uob thesis word count

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What to include in a research proposal

You should check with each department to find out whether they provide a specific template for submission.

The word count for research proposals is typically 1,000-1,500 words for Arts programmes and around 2,500 words for Birmingham Law School programmes. Each subject area or department will have slightly different requirements for your research proposal, such as word length and the volume of literature review required. It is a good idea to contact the department before you apply. 

Typically, your research proposal should include the following information:

2. Research overview

3. research context.

A well-written introduction is an efficient way of getting your reader’s attention early on. This is your opportunity to answer the questions you considered when preparing your proposal: why is your research important? How does it fit into the existing strengths of the department? How will it add something new to the existing body of literature?

It is unlikely that you will be able to review all relevant literature at this stage, so you should explain the broad contextual background against which you will conduct your research. You should include a brief overview of the general area of study within which your proposed research falls, summarising the current state of knowledge and recent debates on the topic. This will allow you to demonstrate a familiarity with key texts in the relevant field as well as the ability to communicate clearly and concisely.

4. Research questions

The proposal should set out the central aims and key questions that will guide your research. Many research proposals are too broad, so make sure that your project is sufficiently narrow and feasible (i.e. something that is likely to be completed within the normal time frame for a PhD programme).

You might find it helpful to prioritise one or two main questions, from which you can then derive a number of secondary research questions. The proposal should also explain your intended approach to answering the questions: will your approach be empirical, doctrinal or theoretical, etc.?

5. Research methods

How will you achieve your research objectives? The proposal should present your research methodology, using specific examples to explain how you are going to conduct your research (e.g. techniques, sample size, target populations, equipment, data analysis, etc.).

Your methods may include visiting particular libraries or archives, field work or interviews. If your proposed research is library-based, you should explain where your key resources are located. If you plan to conduct field work or collect empirical data, you should provide details about this (e.g. if you plan interviews, who will you interview? How many interviews will you conduct? Will there be problems of access?). This section should also explain how you are going to analyse your research findings.

A discussion of the timescale for completing your research would also beneficial. You should provide a realistic time plan for completing your research degree study, showing a realistic appreciation of the need to plan your research and how long it is likely to take. It is important that you are not over-optimistic with time frames.

6. Significance of research

The proposal should demonstrate the originality of your intended research. You should therefore explain why your research is important (for example, by explaining how your research builds on and adds to the current state of knowledge in the field or by setting out reasons why it is timely to research your proposed topic) and providing details of any immediate applications, including further research that might be done to build on your findings.

Please refer to our top tips page for further details about originality.

7. References

  Read our top tips for writing a research proposal

Working within word limits: A short guide

• Short on word counts
• Last minute panic scenario!
• Further references on working within word count
• Acknowledgements

In adhering to the word limit, it is always a good idea for you to roughly plan first how many sections or paragraphs you will need for the essay. From there, you will be able to estimate how much you have to write for each section or paragraph. 

The general rule of thumb is to allocate 10% of the word limit for the introduction and 10% for the conclusion. This rule will leave 80% for the body paragraphs or sections.

Here is the breakdown:

Introduction - 10%

Paragraph 1 - 20%

Paragraph 2 - 20%

Paragraph 3 - 20%

Paragraph 4 - 20%

Conclusion - 10%

In writing a dissertation, the allocation of word limit might differ slightly. The weightage depends on the depth of each chapter.  For example,

Literature review - 25%

Methodology - 15%

Findings - 20%

Discussion - 20%

Remember that normally the references and appendices are not included in the word count. 

• Next: Short on word counts >>
• Last Updated: Nov 20, 2023 2:10 PM
• URL: https://libguides.bham.ac.uk/asc/wordlimits

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University of Birmingham eTheses Repository

Forthcoming downtime.

We are expecting eTheses to be unavailable on Tuesday 12th and Wednesday 13th March while ITServices carry out some essential maintenance on its hosting infrastructure. Apologies for any inconvenience.

Recent Changes

We have recently introduced some changes to Library thesis deposit, in summary:

• You are no longer required to submit a hard bound copy of your thesis to the Library, an electronic version is still required
• If your thesis should not be made immediately publicly accessible, you must upload a signed and approved restricted access form alongside your thesis deposit

To upload a research output to the repository, select the type of output from the dropdown menu and choose ‘Deposit’

It may take us up to 5 working days to confirm receipt of Theses deposits. If you require urgent acknowledgment that we have received your deposit, please Email Us once you have completed your deposit.

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Thesis submission

You are required to submit a thesis for examination after your period of registered study and before the conclusion of the thesis pending period.  

Your thesis should be submitted to the Nottingham ePrints service and must be the result of your own work, done mainly while you were registered as a researcher of this university. Student Services will work with your supervisors in preparing the thesis to be sent for examination. 

The information on this page will signpost you to the different processes, policies and detailed instructions on submission. More detailed information can be found in submission pack . 

The word limit for your thesis depends upon the qualification you are working towards: 

PhD theses should not exceed 100,000 words 

MPhil theses should not exceed 60,000 words 

Please note, the word limits for MRes theses vary according to the number of taught module credits taken. Please see our Quality Manual regulations for MRes and supplementary regulations. 

In all cases, the word limits are inclusive of appendices, footnotes, tables, and bibliography. The University may withhold a thesis that exceeds these word limits from examination.

Proof readers

A proof-reader may only ensure that the meaning of the author is not misrepresented due to the quality and standard of the English used. This can include correcting spelling and basic grammar errors.

