Students having problems in a university dissertation writing is not uncommon. Many students find it tough to write a dissertation even with ample college experience because it is an academic paper that requires them to define a dissertation topic in thousands of words using relevant information.
You could also be having the same difficulty and might be searching for inspiration. As an assignment help online provider, we understand the importance of a dissertation in your academics. Thus, we will try to give you an idea to write a dissertation through this article.
Keep calm and understand the problem
First of all, you need to make sure not to worry about the problem because if you are worried, then it could get tough for you to solve the problem as the worrying blocks the flow of ideas in mind.
After that, you should give a thought as to why you are not able to write an assignment. You should understand the problem thoroughly forgetting about the dissertation submission date.
Try to find the most relevant data
According to the assignment experts, researching is the most complex step of academic writing and you could also struggle to find accurate data for your dissertation. It could lead to you not being able to write your assignment.
However, you need to show dedication if you want to succeed in assignment writing. Thus, you should make sure to give much time to research and should gather relevant data keeping the dissertation requirements in mind.
Don’t be scared of writing thousands of words
It is understandable that you may feel like bombed when your professor assigns you to write a thousand-word dissertation. However, it is not the ideal thinking to achieve success in academics and your attitude may seem like a loser if you think this way.
That’s why you should not be scared of the word count and should write the dissertation keeping the significance of it in the academics.
Keep a check on the quality and quantity
Assignment writing is not just about writing, there are many other things you have to keep in mind to make your assignment comprehensive.
Formatting, referencing, plagiarism-free content is the essentials of every assignment. Moreover, you should also keep a check on the word count and should also ensure your dissertation is free of any grammatical and spelling errors.
You can go through some dissertation formats online if you still have some problems with writing a dissertation.
How to structure a dissertation
Your dissertation is probably the longest piece of writing you’ve ever done, and it can be intimidating to know where to start. This article helps you work out exactly what you should include and where to include it.
Now you already know that a dissertation is a long piece of academic writing. You will have to power-pack your dissertation with original research and a perfect structure.
While dissertation writing, do remember one thing that this one can be one of the lengthiest academic tasks you have ever come across. Keeping this in mind you will find yourself less bored and detached. It can be intimidating to know where to start and this is where this guide will come to your use. We have tried to explain how to structure a dissertation. Go through the same and draft a dissertation without any hassle.
Decide your dissertation’s structure
Every dissertation is not structured in the same manner. The final structure of a dissertation highly depends on the discipline, topic and overall approach you work with.
For instance, if you are advised to make a dissertation in humanities, it will be more or less structured like a long essay. The chapter will be organized around various case studies and themes. Also, there would be the main argument to support the thesis.
However, if you will need to carry out empirical research in physics or chemistry, the dissertation will contain a certain list of elements. In some cases, each would a different chapter. At times you can even combine them. For instance, the discussion and results are blended and not separated in the dissertation based on qualitative social science.
The order of different sections may vary as well depending upon the university criteria. For example, some universities command students to put a conclusion before the discussion, however, some prefer the concluding section in the end.
In case you are having doubts about how to structure a thesis or dissertation, do check out your professor’s instructions and university guidelines carefully.
Title page
First of all, your professor will see the title page. Thus, it deserves some attention from your end. It will constitute the title of your dissertation, your name, discipline, department, college, submission date and professor’s name (if asked). At times, it may also include your student number and the name of your supervisor/mentor along with the logo of the university. There are many programs having strict requirements for the title page.
Acknowledgments
The next section will show the acknowledgments. This one is however optional in nature. In this space, you can thank all who gave support in the accomplishment of your dissertation. This can also involve your mentors, partners, friends or family who supported the process.
Abstract
Abstract is the section where you give a summary of the whole dissertation. It generally ranges from 150-300 words. You should start writing an abstract after writing the main body. This way it would be easy for you to write down a summarized version of your text. An abstract should always:
- State the main topic and aims of your research
- Describe the methods you used
- Summarize the main results
- State your conclusions
The abstract is generally very short. It is the first part of a dissertation that readers will come across. Thus, it is vital to make it right. In case you are struggling to write a strong abstract, you can go through some online samples as well.
