How to write a Dissertation

What is a Dissertation

The dissertation is written after studying a subject or a topic thoroughly after extensive research to share knowledge and opinions on the same. As we all know that it is the longest piece of writing besides thesis. In some places, thesis and dissertation are meant the same. It is because there is not much difference between them, except for the difference in length. In many universities, a dissertation is considered much lengthier than a thesis. Therefore, it is prudent to take help from online assignment helpers to assure the seamless results for your dissertation. 

A dissertation is primarily based on some original research that could have been conducted by a writer who has accomplished masters or PhD. Therefore, it becomes challenging for the person to meet the criteria and qualities expected at such a level. As daunting it may feel to you but the dissertation is not that difficult to write if you know a brief idea of how to write. Once you are aware of the basic requirements to write a dissertation, you will be able to take care of the rest on your own. 

There is no question, dissertation demands a lot of effort and consumes a large amount of time as well. You have to be patient with your work. It depends on your dedication level. All you have to do is, you should be good at finding resources and you have to have the capability to study things to the core. It is also mandatory to learn to know about Dissertation Proposal in order to understand in-depth knowledge about Dissertation. 

Let us first discuss the elements involved in the structure of a dissertation. It consists of the following elements

• Title Page
• Acknowledgements
• Abstract
• Table of contents 
• List of figures and tables
• List of abbreviations
• Glossary
• Introduction
• Literature Review
• Methodology
• Results
• Discussion
• Conclusion
• Reference list
• Appendices

Before you start, the first and foremost thing that you should do is to decide the structure of your dissertation. The elements that are mentioned above are listed in the sense of including each and everything to make a dissertation look complete. There are some main elements that you need to focus mainly. The elements such as introduction, literature review, methodology, results, conclusion and appendices. 

Not all dissertation is constructed the same way but you should be aware of all the components of the structure to have a clear idea. We will study each element briefly. Besides, you will have to stay connected with your professor to get advice on structuring your dissertation as it depends on your university guidelines too. 

Title Page

The is the first page that is meant for the reader to know the details such as the dissertation title, your name, the name of your institution, the disciple that you are studying in, the department and the submission date. 

You might be asked to mention your student number, your professor’s name and logo of your institution. Make sure to mention them in a very clear and concise manner. 

Acknowledgement

The section is mostly not required in many cases but it makes a good impression on the readers because you acknowledge the people or entities that have helped you in producing the dissertation. You express your gratitude and mention all the participants that were involved in your dissertation writing. 

Abstract

This section is a mandatory one. In most cases, it comes right after the title page if the acknowledgement section is not written. The abstract of a dissertation is a short summary of your dissertation. You have to provide some insight into the details involved in your dissertation. You have to think a little deeper while writing the abstract because you will have to explain everything about the dissertation in less than 300 words. It is like defining your dissertation. You have to make sure it is quite informative and intuitive. 

You might want to mention small details about your topic, methodology, results and a small hint about the conclusion. 

Table of contents

It is the most simple section but also an important one. You have to list all the sections, chapters and headings along with their page numbers. The purpose is to help the reader navigate all the information easily. It could be done in many ways easily. You can even use a word program to sort the contents automatically based on their headings. 

List of figures and tables

If you have conducted quantitative research, surely you would be having a certain number of figures and tables to describe. You can make a separate list of contents for them so that it would be easier for the reader. 

Abbreviations 

Since you would be producing a long piece of writing, there could be many instances where you would be using acronyms often. You can’t expect the reader to be aware of all the abbreviations. Therefore, you have to create a section that explains the full forms of all the acronyms. 

Glossary

Although, it is always recommended to use a simple vocabulary still there could be words that the reader might not understand. Therefore, this section is made in order to provide them with a brief explanation or definition of complex words. 

Introduction

The introduction is the first section of the dissertation that you should be worried about. It is slightly lengthier than the abstract. You have to explain all the aspects of the dissertation briefly. You have to explain the purpose of the dissertation and all the relevance to the original research conducted by the previous scholars. 

The purpose should explain the direction of the dissertation. The reader should be able to anticipate the content and theme of the movie. 

Literature Review

You can consider this section to be the most important of all the elements of the dissertation structure. There is a lot of homework to do. Before you do anything, you should study each and everything about the original research. The theme, thesis statement and all the conclusions depend on the way you study the literature. 

After you have studied the literature, you have to conduct the research on the same topic to get more insights and information on the topic. Make sure you go through authentic sources such as published books, journals and articles. 

There is a lot of critical analysis required while going through the sources. Map all the sources to make extensive relevance and draw a revolutionary conclusion from them. 

The reason why the literature review of the dissertation is considered the most important section of the dissertation is due to the following reasons. 

• Investigating any type of gaps involved in the study of the original work.
• Creating a new theory and methods towards the existing literature. 
• Creating the best possible resolution to the existing issues or problems of the literature. 
• To produce a debatable argument. 
• Most importantly, to develop the best knowledge from the research and study. It is intended for the readers. 

Methodology

The methodology of the dissertation is next important to the literature review. You have to mention all the methods and tools that were used while making the dissertation. It could be anything. For instance, it could have an SPSS tool that was used to manipulate the data to produce meaningful information if your research was quantitative. 

The best is to make notes of all the methods that were used to collect the data while conducting the study and research. 
The methods that you used to analyse the data and a few discussions on the difficulties that you might have faced during the research. 

Results

This is section comes right after the methodology. You have to demonstrate the results that were drawn during the research. Always remember, you should avoid any discussions in the results sections. You just have to mention the figures, tables, and reports that you made to draw conclusions. All the pieces of evidence are mentioned here. 

Discussion

Here you have to discuss the pieces of evidence and results that you have collected. You just to have addressed the details of the results. The discussion is made only for the purpose to show the relevance. Here you have to give the reader an opportunity to draw conclusions for themselves or develop expectations of the study. Here you can also mention the gaps and limitations of your research to help the next scholar. 

The discussion should demonstrate the relevance of the results with the original research. The readers must have a clear knowledge and perception about the theory by now. 

Conclusion

This is section has its own importance as most of the readers are interested in getting into the conclusion. Therefore, you should be able to answer the basic research question of the dissertation. The conclusion is the part where you wrap all the aspects of the dissertation at once. It is also referred to as a moral of the dissertation. You have produced a clear solution and ideas for the existing work. 

Reference List and Appendices

Here you will have to mention all the sources that were used in the research. You have to cite all the sources in the reference list. The formatting style of your reference should be confirmed from your professor. Have a little discussion with your professor. Appendices section is where you have to provide all the valuable information that contribute to the results and conclusion of the dissertation.