About these terms ¶
These terms apply to every quote, order and service provided by Copperplate (copperplate.cc). "Copperplate", "we" and "us" mean the business that runs this website. "You" means the person or organization ordering a service.
By confirming a quote, you agree to these terms. If anything in a written quote differs from these terms, the quote applies for that project. Please also read our privacy policy and academic integrity policy, which form part of how we work.
Scope of our services ¶
Copperplate provides academic editing, proofreading and formatting; feedback and coaching; tutoring; data-analysis consulting; systematic review and publication support; translation; and transcription. The full list is on our services page.
The exact scope of each project is set out in your quote: the document or data covered, the service level, the style guide and the delivery date. Work outside that scope, such as additional chapters, a new version of the file or extra analyses, needs a new or revised quote.
What our services do not include
We do not write work for you to submit as your own, complete graded homework, assignments or exams, or create, alter or fabricate data, results or sources. We may decline any request that falls outside our academic integrity policy.
Your responsibilities ¶
Final content
You remain the author of your work. Edits are returned with Track Changes and margin comments so that you can review each change and decide whether to accept it. You are responsible for the final content of anything you submit, publish or present, including its accuracy, its arguments, its citations and its data.
Academic-integrity compliance
You are responsible for checking and following the rules of your university, department, course, funder or journal on the use of editing, coaching or analysis support. We strongly encourage you to tell your supervisor about the help you receive and to declare it where required. If your rules limit the type of editing allowed, tell us before we start and we will keep within those limits.
Information and files
You agree to give us accurate information about the work, its purpose and your deadline, and to send only material you have the right to share. Where files include data about research participants, you are responsible for ensuring the data are anonymized or that sharing them is permitted by your ethics approval.
Quotes and payment ¶
We provide a written quote for each project after reviewing your file and brief. The quote states the price, the scope and the delivery date. Quotes are based on the material you send; if the final file is longer or needs a different level of work, we will tell you and agree any change before continuing.
Payment terms and accepted payment methods are confirmed in your quote. Unless the quote says otherwise, work begins once payment or the agreed deposit is received. General information about how prices are worked out is on our pricing page.
Turnaround and delivery ¶
Turnaround options run from 24 hours to 7 days, depending on length. The delivery date in your quote is the date we commit to. The deadline starts once we have your confirmed order, your complete files and, where required, payment.
We deliver completed work by email. If an unexpected problem could delay delivery, we will tell you as early as possible and agree a solution with you. Delays caused by late or incomplete files, or by changes to the brief after work has started, may move the delivery date.
Revisions and follow-up questions ¶
After delivery you can ask your editor follow-up questions about their comments and changes. This is part of the service and is how many clients get the most value from an edit.
If you believe the work does not meet the agreed scope, tell us within a reasonable time after delivery and point to the passages concerned. We will review the work against the quote and correct anything that falls short of it. Requests that go beyond the original scope, such as editing a substantially rewritten version, are treated as a new project and quoted separately.
Confidentiality ¶
We treat your files and project details as confidential. They are used only to deliver your service and are shared only with the editor or consultant working on your project. An NDA is available on request, and we delete your files when you ask. See our privacy policy for details on how personal data is handled.
We may refuse to keep confidential any request that involves a serious risk of harm or that the law requires us to disclose.
Cancellations ¶
- Before work starts: you can cancel and receive a full refund of any payment made.
- After work has started: you can cancel by email. We will stop work and, where appropriate, refund the portion of the fee for work not yet done, or deliver the work completed so far.
- After delivery: the service has been provided and is not cancellable, though our revisions terms above still apply.
We may cancel a project if it turns out to breach our academic integrity policy, if the files or brief are materially different from what was quoted, or if we cannot meet the agreed deadline. In those cases we will refund payment for work not delivered.
What we cannot promise ¶
We take great care with every project, but we cannot control decisions made by others. We do not guarantee any grade, examination result, degree outcome, journal acceptance or funding decision. Editing improves clarity and correctness; it cannot make a study's design or findings stronger than they are.
Statistical consulting is advice based on the data and information you provide. You are responsible for checking that analyses suit your research questions and for how results are reported.
Limits of our liability ¶
To the extent the law allows, our total liability for any claim relating to a project is limited to the amount you paid for that project. We are not liable for indirect or consequential losses, such as lost opportunities, missed deadlines set by third parties, or academic or professional consequences arising from how our work is used.
Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law, or any rights you have as a consumer under the law of your country.
Intellectual property ¶
You keep all rights in your work, including the edited version we return. We claim no ownership or authorship of your writing, data or results, and we do not reuse your material.
Changes to these terms and contact ¶
We may update these terms from time to time. The version in force when you confirm a quote applies to that project. The date at the top shows the latest revision.
Questions about these terms are welcome. Email contact@copperplate.cc, message us on WhatsApp at +44 7988 516464, or use the contact form. Answers to common questions are in our FAQ.