Essential Components of a Well-written Dissertation

by Julie Clements Promoter

Students are required to submit dissertations as part of the fulfilment of their academic degree requirements. The main aim of the dissertation is to train the student in the academic research process under the guidance of a faculty supervisor. The dissertation process begins with the selection of a research topic and preparation of a proposal. It involves using a range of resources and materials, including interviews and other audio recordings along with dissertation transcription, to produce appropriate and conclusive outcomes. Before going ahead with their work, students need to understand what makes a successful dissertation.

Clear aims, research questions, and objectives: To be successful, the study should have clear research questions, aims and objectives at the beginning. The research question is the subject that is being investigated. It should ideally be on an emerging and challenging topic. The aims of the dissertation refer to what your work is aiming to explain and should be brief and easy for the reader to understand. Well-defined aims will set the framework for the entire work. The research objectives describe what the steps that the researcher will take to achieve the aims of the study. While the research statement may be refined as the work progresses, having a good research question will pave the way for producing a strong research paper.
Clear methodology: Explain your methodology in the introduction. The main questions that the methodology sections should answer are how the data was collected and the tools used to analyze it. The methods section should also explain the rationale for choosing these tools and how they were used.
Background information from the highest quality sources: The background section should provide the context as well as describe the general background to the existing research in the area of study. Mention literature on the subject that is comparable or is linked to your study. Choose high quality, recent sources and show how your work is building upon recent research. There should be a proper balance between the number and length of quotations and extracts and the main text of your work. All background material should complement the arguments of the dissertation.
Correct referencing and acknowledgment of ideas: Referencing provides evidence to support your arguments and claims, and also acknowledge the contribution of other writers and researchers to the field. If your dissertation draws on the ideas, words or research of other writers, it must contain citations. Other writers have spent years researching and writing and you need to correctly reference them and acknowledge their contribution to your work.
Solid title, abstract, introduction and conclusion:These are key components of your dissertation. The title shows what your dissertation is about and should be concise and attractive. The abstract should state the purpose of the paper and its conclusion, providing a summary of the work. The introduction should be brief and interesting to draw the reader’s attention to the research. The conclusion needs to summarize what was done and why it was done. The concluding statements should be supported by recommendations, predictions, and solutions. A well-written dissertation will have an introduction and conclusion for each chapter.
Error-free writing: While expressing your research ideas and results correctly and effectively is important, your dissertation should be free of typographical, punctuation and grammatical errors. Pay careful attention to spelling, especially of technical terms and the use of acronyms (www.tomprof.stanford.edu). Proofreading and editing services could be a practical option to deal with this.

You should know what is expected of you before you begin. Universities generally have a structure and format that students should follow when writing dissertations. The goal should be to ensure a well-structured, easy to follow, logical, and coherent structure which will help readers absorb the subject matter. This includes specifications on manuscript margins, font and size, tables, graphs, reference styles, etc.

Writing a dissertation can be a challenging task. With the right support, you can avoid making mistakes and focus on producing a well-written dissertation. Make sure to save your work and backup. Having a computer expert you can reach out to when needed is also important. When it comes to documenting interviews, seminars and meetings, students can always rely on academic transcription outsourcing companies.