The research is done, you’ve written a fantastic piece of work, your formatting and referencing is on point, and your supervisors have approved your final copy. Without a doubt, the process of writing your thesis has been a challenging and rewarding experience. Although the hard yards are over, submitting your thesis can be a nightmare if you’re not prepared. To ensure a stress-free, enjoyable thesis submission, follow these tips:
1. Get to know your University requirements: Thesis requirements vary across Universities, so it’s important to obtain a current copy of your University’s official requirements or guidelines for theses. Requirements will also vary depending on your department or faculty, so ensure you find out what their specific requirements are. Check carefully for things like formatting, word limit, order of sections, and paper size. Check whether you need to include any additional forms such as a digital version declaration or a library consent form.
Finally, find out what the actual process of submission is and whether you need to include paper and/or digital copies. If you can, it’s useful to get hold of a recently submitted thesis in your department to use as a benchmark.
2. Check your writing: Checking for minor errors in your writing can make a big difference to your work. Little things like spelling, typos, lack of consistency, and incorrect tense can make your writing appear unprofessional. The ‘Find and Replace’ function in Word can be really useful for fixing multiple errors such as accidental American English, and ensuring consistency with capitalisation, abbreviations, formatting of references, quotes, and captions. If deadlines allow, having a fresh pair of eyes look over your document can pick up on some sneaky errors you may have missed.
3. Remain calm and enjoy yourself: With looming deadlines, it’s inevitable that this final stage is going to be stressful. It’s important to remain calm. Ensure you surround yourself with supportive people who will give you space or a helping hand when you need it. Look after yourself to ensure you are alert enough to pay attention to the quality of your work – try your best to get enough sleep, eat well, and go outside for a walk and some fresh air. Most importantly, don’t leave things until the last minute, allow yourself a few weeks (at least) to format, proofread, print, and bind your thesis.
Finally, enjoy the last moments with your thesis. It has been a huge part of your life for the last few years, there have been ups and downs, but you have made it to the end with an amazing, original piece of work. Invite family and friends along with you to the final hand-in, and make sure you celebrate this massive achievement.
If the final stage of submitting your thesis becomes a little overwhelming, Academic Consulting is here to help! Our staff have had plenty of experience dealing with thesis submissions, and can help you with formatting, proofreading, and referencing of your thesis. Contact us for more information.
Share this entryLyn has taught research methods and data analysis in New Zealand universities for over 25 years. She is an NVivo Platinum Certified Trainer and has previously trained for SPSS NZ, so is confident working across quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods projects. Her own PhD research focused on motivation, time management and information management with postgraduate students, so she’s pretty well placed to help you out with some tips for maximising productivity and reaching your research goals.