How to plan, conduct and structure your dissertation

structure-of-dissertation

When it comes to writing a dissertation, you must have a plan. There are several elements in the structure of the dissertation. Each element plays an important role in finishing the dissertation. Today, you will learn the process of planning on how to write a good dissertation.

Not all dissertations are conducted the same way. It depends on your university. Whether you are studying at an undergraduate level or master’s level. Condensing the structure of your dissertation could be very challenging. The structure of your dissertation mostly depends on your supervisor’s expectation. Therefore, it is important to go through the guidelines thoroughly before you start writing.

Unlike any other academic writing, A dissertation is the most lengthy and complicated piece of writing. It can vary from 12,000 to 50,000 words. Our AllAssignmentHelp.co.uk experts say that the structure should be planned based on the topic and level of your discipline.

Planning to write your dissertation structure? Make it easy

Structure-of-dissertation

As it has been already, All the dissertations are structured differently. Your research could be on any topic. The complexity of your research depends on how deeper you want to get. The approach to any research is the first step towards writing the dissertation.

Conduct in-depth research

There are many different elements of a dissertation. Based on that you need to conduct your approach. Then comes the actual research part. Research is basically categorized as qualitative and quantitative.

Let us assume, you have planned to conduct research on someone’s experience or your own observation. Something empirical but the field of study could be any science. You might want to consider all the elements of the dissertation. If that is how it has to go. You must be knowledgeable about all the elements on your fingertips. Sometimes you may require to tag result and conclusion along with each other to explain better.

Place the structure in the same order

The sections of the structure usually placed in the same order. But, it may change depending on the norms of different universities or college. For instance, sometimes you may combine the results and conclusion or sometimes you may need to combine references and appendices together.

The conditions tend to change so you might feel confused while structuring your dissertation. Therefore, it is recommended to go through your university’s guidelines properly. Stay connected with your professor at all times, too.

Every aspect of the dissertation is interlinked to one another. Therefore, it is necessary to have a good plan. In order to get a clear picture. You need to understand all the elements of the structure of the dissertation.

  1. Title Page
  2. Abstract
  3. Introduction
  4. Literature Review
  5. Methodology
  6. Results
  7. Discussion
  8. Conclusion
  9. Reference
  10. Appendices

As you can see, the elements of the structure of the dissertation are mentioned above. The way you conduct your research decides the content of your dissertation. Pre-emptive action is the best reaction.

List out all the requirements

If you have already started writing your dissertation, that’s good. Yet, It is more prudent to list out all the requirements. The requirements could be the data, methods and content. If you are using any specific software such as SPSS or STATA, make sure you keep all the tools in handy.

  • First and foremost thing that you could do, it is to judge the word limit of your dissertation. Keep the record of the number of tables, charts or graphs that you are going to include.
  • Also, make sure you have a good idea of the references that you are going to use. It is possible that you might improvise in finding the references in the middle of your research. List out all the references too.
  • Have a brief idea about how you are going to frame the appendices.
  • Make sure you align the chapters of the dissertation in a proper consecutive manner. It helps the reader to not get lost in between.
  • Create a prospectus of your content and the materials that are expected in the dissertation. Most importantly, the structure of your dissertation adheres to all the points mentioned in your university guidelines.

Designing the structure while writing a dissertation

Another important dissertation writing tip has to be about its structure. The structure of your dissertation puts a major impact on the reader’s interest. It depends on the contents of your dissertation. The dissertations that are structured well and coherent are considered good. Every statements and observation mentioned in the dissertation should be logical and easy to comprehend.

Make the language simple and straight-forward.

It should engage the reader or examiner to continue reading. The engagement of the reader in your content will lead them to understand all the links. The links between the chapters to be understood without any distraction. You can even ask for dissertation writing services to get expert guidance on this.

Create a map to connect all the links

A good plan is key to write the best dissertation. Your motive is to present your arguments consistently without losing the reader’s attention. It depends on the quality of your writing. The entire dissertation revolves around the basic research question you have put. That is the agenda of your dissertation. Be very specific in the context of your explanation. Every statements and argument should be delivered properly. Make sure, you report all the incidents adequately.

Moving from doing the research to writing a comprehensive account of it is not necessarily easy. You may feel that you know everything in your head but can’t see how you can put it into words in the most useful order. It can be helpful to break the task down into smaller, more easily accomplished elements.

The process of producing your writing plan could go as follows

Do not expect that you will be able to structure your dissertation profoundly in the first attempt. You can start things in a subtle manner. First, you should gather all the elements and contents just the way they are. They could be a little scattered and improperly managed at the beginning.

The first task is to collect all the preliminaries and important things. Then start managing them in the correct order. You should create notes of every element of your dissertation structure. Confirm whether they are comprehensive. All the way from the title page until the appendices.

The most important elements of your dissertation are literature review and methodology. There could be several chapters under both sections. Proofread all the chapters of both the section and conclude whether any chapter needs more explanation. Make sure every argument and statement is supported by enough evidence. Look out for the chapters if they need any sub-heading.

Make a checklist while writing a dissertation

  • The appearance of each chapter is a crucial thing. Make sure they are placed in an order that fits best.
  • Once you are done with the main headings of all the chapters. Make a small list of potential sub-heading under all the chapters. The literature review and methodology are the 2 segments that need to be focused upon. Most of the chapters are under these 2 sections only. Sub-headings makes the reader even more clear about the content.
  • For instance, if you have created a lengthy and not organized properly, you can now support your structure giving numbers to the important points or simply creating bullet points.
  • Make sure your content organized in a proper manner.
  • As you go, you can slot in ideas, references, quotes, clarifications, and conclusions as they occur to you, to make sure they are not forgotten.
  • Check that there is an appropriate balance between and within sections and that the structure facilitates the logical and coherent description of the research study you have undertaken.

Most important tip – Stay close to your professor and ask your professor to share feedback at every segment while writing a dissertation.