A dissertation, plagiarism check, over 200 sources, and two publications—all in 9 months
How we helped a doctoral student in education go from rough drafts to a completed dissertation: we wrote Chapter 3, removed plagiarism from Chapters 1 and 2, formatted over 200 sources, proofread the entire thesis, and published an article in KOKSNVO and another in a Scopus Q3 journal (25th percentile+)
We were contacted by Aigerim Bolatova, a doctoral student in education from Kazakhstan. She had already chosen her publication strategy before reaching out to us—on her own, after reading our article «Publication Strategy for PhD Students» on our website. She wrote two chapters of her dissertation herself; however, during a check, the Strike Plagiarism system detected 30% of AI-generated content—which, under new Kazakhstani legislation, is grounds for denying her dissertation defense. The third chapter had not been written at all.
I chose the publication strategy myself: I already had one article in KOKSNVO—I needed a second one, plus one article in a Scopus Q3 journal with a 25th percentile or higher.
What made the situation more complicated:
- In Chapters 1–2: 30% AI-generated content, according to Strike Plagiarism, constitutes direct grounds for denying protection under Kazakhstan’s new legislation;
- Chapter 3 was missing entirely;
- After completing my dissertation: Over 200 sources required proper formatting;
- The entire dissertation needed to be proofread and polished;
- Scopus Q3 (25th percentile+) — a moderately difficult task with strict requirements regarding the quality of the text.
- The timeline was tight: we had to complete the project within 9 months.
⚠️Without a clear strategy, doctoral students spend twice as much time on their dissertations and publications—and often fail to meet the deadline for their defense.
Aigerim came to us with a clear request and a publishing strategy she had already chosen—one she had developed based on our article. We got right to work.
- Months 1–2 — Removing AI-generated content and writing Chapter 3
The main issue with Chapters 1 and 2 is the 30% AI-generated content flagged by Strike Plagiarism. Under Kazakhstan’s new legislation, this automatically results in the thesis being rejected. We removed all traces of AI within a week, while preserving the author’s intended meaning and the text’s structure. At the same time, our author began writing the third section from scratch—based on the client’s materials and data. - Month 3 — Formatting the Thesis
Once all three sections were ready, we formatted the entire dissertation. We organized the list of over 200 sources according to the required standards. We conducted a thorough proofreading check, reviewing the logical flow of the text, academic style, spelling, and consistency in formatting. - Month 1–8 — Publications in KOKSNVO
While working on their dissertation, they also published articles in KOKSNVO. Aigerim already had one article published. They prepared and published a second one—the entire process (selecting a journal, writing the manuscript, and editing) took 8 months. - Month 4–9 — Publication in Scopus Q3
We selected a Scopus Q3 journal in the field of education with a 25th percentile or higher. We prepared the article in 4 weeks. Peer review took 3.5 months. The editorial board requested minor revisions, which we completed in 2 weeks. The article was accepted and published. The entire process took 6 months.
✅ 9 months — from rough drafts to a finished project
✅ 200+ — sources formatted according to the standard
✅ Q3 25%+ — Scopus journal percentile
- I've written the third chapter of my dissertation—from scratch, in an academic style
- AI-generated content (30% according to Strike Plagiarism) in Chapters 1 and 2 has been completely removed—in one week
- Over 200 sources have been formatted according to the standard
- The entire dissertation has been proofread and finalized.
- 2 articles in KOKSNVO (one was published; the second was drafted)
- The article was published in a Scopus Q3 journal (25th percentile or higher)
- All tasks were completed within 9 months
Tell us about your situation—let’s figure it out together.
«I chose the strategy myself—even before I wrote to you, based on an article on the website. But when Strike Plagiarism flagged 30% AI in my chapters, I didn’t know what to do. It was like a slap in the face. The team removed everything in a week and wrote the third chapter at the same time. Then they formatted the dissertation, polished it to perfection—and both publications came out on time. I didn’t even expect it to go so smoothly.»
— Aigerim Bolatova, Ph.D. candidate in education, Kazakhstan