Inaccuracies in academic content should not be corrected nor should the structure of the piece of work be changed; doing so may result in a charge of plagiarism.

Format of thesis

You should submit your thesis in pdf format to the Nottingham ePrints system. Your thesis should be presented on A4 size, normally with a size 12 font. There should be a margin of at least 4cm on the left side of the page, both for typescript and diagrams, to allow for binding (if required).                         

Other margins should be of at least 2.5 cm.

Alternative formats

Alternative formats for submission may apply. For certain doctorates (Music, Creative Writing, Drama and Performance Practice as Research, Translation Studies) an appendix detailing submission requirements is available.

For more information, please visit the university's Quality Manual for further guidance.

You are also allowed to submit by published works, please consult your supervisor and also refer to the university guidance in the Quality Manual . 

Quality Manual alternative formats guidance

Submission deadline

You are required to submit your thesis for examination by the submission deadline notified to you during your course of studies. In exceptional circumstances, you can apply for an extension to your submission deadline, in line with the extension to thesis pending policy in the Quality Manual . 

If your submission deadline falls on a non-working day then you are permitted to submit on a first working day after this deadline.

Please also see here for key dates for graduation guidance .

Please note, even when they have been correctly observed, no guarantee can be given that the necessary examination procedures will have been completed in time for a candidate to graduate at the next degree congregation.

Extension to thesis pending form

Quality Manual thesis pending policy

Notification of submission

You are required to submit a thesis for examination before the conclusion of the thesis pending period. You must formally notify your school at least three months prior to your intended submission date. 

The school should ensure that Student Services are informed so that the procedure for appointing examiners can be initiated. Any delay in submitting your Notification of Submission form can lead to a delay in your examination. Visit the Examination webpage for more information on the examination process.

Your supervisor’s signature on the Notification of Submission form acts as confirmation that: 

the thesis is the result of work done mainly while you have been registered as a researcher of The University of Nottingham 

you have been given appropriate plagiarism guidance 

you have been advised on thesis embargo and/or restriction 

if appropriate to your discipline, you are aware of the requirement to submit all data collected during the period of study as a researcher of this university, to your School prior to arrangement of the viva voce examination. 

Upon receipt of your completed form, Student Services will ask your school to nominate examiners. When approved, we will email you with the names of your examiners, asking you to declare any possible conflict of interest.

Notification of submission form

Late submission

You are required to submit your thesis for examination by the submission deadline notified to you during your course of studies. Full time doctoral researchers submitting a thesis after this deadline, without receiving formal approval from the university for an extension of time, will be permitted to submit up to 12 months after their latest submission date as long as the maximum period from initial registration has not been reached.  

Once the work has been submitted the late submission fee for each month or part month (as per the university fee schedule, please see under Postgraduate Research – Exceptional Fees – Current Academic Year) that passes between your expected submission date and the date that your thesis is actually submitted will be raised and is payable immediately.

For researchers who are not on doctoral programmes, or who are not full time, or for whom this is not the first submission, there is no recourse to submit a thesis late and an extension to thesis pending must be requested.

Quality Manual: policy on extension to thesis pending

Quality Manual maximum period from initial registration

How to submit

Your thesis should be submitted to the Nottingham ePrints service in pdf format and must be the result of your own work, done mainly while you were registered as a researcher of this university. Student Services will work with your supervisors in preparing the thesis to be sent for examination. 

Notitngham ePrints is the used to store your first submission, as well as corrections and/or re-submission. Once the degree has been conferred, your final version will be retained for publication in the repository, all previous drafts will be removed. 

For detailed instructions, please visit the uploading your thesis webpage .

What happens with my submission

Your submission will be checked by the Student Services team. Once initial processing is complete, the Student Services team will write to confirm receipt of your thesis. Your thesis will then be stored securely in a local drive so that it can be shared with your examiners. It will then be removed from Nottingham ePrints . Doing so generates an automatic ‘Item Destroyed’ message, please do not be alarmed. 

First submissions, corrections and re-submission will be forwarded to examiner(s) for examination and/or final approvals. 

The final version will be retained for publication in the repository, unless you indicate a different preference.  For detailed instructions, please visit the uploading your thesis webpage .

Publishing your thesis: open access, embargo or restriction

In most cases, your thesis will be published in the University’s online library when you have graduated. Exceptions apply, such as embargo and thesis restriction, the distinction and process for application is explained below. You should discuss these options with your supervisor. 

Embargo: 

You may wish to delay online publication of the full text by requesting an embargo period, of up to two years* to allow publication through alternative channels. Please note: If you wish extend the embargo beyond the initial period, please enquire by emailing [email protected] . 

For embargoed theses, the full text is not publicly available but the bibliographic details (author, title and abstract) are discoverable and available to read. You must request embargoes when submitting the final draft of your thesis to Nottingham ePrints . 

Creative writing researchers may apply for an extended embargo of up to seven years. 

Thesis Restriction: 

The University Senate may fully restrict theses in special cases- where a thesis includes work which is politically, commercially or industrially sensitive.Theses may be restricted for a period of two years from conferral of the degree, if requested to do so. 

Thesis restrictions may be applied for by completing application for restriction form . Where the restriction is contractually obliged, the documentation should be appended to the application form. For more information visit the Quality Manual . 

