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Thesis & Dissertation Secrets

For Graduate Students

9/6/2016

Compiled by Jaime A. Cabrera

Contents

I. THE NO-FAIL SECRET TO DISSERTATION WRITING ................. 0

I.1 Magical Writing Shortcuts ................................................................... 0

I.2 Basic Writing Program ........................................................................ 1

I.3 Write in Hours ...................................................................................... 1

I.4 Writing Program Rationale .................................................................. 1

I.5 Breakthrough Moments ....................................................................... 1

I.6 Make It Easier ...................................................................................... 2

I.7 Ride Out the Bad Days ........................................................................ 2

I.8 Get Comfortable ................................................................................... 3

I.9 Good Ideas in Time .............................................................................. 3

I.10 It‘s a Book Draft ............................................................................... 3

I.11 You‘re Not Only a Student ............................................................... 4

II. WRITING WITHOUT TEARS .............................................................. 5

II.1 The Biggest Obstacle ........................................................................ 5

II.1.1 It‘s Only a Compilation ................................................................. 5

II.1.2 A Topic of Your Passion ............................................................... 6

II.1.3 A Topic You Can Do ..................................................................... 6

II.1.4 A Topic You Can Finish Fast ........................................................ 6

II.2 Take Heart ......................................................................................... 6

II.3 Why Dissertations Don‘t Get Finished ............................................. 6

II.4 The 10 Commandments .................................................................... 7

II.5 Myths about Writing ......................................................................... 9

II.6 General Advice about Writing .......................................................... 9

II.7 When There‘s Nothing to Say ........................................................11

II.8 Avoid Awkward Writing ................................................................12

II.8.1 Beginning Ideas ...........................................................................12

II.8.2 Connecting Ideas .........................................................................13

II.9 The Academic Tone ........................................................................15

II.10 So what? ..........................................................................................15

II.11 Don‘t Misuse Quotations ................................................................15

II.12 Write Great Introductions & Conclusions ......................................16

III. DISSERTATION WRITING SECRETS .............................................18

III.1 Organizing your Time .....................................................................19

III.2 General Structure ............................................................................19

III.3 Writing Style ...................................................................................21

III.4 The Role of your Academic Supervisor .........................................21

III.5 Changing a Supervisor ....................................................................22

III.6 Formatting and Templates ..............................................................23

III.7 Proof-reading ..................................................................................23

III.8 Language Editing ............................................................................23

III.9 A Note on Plagiarism ......................................................................24

III.10 Conclusion ......................................................................................24

III.11 Useful Links: ..................................................................................25

I. THE NO-FAIL SECRET TO DISSERTATION WRITING

Theresa MacPhail (chroniclevitae.com)

The aim of the dissertation or thesis is to produce an original piece of

research work on a clearly defined topic.

Find more at: http://www.skillsyouneed.com/learn/dissertation-

writing.html#ixzz4JRZoYerJ

As a former journalist, assistant professor, and seasoned dissertation-

writing-workshop coach at New York University, I can promise you there is only

one fail-safe method, one secret, one guaranteed trick that you need in order to

finish your dissertation: Write.

That‘s it. Seriously.

I.1 Magical Writing Shortcuts

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there are no magical shortcuts to the

production of prose, academic or otherwise. If you want to complete your

dissertation in a reasonable amount of time—and trust me, you do—you must learn

1

to prioritize the act of writing itself and write every day. Writing must become a

non-negotiable part of your daily routine.

I.2 Basic Writing Program

Here‘s the basic, scalable program that I recommend: Sit your butt down in a

chair, preferably in a quiet and distraction-free room. Disable your internet and

turn your phone on silent.

Come into your writing space having already done the research you need for

that day‘s writing task. You will not be researching or looking anything up during

your writing time (research and editing are discrete tasks, believe it or not, and

should be done in separate blocks).

