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Tips for Your Dissertation's Finishing Touches

Your undergraduate dissertation is now nearly due – in most cases, you have a matter of weeks. If you’ve already submitted yours, congratulations. If you’ve still got a little way to go yet, let us help you tidy it up and make it ready for submission with these essential things you must do before handing it in.

 

Aim to Finish a Week Early

One good tip you can follow is set yourself a deadline to finish the first draft of your dissertation a week before submission. That way, you can put it aside for a couple of days and come back to it with a fresh mind for the second (and hopefully final) draft. It’s easier to spot problems when you’ve put something aside. In taking the dissertation to the wire, you won’t leave yourself enough time for the editing process – something that many students fail to take into account.

 

Proofread, Proofread, Proofread

We cannot state enough the importance of proofreading to correct spelling and grammatical errors. You will lose marks for poor editing. Ask a third party to proofread, as they are more likely to spot your errors. You could also use a spellchecker such as Grammarly. It’s a free extension for web browsers and MS Word that will pick up many of the errors that you might overlook. One click and it will show you all the errors. You can pay for an advanced version that shows you errors in syntax.

 

Compare the Introduction to the Conclusion

One common error that students make is not ensuring that the questions and problem posed in the introduction are answered in the conclusion. Here, the markers will be looking for good structure and the sense that the question(s) that you set out to answer were all addressed effectively and within the scope of the agreed project. If they do not match up, you will lose marks.

 

The Correct Format

It is highly likely you received a set of guidelines or a dissertation handbook. The paperwork will state details on how large the font should be and how widely spaced, how large the paper border ought to be, how it ought to be bound and so on. It’s imperative that you adhere to the instructions on how to properly set out your dissertation. Where should the page numbers go? What information should go in the header and footer and where should it go?

 

Image Quality

Try to select the best possible quality image(s) you can find. The presentation is a large part of the dissertation and you will lose marks for illegible or poor quality images. Where sourcing from the internet, ensure you use hi-res images where appropriate and credit appropriately. You should always attempt to use your own photographs and image creations. You will score extra marks for this in some cases.