Application for restriction form

Quality Manual application for restriction policy

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Regulations and Code of Practice for Research Degree Programmes

• Summary of regulatory changes and/or additions
• Section 1 – Introduction
• Section 2 – Institutional arrangements
• Section 3 – The research environment
• Section 4 – Admission and induction of students
• Section 5 – Supervision
• Section 6 – Progress and review arrangements
• Section 7 – Development of research and other skills
• Section 8 – Student representation
• Section 9 – Assessment
• Section 10 – Student appeals and complaints
• Annex 1 – Regulations for specific doctoral degrees
• Annex 2 – Regulations for master's degrees by research
• Annex 3 – Unsatisfactory academic progress
• Annex 4 – Dissertation format
• Annex 5 – Integration of publications as chapters
• Annex 6 – Online oral examinations
• Annex 7 – Criteria for award of research degrees
• Annex 8 – Academic integrity and plagiarism
• Annex 9 – Minor errors in a dissertation
• Annex 10 – Guidance from examiners on corrections and resubmissions
• Annex 11 – Policy for research degrees by distance learning
• Annex 12 – Personal and professional development policy
• Annex 13 – Policy on placements
• Annex 14 – Policy for maternity, adoption, paternity, shared parental, and parental leave
• Annex 15 – Medical and exceptional absence policy
• Annex 16 – Supporting research students: a guide for supervisors
• Annex 17 – COVID-19 statements
• Annex 18 – Policy on PGRs who teach
• Annex 19 - Failure to complete assessment for research degrees
• Annex 20 - Summary of academic awards

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University home > Academic Quality and Policy Office > Postgraduate Education > Regulations and Code of Practice for Research Degree Programmes > Annex 4 – Dissertation format

Annex 4 - Format of the dissertation for research degrees

The format of the dissertation – including for research degrees by published work – are set out below and covers both the examination and final Library versions.

Supervisors should advise their research students on the norms and practices of their discipline in terms of the dissertation. Guidance on the integration of publications as chapters within the dissertation, which should only be used following a discussion between supervisors and the student, is provided in Annex 5 .

Candidates must declare if they have secured ethics approval for their research in their dissertation, including information on the approval reference number and the date approval was granted. 

The examination copy must be submitted as a fully formatted pdf. The final Library copy should be electronically deposited in pdf format or other format acceptable to the University and appropriate to the medium as agreed with supervisors. 

See Annex 17 for the inclusion of a Covid-19 statement in the dissertation.

Format of dissertations for research degrees

Preliminary pages

The five preliminary pages (with the addition of a cover sheet if there is a partial deferment version – see below) must be the Title Page, Abstract, Dedication and Acknowledgements, Author’s Declaration and Table of Contents. The preliminary pages should be single-sided and the main body of the dissertation should be double-sided.

At the top of the title page, within the margins, the dissertation should give the title and, if necessary, sub-title and volume number. If the dissertation is in a language other than English, the title must be given in that language and in English. The full name of the author should be in the centre of the page. At the bottom centre should be the words “A dissertation submitted to the University of Bristol in accordance with the requirements for award of the degree of … in the Faculty of ...” with the name of the school and month and year of submission. The word count of the dissertation (which excludes references, appendices and lists of contents) should be entered at the bottom right-hand side of the page.

Each copy must include an abstract or summary of the dissertation in not more than 300 words, which should be single-spaced in a font size in the range 10 to 12. If the dissertation is in a language other than English, an abstract in that language and an abstract in English must be included.

Author’s declaration

I declare that the work in this dissertation was carried out in accordance with the requirements of the University's Regulations and Code of Practice for Research Degree Programmes and that it has not been submitted for any other academic award. Except where indicated by specific reference in the text, the work is the candidate's own work. Work done in collaboration with, or with the assistance of, others, is indicated as such. Any views expressed in the dissertation are those of the author.

SIGNED: .............................................................  DATE:..........................

Students must print their name on the examination copy and on the final Library copy. 

Partial deferment

Where a partial deferment for the public release of the final Library copy has been granted (see Section 9.2.5 ) both the redacted and full versions of the final version of the dissertation must be submitted. The redacted version file should adopt the following naming approach: ‘Redacted_Final_Copy_[year_month_day]_[candidate surname_candidate initials]_[Degree type].’

A cover sheet must be integrated as the first page of the redacted version with a statement on the redactions agreed by the candidate, supervisors and any industrial sponsors. The following is a suggested wording for the statement, which should be adapted for individual circumstances.

This is a redacted version of the full dissertation, as agreed by the candidate, the supervisors and [name], the industrial sponsor of this [degree type] studentship in the Faculty of [name]. The redactions cover key information that was deemed too sensitive to be published. The redactions have been kept to the minimum level necessary, so that the dissertation still shows the research excellence of the candidate.

The version for examination will contain the full text, even if a partial deferment has been granted.

Table of contents, list of tables and illustrative material

The table of contents must list, with page numbers, all chapters, sections and subsections, the list of references, bibliography, list of abbreviations and appendices. The list of tables and illustrations should follow the table of contents, listing with page numbers the tables, photographs, diagrams, etc., in the order in which they appear in the text.

Page numbering

The pages should be numbered consecutively at the bottom centre of the page.

Text should be in double or 1.5 line spacing, and font size should be chosen to ensure clarity and legibility for the main text and for any quotations and footnotes.

Digital recording media and research data

Appended digital recording media should be in a standard format and there should be a declaration in the dissertation of the programs used and the size of the files.

For the final copy of the dissertation, digital media such as Excel files should be combined into a single pdf file with the dissertation text. Students should discuss any accompanying research data that may be submitted with the dissertation with their supervisors. Guidance is also available from Library Services.

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• How Long Is a PhD Thesis?
• Doing a PhD

It’s no secret that one of the most challenging aspects of a PhD degree is the volume of work that goes into writing your thesis . So this raises the question, exactly how long is a thesis?

