How to finish and format your dissertation

After putting so much work into writing your dissertation, you would also want it to look well organized and readable. This is why you also need to pay attention to the finishing and formatting of your work. This article would focus on how students submitting their work in paper form can finish their work. For those using electronic means, you may rely on various software tools.

Formatting your dissertation

Formatting your dissertation correctly is an essential part of the work. It makes it easier to be read and followed. However, the guidelines for doing this vary from one institution to the other. Therefore, know the requirements of your university and comply strictly with it.

Almost every dissertation comes with an abstract, acknowledgment, and table of content, among others. The page numbers should always correspond with that documented in the table of contents. The best way to achieve this is to start every chapter on a fresh page. In addition, new headings/subheadings must be on a new page, instead of at the bottom of another page. You need to spend time and attention in the formatting process for a better outlook of your dissertation.

Proofreading your dissertation

After formatting your work, your next task is to proofread your work. It is always best to get a third party to do this for you. This is because you can easily skip or ignore some mistakes as you write and proofread yourself. However, a contracted person may take time to go through the work and point out every mistake.

Another way of doing this is by using technology to aid the process. Software like Grammarly and Ginger can correct grammatical errors, punctuations, plagiarism check, and other errors.

Getting feedback from your tutor

Soliciting for feedback from your tutor or your academic supervisor could be a blessing for your work. They know what markers look out for and how your work would be marked. Therefore, seeking their comment about your dissertation is in the right direction.

However, they shouldn’t be new to your work. They should be people you had consulted during the formation period and the writing of the dissertation. Secondly, make sure they have enough time to spare so that they can scrutinize your work correctly and give honest feedback. For example, submitting a 300-page dissertation for feedback within a week is almost impossible. They may rush through and do a poor assessment.

Preparing the appendixes

The appendix is the last section of your dissertation. They need to be arranged sequentially to reflect the order in which the work was done. The appendix must follow up. If you are using numbers, it should be 1,2,3,3,5, etc. If it’s alphabets, A, B, C, D, E etc. be informed, items that are not present in the dissertation should not appear in the appendix.

Conclusion

Formatting your work to make it look good and easy to read could be tedious. However, it is unavoidable and deserves the time and energy spent on it. This alone can earn you extra marks from the marker.