Dissertation acknowledgements!

[Racehorse3007]

I have somehow written my nursing dissertation (3 hard yrs various learning disabilities in my way!) and have lots of people to thank!
Can anyone tell me if this is right?
I don't want anyone I've mentioned to check it as I want it to be a surprise!
I'm just not sure if I have to order it in a certain way or if I'm free to write whatever I want?! Thank you in advance x

This dissertation would not have been possible without so many people,
so I would like to use this page to go a small way to thanking them.

Firstly, to my dissertation supervisor Juliet, thank you for the many,
many meetings and replying to my frantic emails, I couldn't have done
it without your support.

To my academic advisor Kathleen, thank you for dealing with all my
meltdowns, I can do it, and I have done it, thank you.

To my proof read and friend Clairey Claire, you very much earned this
line, thank you so very much, I will stop sending you four emails for
one piece of work now and I will remember where my apostrophes go I
promise.

To the greatest friends I've ever had, Libby and Alice. Thank you so
much for everything. Alice - Thank you for proof reading and form
filling, and encouraging me to breathe, eat ice cream and drink tea
when I was super stressing. Libby - Thank you for telling me to pull
myself together, making me cry with laughter, and generally being a
pain to keep me on track.

To my Mummy, Daddy, Katie, Nanny and Grampy Blake. Thank you so much
for all of your love, encouragement and constant support. I wouldn't
have come this far without you, I hope I have and will continue to
make you proud of me.

And last but by no means least, to my lovely Rich, a single word of
this dissertation would not have been written without your constant
love, humour, support and treats through the post to see me through,
thank you so very much.

Sounds fine. Is way longer than mine. Mine was a very factual couple of sentences, not sentimental at all, but I am made of stone.

Well done by the way

I think you can pretty much write anything you want, in any way want. I don't think there are guidelines in the same way as for the rest of the dissertation. I'm doing a PhD and I've read a few PhD aknowlegements and they vary a lot.

Well done on finishing it! Mine's due in May. Haven't really thought about it, but bearing in mind it's an undergraduate dissertation and you want to put across the right tone, I'd not admit to :

a) having had proof readers, beyond the academic supervisory panel and b) Having had a meltdown! Even if they are true!

I think you can say those things personally. I think mine might go along the lines of :

With special thanks to Dr X for incredibly useful supervision throughout this process; and academic and personal encouragement. It is thanks to her that I was able to engage with my subject fully, and glean new insight.(I think she will get this- and see what I mean).

With thanks also to Dr X for encouraging useful reflection throughout my studies, and to Mr X , for creative and constant support. Thanks also to Ms X; for much appreciated guidance throughout this process.

I must also thank X for feedback during the initial stages of the writing and X from company X for providing director's advice. This helped me to see what I could not alone.

Writing about this particular subject matter (it's quite a sensitive one) has been challenging, rewarding and deeply moving. So, I must thank my young Daughter X, who has helped me to see things as they really are- and believe always in the power of imagination, and the importance of X (the person I'm writing about) commitment to future generations.

Then probably a quote from something academic I couldn't find room for.

I've got so much work to do; hope that helps!

It sounds perfect OP. I acknowledged Peter Gabriel in my MSc dissertation as I listened to one of his albums over and over when I was writing it.

Personally I think it's too much. I'd keep the text much more formal. You haven't passed yet so avoid gushing. You could send a copy with a handwritten note or card to the people you want to thank, saying the much more personal stuff.

Well done for completing this. Huge achievement :-)

Hmmm on reflection, I might change meltdown to something else! Thank you for that piece of advice!

I love the Peter Gabriel acknowledgement - but my music list would be sooooo long!!

I am not gushing!! I am thanking people who have gone out of their way to help me finish my dissertation!

Thank you for all you advice!
It's due on 17th march so last mount tweaking is being done!

When I was a doctoral student, it was quite common for people to write their acknowledgments quite a way before submission.

They could go through several revisions, reflecting who had fallen out with who on the way. The intellectual battles were always more bitter than the personal ones

I used to work with MSc students in an admin role. In recent years I noticed an increasing trend to thank God in the dissertation acknowledgements. Sadly, I don't think He'd always been as helpful as they thought, as their marks were not great.

It sounds fine to me.