Unfortunately, there’s no one size fits all answer to this question. However, from the analysis of over 100 PhD theses, the average thesis length is between 80,000 and 100,000 words. A further analysis of 1000 PhD thesis shows the average number of pages to be 204 . In reality, the actual word count for each PhD thesis will depend on the specific subject and the university it is being hosted by. This is because universities set their own word length requirements, with most found to be opting for around 100,000.

To find out more about how these word limits differ between universities, how the average word count from STEM thesis differ from non-STEM thesis and a more detailed breakdown from the analysis of over 1000 PhDs, carry on reading the below.

Word Count Differences Between Universities

For any PhD student writing a thesis, they will find that their document will be subject to a word limit set by their university. In nearly all cases, the limit only concerns the maximum number of words and doesn’t place any restrictions on the minimum word limit. The reason for this is that the student will be expected to write their thesis with the aim of clearly explaining their research, and so it is up to the student to determine what he deems appropriate.

Saying this, it is well accepted amongst PhD students and supervisors that the absence of a lower limit doesn’t suggest that a thesis can be ‘light’. Your thesis will focus on several years worth of original research and explore new ideas, theories or concepts. Besides this, your thesis will need to cover a wide range of topics such as your literature review, research methodology, results and conclusion. Therefore, your examiners will expect the length of your thesis to be proportional to convey all this information to a sufficient level.

Selecting a handful of universities at random, they state the following thesis word limits on their website:

• University of Edinburgh: 100,000
• University of Exeter: 100,000
• University of Leister: 80,000
• University of Bath: 80,000
• University of Warwick: 70,000

The above universities set upper word limits that apply across the board, however, some universities, such as the University of Birmingham and the University of Sheffield, set different word limits for different departments. For example, the University of Sheffield adopts these limits:

• Arts & Humanities: 75,000
• Medicine, Dentistry & Health: 75,000
• Science: 80,000
• Social Sciences: 75,000-100,000

Although there’s a range of limit, it’s safe to say that the majority fall within the 80,000 to 100,000 bracket.

Word Count Based on Data from past Theses

A poll of 149 postdocs.

In mid-2019, Dr Eva Lantsoght, a published author, academic blogger and Structural Engineering Professor, conducted a poll which asked postgraduate doctoral students to share the length of their final thesis. 149 PostDoc students responded to the survey, with the majority reporting a length falling within the ‘80,000 – 120,000 words’ bracket as seen below.

Analysis of 1000 PhD Theses

Over a three-year time period, Dr Ian Brailsford, a then Postgraduate Learning Adviser at the University of Auckland, analysed 1000 doctoral thesis submitted to his university’s library. The PhD theses which formed the basis of his analysis were produced between 2008 to 2017 and showed:

• Average number of pages = 204
• Median number of pages = 198
• Average number of chapters = 7.6

We should note that the above metrics only cover the content falling within the main body of the thesis. This includes the introduction, literature review, methods section, results chapter, discussions and conclusions. All other sections, such as the title page, abstract, table of contents, acknowledgements, bibliography and appendices were omitted from the count.

Although it’s impossible to draw the exact word count from the number of pages alone, by using the universities recommended format of 12pt Times New Roman and 1.5 lines spacing, and assuming 10% of the main body are figures and footnotes, this equates to an average main body of 52,000 words.

STEM vs Non-STEM

As part of Dr Ian Brailsford’s analysis, he also compared the length of STEM doctorate theses to non-STEM theses. He found that STEM theses tended to be shorter. In fact, he found STEM theses to have a medium page length of 159 whilst non-STEM theses had a medium of around 223 pages. This is a 40% increase in average length!

Can You Exceed the Word Count?

Whilst most universities will allow you to go over the word count if you need to, it comes with the caveat that you must have a very strong reason for needing to do so. Besides this, your supervisor will also need to support your request. This is to acknowledge that they have reviewed your situation and agree that exceeding the word limit will be absolutely necessary to avoid detriment unnecessary detriment to your work.

This means that whilst it is possible to submit a thesis over 100,000 words or more, it’s unlikely that your research project will need to.

How Does This Compare to a Masters Dissertation?

The average Masters dissertation length is approximately 20,000 words whilst a thesis is 4 to 5 times this length at approximately 80,000 – 100,000.

The key reason for this difference is because of the level of knowledge they convey. A Master’s dissertation focuses on concluding from existing knowledge whilst a PhD thesis focuses on drawing a conclusion from new knowledge. As a result, the thesis is significantly longer as the new knowledge needs to be well documented so it can be verified, disseminated and used to shape future research.

Finding a PhD has never been this easy – search for a PhD by keyword, location or academic area of interest.

Related Reading

Unfortunately, the completion of your thesis doesn’t mark the end of your degree just yet. Once you submit your thesis, it’s time to start preparing for your viva – the all-to-fun thesis defence interview! To help you prepare for this, we’ve produced a helpful guide which you can read here: The Complete Guide to PhD Vivas.

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Frequently asked questions

How long is a dissertation.

Dissertation word counts vary widely across different fields, institutions, and levels of education:

• An undergraduate dissertation is typically 8,000–15,000 words
• A master’s dissertation is typically 12,000–50,000 words
• A PhD thesis is typically book-length: 70,000–100,000 words

However, none of these are strict guidelines – your word count may be lower or higher than the numbers stated here. Always check the guidelines provided by your university to determine how long your own dissertation should be.

