Study Advice Online: Dissertation Writing

If you are writing a dissertation, you will have a tutor or supervisor to advise you, and there will be written guidelines in the Handbook to help you. It is vital to talk to your supervisor and use the guidelines to make sure you are absolutely clear about

how it will be assessed
Essential, and guidelines often tell you much more than how it's assessed, and suggest a structure, or section headings
whether you have a viable research question
what sort of research you need to do
How extensive should your reading / literature review be? Which 3 texts / articles should you start with? do you need to do primary / first hand research? How (when and where?) will you do this?
See Research
the practicalities
How many words it should be? deadlines for the proposal, drafts and final submission; format and layout - font, font size, heading structure etc. See Dissertation writing: an Action Plan for Brookes
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and your supervisor's preferences
What sections do they want? Do they like a few main headings (and extended writing in each section) or a lot of subheadings (with short written numbered sections)

It is important to find out precisely what your supervisor expects of YOU right at the beginning.
It will differ from subject to subject, and to some extent from individual to individual.

A simple idea - take a look at past dissertations. Masters dissertations are held in the library.
www.brookes.ac.uk/services/library/skill/skilldiss.html
Check whether your school keeps undergraduate dissertations and take a look. It will give you an idea of what's required in your discipline: structure, chapters, appendices etc.

Formulating a research question

The feeling of 'lift-off' with any research first happens when you can see exactly what it is you are trying to achieve or find out - your research question. Click here.

Writing an introduction

You will write the final version of your introduction last. You may have early drafts, but you can't write the final version of the introduction until you know where have got to.

These bullet points suggest points you might decide to include in your introduction:

establishing the context, background and/or importance of the topic
giving a brief synopsis of the relevant literature
indicating a problem, controversy or a gap in the field of study
establishing the desirability of the research
listing the research questions or hypotheses
providing a synopsis of the research method(s)
explaining the significance or value of the study
defining certain key terms
provide an overview of the dissertation structure
explaining reasons for the writer's personal interest in the topic

You may also like to follow the link to Manchester University's 'phrasebank' - a useful resource for the language to use when you write up your research.

Two structures

Check out Dissertation writing: two structures.

Upgrade runs Dissertation Writing Workshops for postgraduate students.
Contact upgrade@brookes.ac.uk

Kate Williams, revised February 2008