Tips: What Do Examiners Look for When Examining Your Dissertation?

Note: In South Africa, 'dissertation' describes a master’s degree.

When writing your dissertation, it is helpful to understand what examiners are looking for. Knowing this removes some of the mystery from the examination process. It also gives you more insight into preparing your dissertation before submitting it for examination. Examiners do not want to fail students. Research has shown that examiners want students to pass (Golding, 2017; Mullins & Kiley, 2002). Remembering that your dissertation is a formal document governed by rules is important. I suggest you obtain a copy of your discipline's dissertation guidelines and carefully review them. These will guide you on the layout, structure, and word count for your dissertation. Check which referencing system to use with your supervisor and familiarise yourself with the guidelines. The common saying ‘first impressions count’ applies here. This begins with your title page.

Examiners find presentation errors irritating (Golding, 2017), and they will distract them from the content and the argument you present. Before you submit your work, proofread your entire document (Kiley & Mullins, 2006). I would advise you to engage the services of a professional academic editor. Ensure they have the university dissertation and reference guidelines.

Examiners favour a dissertation that engages with the literature (Golding, 2017) that you have read from articles in peer-reviewed journals, conference papers, and other theses and dissertations. In the literature review, you gain more knowledge about your topic and engage with the literature critically. You cannot present summaries of the literature you read and expect the examiner to understand how they relate to your study.

Examiners prefer a coherent dissertation (Golding, 2017). Therefore, reading and rereading from chapter one to the end is necessary. Better still, engage an academic editor to read your work to pick up repetition. Examiners do not have the luxury of reading your work in one sitting. They have to read your dissertation over several days or even weeks. When they pick up your dissertation, it must make sense from where they left off. You know your work well, as you have been immersed in it for a long time, possibly years. However, think of the person reading it for the first time. It must make sense from the beginning, so you must leave signposts for the reader to follow your argument. This is known as the through thread or red thread. Each chapter has a single thread that holds it together. You need to take all those single threads and weave them into one primary thread that binds your dissertation together.

References:

Golding, C. (2017). Advice for writing a thesis (based on what examiners do). Open Review of Educational Research, 4(1), 46-60.

Kiley, M., & Mullins, G. (2006). Opening the black box: How examiners assess your thesis. In C. Denholm & T. Evans (Eds.), Doctorates Downunder (pp. 200-207). ACER.

Mullins, G., & Kiley, M. (2002).?It's a PhD, not a Nobel prize: How experienced examiners assess?research theses.?Studies in Higher Education, 27(4).