As you get closer to submitting your final master’s submission, you are likely to be going through the final submission checklist and making sure all the “I” s are dotted and the “T” s are crossed. Of course, there is always that tiny voice inside your head that is asking whether you have actually checked everything and making sure that you are not forgetting anything at all! To comfort that inner voice, here are a few things you mustn’t forget…
Read through your dissertation at least a couple of times
Reading through your dissertation with a clear mind can be more effective than it seems. You may come across of some weirdly phrased sentences or some spelling mistakes that you wouldn’t have picked up otherwise. Having someone else read your dissertation can also be very effective. Writing your own dissertation, it is easy to get consumed in your own thought process and miss areas that may not make sense to another reader. Therefore, by having someone else read your dissertation they will be able to suggest some areas of improvements which can make your dissertation even better!
Go through your dissertation guideline
A part of your course handbook will likely contain a section on the dissertation. Make sure you read these guidelines, check that you have included everything and not missed any major sections. It is very easy with the stress of your dissertation to forget some of the department-specific submission criteria. Therefore, it is very important that you read through department guidelines before you submit the dissertation and just check that all the required sections are addressed.
Meet your supervisor
At some point before the submission, you should check in with your supervisor. They may not be able to read the whole of your dissertation but if you have any final burning questions it could be a good time to run through them with your supervisor. These last words of advice could be just what you need to boost your dissertation from a merit to a distinction.
Leave at least 3 days for binding
I speak from personal experience, the last thing you want to be doing on the day of your dissertation submission is to be running around trying to get that dissertation bound. It is best that you keep at least 3 days in hand, in case your binding needs to be changed or certain pages need to be re-ordered.
This being said, to all the master’s students who are currently in the final stages of their dissertations, I wish you all the very best of luck with your dissertation and all future endeavours!