I.3 Write in Hours

Don‘t do ―poms‖—timed sessions of 25 minutes with five-minute breaks in

between—for writing. They work well for other discrete tasks, like research or

formatting or getting your bibliography together, but not here. Instead, try to write

for a longer, uninterrupted time. In NYU‘s workshops, we write for 50 minutes

straight, with 10-minute breaks, for 4 hours daily. That might not be feasible if you

work or have young children, but plan on writing five days a week, no matter what,

for a minimum of two hours each day. It‘s doable, I promise.

I.4 Writing Program Rationale

Here‘s the rationale for writing every day: Writing is thinking. It takes time

and it‘s supposed to be challenging.

The biggest mistake I‘ve seen most graduate students make is to

mythologize what I call ―the moment of genius.‖ Because writing is thinking,

brilliant thoughts do not just appear on the page after long hours of arduous musing

on a subject.

I.5 Breakthrough Moments

In my experience, the best ideas almost always come about through the act

of writing itself—usually just at that moment when you‘ve run out of steam and

2

are staring down a seemingly intractable problem, desperately wanting to quit.

These are the breakthrough moments.

When you‘re writing a dissertation, one of the most difficult intellectual

tasks a person can do, commitment to the writing process is far more important

than genius. If the smartest person in the world cannot learn to write, then she

won‘t be a successful academic. Period.

I.6 Make It Easier

In the past year, I‘ve coached over 60 Ph.D. candidates from diverse

departments—from computer science to French literature, from anthropology to

political science. And despite the differences in discipline and style of writing, the

process and my advice remain the same.

Everyone struggles with similar technical and emotional issues:

procrastination, distraction, anxiety, structuring an argument, finding their voice,

integrating theory and evidence.

It‘s very hard work, this writing-your-dissertation thing. The trick is to not

make it even harder by avoiding the work itself.

I.7 Ride Out the Bad Days

The greatest obstacle to any dissertation writer, by far, is the all-too-common

tendency (conscious or not) to try to avoid the negative feelings associated with the

difficult stages of the writing process.

If you make writing a part of your work-week routine, there will be good

and bad days.

On the good days, the prose will flow out of you at a rate that you didn‘t

think was possible. Or you‘ll finally figure out how you want to argue your main

point. Or you‘ll realize that what you thought was one chapter is actually two or

three different ones.

On the bad days, nothing that you write will seem good enough. You‘ll hit

the backspace and delete keys so much that they‘ll start sticking. You‘ll move the

same paragraph five times before you delete it out of frustration.

3

The trick is to go with the ebb and flow of writing, to ride out the bad days.

I.8 Get Comfortable

I often advise the students in my workshops to ―get comfortable being

uncomfortable.‖

Very often in the writing process, you will feel shitty. You will write shitty

first drafts. You will wrangle with disparate sources, gargantuan amounts of data,

and difficult theoretical concepts. You will often feel lost and frustrated and

tired—uncomfortable.

I.9 Good Ideas in Time

The successful writer knows that feeling lost, frustrated, and tired is just a

part of the process of coming up with something great.

Writing is thinking, and good ideas take time. There are bound to be a few

false starts and dead ends along the way.

If you feel shitty about the writing and force yourself to write anyway, you

will not only finish your dissertation, you will allow yourself the opportunity to

work through complicated arguments and say something interesting or even

something pretty great.

I.10 It’s a Book Draft

All professional writers know that good books and interesting articles are the

product of several drafts. So is your dissertation. In fact, the dissertation is better

thought of as the lousy first draft of an eventual book.

No one but you expects your dissertation to be perfect.

What advisors want to see is honest effort and interesting thinking on the

page. Trust me, most of us remember all too well what our dissertations were like

(mostly terrible: just ask your advisor if you can read a copy of hers!), and we can

empathize with your struggles.

But we also know that the only path to a completed dissertation and a

blossoming career is through writing—putting ideas down on a page, and wrestling

them into shape.

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I.11 You’re Not Only a Student

And, finally, I‘d advise anyone writing a dissertation to shift her thinking.

