Dissertation writing is one of the rivers that you’ll have to cross before you can successfully bag a doctoral degree. Simply put, dissertation writing is a formal piece of writing that deals with asking and answering questions in an organized manner.
Depending on a lot of factors, dissertation topics could be determined by the department or by the student and are about ten to twenty thousand words on average. A standard dissertation usually includes the title, introduction, literature review, methodology, findings and discussion, conclusion, and references.
Due to their close similarities, it is easy and common to mistake a dissertation for a thesis but they are slightly different. For one, a thesis is usually carried out based on previous works by others while a dissertation is usually based on original research.
Clearly, dissertation writing can be very tasking and sometimes difficult because of the many hurdles involved. In difficult stages like that, help can be gotten from an expert DissertationTeam.
However, here are a few strategies that can help with the writing process:
Have a clear understanding of what dissertation is and what is expected of you
Although this point seems like an obvious one it is quite amazing how ignorant some students can be in regards to this topic.
The truth remains that if adequate background knowledge is not gathered on what dissertation is and what you are supposed to do, working on this project will just be like wandering through the wilderness.
It is also important to note the nature of dissertation writing. A dissertation is not just an opinion or a way to convince people and hence, cannot be constructed like a blog post.
Choose what to write about (a topic)
A clear understanding of the dissertation would help in deciding what a suitable topic would be.
However, here are a few tips listed below on what a dissertation topic should be
Firstly, a dissertation should be clear. Anybody should pick up your work and by the topic know what to expect or at least have an image of what it entails.
Secondly, a dissertation should be different. This doesn’t suggest that your topics have to come from outer space; the idea is to write about something or an area that people have not written before.
Lastly, a dissertation has to be relevant. Apart from a dissertation having a clear and different topic, it has to have an importance in the world.
Write a proposal
It is important to know that you don’t have to know every detail before writing a proposal, just what is needed is basic knowledge. The main aim of the proposal is to get your topic approved.
Here are a few things to put in place before or even while you are drafting your proposal.
Make sure your topic has passed the screening based on the points listed in the previous strategy.
Ensure that you have read a few literary materials relating to the topic you intend to work on.
Lastly, have a plan on how you will collect and analyze data, even though the plan might not be outlined explicitly.
Write your Work
After the approval of your proposal, it would be advised to begin your work immediately. This is to ensure that you don’t get more overwhelmed as the deadline gets closer and also get more time for correction and re-evaluation.
The introduction is the first part of your dissertation. The essence of the introduction is to have the reader an idea of what you would be talking about through the dissertation and why it is relevant to the world.
The next thing to do would be a literature review of existing works that are related to your dissertation. A literature review is however not just a mere summary. It is used to connect different existing literature works as they relate to your own work. It is also used to highlight the gap that your dissertation is to fill.
It has been mentioned earlier that a dissertation is not just any other essay. Hence, intense research must be outlined and carried out while writing your work. Apart from researches, there might be more data you would need, for example, in form of surveys.
When all these have been done, then you would arrange them in a presentable order, also known as your official work. The conclusion is where you mention the main discoveries and what their effects are (i.e., what they lead to.)
It is also important to list relevant references and works that were cited in your dissertation.
Editing
Given the academic setting, this part cannot be skipped. You should never be scared of editing the work and you should also not be too quick to omit this part of the work.
The importance of editing is to create a well-defined and polished piece. As obvious as this point seems, it can be omitted most especially if the deadline is near.
Thus, it is advisable to proofread and edit your work over and over again. You might as well employ a professional to do the work if you can afford to.
Keep reviewing your work
Although this point sounds a lot like the previous, editing, they are a bit different. Reviewing means that you keep the research conducting a continuous process.
It is also important to view your work as an outsider or get a peer reviewer to help you go through the work. This is to ensure that the message is being passed across to the readers and it’s not just in your head.
Summing up
A dissertation is an essential piece to bag a doctoral degree, as mentioned earlier. It can be a quite tasking thing but that doesn’t mean it is impossible, in actual fact it is not.
Moreover, the importance of a dissertation goes beyond an academic assignment. It helps you to be able to assess problems, conduct reasonable research to establish a valid point and subsequently propose possible solutions.
The strategies listed above would help guide you as you work on your dissertation and complete it.
