LMML5005 Dissertation (AS1) Assignment Brief 2025/26| DMU

Assessment Details

The word limit for your dissertation is 9000, which includes tables, figures, quotations and citations, but excludes any reference list, bibliography and footnotes.

There will be a penalty of a deduction of 10% of the mark for work exceeding 11,000 words.

How to Submit your Assessment

The assessment must be submitted by 12:00 noon (GMT) on 18/09/2026. No paper copies are required.  You can access the submission link through your Learning Zone shell.

• Your coursework will be given a zero mark if you do not submit a copy through Turnitin. Please take care to ensure that you have fully submitted your work.
• Please ensure that you have submitted your work using the correct file format, unreadable files will receive a mark of zero. The Faculty accepts Microsoft Office and PDF documents, unless otherwise advised by the module leader.
• All work submitted after the submission deadline without a valid and approved reason will be subject to the University regulations on late submissions.
  
  - If an assessment is submitted up to 24 hours late, the mark for the work will be capped at the pass mark of 50 per cent.
  - If an assessment is submitted beyond 24 hours late, the work will receive a mark of zero per cent.
  - The above applies to a student’s first attempt at the assessment.  If work submitted as a reassessment of a previously failed assessment task is submitted later than the deadline the work will immediately be given a mark of zero per cent.
  - If an assessment which is marked as pass/fail rather than given a percentage mark is submitted later than the deadline, the work will immediately be marked as a fail.
• The University wants you to do your best.  However, we know that sometimes events happen which mean that you can’t submit your coursework by the deadline – these events should be beyond your control and not easy to predict.  If this happens, you can apply for an extension to your deadline for up to five working days, or if you need longer, you can apply for a deferral, which takes you to the next assessment period (for example, to the re-sit period following the main Assessment Boards).  You must apply before the deadline for your assessment.  You will find information about applying for extensions and deferrals here.
• Students MUST keep a copy and/or an electronic file of their assignment.
•  Checks will be made on your work using anti-plagiarism software and approved plagiarism checking websites.

Return of Marked Work

You can expect to have feedback returned to you on 12/10/2026.  If, for any reason, there is a delay you will be kept informed.  Marks and feedback will be provided online.  It is important that you access the feedback you receive as this will help to make improvements to your later work.  You can request a meeting with your Module Leader or Seminar Tutor to discuss your feedback in more detail.

Initial marks will have been internally moderated only, and will therefore be provisional; your mark will be formally agreed later in the year once the external examiner has completed their review. More information on assessment and feedback can be found here.

Academic Integrity and Generative AI Use

In submitting a piece of work for assessment it is essential that you understand the University's requirements for maintaining academic integrity and ensure that the work does not contravene University regulations.  Some examples of behaviour that would not be considered acceptable include plagiarism, re-use of previously assessed work, collusion with others and purchasing your assignment from a third party.  For more information on academic offences, bad academic practice, and academic penalties, please read chapter four of our academic regulations.

Generative AI tools cannot be used for this assessment. You must not use generative artificial intelligence (AI) to generate any materials or content in relation to this assessment.

Academic Support and Your Well-being

Referencing is the process of acknowledging other people’s work when you have used it in your assignment or research.  It allows the reader to locate your source material as quickly and easily as possible so that they can read these sources themselves and verify the validity of your arguments.  Referencing provides the link between what you write and the evidence on which it is based.

You identify the sources that you have used by citing them in the text of your assignment (called citations or in-text citations) and referencing them at the end of your assignment (called the reference list or end-text citations).  The reference list only includes the sources cited in your text.  The main referencing guide can be found here and includes information on the basics of referencing and achieving good academic practice.  It also has tabs for the specific referencing styles depending on whether you require Harvard style used in business or OSCOLA style used by the Law school.

The University has a wealth of support services available to students; further information can be obtained from Student Gateway, the Student Advice Centre, Library and Learning Services and, most importantly, your Personal Tutor.  If you are struggling with your assessments and/or deadlines please do seek help as soon as possible so that appropriate support and guidance can be identified and put in place for you.  More information can be found on the Healthy DMU pages.