You are no longer simply a graduate student; you are a Ph.D. candidate. As such,

writing is part of your job.

In fact, it‘s the most important thing you can do for yourself and for your

future.

Get into the habit of daily writing now and you will have a prolific career.

But you have to start today. Right now. So stop reading this and get to work.

Theresa MacPhail is an assistant professor in the Science,

Technology & Society Program at Stevens Institute of Technology.

See more at chroniclevitae.com

5

II. WRITING WITHOUT TEARS

Columbia University Graduate School of Arts & Sciences Teaching Center

www.columbia.edu

Your dissertation is your union card. It is your entry into the academy. But

writing a dissertation can seem overwhelming.

II.1 The Biggest Obstacle

It‘s scary to imagine writing a work 200 or more pages and submitting it to

distinguished scholars whose opinion of your intelligence and talent will depend on

what you have completed.

But remember: The single biggest obstacle to completion is psychological.

II.1.1 It’s Only a Compilation

To be sure, a dissertation involves far more research than you have ever

done before. But by the time you begin your dissertation, you‘ve already written

countless essays, lab reports, and conference presentations.

A dissertation is, in the end, simply a compilation of seminar papers –

revised to provide conceptual unity.

Completing a dissertation, then, is mainly a matter of perseverance.

6

II.1.2 A Topic of Your Passion

It means, first of all, that you must choose a topic that you are passionate

about. As Toni Morrison once said: ―If there's a book you really want to read, but it

hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.‖

II.1.3 A Topic You Can Do

Also choose a do-able topic. A good dissertation topic is clearly delimited. A

topic that is overly broad, excessively ambitious, or vague is a recipe for failure.

II.1.4 A Topic You Can Finish Fast

As the cliché goes: the only good dissertation is a finished dissertation.

Half a century ago, doctoral students were said to write theses, rather than

dissertations. That is, they wrote manuscripts that addressed a clearly posed

question and provided a compelling argument. Follow that earlier example.

Organize your dissertation, and its chapters, around questions: substantive,

conceptual, and methodological. Then look at what other scholars have said about

these questions and consider the ways that you agree or disagree with them.

II.2 Take Heart

One mentor said: ―With almost every person whose dissertation I directed,

the first draft chapters were disastrous.‖ Get your work on paper; then you and

your mentor can work together to get it into polished form.

II.3 Why Dissertations Don’t Get Finished

• The task seems overwhelming. The solution: Break the project into small,

manageable units.

• There are no clear deadlines. The solution: Work on sub-sections that you

can finish in a predictable amount of time, preferably today.

• You are being overpowered by negative thoughts. You have an internal

critic. The solution: Ignore or repress self-defeating thoughts.

• You have feelings of inadequacy. The solution: Break you subject down

into manageable subsections.

7

• You are a perfectionist. The solution: You must get material on paper

before you can rework it.

• 4. You are becoming isolated. The solution: Find sounding boards.

• 5. You are becoming overly anxious about your mentors‘ reactions. The

solution: Be a pro. Give each chapter to a mentor for comments.

II.4 The 10 Commandments

1. Distill your arguments into a single sentence.

• If you can explain your dissertation succinctly, you can write it.

"What I hope to show in this chapter/article/dissertation/book is

________."

"This chapter [article / dissertation / book] summarizes [presents

/ argues / explains / traces / refutes / proves / explores / connects

/ correlates ] ________."

2. Identify the basic questions or issues you are addressing

• Summarize how your work relates to contemporary literature.

• State the overall significance of your work to your field

3. Set small goals.

• Take baby steps.

• Don‘t aim to write Chapter Two. Instead, break it down into tiny do-able

steps.

4. Remember the cliché: ―You‘re not writing a book. You‘re writing five

research papers.‖

• Don‘t scare yourself.

• Write your dissertation in manageable segments.1

6. Avoid the mistakes dissertators make.

• They chose a boring topic.

• They chose an overly broad topic.