Frequently asked questions: Dissertation

A dissertation prospectus or proposal describes what or who you plan to research for your dissertation. It delves into why, when, where, and how you will do your research, as well as helps you choose a type of research to pursue. You should also determine whether you plan to pursue qualitative or quantitative methods and what your research design will look like.

It should outline all of the decisions you have taken about your project, from your dissertation topic to your hypotheses and research objectives , ready to be approved by your supervisor or committee.

Note that some departments require a defense component, where you present your prospectus to your committee orally.

A thesis is typically written by students finishing up a bachelor’s or Master’s degree. Some educational institutions, particularly in the liberal arts, have mandatory theses, but they are often not mandatory to graduate from bachelor’s degrees. It is more common for a thesis to be a graduation requirement from a Master’s degree.

Even if not mandatory, you may want to consider writing a thesis if you:

• Plan to attend graduate school soon
• Have a particular topic you’d like to study more in-depth
• Are considering a career in research
• Would like a capstone experience to tie up your academic experience

The conclusion of your thesis or dissertation should include the following:

• A restatement of your research question
• A summary of your key arguments and/or results
• A short discussion of the implications of your research

The conclusion of your thesis or dissertation shouldn’t take up more than 5–7% of your overall word count.

For a stronger dissertation conclusion , avoid including:

• Important evidence or analysis that wasn’t mentioned in the discussion section and results section
• Generic concluding phrases (e.g. “In conclusion …”)
• Weak statements that undermine your argument (e.g., “There are good points on both sides of this issue.”)

Your conclusion should leave the reader with a strong, decisive impression of your work.

While it may be tempting to present new arguments or evidence in your thesis or disseration conclusion , especially if you have a particularly striking argument you’d like to finish your analysis with, you shouldn’t. Theses and dissertations follow a more formal structure than this.

All your findings and arguments should be presented in the body of the text (more specifically in the discussion section and results section .) The conclusion is meant to summarize and reflect on the evidence and arguments you have already presented, not introduce new ones.

A theoretical framework can sometimes be integrated into a  literature review chapter , but it can also be included as its own chapter or section in your dissertation . As a rule of thumb, if your research involves dealing with a lot of complex theories, it’s a good idea to include a separate theoretical framework chapter.

A literature review and a theoretical framework are not the same thing and cannot be used interchangeably. While a theoretical framework describes the theoretical underpinnings of your work, a literature review critically evaluates existing research relating to your topic. You’ll likely need both in your dissertation .

While a theoretical framework describes the theoretical underpinnings of your work based on existing research, a conceptual framework allows you to draw your own conclusions, mapping out the variables you may use in your study and the interplay between them.

A thesis or dissertation outline is one of the most critical first steps in your writing process. It helps you to lay out and organize your ideas and can provide you with a roadmap for deciding what kind of research you’d like to undertake.

Generally, an outline contains information on the different sections included in your thesis or dissertation , such as:

• Your anticipated title
• Your abstract
• Your chapters (sometimes subdivided into further topics like literature review , research methods , avenues for future research, etc.)

When you mention different chapters within your text, it’s considered best to use Roman numerals for most citation styles. However, the most important thing here is to remain consistent whenever using numbers in your dissertation .

In most styles, the title page is used purely to provide information and doesn’t include any images. Ask your supervisor if you are allowed to include an image on the title page before doing so. If you do decide to include one, make sure to check whether you need permission from the creator of the image.

Include a note directly beneath the image acknowledging where it comes from, beginning with the word “ Note .” (italicized and followed by a period). Include a citation and copyright attribution . Don’t title, number, or label the image as a figure , since it doesn’t appear in your main text.

Definitional terms often fall into the category of common knowledge , meaning that they don’t necessarily have to be cited. This guidance can apply to your thesis or dissertation glossary as well.

However, if you’d prefer to cite your sources , you can follow guidance for citing dictionary entries in MLA or APA style for your glossary.

A glossary is a collection of words pertaining to a specific topic. In your thesis or dissertation, it’s a list of all terms you used that may not immediately be obvious to your reader. In contrast, an index is a list of the contents of your work organized by page number.

The title page of your thesis or dissertation goes first, before all other content or lists that you may choose to include.

The title page of your thesis or dissertation should include your name, department, institution, degree program, and submission date.

Glossaries are not mandatory, but if you use a lot of technical or field-specific terms, it may improve readability to add one to your thesis or dissertation. Your educational institution may also require them, so be sure to check their specific guidelines.

A glossary or “glossary of terms” is a collection of words pertaining to a specific topic. In your thesis or dissertation, it’s a list of all terms you used that may not immediately be obvious to your reader. Your glossary only needs to include terms that your reader may not be familiar with, and is intended to enhance their understanding of your work.

A glossary is a collection of words pertaining to a specific topic. In your thesis or dissertation, it’s a list of all terms you used that may not immediately be obvious to your reader. In contrast, dictionaries are more general collections of words.

An abbreviation is a shortened version of an existing word, such as Dr. for Doctor. In contrast, an acronym uses the first letter of each word to create a wholly new word, such as UNESCO (an acronym for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization).

As a rule of thumb, write the explanation in full the first time you use an acronym or abbreviation. You can then proceed with the shortened version. However, if the abbreviation is very common (like PC, USA, or DNA), then you can use the abbreviated version from the get-go.

Be sure to add each abbreviation in your list of abbreviations !

If you only used a few abbreviations in your thesis or dissertation , you don’t necessarily need to include a list of abbreviations .

