Tips On How To Write A Dissertation

A dissertation is difficult to write, anyone can tell you that. But, it is not impossible. It is mentally challenging and time consuming, but above all it is veryrewarding.I will not bore you with the usual advice, i.e. pick a topic that you will enjoy writing about, do not leave it last minute, and read around the topic thoroughly….

Tip No. 1: Read and write, then read…then write.Many say that you should conduct all your research first before you begin writing. Throughpersonal experience, I have foundthat this is not very useful advice. The deeper you delve into your dissertation, the more you forget points that you thought were good and details that prove you have really put sweat into your research. Do not just highlight and think that a few side notes will do. Write your notes on a word document, however minor the information appears to be. By the time you want to really begin writing the paragraphs of your chapters, you will have several pages of notes and facts which you can instantly move around and begin to form a somewhat flowing argument.

Tip No. 2: Reference as you go along or forever regret it.This does not mean you literally have to reference every single source properly, but beside every idea that is not yours, you should add a footnote that at least tells you what source it is and at what page. Examples of what your footnotes may look like:[1] The 2009 UN article on organized crime p14.[2] st08164.06_en.pdf page 38.This second example is the nameof the journal article when your laptop downloads it. When you then go back to do proper referencing, you will be able to find this article in the documents (where you should have saved the download). Essentially, the important lesson to get from this is that you should reference, do it however you may prefer, you mayeven want to print your sources and number them, meaning your footnote will look something like:[3] Article 6 page 43.Words cannot describe the pain and agony of having to go through ten thousand words of a dissertation and finding every single source that you used.

Tip No.3: Save your work, and you’ll save yourself from a heart attack.Always back up your work. This does not mean that you have to go out and buy the latest hard drive that Apple has to offer! On the contrary, send your work to yourself via email, not just the actual dissertation, but also folders which have your research.

Tip No. 4: Intro-d-uct-i-on–sMany students find it difficult to begin writing because they can’t write an introduction that is suitable for their entire dissertation. Not all students are like this; some cannot begin unless they have an introduction written down. But for those of you that are struggling with introductions, you should not be put off from writing other parts ofyour chapters. In this situation, you should write your introduction last or as you are writing the middle paragraphs of your dissertation. This is becauseit is not until you have begun writing the true substance of yourpaper that you establish exactly what order your arguments will be presented. As you are writing you will also come across research that will add new perspectives to your paper and opinions shedding light on interesting points that you may not have considered whilst you wrote your introduction at the beginning. However, this does notmean you should not know the direction of your paper from the beginning, but this is what a proposal is for, not necessarily anintroduction so if you are really finding yourself struggling with the introduction, then rest assured there is absolutely nothing wrong with writing it evenat the very end.

Tip No. 5: Do not be frightened by the word count.Although ten thousand words seems like an endless mission, dare I say it- it’s not very difficult to write ten thousand words. Thisis of course completely dependent on your research. If you have done good research, used a range of sources and delved deep into issues and identified analytical points, then itis common to actually find yourself going over the word count.

Tip No. 6: EditingMake sure you give yourself time to go through your dissertation and edit. A good piece is always the result of several drafts. It is helpful to print your work, your eyes get used to a screen and having the words on a different format can help you identify different mistakes. It is important to understand that writing a dissertation is a process. What is meant by this is that you should not be disheartened if you are not100% happy with what you write, a good dissertation requires as many drafts as possible. Edit, edit, edit, do not stop.