1 Dissertation chapters in the humanities are typically 40 to 60 double-spaced pages.

8

• They chose an ambitious topic. Solution: A good dissertation topic has

clear focus and circumscribed limits.

• They failed to focus. Solution: Every chapter should have a clear focus—

an overarching question or issue that it addresses.

• They failed to keep references for every quotation or piece of evidence.

7. Engage in two kinds of research: research about your topic and research

about writing.

• In addition to collecting data or quotations, look at how other scholars (or

even journalists) handle your topic.

o How do they structure and frame their arguments?

o What key phrases do they use?

8. Find a sounding board

• Find someone who you can speak to about your writing.

• Tell this person what you have accomplished that day, your arguments,

and the challenges you encountered.

• A sounding board will not only help you formulate and clarify your

ideas, but will also help you make them more sophisticated, logical, and

compelling.

• Brainstorm, then organize your ideas.

• After you have identified key ideas, organize them into a structure.

• After your structure is done, work through the ideas one at a time.

9. Write when you don’t want to write.

• When you don‘t feel like writing, write SOMETHING.

o Spell out a chapter‘s argument. Work on your introduction.

o Analyze some of your evidence.

o Work on the literature review.

o Write down your ideas.

• Whatever you do, don‘t stop writing.

10. Be selfish.

• Compartmentalize.

9

• Forget your other responsibilities and obligations.

• Find a time period when you can work— and protect it.

II.5 Myths about Writing

Certain myths and misconceptions make writing problems worse and

discourage you from incorporating writing into your teaching.

Myth 1: Skilled writers write effortlessly. Every writer procrastinates, gets

anxious, and loses focus.

• The Pulitzer Prize winning historian Richard Rhodes offers a simple, if

crude, piece of advance: Keep your ass to the chair.

• Model writing on weight loss: Strive for small, daily advances rather than

attempting to do everything all at once.

• There is only way to write: write a lot.

Myth 2: Skilled writers write from carefully plotted outlines.

• There is nothing wrong with brainstorming and carefully organizing your

ideas. But, in fact, writing is messy. It is not a linear process.

• Writing is thinking. It is during the writing process itself that you will

come up with your best ideas.

Myth 3: There are two stages to the writing process: writing a draft and then

editing it to correct grammar and delete typos and extraneous words.

• There is no writing, only re-writing.

• And re-writing generally requires significant re-organization and

rethinking.

II.6 General Advice about Writing

1. Writing is “dialogic”

• Don‘t write in isolation.

• When you write, you enter into a conversation, a debate, a controversy.

• Therefore, you must first understand and identify an existing debate.

• Then you can intervene and contribute to that debate:

―In discussions of ____, controversy has swirled around _____.‖

10

2. A dissertation is not a survey.

• It addresses a problem or a question.

• A dissertation advances an argument.

• It stakes out a thesis and supports it with evidence and logic.

• Your argument should grab the reader‘s attention.

• It debunks a myth, corrects a misconception, enters a debate, or

challenges a popular interpretation.

• Be prepared to explain the significance of you topic succinctly and

compellingly:

• ―My dissertation will address the following question: ____.‖

• ―It will fill the following gap in the literature: ____.‖

3. Writing is a social activity.

• Don‘t hesitate to find a ―sounding board.‖

• Talking out your arguments helps to make them more logical, concise,

and persuasive.

4. Learn the “tricks of the trade”

• Every writer needs to acquire the secrets of written argumentation

• What are the secrets? They are a series of formulas that ensure complex

thinking.

o You must explain the significance of your topic:

―I am studying ___________, because I want to find out

what/why/how ___________ in order to help my reader

understand ___________:

o You must engage others who have studied the topic:

―I think X is mistaken because she overlooks ___________ .‖

―X‘s theory of ___________ is extremely useful because it

sheds insight on the difficult problem of ___________.‖

―Whereas X provides ample evidence that ___________, Y and

Z‘s research on ___________ and ___________ convinces me

that ___________ instead.‖

o You must effectively integrate quotations into your argument:

Evidence never speaks for itself.