I would also disagree with the comment about not acknowledging proof-reading. It is normal to have others (beyond your academic supervisors) proof-read your dissertation or PhD thesis, in fact, as a supervisor, I used to positively encourage peer proof-reading. Firstly, if someone else had gone through and sorted out all the typos etc, as a supervisor, I could then focus my energy on correcting the academic content and intellectual arguments. I would get very frustrated if students expected me, as a supervisor to proof-read rather than using me for what I was trained to do - provide scientific guidance. Further, acknowledging someone else's input in proof-reading, discussion of conceptual ideas etc beyond your supervisors demonstrates your willingness to discuss your work with others and the beginning of academic independence, which is a good thing, not a bad one!

My opinion is that it is too informal and gushing. By all means thank people but I would do it in a professional tone, all these nicknames and Mummy and Daddy(?!), thank your parents or your family. However I am an old gimmer and things have probably changed!

Magrat, this must be a subject area thing. In ours, we'd get marked down or sent up to the board for collusion, especially if it's a course peer. I think that's to do with past cases, though, so they are extra careful.

They are my mummy and daddy, why would I address it to anyone else?!
And informal? Maybe a bit, but I wanted a bit of my personality in there and it doesn't get marked, it's the closest I'm going to get to writing a novel after all, I want to make the most of it, and I've had a long hard road, I owe a lot of people a whole lot. I am only an undergraduate, I don't think I will lose marks! X

Collusion is different from proof-reading!

Proof-reading of work by others is normal at all levels of academic study (and not just in the sciences). Academics ask others to proof-read papers or grant applications.

Collaboration is also an important part of learning at HE level. This is very different from collusion, which usually involves doing an assignment between two or more of you and everybody writing the same thing.

I know Margrat. I think our university has had too many plagiarism cases over the years (at least three I know of in my year already) that they just advise us to be careful. I think it's because people have had to re-sit in the past, based on cases like that.

There's lots of assessed group work on our course, so that does feed in to it. They tell us not to share drafts with one another, too, but we do if we trust each other. A friend and I swapped drafts for different modules, which we weren't strong on, and both got good marks based on sharing it our strengths.

That said, we are allowed to submit drafts to supervisors, so there should be no reason to not take a section that's been read and spot your own proofs later. But it makes for much harder work!

And yes, Race horse, it's undergrad. No-one will read it apart from your supervisor and second marker. If that's your personality, fair enough. Mine is very different, I guess.

Supervisors should not be proof-readers though! I used to get very annoyed by project students and research students submitting drafts to me full of typos and grammatical errors.

However, discussion with colleagues helps to shape your thinking on a subject and this is one reason why many academic supervisors are keen to foster close working relationships within their research groups.

Even academic journals sometimes recommend authors have their manuscripts corrected by external proof-readers.

We aren't really a research community, but I am moving to one next year. I feel I will have a lot to learn. Those who could benefit from the proofs most never submit drafts, though. Always the way.

The acknowledgments are not marked, in the sense that they contribute to the assessment scheme. However everything in the dissertation contributes to the impression the markers form of the work. From my final year students I am looking for a professional, mature approach. Do you think this is the impression your markers will get? You are excited about completing this major piece of work, it is understandable, but you are completing a degree which will admit you to a serious profession, everything in the dissertation should reflect this IMO.

From my final year students I am looking for a professional, mature approach. Do you think this is the impression your markers will get?

What chemenger says. And I'm in the humanities. Acknowledgements aren't assessed, but I'd cringe a bit at reading something like the one in the OP.

It's too long for a start. And you've probably changed names to stay anonymous here, but I think its professional courtesy to use your tutors' full names and academic titles.

For an UG diss, a few lines is really enough. Something along the lines of ...

"I'd like to thank my supervisor, Dr Xxxxx Yyyyy for her support and guidance. I'd also like to acknowledge the support of my Department and University advisors, and my fellow-students for a life-changing experience in our XYZ degree. My family and friends have been unfailing in their support, and all that I've done has been because of and for them. I dedicate this thesis to my partner/spouse/husband/wife, ABC."

Then send personal cards to all the people you want to thank individually.

I'm just finishing my dissertation too. It may be different for you but we are expected to follow the "instructions for authors" issued by a journal (agreed with our supervisors)- whilst the acknowledgements aren't marked as such, they are expected to follow these guidelines. There are also guidelines in the module handbook. If any of this is the case for you, do make sure you follow them.

We are told to make it explicit where others have helped us, e.g. on mine I have "Thank you to Emma (second name) for proof reading my discussion".

Have you read the acknowledgements in journals you could submit your paper too? Are they in a similar style?

I cringed as well reading that. Needs to be toned down, a lot.