You should plan a timetable for “writing-up” your dissertation starting at least FOUR MONTHS (full-time or full-time equivalent) before the last submission date, with a planned completion well in advance of this date. Early planned submission of the dissertation has several advantages e.g. this will allow time for unforeseen problems such as minor illness, rewriting draft chapters, typing delays, typing corrections and binding and any absences of your supervisor due to holidays or work commitments.

You should submit, in draft form, a substantial portion of your dissertation, for instance the INTRODUCTION and those chapters derived from the literature survey, together with your proposed CONTENTS to your supervisor in accordance with the agreed submission timetable (see Progress). This will allow your supervisor to make comments on the content, structure, style and presentation of the dissertation and allow you to incorporate his/her suggestions into subsequent chapters. You are encouraged to submit all of the chapters of your dissertation in draft form on an interactive basis prior to binding to ensure that the dissertation adequately reflects the quality of your efforts.

During this period of draft submission you should liase closely with your supervisor regarding his/her availability to give guidance concerning dissertation content and layout. Experience has shown that submission of drafts for comment is a valuable practice in achieving a high quality of presentation and content.

Please note that it is the duty of your supervisor to help you carry out research and to help you present results to your best advantage. However it is YOUR WORK, not the supervisor’s, that will be examined and your supervisor’s agreement to the submission of your dissertation is not a guarantee that the examiners will deem it satisfactory.

Proof-reading of your dissertation

Students for whom English is not thier first language are advised to seek the help of a native English speaking friend to proof read drafts to ensure that the form of English in the dissertation is satisfactory. NOTE: it is NOT your supervisor's job to act as proof reader; if the language is insufficently comprehensible, they are within thier rights to return it to you for modification before they provide feedback.