11

Evidence always needs to be interpreted and explained.

Signal the importance of what the author is saying:

―Basically, X is saying ___________ .‖

o Use quotations for your own purposes: ―I agree with X that ____,

and would add ____ d.‖

o You can easily make your writing and argument more

sophisticated by explaining how you agree or disagree with other

peoples‘ ideas.

―Although it is often said that ____, I claim ____.‖

―Group X argues ____ , and I have mixed feelings about it. On

the one hand, ____. On the other hand, ____.‖

―I used to think ____. Now, however, after ____, I have come to

see ____.‖

―Debates over ____ tend to dominate discussions of ____. But

these debates obscure the far more important issue of ____.‖

―At this point you will probably object that ____. While it's true

that _____, I still maintain____.‖

―Of course the problem is far more complicated than ____.‖

II.7 When There’s Nothing to Say

• Academic writing – whether an essay, a lab report, or a problem solving

exercise – means taking part in an argument, conversation, and debate.

• Your job is to persuade a reader that your position is appropriate and

sensible take on the issue.

o The first step is to identify the larger conversation surrounding an

issue. Try to figure out how whatever you're writing about—an

event, text, experiment, finding or whatever—fits into your larger

subject or field.

o Then problematize the conversation: Look for questions, tensions,

and unresolved issues. These provide openings for something new

to say.

o Develop a thesis – a distinctive stance within the conversation.

o Have an angle – a slant that gives your paper focus.

12

o Advance a provocative thesis that speaks to larger controversies.

How do you do this?

o Use the magic formula: Become part of a broader conversation or

controversy.

Refute an argument

Refine an argument

Reveal a gap

Fill a gap

Ask a new question or refine an older question

• Unlike a legal brief, an academic argument must be fair-minded and

balanced, based on evidence and taking account of alternate

interpretations and counter-arguments.

II.8 Avoid Awkward Writing

We‘d like our writing to be original and elegant and their arguments

nuanced and sophisticated, but often we‘d be happy if our writing was clear.

Instead of writing with concision, short active verbs, and a smooth flow of

sentences, too often writing is wordy, filled with the passive voice and with

arguments that are jumpy and undeveloped. You can gain clarity by:

• Breaking sentences into easier-to-understand pieces. Simplify. Cut out

excess nouns, adjectives, and adverbs.

• Using active verbs and attaching verbs to clearly identified actors.

Minimize the use of the words ―was,‖ ―were,‖ and ―is.‖

• Avoiding nominalizations—actions expressed as nouns. Examples

include argument instead of argue; analysis instead of analyze;

performance instead of perform.

• Using transition phrases and words

II.8.1 Beginning Ideas

I will begin by...

Before I say what is wrong with...,

I will first...

13

At this point, we need to consider the following objection...

Although I have shown..., I still need to...

Next, I will offer support for what is perhaps my most

controversial claim, that...

Further support for this claim comes from...

Having argued that..., I need to consider rival views...

II.8.2 Connecting Ideas

To give multiple reasons:

In addition,

Also,

In the first case

To explain

Because,

Given,

Since

To conclude an argument

Therefore,

Hence,

Consequently

To illustrate your argument

A case in point,

To illustrate,

For instance,

Take as an example

To provide a specific example

Specifically,

Namely

This reminds me of

14

To intensify

Above all,

Moreover,

Furthermore,

More importantly

Even better,

To emphasize

Of course,

Indeed,

Certainly

Least of all

It must be noted that

It can be pointed out that

It is argued that

To compare:

Similarly,

Likewise

In comparison,

On hindsight,

To contrast

However,

On the other hand,

Even so,

In contrast,

To speculate

Let‘s assume,

Let‘s suppose

15

Assuming that

Supposing that

To concede an argument

Of course,

Doubtless,

While recognizing that...

