Forums » Discussions » Major components of a dissertation
Most of the students are already aware of this term, “dissertation” because they have heard it in their undergraduate, master or post-doctoral degree. If you haven’t heard dissertation, I am sure you are well aware of the term “thesis”. A dissertation involves a research process in which a student has to go through multiple processes such as planning, thinking, and finally, writing. If you have not heard about it already, don’t worry, you have stumbled upon the right place. Just stay tuned.
I remember when I was doing my undergrad degree, thinking of a dissertation would make me feel nauseous. After all, I thought I am never gonna do a dissertation because I don’t have it in me to even write a paper. Those were the times when I would ask people to write my essay for me because I was scared of the process as it demands a lot of time and attention. I laugh at those times now, but I am also thankful that I got the opportunity to learn something new.
You will get there too; you just have to focus on what you are doing.
A dissertation is quite lengthy because you have to include every aspect of your research. I know the first-timers are always confused and panicking, but let me tell you one thing, there is no need to panic. Just make sure you understand the entire process.
Also, I know the stress and all-nighters one has to pull because either it’s a deadline the next day or you have little time because you wasted months researching the perfect topic.
I know, I have been there, so a word of advice would be to start early and stay focused. Delaying the research will only give you more stress. In the end, you will mess everything up because of little time and no preparation.
Coming to the major components of a dissertation, it is not that difficult to understand these components, because no matter if you are in an undergrad or master’s program, these components will stay the same.
The basic structure is:
- Title
- Acknowledgment
- Introduction
- Methodology
- Findings
- Conclusion and discussion
- References
Title:
That is the first element of any dissertation. It includes the scholar’s name, topic, university logo, university details, supervisor name and the department information, and a student’s roll number.
Sometimes, some universities divide the title page into two parts such as title and half-title page.
The half page includes the main information about the university and student’s details.
The title page includes a table of contents, lists, lists of tables, lists of abbreviations, list of illustrations. If you don’t know about what goes in the list of tables and abbreviations, you can seek help from an essay writer. The essay writer will guide you properly about what to add since every dissertation varies from topic to topic.
Abstract
The abstract is a summary of the key points of your paper and it is placed before the introduction. This is to ensure that the reader who may want to read your paper knows what to expect in the paper. It is usually 150-200 words long.
You have to be very careful with the abstract because it allows the reader to judge whether or not your dissertation is interesting. Therefore, make sure you write an interesting abstract.
Why is it important?
It is important because you have spent so much time choosing a research topic and gathering data from different sources. Hence, if you write a dull abstract, you will lose every ounce of effort you have made. Readers would not want to read your paper because he/she is bored reading your abstract.
Put maximum effort while writing abstract people!!
Introduction
The introduction of your dissertation is also very important as you have to give background information on your topic. You are doing it to explain the rationale for choosing this topic. The introduction tells the readers the main themes of your work. It is usually two pages long.
You need to explain what made you pick this topic. So, make sure your introduction is well-written and captures the reader’s attention.
Literature review
This part requires you to cite any pre-existing literature to show what other people have done related to your topic. Be careful with this one as well.
Methodology
This portion of the dissertation includes the research methods you have chosen to collect data. It is up to you to take the empirical or non-empirical route. While choosing the qualitative or quantitative research method, make sure you understand both research methods.
I know this is a difficult part of the dissertation as you have to be very careful with method selection. You have to list all the data here and how you have collected them. It could be through observation, interviews or surveys. You can ask any essay writing serviceto help with both types of research methods. These services can easily provide you with samples for a better understanding.
Conclusion/discussion
Every dissertation has a conclusion, you cannot end your dissertation without an effective conclusion. You go through the process of assuming, collecting, inferring but you forgot to have a conclusion? That won’t look good from a reader’s perspective.
First of all, you have to discuss the findings that you have deduced after collecting data, and then write an effective conclusion.
Don’t think the conclusion portion is useless, it is not. You also have to put effort into concluding your paper to make it look professional.
Remember!
You have to add references at the end of the paper to ensure that all work that paper writing service have done is not plagiarized and is backed up by evidence.
Usefull Resources:
A total aide on writing scholarly essays - 2023
Things to zero in on while writing an autobiography
How to write a film survey without telling the spoilers?