General guidelines for dissertation
Word limit
Between 4,000 and 5,000 words excluding cover page, references, bibliography, table of contents and appendices.
Format
• Single sided word processed
• Font should by Times New Roman or Arial (point 12)
• Line spacing should be 1.5 or double
• Written in the 3rd person (avoid “I”, “you” etc)
• Written in an academic style (avoid journalistic/sales type of speech/slogans/slang etc)
• Written with enough clarity that someone OTHER than your Project Supervisor will be able to follow the work you have done
• Spell checked & grammar checked
• Sections and pages should be numbered
• Listing References: You should use the Harvard convention and arrange alphabetically
Typical Structure
This may have slight variations depending on the type of dissertation. However, the following is a general example:
• Cover Page: include Module name and code; Title of your project; Your name and student ID; Word count
• Executive Summary/Abstract (200 words, +/-10%): this should briefly describe the scope of your dissertation, the question being asked and conclusions reached.
• Contents Page: include Table of Contents, List of Figures (not included in word count)
• Introduction: Background, aim(s) & objectives of the dissertation and a clear statement of the question(s) that you analyse and the methodology you are using.
• Main body of the dissertation: each part (Literature Review, Data Analysis etc) should be numbered with section headings and subheadings, as necessary (this would be expected to represent the largest part of the dissertation ie at least 3,000 words in a 5,000 word dissertation).
• Conclusion/Recommendations: this needs to be linked to the preceding analysis highlighting key findings and any limitations.
• List of References: Using Harvard convention and alphabetically ordered (not included in word count).
• Appendices: only include items (data, that have been used fairly extensively in the body of your dissertation (not included in word count)
