify poor grammar e.g. tense use, verb form, sentence structure, word order
  • Highlight formatting errors or inconsistencies
  • Identify spelling/grammar/typographical errors in labelling of diagrams, charts or figures
  • Identify typographical errors in equations
  • Highlight a sentence or paragraph that is overly complex or where the intended meaning is not clear
  • Draw attention to repeated phrases or omitted words
  • Identify errors in the referencing system applied

The University does not consider it acceptable practice for proofreaders to amend existing content whether through addition or reduction and, in particular, they must not:

• • Rewrite passages of text to clarify the meaning
  • Change any words or figures, except to correct spelling
  • Check or rewrite calculations, formulae, equations or computer code
  • Rearrange or reformat passages of text
  • Contribute any additional material to the original
  • Redraw, alter or relabel diagrams, charts or figures
  • Alter argument or logic, where faulty
  • Implement or alter a referencing system or add to references
  • Check or correct facts, data calculations, formulae or equations
  • Correcting errors identified in the reference system applied
  • Translate text drafted by students, noting that this does not prohibit translation of source material as long as it is properly referenced

For more information about the Academic misconduct regulation and procedure, please consult the following:

Regulation on academic misconduct

Student Services - Academic misconduct procedure