If you have difficulty meeting any of the deadlines associated with the dissertation you must see your supervisor and your personal tutor immediately. The standard arrangements for obtaining extensions apply. If you are ill a medical certificate must be provided. Excuses relating to your not being able to obtain documents or interviews, etc. will almost certainly not provide a basis for the granting of an extension. Problems of this kind tend to arise from your own lack of foresight and are something for which you yourself will have to take full responsibility. If information upon which you are relying is not forthcoming, you will need to be flexible and work round its absence. Your supervisor will be able to help you in doing this but you will need to plan ahead and not leave everything to the last minute. Excuses relating to damaged computer discs, sticks etc are also generally unacceptable. Bearing this in mind, make sure you always keep both back-up discs and hard copy of everything you do. Better safe (if paranoid) than sorry.

Please note the following information about the format that your dissertation should follow.

1. Two Copies

Two word-processed bound copies of the Dissertation must be handed in to the designated office by the required date. One may be a photocopy (including the illustrations); one will be retained permanently by the University. It is better to print out two identical copies.

2. The Title Page

The title page should contain the full title, author's name, and at the bottom of the page the formula:

A Dissertation presented at the [your university] for the degree of BA with Honours in [your course], [year of submission].

3. Contents Page

There should normally be a contents page which identifies the sections into which the work is divided, including chapter headings, appendices, bibliography, list of illustrations, etc., with page numbers.

4. Typing

Written materials must be typed on one side only of numbered and unlined A4 pages. Line spacing should be double spacing (except for long quotations, which should be single-spaced). The left-hand margin should be about 4cm wide (to allow for binding), and the other margins 2.5cm. The text must be proof-read and corrected, if necessary by hand.

5. Illustrations

Illustrations, where appropriate, will be required in both copies. They may be accumulated at the end, integrated or interleaved with the typed text. Scanned illustrations may be imported into the text if you wish, but any unusual layouts should be checked with your supervisor before submission. If a special case be conceded in advance for some other way of presenting illustrations, or if other digitised material be integral to the Dissertation, then the title page must include the following formula:

Additional materials are submitted in a second volume [or box, etc.].

6. Binding

The pages must be fastened together along the left-hand (long) side within covers of reasonably protective material. The two volumes need not be bound in the same way.

7. Labelling

The outer cover of each copy MUST BE CLEARLY LABELLED with the candidate's name, the title of the work, and the year of submission. Any supplementary material must be similarly labelled on the outside (for example, Volume 1, Volume 2, or the equivalent).