ABSTRACT
Whether the university where the examination takes place has oral examinations or not, examiners will need to complete an independent report once they have read the student’s dissertation. This is an autonomous report and examiners cannot confer in producing it. This chapter considers the factors which shape the report and also the key headings and areas to cover that are usually required. It is a vital element of doctoral examining since the subsequent joint report and the viva (if there is one) are shaped by it and therefore dependent upon it.
