MDUM8010 Chap.9 Dissertation Format and Harvard Referencing
Dissertation Format and Harvard Referencing
Why format is enforced
A dissertation is an academic output and must comply with the University's and the department's regulations and conventions.
Subject to the course team and the Internal Examiners' Meeting, one that fails the requirements may be returned for rectification, downgraded in the overall assessment, or rejected with an F grade, and may not be deposited in the University libraries.
The layout rules
Print on one side of A4 paper with 25 mm margins on all four sides; drawings, maps and tables are exempt from the one side rule.
The main body must be under 15,000 words, excluding figures, tables and appendices. The text is typewritten, between 10 and 12 point, in portrait, double spaced with single spaced footnotes placed at the foot of each page, and aligned consistently. Recommended fonts are Times New Roman, Sans Serif, Calibri or Garamond.
Pages before chapter one use small Roman numerals, the main text uses Arabic numerals, every illustration states its source, and measurements use the metric system.
Front materials and declarations
The front materials are an unnumbered title page, an English abstract of at most 500 words, a signed declaration on a separate page, an acknowledgement page, a table of contents and, where needed, lists of illustrations, figures, tables and abbreviations.
Separately, any use of generative AI must be declared with the tool and version, stage, purpose and how the output was reworked, and work must be in your own English rather than translated.
Harvard referencing
The outline requires the Harvard system: author, year and page in brackets at the point of use, with full details in an alphabetical reference list.
It gives patterns for journal articles, books, edited volumes, government publications, theses, works in press, translations, conference papers, newspapers and web sources with the date of last access. Deliverables are submitted to Turnitin, and plagiarism is dealt with seriously by the department and may lead to University disciplinary action.
What this chapter covers
- 01
What happens to a dissertation that breaks the format rules
- 02
Paper, margins and the word limit
- 03
Type size, spacing, orientation and alignment
- 04
Pagination in Roman and Arabic numerals
- 05
Front materials in order
- 06
The abstract and the signed declaration
- 07
Declaring generative AI and writing in your own English
- 08
Harvard citations in the text
- 09
Reference list patterns by source type
- 10
Secondary citations and same year works
- 11
Plagiarism and Turnitin
Worked example · free
Correct a reference list against the outline
- 3Correct the journal article entry.
- 3Correct the book entry.
Key terms
- Harvard System
- A referencing style that cites author, year and page in brackets in the text and gives full details in an alphabetical reference list.
- Secondary Citation
- A reference to an idea read in another author's work, where both the original and the work read are cited.
- Signed Declaration
- The statement, taken from the outline's appendix, that the dissertation is the student's own work and has not been submitted elsewhere.
- Main Body
- The text of the dissertation counted against the 15,000 word limit, excluding figures, tables and appendices.
- Front Materials
- The pages before chapter one, from title page to lists of figures and tables, numbered in small Roman numerals.
Dissertation Format and Harvard Referencing FAQ
What is the word limit for the MDUM dissertation, and what counts?
The main body must be under 15,000 words. The outline excludes figures, tables and appendices from the count, and the abstract that precedes the main text has its own limit of 500 words. Supporting material can go in appendices, but any argument the markers need to assess should stay in the main text.
Which referencing style does the dissertation use?
The Harvard system. The outline asks for the author, year of publication and page in brackets at the point of use, with the full title given in an alphabetical reference list. Explanatory footnotes are permitted but should be avoided where possible, and a quotation met in a secondary source cites both works.
Can I use generative AI when writing my dissertation?
The outline expects you to complete assignments independently and requires any use of generative AI to be sincerely and properly declared, including the tools and versions, the stage, the purposes and whether you rewrote the output. It may be used as a supportive tool but not for translation, and you should consult the teacher about permitted uses.
What happens if my dissertation does not follow the format rules?
Subject to the course team and the Internal Examiners' Meeting, a dissertation that fails the requirements may be returned for rectification, downgraded in the overall assessment, or rejected with an F grade, and it may not be deposited in the University libraries.
Assessment move
Build a template on the first day of writing with the margins, font, spacing, footnote style and page numbering already set, and write every chapter inside it. Keep a running reference file with full Harvard entries and page numbers from the first note you take. Before the draft deadline, run the whole document against the checklist in the submission chapter, then submit it to Turnitin.
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