Professor Emmanuel Tsekleves · 240K+ followers on LinkedInSubmitting in the next six months? Get your thesis examiner-ready in eight weeks.
You've written most of it. Now you need to know what your examiner will push on, while there's still time to fix it.
For directors, senior managers and working professionals in the final stretch of a PhD or DBA. I've examined 45+ doctoral theses across 15+ universities, so I can show you where yours will draw questions, and work through the fixes with you, chapter by chapter, before it goes in.
Eight weeks · one fixed fee · timed back from your submission date
100+
Doctoral Theses Reviewed
45+
Examined Across 15+ Universities
30+
Supervised to Completion
35+
Working Professionals Mentored to Completion
This is for one moment in your doctorate.
Your submission date is set
You've got a full draft, or everything but the discussion and conclusion, and a date within the next six months.
Your examiners sent it back
Major corrections or a resubmission, a letter you're not sure how to read, and a deadline you didn't choose.
"Nearly there" isn't an answer
Your supervisor says it's close. You can't tell whether it's good enough for someone who's never seen it before.
The Problem
Your supervisor knows your research. Your examiner only knows what's on the page.
By now your supervisor has heard you explain the work a dozen times, so they fill the gaps without noticing. Your examiner won't. They read it cold, once, and decide what to ask you in the room.
“I finished, but have I really done a good job? Is it going to be good enough for the external examiner?”
That question is hard to answer from the inside. It's the one I've answered 45+ times from the other side of the table.
What slipping costs
A thesis that isn't ready rarely fails outright. It slips. Another few months of fees, another few months of evenings, or a letter asking for major corrections and a second round of everything. You've probably already put $30,000 to $80,000 and several years into this. The last eight weeks decide whether that money finishes the job.
The Method
The 5 Examiner Questions
Every examiner I've sat with asks some version of the same five questions. We work through your thesis against each one, in this order.
- 1
What's your contribution?
Can you say it in one sentence, and does it appear in the same words in your abstract, the end of your introduction and the start of your conclusion?
- 2
Is it new?
Does your literature review build an argument that leaves a gap only your study fills?
- 3
Does it tell one story?
Do your research questions, methods, findings, discussion and conclusion form one golden thread, with nothing loose?
- 4
Do your claims match your evidence?
Is every claim the size your data can carry, and no bigger?
- 5
Can you defend every choice?
Could you explain why you chose this method over the alternatives, when someone pushes?
If your thesis answers all five clearly, your examiner has no easy reason to send it back.
The 8 Weeks
Eight weeks, timed back from your submission date
- 1
Week 1
You send me your full draft. I read it from cold, the way your examiner will.
- 2
Week 2
Your examiner-risk report: where the thesis stands on each of the 5 Examiner Questions, what will draw questions at your defense, and the fixes ranked in order. We go through it in our first session.
- 3
Weeks 3–5
You revise. Two working sessions on the parts examiners press hardest, usually the contribution and the discussion chapter. Email me in between and get an answer within 48 hours.
- 4
Week 6
I re-read your revised chapters.
- 5
Week 7
Final session on what's left, and the draft goes to your supervisor.
- 6
Week 8
Submission-ready.
- 7
After submission
When your defense (viva) date is set, we hold two mock defense sessions with the questions I'd ask you as your examiner: the first to find the weak answers, the second to rehearse them. Use them any time in the six months after the programme ends.
What's included
- •A full cold read of your thesis
- •Your written examiner-risk report against the 5 Examiner Questions
- •Four one-to-one working sessions
- •A second read of your revised chapters
- •Email answers within 48 hours for the full eight weeks
- •Two mock defense sessions once your date is set
The Investment
$4,500, fixed
One fee for the eight weeks and your two mock defense sessions. Pay in full, or in two payments of $2,250, the second due at the start of week 5.
Set that against what slipping costs: more months of fees, more evenings, or a round of major corrections. This is the cheapest point in your doctorate to find what your examiner will find.
Already had an Examiner's Read with me? If you join within 14 days of receiving it, the $2,000 comes off.
Your employer can pay. I'll send them an invoice.
The Guarantee
You'll know by week 2
Your examiners make the final decision, as they should. What I can stand behind is the picture you get of how they'll read your thesis. If, after your week-2 report and first session, you don't feel you know exactly what to fix and in what order, tell me and you won't pay the second instalment.
Is this right for you?
This is right for you if…
- ✓You're a working professional doing a PhD or DBA (and sometimes an EdD or DrPH)
- ✓You have a full draft, or everything but the discussion and conclusion
- ✓Your submission or corrections deadline is within six months
- ✓You can give it ten to fifteen hours a week for eight weeks
This isn't right for you if…
- ×You haven't started writing up yet. Start with one-to-one or group mentoring, and move across when your draft is ready
- ×You want someone to rewrite your thesis. I'll show you exactly what to fix. The writing stays yours
Not at this stage yet?
One-to-one mentoring
From $1,000 a month, for the stretch before your final draft.
Learn more →Small-group mentoring
From $200 a month, structure and deadlines with a group of working professionals.
Learn more →Pass or Revise
Free and live, once a month. I read a real thesis page the way an examiner would.
Learn more →Your Mentor
Professor Emmanuel Tsekleves
I was a lost PhD student. Confused, overwhelmed, in my office at 2am drowning in papers. I made myself a promise: if I got through it, I'd help others through what I was struggling with.
I got through it. I went on to become a Professor at Lancaster University, where I'm now Emeritus, having read and reviewed over 100 doctoral theses and examined 45+ of them across 15+ universities, with 135+ publications and £9M in research funding.
I've sat on the other side of the viva table 45+ times, and here's what I know: whether a candidate passes comfortably rarely comes down to the quality of the research. It comes down to whether the thesis shows the examiner what they're looking for. Most capable people were simply never shown that. That's the whole of what I do.
What it's like from the inside
“I could not have completed my Doctorate, I believe, without his guidance and professional support. My understanding of academic writing and research also changed once he was involved. I would tell any professional, very busy in their own career but determined to complete their Doctorate, to sign up and hire Dr. Tsekleves and not wait. Time is money in business, and the investment you make in yourself goes a long way.”
Holly Lyncooke
DBA, MBA, CDPSE, CSM, USA
“Working with you is the difference between circling in eddies and moving confidently toward the finishing line.”
Angella Bent Thomas
DBA Candidate and Chief HR & Operations Officer
“You have made my final journey much smoother with your support and guidance. I can't thank you enough.”
Sitira Williams
PhD Researcher and part-time Lecturer, De Montfort University, UK
“Thank you, Emmanuel, these are very helpful. I would not have thought about some of the questions. It has been a great learning experience and I am glad you do what you do.”
Boineelo Nthubu
PhD in Management Science, Lancaster University, UK
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take?+
Eight weeks, timed back from your submission date, plus two mock defense sessions once your date is set.
What if I need more time after the eight weeks?+
We carry on at my one-to-one monthly rate, for as long as you need.
My deadline is less than eight weeks away. Can you still help?+
Possibly, depending on my capacity. Apply and tell me your date, and I'll tell you honestly what's realistic.
Does this replace my supervisor?+
No. It works alongside them. Your supervisor knows your research. I show you how a stranger will read it.
My thesis is long. Does that change the fee?+
No. The fee covers one full read and one re-read of your revised chapters, whatever the length.
I have corrections, not a submission. Is this for me?+
Yes. We work from your examiners' letter instead of a cold read, using the same eight-week structure.
Apply for a place
It takes two minutes. I read every one myself, and if it looks like a fit I'll invite you to a complimentary 30-minute call. I take a small number of submissions at a time.