If your abbreviations are numerous, or if you think they won’t be known to your audience, it’s never a bad idea to add one. They can also improve readability, minimizing confusion about abbreviations unfamiliar to your reader.

A list of abbreviations is a list of all the abbreviations that you used in your thesis or dissertation. It should appear at the beginning of your document, with items in alphabetical order, just after your table of contents .

Your list of tables and figures should go directly after your table of contents in your thesis or dissertation.

Lists of figures and tables are often not required, and aren’t particularly common. They specifically aren’t required for APA-Style, though you should be careful to follow their other guidelines for figures and tables .

If you have many figures and tables in your thesis or dissertation, include one may help you stay organized. Your educational institution may require them, so be sure to check their guidelines.

A list of figures and tables compiles all of the figures and tables that you used in your thesis or dissertation and displays them with the page number where they can be found.

The table of contents in a thesis or dissertation always goes between your abstract and your introduction .

You may acknowledge God in your dissertation acknowledgements , but be sure to follow academic convention by also thanking the members of academia, as well as family, colleagues, and friends who helped you.

A literature review is a survey of credible sources on a topic, often used in dissertations , theses, and research papers . Literature reviews give an overview of knowledge on a subject, helping you identify relevant theories and methods, as well as gaps in existing research. Literature reviews are set up similarly to other  academic texts , with an introduction , a main body, and a conclusion .

An  annotated bibliography is a list of  source references that has a short description (called an annotation ) for each of the sources. It is often assigned as part of the research process for a  paper .  

In a thesis or dissertation, the discussion is an in-depth exploration of the results, going into detail about the meaning of your findings and citing relevant sources to put them in context.

The conclusion is more shorter and more general: it concisely answers your main research question and makes recommendations based on your overall findings.

In the discussion , you explore the meaning and relevance of your research results , explaining how they fit with existing research and theory. Discuss:

• Your  interpretations : what do the results tell us?
• The  implications : why do the results matter?
• The  limitation s : what can’t the results tell us?

The results chapter or section simply and objectively reports what you found, without speculating on why you found these results. The discussion interprets the meaning of the results, puts them in context, and explains why they matter.

In qualitative research , results and discussion are sometimes combined. But in quantitative research , it’s considered important to separate the objective results from your interpretation of them.

Results are usually written in the past tense , because they are describing the outcome of completed actions.

The results chapter of a thesis or dissertation presents your research results concisely and objectively.

In quantitative research , for each question or hypothesis , state:

• The type of analysis used
• Relevant results in the form of descriptive and inferential statistics
• Whether or not the alternative hypothesis was supported

In qualitative research , for each question or theme, describe:

• Recurring patterns
• Significant or representative individual responses
• Relevant quotations from the data

Don’t interpret or speculate in the results chapter.

To automatically insert a table of contents in Microsoft Word, follow these steps:

• Apply heading styles throughout the document.
• In the references section in the ribbon, locate the Table of Contents group.
• Click the arrow next to the Table of Contents icon and select Custom Table of Contents.
• Select which levels of headings you would like to include in the table of contents.

Make sure to update your table of contents if you move text or change headings. To update, simply right click and select Update Field.

All level 1 and 2 headings should be included in your table of contents . That means the titles of your chapters and the main sections within them.

The contents should also include all appendices and the lists of tables and figures, if applicable, as well as your reference list .

Do not include the acknowledgements or abstract in the table of contents.

The abstract appears on its own page in the thesis or dissertation , after the title page and acknowledgements but before the table of contents .

An abstract for a thesis or dissertation is usually around 200–300 words. There’s often a strict word limit, so make sure to check your university’s requirements.

In a thesis or dissertation, the acknowledgements should usually be no longer than one page. There is no minimum length.

The acknowledgements are generally included at the very beginning of your thesis , directly after the title page and before the abstract .

Yes, it’s important to thank your supervisor(s) in the acknowledgements section of your thesis or dissertation .

Even if you feel your supervisor did not contribute greatly to the final product, you must acknowledge them, if only for a very brief thank you. If you do not include your supervisor, it may be seen as a snub.

In the acknowledgements of your thesis or dissertation, you should first thank those who helped you academically or professionally, such as your supervisor, funders, and other academics.

Then you can include personal thanks to friends, family members, or anyone else who supported you during the process.

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How Many Words is a University Dissertation?

In University by Think Student Editor April 18, 2021 Leave a Comment

Nations that use a British academic system require a body of work to be produced during the end of an ‘undergraduate’ or ‘masters degree’. The contents of a dissertation are used to help determine your final grade at the end of your degree.

A dissertation will also test your abilities to research and create work in response to a topic explored independently – overall, it can showcase the skills you’ve acquired during your time at university. So, how should you approach your dissertation?

The dissertation word count for most university programmes is between 15,000 and 20,000 words, however, these can alternate significantly solely based upon the course and what university you are attending. Whilst this can be used as a guide, dissertation lengths will depend on the subject you are researching and the depth that the subject area can be explored to you should aim to contain as much detail and research as possible. To reach your word count, you should make sure that your work is divided into around 4-5 chapters, including a clear introduction to your topic and a conclusion to round up the contents of what you’ve written.

Now that you’re familiar with the word count and structure of a dissertation, you may be considering what topic you’d like to explore. Read on further for some tips and ideas to help strengthen your piece.

Table of Contents

How can you choose a dissertation topic?

