Writing a Dissertation | A Guide to Content & Structure
A dissertation is the final research project presented at the end of the program before graduating. When you reach the point of writing a dissertation, you are clearly near the end of the program. A dissertation is usually submitted as part of a doctoral program and sometimes as part of undergraduate study. It is a long piece of academic writing that is based on original research and is considered the culmination of a doctoral or undergraduate study. The aim of dissertation writing is to produce an original piece of research work on a clearly defined topic. It is used to showcase your capacity and skills in conducting research in your discipline and presenting the findings through an original piece of content. A dissertation is likely the longest, most difficult, and most substantial piece of independent work that a student has ever completed. However, it can also be very rewarding since students are allowed to select their topics of interest and work on their own initiative. You can use a dissertation topic help service to assist with finding a suitable topic for your dissertation.
Why is dissertation writing so challenging?
A dissertation is a completely new experience of academic writing that is much larger and more independent than any assignment or project a student has done during the course of the study. Hence, it can be quite intimidating where to start or keep rolling once started. Many students start their dissertations with great enthusiasm but get despaired along the way. The common reasons that make writing a dissertation so hard are;
1. It is a new, large, and independent project
A dissertation is a new kind of academic project that is unlike anything a student has previously done. Writing a dissertation is not only new but a very large and very independent project. You will be required to write something much longer and on your own without anyone telling you what to do, with no weekly deadlines, and no collaboration or discussion with your colleagues. This self-directed process can be very intimidating
2. Lack of research and writing skills
The process of planning, researching, and writing the dissertation is a long and arduous task. Many students with limited academic experience may think that they will need to find a few relevant sources and paraphrase them. However, a dissertation paper requires one to appraise, synthesize, and discuss these resources. Also, one is required to follow strict rules of academic writing, including proper language, style, format, and citation. This can be an overwhelming challenge for many students.
3. Procrastination
Many students usually think that they have plenty of time to work on their dissertations and thus keep postponing doing research and writing. Though they are aware that starting sooner will make things easier, they delay the starting point. This may lead to frantic stress and desperation when the deadline approaches.
Did you know that only about 56% of students pursuing a doctoral program earn their doctorate within 10 years? Many doctoral candidates remain in the All But Dissertation (ABD) status whereby they have completed all the requirements of their doctoral degree programs but the dissertation. You can always rely on our dissertation writing service if you are stuck with writing your dissertation paper.
Structure of a dissertation
Dissertations generally follow a fairly standard structure with an introduction, literature review, methodology, results/findings, discussion, conclusion, and recommendations. However, it is worth noting that not all dissertations are structured in the same way and may vary depending on the discipline, topic, approach, and institution. For instance, dissertations in humanities are often structured like a long essay with chapters organized around different case studies or themes. Hence, it is important to check the guidelines provided by your department and consult with your supervisor or dissertation chair before you start writing the dissertation. The main elements of a dissertation are discussed below.
Research proposal
A dissertation proposal may be submitted as a separate piece of work or as part of your dissertation that is submitted in advance before the data collection process and later into a dissertation. The research proposal essentially informs others (supervisor or dissertation committee, funders, and other stakeholders) of your proposed piece of research. It outlines your plans for undertaking the research and usually includes the following components;
- The title
- An introduction outlining the background of the study, research problem, objectives, research questions, and/or hypotheses.
- A brief review of the literature and theoretical framework.
- The proposed research methods outlining the research design and strategy for data collection.
- A discussion of limitations and ethical considerations
- Predicted outcomes
- A realistic timeframe for undertaking the research, usually in form of a Gantt chart.
- A detailed budget, usually when the proposal is part of a grant application.
- List of references consulted.
Sometimes, it is advisable to ask for dissertation proposal writing help to make the proposal convincing and avoid the likelihood of the proposal being rejected as poorly designed or unsatisfactory.
Introduction
The introduction sets out a broad outline of your research ideas, what you hope to explore or establish, and why it is important to conduct the research. It should include a clear statement of the research problem, purpose, aims, and research questions. It should also inform what to expect in the rest of the dissertation. Read more on how to write a dissertation introduction.
Literature review
The literature review provides a critical analysis of the body of scholarly works and demonstrates that you have a broad understanding of previous research and how your research relates or fits with extant literature. The literature review justifies why it is necessary to conduct your research by showing what is known, what is unknown, conflicting findings, and how your study will fill the gap or is addressing the call for further research. Many students spend a lot of time on this chapter because of challenges with finding relevant sources, evaluating each source, drawing conclusions between them, and writing the review around themes. If you need more help, check our dissertation literature review writing service.
Methodology
The methodology describes the broad philosophical underpinnings of the selected research methods. Any choice made in the research methods should be justified with literature and have a good academic basis. It should detail the overall approach or design, methods of data collection, participants or sources of data, and data analysis technique. Read more on how to write a dissertation methodology. It is advisable to seek the help of a professional, such as your supervisor or a dissertation methodology writing expert to ensure you get this section right.
