How to write a dissertation?
  • Sep 2021
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How to write a dissertation?

22nd September 2021

Introduction:

So, we are going to discuss a classical genre of academic writing, a Dissertation. As the name suggests, a dissertation is a methodical, long piece of academic writing undertaken by college and university students. 

The dissertation format depends on your preference of writing, but usually, there is a standard and computerized dissertation format. In humanities, students write dissertations more like an essay, but their essence is the same. 

Today in this article, we will be trying to bring out more on the dissertation, its significance, and how to write a dissertation. 

 

Parts of a dissertation:

A dissertation is written in different structures, but there is a widespread way to write it. It is to have an introduction, a review of the dissertation, proposed methodologies, an overview of the results, a discussion of results, and a subtle conclusion. 

Now, it solely depends on your field of expertise on how to write one, but this one is the most common. 

People are having humanities write dissertations similar to an essay through building one argument over an issue. So, if your department wants you to have a different kind of a dissertation, you can also prefer that. 

The following structure is that of a regular dissertation, and if you are not given any form, you can follow it. 

You can also consider some simple dissertation writing tips for better clearance in this matter. 

So, what are the various parts of your dissertation in detail? Here they are:

 

  • Title Page:

This is the first page of your whole dissertation. It contains the title of the dissertation, your details, like your name, roll number, experiment number, etc. Then it includes the date of experiment, date of submission, examiner's name, institution, etc. 

The first page should contain all the brief information regarding you and your dissertation. 

 

  • Acknowledgment:

When you start your dissertation, you start it with a sense of gratitude. Acknowledgment is the way to thank those who provided you with dissertation writing help in completing it. 

You can also thank someone unrelated to this project, provided that they have helped you achieve the outcomes of this project. 

It is only to thank your supervisors, participants, colleagues, etc., who helped you with this paperwork.

 

  • Abstraction:

Abstraction is the summary of your whole dissertation. This acts as a quick review to go through your entire dissertation. 

It is usually short, about 200 - 300 words. It is the summary of what you have tried to reflect in the dissertation. 

It should start with the title and aim of the project and end with a short conclusion. Also, try to briefly mention some of your methods in the abstract to give an idea to the reader about your initiatives. 

 

  • Table of Contents:

The table of contents is the index of your whole dissertation. This would contain all the chapters, headings, subheadings, and page numbers. 

For better reference, you can state the date as to when you conducted which research. But, if it is making the paper bulky, consider avoiding it. 

Everything that is there in the dissertation has to be included in the table of contents. You can create a readymade piece or create one by yourself. 

 

  • List of Abbreviations:

Abbreviations that you have used in your dissertation must be mentioned in a list. Here, certain abbreviations are to be put in a box using serial numbers. 

For example, the word abbreviation, if written as abb., try to mention it in this section and write the complete form of the abbreviated word against it. 

If you have not used many abbreviations, you can still make a separate page for that. The reason is that this makes the whole content systematic.

 

  • Glossary:

Glossary has to be there when you have used many complex words that have less familiarity in the context. Try to mention the word and kindly write the meaning against it. 

This would provide some help to those who would be reading your dissertation. 

 

  • The Introduction:

Like every other introduction, write an introduction for your dissertation as well. Start with a positive statement, state the purpose and significance of your work. 

Write about the topic, the initiatives you took, establish the research you have done, and discuss the relevance of your work. Also, state your aim of the dissertation, probable questions expected from the topic, and indicate how you will bring up everything into an answer. 

Try to make the introduction catchy and engaging at the same time. 

 

  • Literature review:

This section of the dissertation has a different objective. Before you start writing or conducting research, try to work on a review to understand the topic. 

This would lead you to the theoretical framework. There you will define or analyze theories, problems, and their solutions. You can also establish a questionnaire and answer some questions about it. 

 

  • Methodology:

The methodology is a very crucial part of your dissertation. This is the only part that is to be appropriately examined. 

The methods which you used in writing the dissertation have to be mentioned here. Whether the approach was qualitative or quantitative, your way of collecting the information, obstacles you faced while collecting them, surveys and research you conducted, hurdles you faced while writing them, etc., are to be mentioned in this section. 

 

  • Results:

Now that the methods are mentioned, the results you got from your research are now to be said. The results of the report that you brought up are to be discussed only. 

Under dissertation writing tips, it is often advised to mention tables, graphs, charts, statistics, etc., in the result section. 

The inference and the observations are collectively shown in this section which has a positive connotation.

 

  • Discussion:

After you are done with the result section, you have to discuss the project, initiatives, meaning of your results, what your result tries to explain, etc. 

You can be more logical in this section about how the results were based on your expectations. If you feel that some observed effects were out of the box or not at all expected, then try to explain the reason behind it. 

 

  • Conclusion:

Again as with any other conclusion, write a favorable decision about the whole experience. Try to bring out points or observations that you were unable to explain in different sections. 

Provide a clear argument to the reader. Let the reader conclude all about your project, objective, inference, etc. 

 

  • Reference:

This is the last part of our dissertation, which includes all the sources you have brought up all the information. This would also provide you some dissertation writing help. 

The reference style which your institution prefers, try to like that. For example, Harvard referencing or APA are the two most popular ones. 

 

  • Appendices:

The additional information, documents, etc., you want to add to your dissertation can be annexed in the appendices section. Try not to mention a lot of them, but you can say some of them. 

 

Tips for writing a dissertation:

Now that you have completed structuring and writing your entire content, there are some dissertation writing tips you need to follow:

 

  • Conduct successive research:

Your research should never stop. Try conducting as much research as you can. 

You can also conduct some small experiments or surveys of your own. I prefer having the majority of the pieces of information from self-experiments and observations. 

 

  • Have a goal:

While writing your dissertation, make up your mind and consider this as having a goal. Unless achieved, a plan needs constant efforts, which is the same way you would react to your dissertation. 

Write, Jott, edit, draft, and keep writing. Do not stop in between. 

 

  • Keep asking questions to yourself:

Keep asking questions to yourself while writing the content. Do not stop at a particular pace after writing. 

Keep searching for the possible questions and try finding their answers. This gives you confidence while presenting your dissertation. 

The possibility of getting everything right increases by asking questions to yourself. 

 

  • Focus on editing:

Remove all the redundancies and extra information which are not as important as the original information. Focus on grammar, mainly because as it is academic work, the strictness regarding this area increases dramatically. 

 

  • Spark of confidence:

The best dissertation writing tip is to have confidence in yourself. While writing, while questioning, while presenting, have a sense of trust among yourself. 

Mainly, confidence in a dissertation works wonders, and undoubtedly, you would ace that up. 

 

Conclusion:

In conclusion, a dissertation is an academic work. It required special attention and effort than any other non-academic work. 

While fetching dissertation writing help, try to do everything by yourself. Do not focus on group work while writing a dissertation.

The impeccability of writing a dissertation lies in bringing up honest observations and citing your initiative and purpose in writing it.

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