The first thing you need to do when writing a dissertation is to choose a topic. By becoming familiar with your topic or question area it will allow your researching and writing to flow effortlessly. When you choose your topic there are a few factors you will need to consider, such as:

• Your department’s requirements.
• Your areas of interest and pre-existing knowledge.
• The relevance (social, scientific and practical).
• Availability of resources to research.
• Your time schedule.

It’s vastly important to stick to the requirements of your module for your dissertation. Whilst some programmes may have stricter requirements, for example: providing you with a restricted list of topics and questions to consider, other programmes may have just provided you with a deadline and word count.

Before delving into a niche field of research, it will help to choose a broader field that you know of, researching into it and choosing something within that to focus upon . For example:( The broad area is ‘Economic History’, you will narrow it down to ‘European Economic History’.

You could also make this even more in-depth by focusing upon one place in Europe and their personal assets.) It is important to choose a small area, that is still large enough to have lots of resources like books, websites and alternate research to build a case around.

How do you create an interesting dissertation?

Choosing a topic for your dissertation can be difficult but some key factors will give you the ability to navigate around your subject area and narrow your ideas down. Once you have an idea it’s important to follow certain patterns and rules to make your work interesting. To start with, you should select a topic that you find interesting , that is also unique and different.

Once you have a topic you are passionate about, you’ll find that your motivation to complete the work will be increased. By choosing a unique research topic, it allows you to develop your original ideas and opinions which will make your dissertation more enjoyable to read.

Another major importance to deliver an interesting dissertation is to do your research . Delve deeper into the subject and don’t just include surface-level information. Research your question and topic areas before you begin writing to ensure it can not be answered with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ as this will make you struggle with reaching your word count.

You may also want to change the methods that you’re using to write up your dissertation. If you’re typing, try switching to handwriting some ideas. A change in the presentation of your work may help to get your ideas flowing again. Don’t be afraid to use your resources to plan and edit work.

During writing, one of the most important tips to create a high standard piece of academic work is to not be too vague or narrow during your explanations. This links in with the importance of research and thorough planning before you commit to a topic area, you want something that can be explored in-depth and have many different viewpoints and subcategories that you can include.

Each sentence and paragraph that you write should be a contribution to the overall piece. Depending on the topic you’ve chosen, it should aim to either, answer your question, contribute to your research or strengthen both or one side of an argument.

What should you do if you’re struggling with your dissertation?

When writing your dissertation, you’re bound to hit a point where you struggle with writing- be that in the beginning, middle or end, you’re not alone in the difficulties of this assignment. Many students that are required to write a dissertation will hit difficulties but still manage to complete and triumph with their writing.

Whilst you can research and deepen your ideas through reading other pieces and articles, there are also other ways to get over your writer’s block, such as taking time out to focus upon yourself and creating a work plan on when to add and study your dissertation.

Having a plan and a schedule allows you to separate your education and home life so that you’re not engulfed in the pressures and stress of turning in your work on time.

There are many websites and resources online that can help you create and plan your time to help boost motivation and mood. If you’re needing help with time management, check out this useful website . Alternatively, if you’re looking for a template on how to create a study schedule, press here.

For example, you could use post notes and flashcards for small snippets of information you might want to include later, write down any thoughts in rough notes, ensuring you won’t forget.

You can also draw, create mind maps and plans, colour coordinate any ideas you want to research and write about. Making your work seem ‘fun’ will boost your motivation to work significantly and will help you get back to writing.

If you struggle to connect or make contact with other students for whatever reason, there are resources online that are easily accessible, for example, ‘The Student Room’ which creates a platform for other young people to chat and ask each other questions. Also, make sure to check out any other articles on ‘Think Student’ .

The last thing that you can do is to contact your mentor or course tutor for their advice. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, as they aren’t there to punish you, they will help you get back on track and guide you to a good piece of work.

What can you do if you fail your dissertation?

Once you have submitted your dissertation, it will be sent to be marked and evaluated. The pass mark for your piece of work is 50%, as with all modules and academic work. However, if under any circumstances your dissertation doesn’t reach the pass mark, you will be given an opportunity to revisit your work and resubmit a new, updated version.

Despite your opportunity to resubmit your dissertation, there are a few significant implications that will affect you. As resubmission occurs during the end of the programme you’re studying, if you’re a student studying in the UK with a Visa then this may impact you and cause a few problems.

If this applies to you, whether you are working on your dissertation or have already submitted it, make sure to contact your supervisor/tutors to explore your options and possible issues beforehand.

Alternatively, if you are studying without a Visa and there are no other possible issues regarding your educational background, resubmission could still have an impact on you.

Resubmitting will mean that your university graduation will be delayed – unless an improved version can be submitted very quickly. With all resubmissions, the highest mark that you can achieve for the new dissertation is 50%.

Remember – if you have fallen behind, work out if there is anything that can be worked out to get you caught up, if not the deadline may be able to be adapted to give more work time. It’s important to remember that your tutors and university want you to succeed , meaning they’ll do anything that is in their power to help you.

Advice for new dissertation writers.

After reading this article, I hope that you have clarity over the subject of dissertations. They can be tricky to approach and to achieve the grade you’re aiming for, but with a clear topic, confidence and managing your time appropriately you will be able to create a great piece of work .

Whilst you should still remain aware of deadlines and word counts, you should make your key focus upon writing about a topic you are passionate about, wording your dissertation in a clear, easy to read way. Write and research a piece that you would enjoy reading yourself, if you’re not happy with and passionate about the subject you have chosen it will show within your work.

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As stated in the  Student Registry PhD format requirements , a PhD thesis in the Department of Computer Science and Technology “is not to exceed [...] 60,000 words including tables and footnotes, but excluding appendices, bibliography, photographs and diagrams.”

