Thesis checklist: what to check before you submit

Format: use your own school's checklist

Graduate schools publish their own lists, and they don't agree with each other, so a checklist from another school can be wrong for you. East Carolina tells students: “Before you submit, please use the following checklist to review your document.” Memphis adds that its list is not the whole story: “This checklist must be used in addition to what is specified by your committee/department.” Compare three items:

Item	Stanford	Memphis	East Carolina
Margins	1.5 inches on the binding edge, 1 inch on the other sides	1.00 inch on all sides, 1.50 on the left if you want bound copies	Not on this checklist
Abstract	Page "iv" starts the numbering	350 words for dissertations, 150 for theses	No more than two pages for theses, three for dissertations
Signatures	Reading committee signature page, in its online system	You and your major professor sign the checklist	A signature page uploaded separately, left out of the document

Timing: what has to happen in what order

Work backward from your deadline. Stanford asks students to “give your Final Reader plenty of time to approve the dissertation or thesis once it has been uploaded.” UT Dallas expects the file for final review to be finished work: “The manuscript submitted for final review should be a complete, revised post-defense draft of the dissertation that has incorporated all committee required revisions and format edits required by OGE.” OGE is its Office of Graduate Education.

The order varies by school, so check your school's calendar and ask whether a format reviewer can send your document back.

Content: what to check in each part of your thesis

The format checklists above don't cover these. Go through them with the whole thesis open.

Part	Check	Compare with
Title	Does it name what you actually studied?	Your research question
Abstract	Are the figures and the main finding the final ones?	Results, conclusion
Introduction	Is the question worded as it is everywhere else?	Methods, conclusion
Literature review	Does each section serve the question?	Discussion: which sources reappear?
Methods	Is what you describe also what you did?	Results: sample, dates, measures
Results	Do you discuss every table in the chapter?	Your tables and figures
Discussion	Are unexpected findings discussed too?	Results
Conclusion	Is the question answered? Does each claim have a source in your results?	Introduction, results
References	Does each citation have an entry, and each entry a citation?	Text, reference list
AI statement, if you need one	Does it cover everything you describe elsewhere?	Methods, your own log

Consistency: where drafts stop matching

Numbers: your sample size, response rate, and key percentages, in every chapter where they appear.
Terms: one name for each concept and each group. Calling the same people "participants" in one place and "respondents" in another makes readers wonder.
Promises: if your introduction says "Chapter 4 compares X and Y," does it?
Figures and tables: numbering, captions, and each reference to them in the text.
Abbreviations: explained at first use, and listed if your format requires it.

The final read-through

Read your introduction and your conclusion back to back. Do they belong to the same thesis? Then give one chapter to someone who hasn't seen it and ask what they think it claims. Wait at least a day between your last change and your final read-through. Otherwise you'll read what you meant to say.

What Esmond adds, and what it leaves alone

Esmond evaluates every assignment before you submit. It never writes it.

Esmond leaves margins, word counts, and deadlines to your graduate school. It reads the content and gives you comments on your draft, a list of what to tackle first, questions an advisor might ask, and a report as a PDF. You decide what to change. Your advisor and committee decide whether it is ready.

Frequently asked questions

How long before the deadline should I start the final checks?

Earlier than you think. Format reviews and committee sign-offs take time you don't control. Your graduate school's calendar gives the dates.

Does my school check for similarity?

Some ask for a similarity report as part of submission. Your school's checklist will say so. Esmond doesn't run this kind of check.

Is the checklist different for a dissertation?

Format items can be, abstract length being one example. The content checks above work for both.

Do I still need a read-through if I use a checklist?

Yes. A checklist only catches what's on it. You need a full read-through to see how the chapters fit together.

Sources

Read on November 3, 2026.