II.9 The Academic Tone

The student must establish a reasonable, open-minded tone that promises

honest consideration of a question.

Be careful about the beginnings and ends of paragraphs. These are natural

emphasis points.

II.10 So what?

An argument can be clearly written yet trivial. The question it grapples with

may be insignificant and the argument can be simplistic. Here are some

suggestions for making arguments more powerful and persuasive.

Engage the reader. The opening paragraph must grab the reader‘s

attention.

Crystallize the argument in a single sentence. A paper must present a

strong argument. But too often the thesis is weak, absent, or confusing.

Remember the power of 3. In classical rhetoric, this is the tricolon. Lists

are more powerful when they contain at least three items.

Don’t sweep contrary evidence or alternate interpretations under the rug.

Engage the counter-arguments. Use words such as admittedly, clearly, at

first it may seem, in fairness.

II.11 Don’t Misuse Quotations

Misuse of quotations in rampant in undergraduate papers. Sometimes,

students quote too much – or too little.

Sometimes, they blur their voice and those of the sources they quote.

16

Often, they assume that quotations speak for themselves.

Make sure when you use quotations that you:

Explain the quotation‘s point.

Integrate the quotation into the text.

II.12 Write Great Introductions & Conclusions

Journalism schools teach reporters to begin their stories with a lede: a

gripping anecdote, a telling statistic, a provocative quotation, a surprising research

finding. Ledes grab readers‘ attention and set the stage for your distinctive ―take‖

or ―angle‖ on a topic.

A powerful introduction functions just like a lede. It captures the readers‘

attention and it allows you to then present your thesis or argument.

In oratory, the peroration is the conclusion of a speech or discourse. It is the

place where the speaker recapitulates the argument and presses it a final time with

renewed vigor. It provides an opportunity to remind, to reflect, to inspire, to leave

the listener with a bit of wisdom—to sum up with panache.

Mediocre essays simply recapitulate the paper‘s argument. Strong endings

provide a larger vision or context, and broaden the implications of the paper‘s

argument. They provide a fresh twist or broaden the perspective. Often, they ―close

the circle – connecting to the paper‘s introduction. Source: columbia.edu

17

A dissertation or thesis is likely to be the longest and most difficult piece of

work a student has ever completed. It can, however, also be a very rewarding piece

of work since, unlike essays and other assignments, the student is able to pick a

topic of special interest and work on their own initiative.

Writing a dissertation requires a range of planning and research skills that

will be of great value in your future career and within organizations.

The dissertation topic and question should be sufficiently focused that you

can collect all the necessary data within a relatively short time-frame, usually about

six weeks for undergraduate programs.

You should also choose a topic that you already know something about so

that you already have a frame of reference for your literature search and some

understanding and interest in the theory behind your topic.

18

III. DISSERTATION WRITING SECRETS

Source: skillsyouneed.com

The aim of the dissertation or thesis is to produce an original piece of

research work on a clearly defined topic.

Usually a dissertation is the most substantial piece of independent work in

the undergraduate program, while a thesis is usually associated with master's

degrees, although these terms can be interchangeable and may vary between

countries and universities.

A dissertation or thesis is likely to be the longest and most difficult piece of

work a student has ever completed. It can, however, also be a very rewarding piece

of work since, unlike essays and other assignments, the student is able to pick a

topic of special interest and work on their own initiative.

Writing a dissertation requires a range of planning and research skills that

will be of great value in your future career and within organizations.

The dissertation topic and question should be sufficiently focused that you

can collect all the necessary data within a relatively short time-frame, usually about

six weeks for undergraduate programs.

You should also choose a topic that you already know something about so

that you already have a frame of reference for your literature search and some

understanding and interest in the theory behind your topic.

19

There are many ways to write a dissertation or thesis.

Most universities and colleges provide very specific guidance to their

students about their preferred approach.

This page, and those that follow, are designed to give you some ideas about

how you might carry out your literature review, and then write each of the various

sections of your dissertation in the absence of, or in addition to, any specific

guidance from your university.