Results and discussion
Results and discussion present the findings of your research. These sections can be written separately or combined into a single chapter depending on your institution’s preferences. The results section reports all key and relevant findings to your research questions. It should be structured around questions/sub-questions, hypotheses, or themes. You should also include tables, figures, graphs, or quoted texts to help the reader understand the results better. Ask for help with writing dissertation findings if you are not sure how to present your findings.
On the other hand, the discussion of findings aims at explaining and interpreting the results. Hence, you should review the findings in the context of extant knowledge and the literature reviewed in chapter two. You may also need to discuss the implications of the research and the limitations of the study in this section. Read more on how to write the dissertation discussion section.
Conclusion and recommendations
These sections wrap up the dissertation with a concise reflection of what you established. The conclusion summarizes the findings and implications of the research, as well as detail why the results are important in practice and research. Also, you should provide suggestions for practice and further research. Read more on writing a dissertation conclusion.
Preliminary pages
The preliminary section includes the title page, declaration, abstract, acknowledgments, table of contents, abbreviations, and list of tables and figures. Some of these pages, such as the abstract and TOC are mandatory while others are optional. You should check the university guidelines to confirm pages that must be included in the preliminary section
Supporting materials
Supporting materials are the list of references and appendices. A reference list includes full details of all sources cited in the dissertation. References should follow a consistent citation style specified by your university. On the other hand, appendices include essential information used in your dissertation but do not fit in the main body, such as copies of the survey questionnaire, interview script, and informed consent, and letter of approval.
Dissertation Writing Style
Dissertations are usually written in the third person and passive voice. However, some universities require students to write in the first person and active voice. Also, this style is the most appropriate when you want to avoid anthropomorphism. You should check the university requirements before starting to write to avoid additional editing work. If there are no guidelines provided, you can ask your supervisor or dissertation chair about his/her preferred style. The person and voice used should be consistent throughout the paper. Also, you should maintain a professional tone in your writing. Ensure the language used is simple and free of jargon. Also, avoid wordy or redundant phrases and long sentences. Short sentences are easy to read and follow; hence, split any sentence that runs more than three lines.
Formats & Templates
Most colleges and universities provide specific guidelines and format that a student should follow while writing their dissertations. Also, they provide a template and checklist on the required format of the dissertation. You should use the provided template by typing straight into it. This helps in avoiding additional formatting work once you are done with the writing. Avoid cutting and pasting your writings into the template as you may unknowingly change the formatting. Also, you will need to format the references according to the university’s preferred citation style. It is easier to format them as you write along rather than correcting the whole list of references. You can use Google Scholar to format references for you rather than typing out all the names and titles. However, you should always check the full details on the original source since the formatting and the information included in the citation is not always correct. Formatting a large document can be challenging and time-consuming and you might need a dissertation formatting service to help you out.
Editing and Proofreading
You have started, drafted, and completed your dissertation. However, grammar mistakes and errors in sentence structure and formatting can significantly lower the quality of your dissertation. Hence, you should leave plenty of time to editing and proofread your paper. This is necessary to make sure you have not made any errors, such as typos, language mistakes, and inconsistencies. Proofreading should be done while you are fresh and may take longer than you think. To ensure everything is perfect and the dissertation flows correctly, you can hire a professional dissertation editing service or dissertation proofreading service to check and correct your final draft before submission. This is because a fresh pair of eyes can spot errors that may have been overlooked much more effectively than those that already know what is in the paper.
Writing Centers & Help for Hire
All universities have a Writing Center whose purpose is to guide with writing, structuring, and formatting students’ dissertations. Writing Centers can serve as a useful resource when stuck with drafting and completing your dissertation. However, they only give feedback on students’ drafts and rarely help with specific issues, such as word processing or the graduate school requirements of submitting a thesis. Usually, they maintain and refer students to a list of local editors, proofreaders, and tutors for hire (as a professional courtesy), who are not in any way affiliated with the Writing Center. These professionals work with students in addressing issues, such as formatting, structuring, and editing. Nevertheless, they do not offer much assistance when a student needs comprehensive help with correcting the supervisor’s or dissertation chair’s comments, addressing plagiarism, rewriting, and redoing an incorrectly done chapter or data analysis. Also, they charge relatively high rates and it is very expensive to use their services, especially if you do not have grant funds and have to pay out of pocket. Hence, it is better to use an online dissertation correction service.
Originality in dissertation writing
A dissertation must undergo a plagiarism check, mainly using Turnitin or SafeAssign software, as a prerequisite for publication. Most universities accept submission with a similarity score of less than 5% but some accept dissertations with a plagiarism score of up to 30%. To be on the safe side, it is advisable to scan for plagiarism before submitting your paper. Also, it allows you to correct plagiarism, lower the similarity score to acceptable levels, and ensure your dissertation is unreservedly your intellectual property. When you check on the Internet, you will come across many free plagiarism checkers and fee-based professional detectors. For major academic papers such as dissertations, it is vital to use a fee-based professional plagiarism checker. This is because many free plagiarism checkers have ambiguous data protection policies and you may find your dissertation has been published without your consent. These free checkers usually save your paper upon uploading and share it even before you can submit it! Also, it is worthwhile to pay for the verification of your dissertation paper. You might consider using a professional plagiarism correction service since your dissertation is checked for plagiarism for free and you only pay for the correction service.