Dissertation handbooks at TU Dublin are written by schools and departments, so the one that applies to you depends on your programme. A detailed public example is the Dissertation Handbook of the School of Social Sciences, Law and Education, revised in April 2026 for MA and ECE students. Here is what it expects of you, with a second example from Mathematical Sciences and what the Academic Writing & Learning Centre (AWLC) offers, checked 22 October 2026.
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The handbook calls the dissertation fundamentally your responsibility and asks you not to expect unreasonable help from your supervisor. Arrange a first meeting early to discuss whether the study is appropriate and feasible and what ethical issues it raises. After each session, it is up to you to arrange the next one, and before a session about a chapter, your supervisor should already have the draft.
Supervisor and student agree the dates for drafts and the turnaround time for feedback. On reading, the handbook sets a clear expectation: "Generally, the supervisor will read one complete draft of each chapter, and provide detailed feedback." What you change after that reading, and how the revised chapters fit together, is largely for you to check before you submit.
A fictional example of a commentYour conclusion says the measure works, but your interviews mainly show how staff experience it. Could you limit the conclusion to what your data can show?
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Try the free previewIn Social Sciences your supervisor and another internal examiner examine the dissertation, so your supervisor is one of its readers at the end as well. The School of Mathematical Sciences describes the same pattern for its TU874 final year project: "The typed project report will be assessed by two internal examiners (one of whom is the project supervisor)." Its supervisors are also responsible for advising students on problems with the work as it goes.
The handbook's instruction is direct: "Dissertations will be submitted for examination by way of upload to a Brightspace module." All students also submit their dissertation to the plagiarism checking tool in Brightspace. Before you start writing, the Library is worth a visit: "Undergraduate dissertations and final-year projects are held in the libraries in hardcopy and online format." Earlier work from your programme shows you what a finished dissertation there looks like.
One sentence in the handbook catches students out: "Taught MA students are required to apply for research ethics approval from the School prior to conducting any field work, including making contact with gate-keepers." An email to a school principal or a service manager asking for access is already part of the fieldwork. Your supervisor guides you through the application.
The handbook asks you to change all names in the dissertation so that no participant can be identified, and to leave interview transcripts out of the appendices, because an interviewee could be recognised from them. If you are unsure how far to go, our page on anonymising your dissertation walks through the usual checks.
After you submit, keep your dataset, such as a spreadsheet or your transcripts, stored securely and available for review until your results have been issued by the Examinations Office.
The Social Sciences handbook considers extensions only in emergency situations and refers to the School's Policy on Late Submission of Assignments, so read that policy early rather than in the final week.
Some programmes add a spoken part. In TU874, "Oral presentation of projects is assessed by at least two members of the Programme Team", next to an interim review of the project. Ask your supervisor whether your programme has one, and prepare for it as a short account of your question and your findings.
The Academic Writing & Learning Centre is free and works alongside your programme. Its FAQ lists a proofreading or editing service among the things it does not provide, and explains the alternative: "With particular reference to proofreading it is expected that through your interaction with a writing tutor you will learn to identify recurrent grammatical, syntactical, and lexical issues in your writing". The tutors hold or are completing a PhD, and the booking page describes the approach: "Our approach to supporting students is collaborative and non-prescriptive and it will help you develop your competence as a writer in an academic setting."
The dissertation handbook also reminds students that firms offering to write material for students for a fee can be prosecuted in Ireland. Our page on contract cheating and the law explains the offence.
Esmond evaluates; it does not write. You upload your own draft and get comments in the margin plus a report that shows where your argument, method or use of sources is weaker, and why. It does not write or rewrite your text: it points to the weak spot and offers guidance on how to revise it. Where a comment includes an example, it illustrates a principle; the sentence you submit is one you write yourself.
TU Dublin has no connection with Esmond and has not endorsed it. Esmond uses language models, so using it counts as AI use. Rules on AI vary by university, programme, module and assignment. Check your module or programme handbook before you upload, and if it is unclear, ask your supervisor or module coordinator and declare the use if your institution asks you to.
You upload your draft as a PDF. Most reviews are ready within minutes; a full dissertation takes a little longer. You get two things back: your own document with comments in the margin, and a separate feedback report that sets out what to tackle first. Every upload starts with a free preview, and the price depends on the length of your document and is shown before you pay. No subscription, no account.
Esmond evaluates your work and writes nothing for you. Each comment points to a passage, explains what a supervisor or examiner might question, and offers guidance on how to revise it. You decide what to change, and every sentence stays yours.
This page summarises published institutional guidance and links to the original sources. It is not legal advice and not a ruling on your assignment: what your programme, module or supervisor sets always comes first.
A review costs from €3.99, with a free preview first. The price depends on the length of your document and you see it before you pay. No subscription, no account.
Handbooks are published by schools and departments. The Dissertation Handbook of the School of Social Sciences, Law and Education (April 2026) is one example; check which handbook your programme uses.
In the Social Sciences handbook, the supervisor generally reads one complete draft of each chapter and gives detailed feedback, with dates and turnaround agreed between you.
No. TU Dublin has no link with Esmond and has not endorsed it. TU Dublin's guidelines ask that AI use is approved by your lecturer in advance and recorded. Esmond is an AI tool, so ask first and record any use.
Official handbooks and pages, checked 22 October 2026. Quotations are word for word; the rest is our summary. Read the full text at the source.
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