III.1 Organizing your Time

However organized you are, writing your dissertation is likely to be one of

the most challenging tasks you have ever undertaken.

Take a look at these articles online about Organizing your Study

Time and Organization Skills, as well as Project Management Skills and Project

Planning, to give you some ideas about how to organise your time and energy for

the task ahead.

III.2 General Structure

Like an academic paper for journal publication, dissertations generally

follow a fairly standard structure. The following pages discuss each of these in

turn, and give more detailed advice about how to prepare and write each one:

Research Proposal

Introduction

Literature Review

Methodology

Results and Discussion

Conclusions and Extra Sections

Particularly for master's programs, your university may ask for your thesis to

be submitted in separate sections, rather than as a single document. One

breakdown that is often seen is three-fold:

Introduction and/or Research Proposal, which should set out the research

question that you plan to explore and give some ideas about how you might

20

go about it. If you are submitting it as a research proposal, it will be fairly

sketchy as you won‘t have had a chance to review the literature thoroughly,

but it should contain at least some theoretical foundation, and a reasonable

idea of why you want to study this issue;

Literature Review and Methodology, which are often combined because what

you plan to do should emerge from and complement the previous literature;

and

Results and Discussion, which should set out what you actually did, the results

you obtained, and discuss these in the context of the literature.

Warning!

It is easy to get carried away with the literature review. You will probably have an

overall word count for the total dissertation or thesis. If you are required to

submit in sections, ensure that you have left yourself enough words for the

Results and Discussion.

As a general guide, use the marking scheme to show you the approximate split

for the word count.

For example, if the introduction is worth 20%, and each of the other two

submissions 40%, for a total word count of 10,000 words, the introduction

should be at most 2,000 words, and each of the other two around 4,000 words.

If you‘re submitting your dissertation as a single piece of work, and not in

separate submissions, you may find it easier not to write it in order.

It is often easier to start with the literature review and then write

the methodology.

The introduction may be the last part you write, or you may wish to rewrite

it once you‘ve finished to reflect the flow of your arguments as they developed.

Top Tip

One of the best ways to write a dissertation is as you go along, especially the

literature review.

As you read each reference, summarize it and group it by themes. Don’t

forget to reference it as you go!

You should be used to referencing by the time you write your dissertation

but if you need a refresher then check out Academic Referencing.

21

III.3 Writing Style

Dissertations and academic articles used always to be written in the third

person, and in the passive voice; as an example, you might write ‗An experiment

was carried out to test…‘

However, many journals have now moved away from that convention and

request first person and active voice, which would require you to write ‗I carried

out an experiment to test…‘

Check with your university about their requirements before you start to

write.

If you cannot find any guidelines, then ask your supervisor and/or the person

who will be marking your thesis about their preferences. Make sure that the voice

and person are consistent throughout.

Whatever style is preferred, aim to keep your language simple and jargon-

free.

Use shorter, simpler words and phrases wherever possible.

Short sentences are good as they are easier to follow.

Any sentence that runs to more than three lines needs to be cut down or split.

Phrases to avoid include:

Phrase Use instead

Due to the fact that… Because

In addition Additionally (or also)

In order to To

In the first place First

A considerable number Many

Whether or not Whether

III.4 The Role of your Academic Supervisor

The role of your supervisor is to supervise your work. It is not to do it for

you, nor to tell you how to do it.

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However, their academic reputation is bound up in the results of the students

that they supervise so they have a vested interest in helping you to get the best

possible marks. You should therefore not feel shy or embarrassed about asking

them for help if you get into difficulties, or if you need some advice.

Academics tend to take a highly personal approach to supervision. Some

will be prepared to spend a lot of time with you, talking about what you are

planning to do by way of research and your emerging findings. Others will have

very little contact with you, apart from being prepared to read a draft of your

dissertation.

It‘s worth spending a bit of time building up your relationship with your

supervisor (have a look at our page on Building Rapport for help).

