Thesis & Dissertation Guidance

A thesis or dissertation is usually the longest and most independent piece of work in a degree. Your supervisor is your main guide, but meetings may be short or several weeks apart. This service offers an outside reader for the long stretches in between.

What it means

Thesis and dissertation guidance looks at the project as a whole rather than one chapter at a time. We help you see how your question, literature, method, results and conclusion connect, plan the months ahead, and understand comments from your supervisor.

Naming varies. In the UK a "dissertation" is often the final bachelor's or master's project, while in the USA "thesis" and "dissertation" are often used the other way round. In Germany you may be writing a Bachelorarbeit or Masterarbeit with a Betreuer, and in France a mémoire with a directeur de mémoire. Your own regulations decide the details; the guidance adapts to them.

If you mainly want detailed comments on individual chapters, see our chapter-wise feedback service. This page is about the project as a whole.

Problems it addresses

• A project that has grown too large for the time left
• Chapters that each make sense alone but do not tell one connected story
• Supervisor comments you do not fully understand, with your next meeting weeks away
• A methodology that is described but not justified
• Results you have collected but are unsure how to present or interpret
• Losing momentum in the middle months, when no deadline feels close

When you might need it

• You have just had your topic approved and want to plan the whole project realistically.
• You are halfway through and feel the overall direction has become unclear.
• Your supervisor has asked for major changes and you are not sure where to start.
• You are writing in English as an additional language and want your reasoning to come across clearly.
• You are preparing for a soutenance, viva or defence and want to check you can explain your own choices.

How the guidance works

1. Share your project and timeline. Send your research question, chapter plan, regulations and submission date.
2. Agree stages and quote. Long projects often work best in stages. We agree in writing what each stage covers and how feedback is delivered.
3. Receive feedback at each stage. This may cover your overall structure, a methodology plan, how results are presented, or how a supervisor comment could be addressed.
4. Write and revise yourself. You make all decisions about content and do all the writing.
5. Review progress. At agreed points we look again at the overall shape of the project, if this is in your quote.

What to prepare

• Your thesis regulations, handbook, template and assessment criteria
• Your approved proposal or exposé, if you have one
• Your current table of contents or chapter plan
• Draft chapters at whatever stage they are
• Supervisor comments, including tracked changes
• Anonymised tables or output you want to discuss (never identifiable participant data)

What you receive

Depending on the scope agreed in your quote, this can include:

• an explained review of your overall structure, showing how each chapter serves the research question
• a staged plan for the remaining work, built around your submission date
• written comments on the drafts you share
• help interpreting supervisor feedback, with questions you could take to your next meeting
• a feedback summary at each stage
• discussions by message or call

Outside the scope

• Writing chapters, sections or paragraphs for you
• Running statistical tests or coding qualitative data that is being assessed
• Inventing, altering or completing data or results
• Deciding your conclusions
• Contacting your supervisor or university for you
• Guaranteeing a grade or a pass

Because a thesis assesses your independent research, please follow your regulations on declaring outside help. Our academic integrity page explains our position.

An illustrative example

Frequently asked questions

Should I tell my supervisor I am getting outside guidance?

Many universities expect you to declare significant outside help, and some have specific rules for theses. Check your regulations. Being open with your supervisor is usually the safest approach.

Can you help me prepare for my defence?

We can help you practise explaining your research question, method and limitations, and think about likely questions. You answer them in your own words.

Is it too early if I have not started?

No. Planning early often saves the most time. The thesis chapter planner and thesis chapters guide can help you map the structure now.