help with the dissertation writing

help with the dissertation writing

Effective Strategies for Dissertation Writing

1. Understanding the Dissertation Writing Process

The Long and Winding Road In my experience with thousands of doctoral students, the biggest obstacle to completing the dissertation is not the APA, the statistics, or the defense, it is the procrastination. Most of the time, students put off the more difficult task of writing well until it is too late. As McGuire (2000) notes, they do the data collection and analysis as quickly as possible so that they can “get to the writing,” but when it’s time to start writing, they want to return to the data under the guise of “analysis.” There is always more analysis to be done, more graphs, charts, tables, printouts, and the writing never gets started. The reason writing often proves to be such a formidable task is that we often instruct students on the different sections and perhaps the writing style, but rarely do we give them strategies for getting started, staying on task, and completing the project. The dissertation is a lot like writing a book. It is by definition a self-directed process. There are usually no weekly deadlines from professors, no regular discussions with classmates, no reading assignments, no one telling you what to do – you are on your own, writing something longer than you’ve ever written, and doing it without a net. This independence can make the process seem very intimidating. So when several limited tasks appear to be unrelated, but when accomplished together in sequence, they result in the completion of a significant document, I call it a “project.”

2. Choosing a Relevant and Engaging Topic

It is important that you establish a research problem at, or close to the start of, your project. There are many ways to do this, but one way is to carefully read over your module notes and select a topic that you have covered with a fine-tooth comb. Do you have a strong understanding of an area? Is there something you have been studying in your course that you would like to further explore? This could be an ideal time to turn a topic that may be a little general and decide to zero in on something specific. You should ask yourself if you are just looking for a project to work on during a particular time frame, or are you looking to produce something that you will be proud of? For the latter, the choice of topic is essential.

When considering your dissertation topic, keep in mind that the main difference between an undergraduate and a postgraduate dissertation is the number of available resources. Undergraduate dissertations are often based more on secondary research. However, for more in-depth research theses and dissertations, you will need to focus on primary research. This will take a great deal of time and effort, so you will need to carefully select a relevant and engaging topic that offers a chance to provide original insight into the field of study.

3. Conducting In-Depth Research and Literature Review

A successful literature review will be well structured, and the information will be presented in a coherent and logical order. Primarily, the student should focus their work on articles and papers which are central to the research area. Systematic work in this way will result in a comprehensive review. It may be useful to sort resources by a method such as annotation. This will enable the student to summarize the key points of the resource, thus making for an easier review. Periodic discussion with lecturer or supervisor will ensure that the review stays on track and the student does not waste time on resources which are not central to the research area.

Defining your research question at the start of your project can help the review process. A clearly defined question will make it easier to find the relevant resources. Next, the student should devise a research strategy. This involves: selecting resources, that is identifying the useful resources for your topic area such as library catalogues, subject databases, abstracting and indexing services; and considering the time frame, that is deciding on a realistic time frame and sticking to it. This can be monitored through developing a time chart.

A literature review serves several purposes. These include: to familiarize yourself with previous research on a topic and its method; to demonstrate that you can critically evaluate the work of others; to provide evidence that your own work builds on the existing knowledge; to provide context for your work; to rationalize your work, ensuring that it is not undertaken haphazardly.

Conducting effective research and critically reviewing the literature is a significant part of every academic project. This will involve systematically examining the work of others in your field. A well executed comprehensive review of existing knowledge can help identify a gap in the literature in which the student can work. This is the most important single element of your research. Failure to do this will result in wasted effort as you embark on a project which has already been done.

4. Structuring and Organizing Your Dissertation

Structure is incredibly important – an excessively long dissertation is a genuine headache and a real chore to wade through in comparison to that which is concise and impactful. The reader needs to be able to follow up any source you have referred to. A long and wordy introduction should in the main be avoided – it is better to dive straight into the subject matter and spare your readers an extended fishing expedition. Be conscious of the fact that those reading your dissertation will, in all likelihood, have a basic understanding of the topic you are writing on. If this is the case, then they will either be able to predict the conclusions you will arrive at or will have skipped ahead. With this in mind, it should be clear what the subject matter of each part of the dissertation is. There are many different methods of organizing a dissertation – some are more effective with the social sciences than with the physical sciences and some are better with linguistic or theoretical based studies as opposed to quantitative analysis. However, for the purposes of this project, I will be focusing on the best method to organize a mathematical dissertation in the hope of explaining how to produce a quality piece of work in this subject area.

5. Writing and Revising with Clarity and Coherence

As a writer, you need to ensure that your readers clearly understand what you are trying to say. The only way to achieve this is to put yourself in the readers’ place. Try to see if what you have written is interpreted the way you intended it to. If it is not, then you need to take corrective measures to overcome this. Remember, the flow of the information is as important as the information itself. Also, to eliminate any chance of misinterpretation, try to keep the language simple. This will also attract a wider audience to your work. Sentence structure, with its emphasis on the word “however,” is a common stumbling block for students trying to bring coherence into their work. This is an example of a weak connective. It suggests a cause and effect relationship, but this is not completely clear. The word “however” is designed to connect contrasting ideas. A more effective way to express this would be to use the connective “so” to show a cause and effect, or to change the position of the second idea and use the connective “but.” With some certain practice, writing with clarity and coherence will become a natural feature of your work.