What is a dissertation?
A dissertation is most likely the longest piece of writing you’ll ever do, unless you write a book! In the simplest of terms, it’s a piece of academic writing on a singular subject, submitted to complete your degree.
Some countries use dissertation the same way they use thesis, another term for an extended academic essay. In North America, a dissertation commonly refers to a PhD level piece of work while, in the UK, a dissertation is submitted to complete undergraduate and Master’s degrees. Europe uses the terms interchangeably, depending on the institution.
In this article, we’ll break down the postgraduate understanding of a dissertation and what to think about when starting to write one.
But, firstly, let’s consider why dissertations are needed in the first place.
They serve to demonstrate a student’s knowledge and capability within their field to finish their degree. It’s a representation of what you’ve learned and what you’ll take forward into your discipline or career. At Doctorate level, it’s also an important gap-filling exercise, as you’ll be researching something unconsidered in your area. You’re uncovering new ground and having a tangible impact in the academic field.
With that in mind, here’s our guide on the basics of writing a dissertation!
Typical length and structure
The exact required length of your dissertation will vary depending on where and what you’re studying.
At Master’s level, a dissertation would be expected to be between 12,000-50,000 words. At Doctorate level, a dissertation is essentially a book, so most require between 70,000-120,000 words or 150-300 pages. This word count doesn’t include abstract, appendix or bibliography.
Your dissertation should be divided into chapters that have their own introductions and conclusions and guide your reader logically through an argument.
A typical postgrad dissertation will follow this basic structure, with changes informed by your discipline:
Title Page | What it says on the tin - includes your project's title, author’s name (you!), supervisor and institution |
Acknowledgements | Not always expected, but the majority of students like to say thanks to those who supported them through the process with a few paragraphs, similar to what you’d find at the end of a book |
Table of contents | A guide for readers to see your structure |
Abstract | Effectively the elevator pitch of your dissertation, the abstract informs readers what you’re exploring and why |
Glossary | (Sometimes found at the end!) If you’re using a lot of jargon in your text, it might be a good idea to explain the frequently used terms |
Introduction | Your introduction will give the reader their first in depth look at the topic at hand, and usually includes briefs of each chapter, methodology and argument |
Literature review | As a dissertation is a piece of original, individual work, the literature review is your chance to highlight the primary and secondary sources you’ve drawn from, their strengths and weaknesses, and the ‘research gap’ that your work is seeking to fill |
Methodology | This section details how you collected your data, the analysis you carried out and any biases that may have arisen. It should also cover why you chose this method of research to drive your dissertation |
Results | Here is where you discuss your original results and analysis, clearly outlining what you found through your work |
Discussion | Tying together the results and your argument, this section serves to loop everything back to the topic and what influence it has in your field |
Conclusion | An evaluation of everything previously discussed in your dissertation, neatly wrapping up your chapters |
Appendices | Any supporting material (like tables or figures) should be fully referenced here |
Bibliography/References | Like any academic essay, you need to ensure your dissertation is referenced appropriately, using your selected citation format |
There are generally two types of dissertation, defined by the type of research undertaken. A dissertation can either be quantitative or qualitative:
- Quantitative: mathematical and statistical data based. Involves experiments, closed-question surveys (‘on a scale of 1-10’) and number based observation. Typically associated with STEM dissertations. Would see your dissertation using a lot of graphs and figures to demonstrate your research
- Qualitative: theory and concept based, exploring ideas and words. Involves observation, interviews and focus groups. Typically associated with humanities dissertations. Draws upon pre-existing sources for in-depth, exploratory analysis
Deciding which research method suits your topic area is an essential stage of dissertation planning and will influence your structure.
How to plan a dissertation
Students completing a dissertation are assigned a dissertation supervisor who is familiar with the proposed subject field. They’re a reliable source of support throughout writing a dissertation and, at the planning stage, will give guidance about structure, scope and timeline.
The most important thing to consider when planning a dissertation is time. Don’t leave it too late as a dissertation requires editing and, if you leave it to the last minute, won’t showcase your work to the best of your ability. Always build in ‘buffer’ periods in case you can’t meet an original deadline for a chapter. This way you’re less likely to fall behind.
A fundamental component of a dissertation is the aforementioned research. It’s important to work out how long you need to carry out your research - if it requires laboratory time for example, you’ll need to think about booking that in advance. And, if you’ll need extra time in case anything interferes with the results. All of this should be tracked and discussed in your methodology section!
Plan an outline of your dissertation, taking into account what research already exists and what research you need to carry out; consider how you can make it easier by tracking your references as you go so you don’t need to rush a bibliography when you’ve finished writing.
Writing a dissertation
To write a dissertation you’ll need dedication, patience and motivation. At doctorate level, it’s a process that takes years and can be daunting. That’s where your plan and supervisor come into help.
Firstly, you’ll have to conduct your planned research and start gathering data to inform your work. This can be done alongside analysing pre-existing sources and your literature review.
The unofficial rule is that the introduction, while read first, is written last. This isn’t true for everyone and, in fact, many academics say you should start with a draft introduction as a guide for yourself to take you through the process.
However, the easiest place to start might be with laying out your methodology or literature review, as this already exists. Start with what you’ve got in front of you and link it back to your topic before diving into the deeper woods of results and discussion.
Try and produce at least two drafts before submitting a final draft so you have the opportunity to revise and take on board feedback from peers and your supervisor.
Keep a record of your progress as you go as all of this can feed into your results section, and the strengths and weaknesses of your results. Even if something doesn’t go to plan, a good analysis of what went wrong can be just as relevant to the discussion.
Always remember that you’re answering a question. Use the end of a chapter to tie back the new ground covered to the topic. There shouldn’t be brand new information presented to the reader in the conclusion, rather you’re recapping the arguments you’ve already made and drawing everything together.
Finally, once you’ve redrafted your work, it’ll be time to edit and proofread. It’s important that your dissertation is as accurate and mistake-free as possible as it’s a representation of your whole degree.
Some tips from postgrad dissertation students!
“I find the best thing is to read parts of my dissertation out loud so I can hear the flow and pick up on any weird sentences.” - Emma, University of Aberystwyth (Wales), History MA
“My dissertation was the hardest thing I’ve done but also the thing I’m most proud of! The best advice I had was to leave chapters I was struggling with for a few days and come back with fresh eyes.” - Rob, Strathclyde University (Scotland), Chemical Engineering PhD
“Ask friends and family to read your draft for you as they pick up on things your supervisor might not. It’s also a good sense check to see if the layperson can understand all the heavy jargon!” - Mike, Queen’s University (Canada), Geology MA
