The Doctoral Student, the Advisor, the Advisory Committee, & the Academic Editor - Part 5

So why is it that perfectly intelligent doctoral students can expect academic editors to be miracle workers? From experience there seem to be a number of reasons. Here are some that we see quite often.
The lazy student Writing is a dynamic process, ever-changing, and hopefully ever-improving. A student who just wants a quick fix, with a let's produce-a-product approach, wants someone else to do much of the work. Who better than the academic editor? And when their quick-fix approach backfires, who better to blame than the editor.
The insecure student If for any reason a student is unsure of his of her content or writing ability, the student desperately looks for someone in the doctoral chain to give reassurance and do the work for him or her. As a student, content is your preserve.
You have chosen your topic. You need to refine your topic. Your university faculty team need to assist with the molding of your content.
To some extent they can also help with the editing.

The tidying of the writing can be improved by a good academic editor.
Please note, I said improved, not written by the editor.

You provide the goods, the content; the editor will help hone the end product.

The ill-equipped or ill-advised student Students sometimes just are not aware of the levels of help that the university should extend to them. As academic editors, we see this with campus-based and online students.
It is clearly the student's job to find out exactly who should be doing what to help. But it is equally the faculty's role, to facilitate the student in understanding who is available and what to expect.
The lazy advisor and advisory committee The very people allocated by the university to help you often expect the editor 'to fix' everything.

Or worse, they like to shift their responsibility, when they should be helping. Even with all the help available, the doctoral road is seldom linear. There are always bumps in the road, constant rewriting, and delays. Students and faculty know this, and to expect an editor to make the process completely linear is unrealistic. A good editor will smooth the road, but bumps there will be. Simply how the process works.
So be a take-charge student.

Know your role.

Know who else needs to be involved, and what to expect from each person. Use a good editor when ready and know what to expect. Equip yourself with basic self-editing skills.
Such knowledge will allow you to productively accept good help and ignore pedantic advice. Download your own handy copy of the Language Online 21 Proofreading Tips. And be sure to read the guide and use the tips.