The principal assessment is the submission of an 8,000-10,000 word dissertation prepared on a
topic of the student’s choice under the guidance of a supervisor. This counts for 90% of the final
module mark. The submission deadline is 12 noon on Wed 9 April 2025.
Dissertations are expected to demonstrate sustained reading on and engagement with a topic over
an extended period, the application of appropriate methods for conducting research in Politics and
International Relations, independent analysis, and depth of understanding of the chosen topic.
Dissertations will be formally assessed against the following criteria (taken from the Marking Form, a
copy of which can be found on Blackboard under ‘Key Documents’):
i. Clarity of the research question/puzzle
ii. Engagement with literature:
identification of academic literature relevant to the research question
depth of critical engagement with academic literature
iii. Methodology and research design:
does the dissertation adequately explain and justify the project’s chosen
methodology (i.e. plan for answering the research question)?
how well is this plan implemented?
iv. Sources and data (as appropriate to the research question):
identification of and/or generation of relevant primary/secondary sources and/or
data (as appropriate to the research question)
v. Argument:
development of a reasoned argument
critical analysis of relevant literature, sources, and data (as appropriate to the
research question)
display of independent thought
vi. Style:
fluency and clarity of writing
structure
3
topic of the student’s choice under the guidance of a supervisor. This counts for 90% of the final
module mark. The submission deadline is 12 noon on Wed 9 April 2025.
Dissertations are expected to demonstrate sustained reading on and engagement with a topic over
an extended period, the application of appropriate methods for conducting research in Politics and
International Relations, independent analysis, and depth of understanding of the chosen topic.
Dissertations will be formally assessed against the following criteria (taken from the Marking Form, a
copy of which can be found on Blackboard under ‘Key Documents’):
i. Clarity of the research question/puzzle
ii. Engagement with literature:
identification of academic literature relevant to the research question
depth of critical engagement with academic literature
iii. Methodology and research design:
does the dissertation adequately explain and justify the project’s chosen
methodology (i.e. plan for answering the research question)?
how well is this plan implemented?
iv. Sources and data (as appropriate to the research question):
identification of and/or generation of relevant primary/secondary sources and/or
data (as appropriate to the research question)
v. Argument:
development of a reasoned argument
critical analysis of relevant literature, sources, and data (as appropriate to the
research question)
display of independent thought
vi. Style:
fluency and clarity of writing
structure
3
vii. Referencing and bibliography:
adequacy of references
formatting
Please note: As each dissertation is unique, how these criteria apply to your dissertation will depend
on your topic area and research question, how you seek to answer your research question, and the
availability of sources and other forms of evidence
adequacy of references
formatting
Please note: As each dissertation is unique, how these criteria apply to your dissertation will depend
on your topic area and research question, how you seek to answer your research question, and the
availability of sources and other forms of evidence
By 20 Jan Submit a draft chapter to your supervisor for written comments
28 March (end of Wk 7) By now, you should aim to have completed a first draft of the whole
dissertation
dissertation
Dissertations must be 8,000-10,00 words in length, including references, but not including the
bibliography, the statement of original authorship, or any cover/title pages, contents pages,
abstracts, or appendices. These word limits are absolute (there is no 10% allowance).
Dissertations that are under- or over-length will incur a penalty of 5 marks. The word count covers
all words within the main body of the text, including words in tables, figures, and charts that you
have created, but excluding words in images.
bibliography, the statement of original authorship, or any cover/title pages, contents pages,
abstracts, or appendices. These word limits are absolute (there is no 10% allowance).
Dissertations that are under- or over-length will incur a penalty of 5 marks. The word count covers
all words within the main body of the text, including words in tables, figures, and charts that you
have created, but excluding words in images.
Your title should reflect the content of your submitted dissertation.
It is good practice to include a contents page to help readers navigate through your dissertation.
You should also make sure that all pages are numbered.
Any appendices should be proportional to the overall length of the dissertation and should only
include additional information that may be of use to assessors but which cannot easily be
incorporated into the main text, such as lists of survey questions. If you are in doubt as to what
should or should not be incorporated as an appendix, please consult your supervisor.
None of these additional pages counts towards your word count.
Referencing
References may be provided either via in-text citations (Harvard style) or in footnotes. In either
case, a full (and fully alphabetized) bibliography containing full bibliographic details of each source
cited must also be provided. Please pay close attention to accurate referencing as the mark for an
otherwise good dissertation may be pulled down significantly by either poor referencing (which is
treated separately from plagiarism) or an incomplete or poorly presented bibliography.
You are strongly advised to consult the University’s guide on good referencing:
https://libguides.reading.ac.uk/citing-references
This contains guidance not only on how to reference academic sources, but also on how to reference
other sources such as websites, official publications, Parliamentary debates, newspaper articles,
radio and television programmes, and archival materials.
Presentation
It is your responsibility to make sure that your dissertation is easily legible. You are advised to use a
font size no smaller than 11 in a font style that is easy to read and to use 1.5 line spacing. Pages
should be numbered.
Academic misconduct
The university’s rules around academic misconduct apply to dissertations in the same way as they
do to other forms of coursework. Plagiarism is taken extremely seriously and Turnitin scores will
be checked.
You should also make sure that all pages are numbered.
Any appendices should be proportional to the overall length of the dissertation and should only
include additional information that may be of use to assessors but which cannot easily be
incorporated into the main text, such as lists of survey questions. If you are in doubt as to what
should or should not be incorporated as an appendix, please consult your supervisor.
None of these additional pages counts towards your word count.
Referencing
References may be provided either via in-text citations (Harvard style) or in footnotes. In either
case, a full (and fully alphabetized) bibliography containing full bibliographic details of each source
cited must also be provided. Please pay close attention to accurate referencing as the mark for an
otherwise good dissertation may be pulled down significantly by either poor referencing (which is
treated separately from plagiarism) or an incomplete or poorly presented bibliography.
You are strongly advised to consult the University’s guide on good referencing:
https://libguides.reading.ac.uk/citing-references
This contains guidance not only on how to reference academic sources, but also on how to reference
other sources such as websites, official publications, Parliamentary debates, newspaper articles,
radio and television programmes, and archival materials.
Presentation
It is your responsibility to make sure that your dissertation is easily legible. You are advised to use a
font size no smaller than 11 in a font style that is easy to read and to use 1.5 line spacing. Pages
should be numbered.
Academic misconduct
The university’s rules around academic misconduct apply to dissertations in the same way as they
do to other forms of coursework. Plagiarism is taken extremely seriously and Turnitin scores will
be checked.