The writing itself is admittedly the toughest part, as it involves lots of research, drafting, and late-night coffee runs. However, the final part is just as important, as it’s what brings out the quality of the work you’ve done. Tiny details like the way your pages are structured won’t change your ideas, but they can definitely change how they’re received.
This means that you need to put a little extra effort and adjust your fine-tuning process, especially since your brain is already accustomed to the document. This applies to every element of the process, from proofreading to the printing services you use.
Refine Your Formatting and Layout
Before the examiner can read your thesis, they’ll likely give it a quick scan to get an idea of what it entails. This means that at that point, the judgment isn’t on your ideas but your formatting and layout. It’s what helps readers follow your ideas smoothly or makes them a bit confused.
The first thing you need to focus on is consistency. Do a full sweep of your fonts, heading styles, line spacing, and margins to ensure everything is uniform, from the title page to the final appendix.
Since you are likely planning to bind your thesis, pay special attention to the margins. A bound copy eats up some of the inner margin, so set a larger “gutter”. You should also recheck your references to ensure they are perfectly formatted according to the required style guide.
Check Structure, Transitions, and Navigation
The reader should never feel lost, so guide them through the entire thesis through a proper structure and smooth transitions. Moving from one chapter to the next should never feel abrupt or your arguments disjointed. You can check this by simply reading the last sentence of a chapter and the first of the next one.
Your introduction and conclusion should also feel like perfect bookends. Read them side-by-side and see if the conclusion powerfully answers the “So what” question your introduction posed.
After all updates, revisit the table of contents and the table of figures. Ensure the numbers match 100%.
Proofread with Multiple Strategies
You’ve been staring at the same pages for weeks, so your brain will auto-correct some mistakes. It will fill in missing words, skip over typos, and smooth out clunky sentences. This means you can’t use the same proofreading approach you’d use on a single-page paper.
One approach you can try is reading aloud, as it helps you hear words that your eyes might skip over. You can also change the format of your document or use a different device. And when you are doing the final proofreading, you can print a hard copy. The change signals to your brain that it’s a fresh copy, so you will easily catch errors that you would have otherwise skipped.
You can also borrow a fresh pair of eyes from a friend or colleague and have them highlight any issues they encounter.
Review Visuals and Overall Presentation
You don’t want to undermine the clarity of your work, so ensure that the numbers, charts, and images are clear. They should also be labelled correctly to make it easy to get the information, as they carry as much weight as your written arguments.
Before sending the document for printing, go through each visual element. Ensure each graph is easy to read, all visuals align with the text, and everything is well labelled. They should also be clearly explained in the body of your work, as they are a part of it. Ideally, someone should be able to skim through your visuals and get an idea of what you are trying to say.
Invest in Professional Printing and Binding
After weeks or months of effort, it’s now time to turn your ideas and the document on your laptop into something tangible. When you hold the final copy, it will indeed feel like closing a chapter of your academic journey.
While you can always run to the nearest printer, a better idea would be to opt for a professional printing service. Ideally, one that specialises in academic work. This will let you take advantage of their thesis expertise to ensure that everything in your document is clear and well-aligned after binding.
