It is never exciting news when you fail a dissertation. By failing a dissertation, it implies you scored below that cut-off mark. In this post, I will take you through the signs of failure and how to avoid it.
More significantly, even if you fail, the chances are high that you can go for a reassessment. Before you begin to rejoice, the pass mark is caped lower than the minimum mark in response to your first failure.
Percentage of Students who Fail Dissertations
The statistics vary according to various institutions in different nations. For instance, the Ph.D. desertion failure rate in the United Kingdom is 19%.
About 16% of the students will opt to abandon their Ph.D. program early.
How bad does a dissertation have to be to fail
To fail, a dissertation has to be poor and not written as per the basic academic standards, which leads to a poor grade of 40 and below in most educational institutions. A thesis or a dissertation has to score extremely low to fail since many professors follow up with the student before the final grade is awarded.
How to Tell that your Thesis will Fail
There are several tell-tale signs that will indicate that your dissertation or a thesis will fail. You have to have been really poor if it fails. Some of these signs are common mistakes that keep repeating in your project. Others are major deviations from the norms of academic writing.
1. Choosing a Monotonous and Dull Topic
It becomes easy for a reader to note a shallow topic. Since you have never invested in it well, you will lack the enthusiasm to create an engaging dissertation.
Once you get a well-researched topic, you will master the right tips to articulate in your desertion. Lack of enough facts may impact your thesis negatively.
2. Missing Preliminary Pages
Such pages include the ones before the main dissertation begins. It is always tempting to overlook the significance of these pages, but remember, they set the tone for your dissertation.
The best approach is to use the dissertation template to ensure you follow it to the end.
3. Shallow and Superficial Arguments
If you involve the superficial arguments, they will fail to reach the depth for meeting the upper-grade boundaries. While specializing in a particular area is critical, avoid pushing yourself in a tight corner where you lack something meaningful to talk about.
For your desertion to be successful, you should craft it on solid research. It is hard to contribute to a topic that you lack enough ideas to write about.
4. Attempting Too Much
It is admirable if you demonstrate ambition. Nevertheless, it won’t be brilliant if you attempt to squeeze too much. In our guide on how long it takes to write a dissertation, we found out the many factors that come into play when completing the paper on time.
This included the scope that you can take. Therefore, allow the scope of your dissertation to stretch within acceptable limits while respecting the time parameters under you.
5. An Imbalanced Structure
Your desertion should remain consistent from the start to the end. It is wrong to have a powerful introduction, and the first few paragraphs then lose focus in the preceding paragraphs.
It must capture the critical elements of the topic without causing you to struggle to meet the expectation. One should structure the arguments by padding chapters with extraneous information.
5. Demonstrating a Lack of Proficiency
When you are writing desertion, it is a chance to showcase your subject knowledge.
You will be displaying the writing techniques that you acquired in the course program.
Suppose you do not understand what you are writing; it will be challenging to produce meaningful work.
6. Presenting Unrelated Arguments
While writing your desertion, ensure that you do not deviate from the core subject. Failure to stick to the desired path will cause you to encounter obstacles on the way and land you in problems.
7. Plagiarism
It is critical to avoid plagiarism and maintain academic integrity. Plagiarism is a serious offense that can land you in bad books. Many universities use anti-plagiarism software to check your standard. It is crucial to reference and cite your work correctly. Ensure that the dissertation lacks academic integrity violations.
8. Formatting, Spelling, and Grammar Issues
You should create enough time to edit your dissertation. Failure to do so leads to grammar and spelling errors. The best way is to follow the university template for formatting designs. It is vital to seek for an experienced writer who can assist you in proofreading your work and kick out any visible mistakes.
For many people, it is never easy to write a dissertation. It calls for better planning, writing, and editing. If you get intimidated by the work and time frame, you better outsource to a reputable writer to simplify matters for you.
How to Avoid Failing in your Dissertation
1. Review the Paper before Submitting
Before you think of submitting your dissertation to your supervisor, it is vital to proofread it.
Doing so helps in detecting errors, weird formatting, and identification of typos.
It helps in adjusting the paper as per the given instructions.
If you let it reach your supervisor in the initial state, someone may penalize your work for the inability to follow instructions.
2. Use a Superior Plagiarism Software
You should run the paper through reputable anti-plagiarism software to establish its originality. It can be embarrassing to discover that your dissertation had some similarities after submission. Many institutions do not treat this area lightly.
When your paper is 100% original, your confidence rises because you now know that the panel will not penalize your work over that area. Other areas that you should strive to check are citations and referencing.
3. Perform Regular Consultations
You should reach out to your supervisor regularly. Such a habit helps you to know if you are on the right track or not. Make it a goal to check with your supervisor as you complete each section.
Doing so makes one know if the consistent is in tandem with the dissertation’s goals. Suppose you encounter challenges; you should raise them early enough so that they do not overwhelm you before you stretch far.
Such consultations will determine the type of project you will undertake. if done early, consultations will help you to decide whether to take a thesis master’s or a non-thesis master’s degree for your course.
4. Do Extensive Research
The purpose of writing a dissertation is to gauge your knowledge of a particular topic. The only way to prove your mastery is to research and read widely. Consult various sources to back up your argument.
Ensure you have engaging details of your topic to flow well and prove that you understand what you are talking about.
5. Seek Thesis Writing Help
Finally, if you are unsure concerning what to do, seek a helping hand from writing experts. An expert will be useful in providing helpful tips and tricks to help you crack a killer dissertation.
Another advantage of a writing expert is that he can assist you in writing better desertion, especially when you are running against time. You can hire thesis writers to handle your assignment if you need help.
You will also have time to read through the content and engage your supervisor to know if the writer did a superb job. In case of any corrections, it will be easy to handle them.
Does Anyone fail their Dissertation Defense?
Yes, one can fail a dissertation defense. However, it is hard for one to fail since it is not a two-hour affair. It can take a month or years to complete, making it easier to identify mistakes along this period.
Furthermore, your supervisor will be assessing your paper after every chapter. So, you will be rectifying every error at every stage hence boosting your confidence to proceed. Inability to follow instructions could be costly.
Can a Dissertation be Wrong?
Yes, a dissertation can be wrong, especially if you fail to capture vital features. For example, if the literature is inadequate, that is a sure sign that something is wrong. Also, if you discover that you lack motivation and constantly panicking, then it is also a sure sign that you picked an inappropriate dissertation topic.
What is the Pass Mark for a Dissertation?
The pass mark, in this case, is 50% after successful completion. Once you have these facts in mind, strive to score above the given limit to avoid resubmitting it again.
Ensure to stick and implement all the instructions provided in the template to be on the safe side. Additionally, you should work with your supervisor closely.
The supervisor will help you to handle any technical part to prevent failure cases. If you cannot be helped, consider taking a non-thesis master’s degree to avoid this part of the task.
