If you’re working for a Masters or a PhD, then writing your dissertation is probably the most challenging academic task you’ll ever do. But it needn’t be. You can make the dissertation into writing-as-usual, an understandable, even enjoyable, successful, ‘routine’ process. That is what this article is about. I have written a dissertation or two in my time and have helped students with theirs. In this short piece, I am offering you the same practical, step-by-step approach I have developed over many years, which can help you write a successful dissertation. If you’re feeling stuck or need help with specific sections, you can always turn to UKWritings. UKWritings is an academic writing service that assists students by providing tailored support at any stage of the dissertation process, making it easier to write my dissertation chapter and ensuring that every aspect is polished and professional.
Table of Contents
Understand the Requirements
Make sure you know exactly what your institution expects from you in advance. Usually, each university has its own little idiosyncrasies in terms of what they expect and, of course, it’s much better to find out these things early on. So, just research the kind of formatting, word count, structure, style guidelines, etc that your dissertation should have. And if you’re in any doubt about this, just ask your supervisor.
Check for Departmental Guidelines
Some departments add more rules in the form of preferred citation style, font size and margin widths. Always check out these specifics first, so you don’t have to go back and bring your paper into compliance later.
Choose a Manageable Topic
Perhaps the most important choice you will make, course-correcting aside, is the choice of topic in your dissertation. One of our more frequent criticisms of students choosing a topic is that they’ve chosen something too big and general, or too small and critical and requires more time and effort than they have. There is a balancing act with dissertation topics: make it interesting and focus on something that is relevant but also something that you can research and write up in the time you have, and is not so out of your comfort zone that you can’t do a good job. Not soporific, but something in which you can find real excitement and interest. Make it very tightly focused.
Narrowing Down Your Research Question
But after you have a sense broadly – you fill it out into a specific research question that will guide your research and lead your dissertation in a clear direction. What is your research question? It helps to have something very concrete here, something that can be answered with the resources you have (or have available to you). Is the question clear and specific? Can it be answered by your own research? Can you explore aspects of it through data?
Develop a Clear Structure
Your dissertation needs to be coherently structured. Almost all dissertations follow a similar outline, with introduction, literature-review, methodology, results, discussion and conclusion sections. Clearly having a structure in mind will help you plan and focus your writing.
Creating an Outline
You can also easily delineate the various parts of your dissertation in it this way: In the introduction, explain the topic, and state your research objective, background of the topic, and research questions. An outline (and a plan) will help you write, as it will prevent you from getting overwhelmed by the amount of work that needs to be done. To avoid getting lost, creating a roadmap from start to finish is key. It’s worth checking out personal statement writing services review options if you need professional assistance to sharpen your focus and keep your dissertation organized.
Set Realistic Deadlines
In writing a dissertation, it is important to plan your time appropriately. For this purpose, prior to working on your project you should decide on preliminary deadlines for each part of your dissertation, from research to writing to submitting it to your professor for review. Please, don’t forget to leave some extra time for polishing your paper. This stage usually takes more time than you would ever expect.
Break Down Your Work into Stages
This will be difficult but the best strategy is simply not to think of the whole dissertation as your task, but lots of smaller more manageable tasks. For example, research for a period of time, then write the first chapter, then the second, and so on. Cutting your dissertation up into smaller chunks will make it far less daunting.
Writing the Literature Review
Nowhere is this truer than in your dissertation literature review. In fact, your literature review is probably the single most important component of your entire dissertation. More important, indeed, than the original research you report. A good literature review shows that you know what’s come before; that you can situate your own research within that body of work; and that your work makes a point of putting it in context.
Synthesizing Sources
Instead of giving a paragraph-by-paragraph summary of each literature source, your literature review should actively synthesize the material. What are the trends in the research? Where are the gaps in the literature? Where are there contradictions or gradual changes in the academic discourse? As Gee puts it, ‘Your paper is saying, here’s my research, and here’s how my work fits into the academic conversation – which means I’ve read the work of other scholars, considered it carefully, and thought about how to extend (and/or challenge) their ideas.’
Comparison Table: Narrow vs Broad Literature Review
| Criteria | Narrow Literature Review | Broad Literature Review |
| Scope | Focuses on specific studies relevant to the topic | Covers a wide range of studies, often general |
| Depth of Analysis | Deep, detailed analysis of relevant sources | More surface-level, covering many areas quickly |
| Relevance to Research Question | Directly related to your specific research question | May include studies only loosely connected |
| Time and Effort Required | Less time-consuming, but needs deep understanding | Takes longer but requires less deep analysis |
| Risk of Missing Key Sources | High if scope is too narrow | Low, but may lack focus on the most relevant research |
Writing Your Methodology
Your methodology section details the process of how your research was done and why the methods you employed were used in the process. Be clear and thorough when explaining how your research was conducted (ie, the process) and why the methods selected were used (ie, the process that your research was done). Regardless if you used qualitative methods, quantitative methods or mixed/multi methods, support how the chosen methodology aids in answering the research question.
Justifying Your Method Choices
Anything more than the basic description of what you did won’t get you far – such as trying to justify your choice by explaining why your method was more appropriate than, say, a survey. Using interviews rather than surveys shows that you’ve thought through how best you could go about doing this research.
Stay Focused During Writing
It’s all too easy to wander off course or get distracted while you’re writing – it’s why writing every day will keep you on track, no matter how little progress you make at a time.
Writing in Short, Focused Sessions
Reduce the length of your writing sessions; use 25-30 minutes of truly focused time. A timer is helpful. We call this the Pomodoro method.
Revise and Edit Thoroughly
No dissertation comes out after the initial draft as a perfect document. One of the key next steps of your project is revision. The revision process can take various forms, but in this case it means attending to the clarity of your arguments, the coherence of your dissertation overall, and any inconsistencies in the development of your arguments. The second part of that process is to edit, to revise the document again by taking a super-critical eye to the grammar, punctuation and citation errors.
Get Feedback
It is always useful to have your work scrutinized by a supervisor, peer reviewers or professional editors and you are always going to be grateful for any hints, tips or corrections they can offer.
Conclusion
Writing a good dissertation is tough, but if you do it right, you’re going to enjoy it. Make sure you know your institution’s requirements. Choose a narrow topic. Have a clear structure. Make sure you manage your time well. Divide up the project into manageable chunks. Make sure the literature review and methodology section of your work are excellent. Revise. Revise. Revise. Seek feedback. Have anyone with half a brain check over it. Make sure your dissertation is as clear and professional as possible.
If you do, you should be well on your way to having a dissertation (and a dissertation defence) that you can be proud of.
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Whether she is researching the latest trends in home decor, life-changing destination getaways, or the best way to maintain your finances, Dewey takes pride in leaving no stone unturned. She is passionate about distilling and delivering high-quality information that you can use to upgrade your life.