It‘s also worth discussing and clarifying with them exactly what they are

prepared to do to support you, and in particular practical details such as:

How often are they prepared to meet with you during your research?

How quickly will they respond to emails asking for advice and/or guidance?

How much time do they need to review drafts of work?

How many drafts of your work are they prepared to read? University

guidelines usually say ‗a first draft‘ but many academics are prepared to read

a preliminary draft to check that you are on the right track, and then a more

polished version.

Having reviewed a draft, will they send you comments by email, or would

they prefer to meet to discuss it?

III.5 Changing a Supervisor

One final piece of advice about your supervisor: if you don‘t get on, then

change supervisor. But do so as early as possible.

Nobody wants you or your supervisor to struggle with the relationship, but

they won‘t be very sympathetic if you‘re asking for a change a month before your

deadline.

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III.6 Formatting and Templates

If your university has a required format for a dissertation, and particularly if

they supply a template, then use it! Start your writing straight into the template, or

format your work correctly from the start.

There is very little worse than cutting and pasting your work frantically into

a template 10 minutes before your submission deadline. Templates are designed to

make your life easier, not harder.

You will also need to format the references in the university‘s preferred

style. It is easier to do this as you go along. If the format is MLA, APA or Chicago,

you can use Google Scholar to format it for you: search for the article title, then

click on ‗cite‘. This will save you typing out all the names, and can also be used,

with minor tweaks, for other formats. But beware: it‘s not always right! If it looks

odd, check the original source.

III.7 Proof-reading

You‘ll need to give yourself plenty of time to proof-read your work, to make

sure that you haven‘t made any stupid errors, and that it all flows correctly. This is

likely to take longer than you think. You‘ll also need to do this when you‘re fresh,

not last thing at night when you‘re tired.

If possible, try to find a friend or fellow-student in the same position with

whom you can swap dissertations for proof-reading.

Fresh eyes are likely to spot errors much more effectively than those who

already know what it should say.

III.8 Language Editing

The international language of academic publishing is English and many

universities require their students to publish their dissertations in English.

If your first language is not English, this is going to be a problem because

your English will almost certainly not be up to the task. You have two choices

about how you approach this:

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You find a native English speaker, perhaps a fellow student, who is prepared

to read your thesis for you and help you improve the English (preferably for

free, or at least for the price of not much more than a meal and a few drinks);

or

You pay an editor to do the work for you. This will not be cheap; the going

rate for high quality academic language editing is about $7 per 250 words.

You can find professional language editors via the websites of publishers of

academic journals such as Emerald and Springer.

You will need to ensure that you build in sufficient time to allow someone

else to read over your work. Nobody, not even if you are paying them, is going to

want to stay up all night to edit your work because you left it too late.

Many will also prefer not to work at weekends. Allow at least two weeks for

professional language editing.

III.9 A Note on Plagiarism

Do not plagiarize. If you are found to have plagiarized you will be heavily

penalized and will probably lose your degree.

Ways to avoid being caught out inadvertently include:

Never copy and paste from a journal article. Always summarize it in your

own words. This also helps to make sure that you have understood it.

If, for the sake of time, you want to copy and paste specific sentences which

sum up the argument particularly well, always put them in quotation marks

in your summary, with the source, so that you will remember that they are

direct quotes and need to be acknowledged as such.

See Academic Referencing for more information.

III.10 Conclusion

This page sets out general advice on issues connected with writing a

dissertation, also known as a thesis.

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The following pages set out in more detail how to approach each section of

your dissertation, including the Literature Review, Methodology, Results and

Discussion.

III.11 Useful Links:

Writing a Research Proposal

Writing the Introduction

Writing the Methodology

Research Methods

Writing the Conclusions and Extra Sections

Study Skills

Academic Referencing

Learning Styles

Find more at: http://www.skillsyouneed.com/learn/dissertation-

writing.html#ixzz4JRaL9XuY