Table of Contents
You may already know how a table of contents should be made. For those, who don’t know the specifics, we are here to explain. In a table of content, you will need to list all the chapters, headings, and subheadings along with their page numbers. The dissertation content page should give the readers an overall view of the structure. It should help them in navigating the document easily.
Make sure that all parts of the dissertation must be involved in the table of contents. It should include the appendices as well. You can also make a table of content automatically in Microsoft Word or any other system you are using.
List of Abbreviations
In case you have used a large number of abbreviations in your work, you must help your readers in knowing them. To do this, you only need to draw a list of abbreviations. It is always better to follow an alphabetical order so that readers can easily glide on to the list.
List of Tables and Figures
This is again a short section which does not require extra effort. Just keep a bit of precision and you will make it without even realizing that you are doing something. In case you have used a number of tables and figures in the dissertation, itemize them in a numbered list. This is not even a task in the world of computers. Work smart and you will get a perfect list.
Glossary
There is nothing wrong with going for strong terminology. However, there is no point in writing a dissertation when your readers can not understand the meaning of the text. However, there is always a way to procure your interesting way of writing and the comfort of your readers.
In case you have utilized an array of highly specialized terms, you should include a glossary. List out the conceptual/ tough terms in alphabetical order. Explain the meaning of all those terms with a short definition or description.
Introduction
In the introduction, you will have to set up the main topic of your dissertation. It has to be supported by the purpose and relevance as well. Here, you should explain to your readers what they should expect in the dissertation. An ideal introduction should include:
- An overview of the whole structure of the dissertation
- A clear mention of research questions and their objectives
- Explanation of your research topic, it should give a background data to contextualize your task.
- An approach to narrow down the focus and set the scope of research
- Discussion of the state of existing research on your topic. This is to show the relevance of your work to a wider issue.
There are certain things that you need to keep in mind while writing an introduction to the dissertation. It should be clear so that the reader can go through it easily. Other than this, it should be engaging so that the readers can stay connected to the dissertation. Last, but not the least, it should be relevant to your research. By reaching the end of your introduction, the readers should have a clear understanding of the “what”, “why” and “how” of your research. In case you need help with writing an impeccable introductory section, you can get assignment help at a cheap price. The expert writers can assist you with the best.
Literature review
The literature review is also linked with the theoretical framework. When it comes to starting research on your own, you will need to carry out a literature review to get a complete understanding of the academic work which already exists on the main topic. This implies:
- Collection of resources like journal articles and books and choosing the most relevant sources.
- Critical evaluation of every chosen source and its analysis
- Developing linkage between the sources such as patterns, gaps, themes, etc. in order to make an overall strong point.
Mostly, students think that writing the literature review chapter/section of a dissertation is only about summarizing the existing studies. However, the real scenario is quite bigger than that. Apart from providing a summary, you will have to develop a coherent structure and argument. The argument and structure should lead to a clear justification or foundation for your research. For instance, it may aim to present how your research:
- Builds on and gives strength to existing knowledge with new information
- Advances a theoretically-rich debate
- Should address a gap in the literature.
- Gives a strong solution to an existing problem
- Takes a new theoretical approach to the topic
The section of the literature review often becomes the foundation for a theoretical framework. An ideal framework is the one in which you can analyze and define the key concepts, models, and theories that frame your research. This is where you can give answer descriptive research questions regarding the relationship between variables or concepts.
Methodology
The chapter of methodology will explain the way you have conducted your research. It should allow your readers to assess the validity of your research. An ideal methodology section should involve:
- A detailed justification or evaluation of your research methods
- The methods you have used for gathering data, such as surveys, archives, interviews etc.
- A discussion on the hurdles you may have faced in carrying out the research and the processes which helped you to get rid of them.
- The exact list of tools and materials you have used, they may be lab equipment and computer programs.
- Your method of analyzing your data, whether it was discourse analysis or statistical analysis.
- An overall approach and the type of research. It can be quantitative research, experimental research, ethnographic research or qualitative research.
