Dissertation: general tips

The following guidance is provided to help you in your dissertation preparation.

Marking criteria

An essential first step is to look at the criteria that are used to mark dissertations. Examining the criteria for the higher marks will provide an indication of what your dissertation should contain. The descriptions for the lower marks will provide you with an indication of what to avoid. The marking criteria for dissertations can be found on the student intranet.

Word limits

Know your dissertation word limit. Remember anything over 10% greater than this will not be marked.

Everything in the main body of the text (ie Introduction, Method, Results, Discussion, Conclusion) apart from tables and figures is included in your word limit. Everything before (eg Abstract, Acknowledgements, Contents page etc) and after the main text (eg References, Appendices etc) is not included.

You should provide a word count at the start of the dissertation.

Ethical and research governance approval

If you are conducting a primary research study you will need to get ethical approval from the departmental Research Governance Committee. Your supervisor will help to guide you through this process.

Content guidance

Details on what you need to include in your dissertation can be found on the Dissertation Information website.

Formatting and presentation

Details on how to format and present your dissertation can be found on the Dissertation Information website.

Referencing

For guidance on referencing, please refer to the Online academic integrity tutorial section.

Books on writing dissertations

There are a number of books written to help people with their dissertation and it may be worth having a look at one of these. One useful book written specifically for master’s students and available from the library is:

Biggam, J. (2018). Succeeding with your master's dissertation: a step-by-step handbook. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Timetable

Another useful first step is to agree with your supervisor a timetable for your dissertation. If you do not allow suitable time for the write up of your work, it will be difficult to do a good job. Working out the time you need for each task is one of the ways to avoid this problem.

Proofreading

It is important to pay attention to spelling and grammar. If you require help with this, your supervisor may be able to provide you with details of proofreading services. You will need to meet the cost of the services.