Make thesis corrections traceable to the examiners' requests
Connect each examiner request to its actual amendment and corrected-thesis location.
About 5 min read · Allow extra time for the practical checks
Keep each examination request connected to the change you made, its location in the corrected thesis and any question still needing clarification. A corrections account should help the authorised checker inspect the revised work. Marking a request “done” is not enough if the explanation points to an earlier version or leaves the actual amendment unclear.
Begin with your formal examination outcome, reports and institution’s current instructions. Correction categories, deadlines, submission routes and approval responsibilities vary. This guide concerns maintaining a clear written record; it does not decide an examination outcome, authorise an extension or determine whether a correction satisfies the examiners.
Preserve the request before interpreting it
Keep the original wording and a stable way to identify each point. Separate the request from your working interpretation and proposed response. A short label such as “clarify terms” may be useful for planning, but it should not replace the full comment if that would remove a qualification or change its scope.
Distinguish required changes from suggestions using the actual reports and outcome. Do not decide that a request is optional because it seems minor. Equally, do not present your own additional revision as something the examiners explicitly required.
The University of Cambridge’s examination-outcome guidance describes a separate corrections list with precise locations and original and revised page references. It also distinguishes required corrections from suggestions and provides a route for seeking clarification. Those are examples from its examination process, not universal submission or contact rules for every degree.
Use the clarification route applying to your programme. Do not guess an examiner’s intended methodological requirement or contact someone through an unauthorised route merely to complete the table.
Describe what changed in the thesis
For a completed item, explain the actual amendment in enough detail for the checker to recognise it. “Clarified” is less useful than an account of which distinction was added and where. The corrections record should describe the revised thesis, not serve as the only place where the missing explanation appears.
Check related passages. A revised definition may affect a later comparison, a table heading or the conclusion. Adding one sentence does not resolve the request if the rest of the thesis still uses the term differently.
Keep unresolved points visible. A proposed revision is not a completed correction, and your own check is not formal approval. Use status wording that preserves those differences.
Work through an original fictional corrections record
The thesis, requests and locations below are entirely invented teaching material. They do not describe a real examination, approved correction or institutional form.
Imagine a fictional thesis uses “programme edition” and “performance date” inconsistently when discussing theatre programmes. One request asks the writer to distinguish the two terms. Another asks for the conclusion to avoid treating a publication date as proof of when a performance occurred.
| Fictional request | Amendment recorded | What still needs checking |
|---|---|---|
| Distinguish programme edition from performance date | Added the distinction in the relevant discussion and revised the comparison heading | Every affected use, including table labels, must match the distinction |
| Qualify the conclusion’s chronology | Replaced the unsupported performance-date assertion with the documented publication-date account | The summary and conclusion must retain the same boundary |
| Explain an unclear phrase in the report | Clarification question recorded through the permitted route | Do not mark the correction complete before its meaning is resolved |
In a real record, add the locations required by your institution and confirm them against the actual corrected file. The example supplies no page numbers because those would need to come from that file. Do not manufacture a locator to make an unfinished row look complete.
A useful amendment description could identify the new distinction, the revised heading and the corresponding conclusion change. It should not claim that these changes establish an event date the evidence still cannot support.
Reconcile old and revised locations
Text added early in a thesis can move later passages. Retain the original location where useful for tracing the request, and identify the revised location in the version you will submit. Check whether the instructions require page, paragraph, line or section references, then use them consistently.
After the final export, follow every recorded location to the actual passage. A correct reference in the working document can become inaccurate after a changed page break or an altered table. Ensure that the clean thesis, any marked copy and corrections account refer to the same revision.
Keep a stable submission copy. If you make another substantive change after checking the account, revisit the affected entries rather than assuming that the earlier check still covers them.
Return the required package through the actual process
Confirm the required files and recipient from your institution’s instructions. Do not infer who approves the work from the person who gave informal feedback. Sending a revised thesis is not the same as receiving approval, and a proposed date is not an approved extension.
Use the draft-feedback guide for the earlier planning task of interpreting comments. Use the proofreading guide for a final language and presentation check. Neither replaces the examination procedure or the responsible person’s judgement about substantive corrections.
Before returning the package, compare the requests, recorded amendments and corrected thesis together. Resolve inconsistent status labels and missing destinations. The record is ready to send when it accurately represents the work you have actually completed and clearly identifies anything awaiting the permitted clarification or decision.