- Detailed explanation of when, where and with whom the research was done
The prime aim of the methodology must elaborate on the ways you have carried out your research. This section should give your readers a convincing content that your approach was the best approach to answer your main research questions and objectives.
For instance, let’s consider in-depth interviews. They are counted in qualitative methods. The overall presentation of data is blended together with analysis and discussion. Whereas, in experimental research which is experimental in nature the results should be presented separately before discussing their meaning. In case you are unsure of this topic, you can get in touch with experts at AllAssignmentHelp.co.uk.
Results
After this, you will have to write results. Here, you will get a space for explaining the results of your research. This section gives you ample room to play around sub-questions. This is where you will elaborate on topics and hypotheses. You should report only those results which are related to the final objectives and research questions. There are some disciplines in which the section of “results” is separated from the “discussion”. Whereas, sometimes they are combined.
You should always be careful of including complete versions of your data such as interview transcripts, they can be involved as an appendix.
Discussion
As the name suggests, this is where you will have to discuss your dissertation. Sounds vague? Don’t worry we are going to clarify the same as well. Basically, in the section of “discussion”, you will have to explore the in-depth meaning and implications of your research with respect to the research questions. While writing a discussion you need not stand on your toes. This is probably one of the most uncomplicated parts of a dissertation. All you have to do is to focus a little and stick to the points. You should not distract from the main argument and flow of the dissertation.
Try to emphasize on discussing your research results in detail. Tell your readers whether they met your expectations or not. Explain how perfectly they fit within your framework which exists in the earlier chapters. In case you have some failed attempts or unexpected research results, discuss them too. Offer your explanations to the readers on why they didn’t work out. Why they were not as per your expectations. It can also be a good idea to think about alternative interpretations of your information. You can go ahead to discuss limitation you came across which may have affected the final results.
The discussion should be a reference to other scholarly works. This is needed to show the way your results fit into the existing knowledge. In fact, you can make some recommendations for smooth future research or even practical actions.
Conclusion
If you have written essays, assignments or any similar academic task earlier, you know what a conclusion is. Those who have little or vague ideas on what a conclusion is, let me brief it to you. Basically, a conclusion is the section where you sum up the whole piece of writing. It can be written for a dissertation, an essay, an assignment or for anything else.
Now, let’s talk about writing a conclusion for the dissertation. The first thing you should keep in mind while writing a conclusion is to keep it clear yet concise. The dissertation is already a long document and the readers always expect the conclusion to offer a brief overview. Make sure that it offers answers to the main research question. Readers should gain a clear understanding of what your main argument is all about.
As per some academic conventions, the conclusion is a short section that is put before the discussion. First, students should state the overall conclusions. Later on, they should carry out a discussion and interpret meaning for the section. However, there are many academic zones where the conclusion is placed by the end of the whole work. It is considered as the last section of a dissertation. You can place it anywhere as per the instructions of your professor.
Be it any of the ones, draft it with immense care. Whether you have to include the conclusion as the last chapter in your work or the second last chapter, do it carefully. List out what you did to prepare the dissertation and how you did it. Some conclusions often have recommendations for research.
The most important thing to do in the dissertation writing process while preparing a conclusion is to show how your research findings add value to the field. You can elaborate on what you contribute to the field of study. Address why does your research matters.
Reference list
In this reference list which is also called bibliography or citation list, you should include complete details of the sources you have used. It is very important to follow consistency in drafting the reference list. There are a lot of referencing styles. Some of the commonly-used styles are APA and MLA. Don’t select a referencing style of your choice as it will bring a downfall in your grades. Always, choose one of them as per your professor’s instructions. All the styles have their own strict and specific requirements on how they should be used to organize your sources.
In case you are unsure about your professor’s instructions on referencing, reach out to your supervisors. They will surely help with it.
There are some students who don’t consider this section important. Due to the same they often take it lightly and don’t pay attention to the reference list. If you are having a similar thought process, we would suggest you change it right away. This is because a reference list is as important as any other section of the dissertation. Your professor will judge your research (which is the foundation of your entire write-up) on the resources listed in the reference list.