Last Minute Checking?

April 2021

After the Easter break from blogging, I wonder what the need is ‘out there’. I guess a lot of students are catching up with themselves, trying to get final submissions sorted for this academic year and wonder what the next stage is. It is a season for panic! Death or resurrection? Of course it can be a resurrection in energy! Few have exams in theology departments' terms nowadays; a language test for Greek or Hebrew may be in person, although how those work on Zoom/ Teams for supervision I am not sure! There are however, many essays being prepared for submission.

So here are some last minute tips for finalising submissions!

This may be too late for some but if you are submitting a dissertation soon may I advise you go down this check list.

1. Check it with your supervisor! Was at least ¾ of it shown to the supervisor? Have you gone through every comment they made and appropriately applied it to edit your work? Check all the links from one section to another; each needs to flow into the next logically. Does it answer the question you set out with?

2. Check you have read through the whole thing again; I know, you know what you wrote but if you read it through with someone it shows things up for not making sense. It checks for typos you do not initially see, sentences that don’t quite gel.

3. Check the Grammar! How many times is that not perfected! Use whole sentences – a main subject, and main verb with its sub clauses. Do not use ‘Run-on’ sentences joining two ideas marked only with a comma; that is not good English. If the subject changes, then at least use a semi-colon or start a new sentence. Sometimes there are sentences that are so long and complex only you can comprehend them. So, make them simpler! Short sentences punch better than complicated ones.

4. Check the punctuation! Check against the quotations included; have you ensured the speech marks are before and after each phrase, each sentence quoted? Do not forget which words were 'borrowed' from your sources; they need referencing to stay within academic integrity rules.

5. Check the references; the footnotes or APA references in the text should have every part (Author, title, Place, publisher year and page number) available for the reader to find the exact location to the reference. Articles from journals and edited books are differently formatted to books; check with your institution’s style guide at your side for every inserted reference.

6. Check the formatting is correct- for the text- Are the margins wide enough? Is the font big enough for ‘Normal’ style (12 is normal), with the right line spacing (1.5 is often normal, or double). Check the bibliographic items against your Style Guide -for books or articles or websites or dissertations etc. Every dot, comma and bracket should be in their exact places.

7. Check you have made page numbers obvious (Top right header or sometimes middle bottom footer).

8. Check you have used the appropriate heading styles. Use MS Word’s styles. Modify them according to your institution’s preferences, in size and italics etc. Use Headings 1,2,3 to provide e.g. Bold 16 for Heading 1, Italics bold fo14r Heading 2, Bold 12 for Heading 3.

9. If you need a contents page, have you used the appropriate headings in Styles (Home menu on MS Word) to make the automated contents page (Reference menu) that MS Word can provide you. IF you have then clicking on the page before your introduction to ensure it is to be placed helpfully, go to the first Reference menu, click on Table of Contents and the first suggestion will give you 3 levels of headings with the right page numbers. If you change something, then update contents page for page numbers may have changed for that heading.

10. Check if the bibliography is complete; check against the footnotes.

11. An MA Dissertation may well need a Title page, a Declaration that this is all your own work, and an Abstract, Acknowledgements, Abbreviations list, as well as the Contents page and of course the text, followed by a bibliography and then the Appendices.

12. Checking is only as good as your own understanding of what is necessary. Another pair of eyes from another academically trained person may help. I can offer that proof-reading to some if it does not compromise your college’s processes ethically. My website, www.Dyerlogic.co.uk , is to advertise tutoring options from me (with a payment!) that may help you along the academic journey.