Prospective clients sometimes ask me why they should have their book editing, dissertation editing, academic editing, or other copy editing done by a PhD. They wonder why someone with a B.A. or M.A. degree can’t copy edit their work just as well. Well, those are good questions and I’ll be happy to explain why every copy editor on my Staff is a PhD.
A PhD has undergone an intensive and rigorous training as a thinker, scholar, reader and writer. In every one of 10-15 doctoral courses, the student—who already possesses an M.A. degree—must write several fully researched and documented academic papers, from 10-20 pages apiece. Then, the PhD candidate must take nine or more hours of comprehensive written essay exams that are graded on the quality of their composition and writing, as well as their content. Finally, the candidate must write a dissertation, which is a fully researched and documented book-length study. Throughout the process, the candidate’s writing is scrutinized by a committee of PhDs, who demand excellence before awarding the coveted doctorate degree.
“Editors” who have only a B.A. or M.A. degree never experienced such comprehensive and demanding training in writing. Of course, some B.A.’s and M.A.’s are very good editors and teachers, but is banking on their lesser degree a gamble you really want to take with your important work? Frankly, it’s illogical to think that someone with a B.A. or M.A. degree knows as much about writing as does a PhD. If that were the case, then our entire higher education system is bogus and there would be no point in M.A.’s working on their writing for another 3-5 years to attain a doctorate degree.
