Why Your Dissertation and Assignments Keep Getting Rejected and How to Fix It:

dissertation

Author: Olivia Leo

I, too, was disappointed and upset when my dissertation was first rejected. I said to myself, “This is what I get after spending weeks researching, writing, and editing?” But while I questioned my research ability and depth of knowledge, the story was something else. 

Assignment rejection often indicates problems with academic structure, writing quality, referencing, critical analysis, or failure to follow assessment guidelines. The issues may also include insufficient use of credible evidence to support your claims.

You may consult an experienced dissertation writer when you struggle to identify these weaknesses. However, understanding the reasons behind rejection is also equally important because it helps you develop independent thought-processing skills.

In this helpful blog, I’ve discussed common reasons why your assignments and dissertations get rejected and also shared practical tips to prevent them. 

Not Following Accurate Assignment Guidelines:

Submitting your assignment before the deadline is one problem, and failure to follow guidelines is another. Both have equal weightage, but the latter is more important. 

Let’s suppose you’re given an assignment that asks you to critically evaluate a business strategy. 

What you would normally do: Explain how that strategy works

What the examiner expects: Evaluating its strengths, weaknesses, practical implications, and relevant evidence

Here is a list of recommended tips to fulfil the examiner’s expectations:

  • Read the assignment question carefully to identify command words

  • Find out how marks are distributed across each section

  • Don’t exceed the word limit

  • Follow formatting instructions such as headings, subheadings, spacing, font, and citation requirements

  • Address every learning outcome

  • Use the specified referencing style, for example, Harvard or APA 7th edition

Weak Research and Lack of Reliable Sources:

One thing I tell everyone not to compromise on is quality research. It directly influences the credibility of your analysis. 

Sources you must avoid taking information from:

  • General websites

  • Outdated publications

  • Unsupported online information

Here is a list of my recommended research sources:

Source category

Suggested examples

Academic journals

The Lancet, Journal of Business Research, Academy of Management Journal

University research repositories

University of Toronto TSpace, UBC Open Collections, McGill University eScholarship

Scholarly books

Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Springer Nature

Government statistical databases

Government of Canada Open Data Portal, OECD Data, World Bank Open Data

Industry Reports

Deloitte Insights, McKinsey & Company, IBISWorld

For students who want to find and verify academic research, I would also recommend these platforms:

Another tip to strengthen your research is to create a “literature matrix” to organize research findings. This includes:

  • Author’s name

  • Publication year

  • Research objectives

  • Methodology

  • Type of data, such as primary or secondary

  • Key findings and limitations

Poor Structure and Unclear Arguments:

I recommend that students treat every academic assignment as an interconnected discussion rather than unrelated paragraphs. 

A dissertation structure is more detailed compared to essays and generally includes an introduction, literature review, methodology, findings, discussion, and conclusion.

My personal favorite method for a logical paragraph structure is the PEEL method:

  • Point: Introduce the central idea.

  • Evidence: Support it with credible academic research.

  • Explanation: Explain what the evidence demonstrates.

  • Link: Connect the discussion to the research question or overall argument.

Also avoid descriptive writing. Students explain what different researchers have said but fail to evaluate their findings. 

For stronger writing, you must be able to compare different perspectives, examine methodological limitations, identify contradictions, and explain why particular findings matter.

Plagiarism and Incorrect Referencing:

Plagiarism, presenting another person’s idea without proper acknowledgement, is a serious academic misconduct that affects assignment grades and dissertation approval.

What else does plagiarism involve:

  • Inadequate paraphrasing

  • Missing citations

  • Incorrect quotations

  • Inappropriate reuse of previously submitted work.

  • Incorrect referencing or mixing different referencing styles

What you can do to minimize these risks:

  • Recording every research source by using referencing tools like Zotero 

  • Giving credit to borrowed ideas, statistics, and arguments

  • Using quotation marks for directly copied statements

  • Writing information in your own words rather than paraphrasing just a few words

  • Making sure that every in-text citation appears in the reference list

  • Following the required referencing style consistently 

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Not Addressing Feedback from Professors:

Imagine you’re assigned to write a master’s level nursing dissertation but instead of using APA 7th edition, you follow a completely different referencing system. Mistakes like this can be prevented if you seek critical feedback from your course supervisor early on. 

For me, after receiving my bachelor’s dissertation rejected, which was a lifelong lesson, academic feedback is an important part of academic progression. 

It helps you identify weaknesses that you may not have recognized by yourself otherwise. This may include:

  • Incomplete analysis

  • Unclear conclusion

  • Inappropriate methodology

  • Knowledge gaps in supporting evidence

The first thing I did after receiving a rejection was to create a feedback response document whenever an academic chapter is returned for revision.