Candidates abusing these rules mostly risk annoying their examiners. Of particular concern is the misconception that tables and equations do not count as words, while they actually take significantly longer to read than mere text. The words “photographs and diagrams” refer to entities that can be taken in with a single glance rather than a page of detailed equations. Tables, equations and the like are best counted as having the number of words that text occupying the same area would have. The safest way to justify being under the 60,000 word limit is to count the words on a page with most plain text, and divide 60,000 by that to give a page limit. Another way of getting an estimate of the effective word count is

If the main body of your thesis (from first page to last page before the bibliography) is 150 pages or more then you have probably exceeded the size limit – and your thesis risks summary rejection. Remember that it is not necessary to write 59,995 words; as noted in the regulations for Physics and Chemistry: “[the] Degree committee points out that some of the best dissertations extend to only half this length”.

Sometimes candidates would like a bigger word-count limit. This is often a sign they have done too much work; a good thesis selects from the work done rather than slavishly including every minor result. There are three reasons not to do too much work on a thesis: poverty after your funding expires, scoring black marks for the department by submitting four years after starting, and having to leave out research results from your thesis!

The Degree Committee for the Faculty of Computer Science and Technology agreed, at its meeting of July 2nd 2009, that the word limit will remain at 60,000 words and, furthermore, emphasized that should students exceed 175 pages, students and their supervisors will be asked to explain.

The Degree Committee for the Faculty of Computer Science and Technology agreed, at its meeting on 23 November 2021, that while the word limit will remain at 60,000 words, the Committee recognises some theses are interdisciplinary. An application for an extension to the word counts where there is a compelling case - such as an interdiscipinary thesis - will be considered. Students should apply for an extension to the thesis word count via CamSIS Change of Circumstances.

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• Word limits and requirements of your Degree Committee

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• 0 Avg. Word Length
• 0 Paragraphs
• 0 Syllables
• 0 Words (Publisher)
• N/A Reading Level  
• N/A Reading Time  
• N/A Speaking Time  
• N/A Hand Writing Time  
• More ( 0 ) Share

Keyword Density x1   x2   x3

Keep track of the number of words you write each day using the activity button.   ACTIVITY

This button helps you clean up your document by removing funky characters, unneeded new lines, etc.

• Email Fix (Remove word wrapping)
• Microsoft Word Document Fix (Remove invalid characters)
• Remove multiple new lines

My Writing Details

• N/A Reading Level
• N/A Reading Time
• N/A Speaking Time
• N/A Hand Writing Time

Step 1. What do you want to share?

• Unique Words
• Characters (no spaces)
• Longest Sentence (words)
• Shortest Sentence (words)
• Avg. Sentence (words)
• Avg. Sentence (chars)
• Avg. Word Length
• Words (Publisher)
• Reading Level
• Reading Time
• Speaking Time
• Hand Writing Time

Step 2. What do you want to say?

Step 3. Where do you want to share it?

• Keyword Density

Step 1. What do you want to say?

Step 2. Where do you want to share it?

Upload File

Click the upload button below to select a text document. Supported formats are PDF, TXT, DOC, DOCX, ODT.

Save To Drive

Use this button to save your current writing to Google Drive

You can turn on or off different counting options here.

• Hand Writing Time Letters Per Minute Slow Normal Fast
• Reading Time Words Per Minute Slow Normal Fast
• Speaking Time Words Per Minute Slow Normal Fast

You can turn on or off different buttons provided for different functionalities.

• ACTIVITY Keeps track of your word and character count.
• AUTO-SAVE When turned on, WordCounter will automatically save your document every 30 seconds. You can then switch back to previous versions of your document at any time.
• CASE Gives different case options. Applies to your entire document or only the text you select.
• CLEAN TEXT After pasting a document into WordCounter, this will clean it up by removing invalid characters, word wrapping issues and unneeded new lines.
• CLEAR Delete all of the text in your document.
• DOWNLOAD Download your written text (PDF, TXT, DOC) to your device.
• FIND AND REPLACE Find and replace any words or sentences you want.
• GOAL Set writing goals (such as 500 words) and WordCounter will let you know when you've reached them. You can also share and embed your goals.
• PRINT Print your document quickly and easily.
• PROOF READ   WordCounter reads your document back to you. Make sure to turn up your volume! Rate Valid values are 0.1 to 10 Pitch Valid values are 0 to 2 Voices
• REDO Redo your last changes. Click multiple times to redo multiple changes.
• SAVE Saves your text for later retrieval. Be sure and click the SAVE button each time you want to save.
• SAVE TO DRIVE Saves your document to Google Drive. Great for backup purposes.
• SPEED Use a timer to see how fast you're typing.
• SPELL A powerful spelling and grammar checker for your document.
• TALK TO TYPE   Speak into your microphone and WordCounter will type for you. Language Country
• THESAURUS Select (with your mouse) a word in your document and click the thesaurus button to get a list of synonyms.
• UNDO Undo your last changes. Click multiple times to undo multiple changes.
• UPLOAD Upload your existing document (PDF, TXT, DOC, DOCX, ODT) into WordCounter.

Enter the number of characters, words, sentences or paragraphs you want to set for a goal.

Existing Goals

You can set, delete and edit your goals.

Embed Your Goal into your Web Page

Record your count of words and characters.

New Activity

Previous activities.

You can edit and delete your records.

New Document

Previous documents.

You can load, edit and delete your documents.

Find and Replace

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• Embed WordCounter
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