Here is an exemplary document:

Feedback

Expected Improvement

Corrective Measures

Extensive research question

Narrow down the research topic

You must revise the research question so it becomes easier to cover

Descriptive literature review

Add critical comparisons

You should evaluate different academic views

Unjustified methodology

Explain why you selected the chosen method

You must give proper reasoning for choosing a specific methodology

Arguments lacking evidential support

Include sources relevant to your topic and argument

You must find credible sources from peer-reviewed journals and databases

By using this easy approach, you can make your revisions more systematic and also reduce the chances of neglecting important comments. 

However, you must not follow the feedback blindly and also do your own critical thinking and research because a professor’s analysis can also be wrong. So I recommend that you ask your supervisors for clarification when their feedback is unclear. 

It is better to request your professor for specific guidance rather than guessing what they expect. Saves you lots of time!

Weak Editing and Proofreading:

Besides research, writing, and analysis, you must also look for:

  • Poor presentation

  • Grammatical errors

  • Inconsistent formatting

  • Unclear/Awkward sentences

To save hours of hard work on proofreading and editing lengthy dissertations, you can seek help from a reliable dissertation writing service for quality writing, sentence clarity, paragraph flow, and tone. 

If you want to try it on your own, there are plentiful spell-checking tools, most prominently Grammarly, for accurate review. 

Here is how you can review your work in multiple stages:

  1. Structural review: Check whether all sections follow a logical sequence.

  2. Argument review: Verify that the main arguments answer the research question.

  3. Evidence review: Confirm that claims are supported by reliable sources.

  4. Language review: Correct grammatical errors and improve sentence clarity.

  5. Referencing review: Check citations, reference lists, and formatting.

  6. Final submission review: Verify the document against the university's submission requirements.

How to Improve My Chances of Dissertation and Assignment Acceptance?

This is a common question asked by many struggling university students who do not have enough time to manage coursework, study, and other responsibilities. 

Here are my practical recommendations to improve your chances of dissertation and assignment acceptance:

1. Start with a clear research direction:

Before you begin writing, first understand what your research question is about, study its main objective, and scope. You must also make sure the topic you’ve chosen is relevant, manageable, and well-supported by sufficient academic sources. 

2. Develop a realistic writing schedule:

You can do this by dividing the complete project into smaller tasks and allocating sufficient time for research, drafting, revisions, and proofreading.

3. Prioritise critical thinking:

Instead of general descriptions or explanations of theories or ideas, compare different perspectives of prominent authors, examine evidence, and explain the importance of your opinions. 

4. Maintain academic consistency

For a well-informed dissertation, make sure all of your research objectives, methodology, findings, and conclusions interrelate. This simply means all key sections contribute towards answering the main research question. 

5. Check academic integrity

Always cross-check the source of evidence you’ve used in your writing to maintain compliance with the university’s rules against plagiarism. 

Academic Writing Support for Students in Canada:

Both international and local students studying at Canadian universities must meet the academic standards that include in-depth research quality, critical analysis, and accurate referencing. 

As understanding these requirements is most challenging for international students who are unaware of the local academic frameworks, they must seek dissertation writing help in Canada for professional guidance from native academic writers in areas such as topic selection, research proposal development, literature reviews, methodology, data interpretation, and academic editing.

But before choosing a dissertation helper in Canada, consider the following factors in your academic writer:

  • Holds strong subject-matter expertise that is relevant to your discipline and research topic.

  • Must know and understand how qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-method research approaches are used

  • Can provide clear and constructive criticism

  • Must have sufficient knowledge of all required citation styles for different subjects

  • Must have graduated from a reputable university in Canada with relevant bachelor’s and master’s degrees

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):

1. What are the chances of getting my dissertation rejected?

It depends on the reasons for which dissertations are filtered for rejection, which are lack of unique information, wrong methodology, unclear literature review, disconnected paragraphs, and unconvincing arguments. 

2. Should I trust dissertation writers in Canada over my professor’s guidance?

You must approach your professor for guidance, as they know the exact assignment guidelines. However, in case you’re unable to schedule a meeting with them, you may seek help from a trusted dissertation helper in Canada. 

3. What should I do if my professor repeatedly rejects my dissertation?

You must email or physically consult with your institution’s academic committee. 

4. Can I use dissertation samples for help?

It is not wrong to use dissertation samples for guidance, but they may be incorrect; thus, an expert’s help is required. 

5. Can I use Grammarly to proofread my dissertation?

It is allowed to use, but it’s more effective to seek assistance from credible dissertation writing help services. 

Olivia Leo

Olivia Leo is a PhD-qualified academic research consultant and expert with 8+ years of experience of helping students with their academic tasks. She is a 32-year-old, sensationally creative writer who’s contributed to 15+ agencies and guided hundreds of students across Canada with their academics. She graduated from the University of Montreal in literature. She is a book lover with excellent research skills. She is a mother of two and spends her free time with her friends and family. Right now, she has been working as a Senior Researcher and writer at “CanadaAssignmentHelp” and sharing her expertise and helping students in all domains and everywhere.

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