How To Write A Dissertation Or Thesis: A Full Guide For Students

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Writing any academic paper may be a real mess. You have to spend your time, effort, and energy on it and still deal with your everyday routine. Facing the task to do research and write a dissertation increases all your challenges several times. If you haven’t similar experience or weren’t the most successful author of academic essays, a thesis would definitely cause much more issues for you.

It’s no surprise that students of all disciplines, grades, and educational levels wonder about How To Write A Dissertation. Every individual is interested in a successful result that allows him or her to reach the final goal – getting a Philosophy doctorate degree or completing a current educational program. And most students prepare themselves for having hard times because of this writing challenge. 

But creating this assignment doesn’t mean you have to pander to failure beforehand and struggle for months. Uncertainty is scary so you should clarify all requirements for doing research and writing a thesis. With all-new knowledge, you’ll gain confidence and a positive attitude to the task. These psychological benefits will play an important role in your success as a future graduate. 

That is a heavy reason to use theoretical study guides for your purposes. With the knowledge of how to write a high-quality dissertation or thesis, every individual can try to make this assignment. Let’s reveal all details you may require including step-by-step guidelines, special tips, and hidden rocks. 

Before You Begin: A Preparation Stage

Every expert admits that writing a dissertation starts long before creating content. You have to prepare yourself not only for doing research and describing its results in a thesis but also for being a real writer. Many students experience emotional crises when they face this assignment. As well as your mood and health condition influence your productivity, it’s vitally important to make yourself ready. 

So ask yourself: what dissertation or thesis writing is starting with. As far as this paper means doing research, your job will start with a question. Just think about which theories were the most exciting to you during education, which topics have gaps, and what topics you would like to investigate. All these questions will lead you to select a good dissertation or thesis topic

Having a topic or several topics in closely-spaced fields allows you to brainstorm and collect resources for your writing. You are free to analyze information from a variety of sources: books in libraries, articles in electronic resources, forums on the Web, information in the press, etc. Try to collect as much content as possible so that later you would be capable of selecting the best arguments and evidence.

Besides, useful information helps a student to brainstorm. By doing information analysis and prior research in the exact field, you are able to suggest your purposes, goals, objectives, and other elements of the general framework. This is where the process of writing a good dissertation really starts. It seems you are ready to go to the next stage. 

How To Write A Dissertation Successfully: Independent And Assisted Writing

Thinking about the ultimate approach on How To Write A Dissertation experts admit 2 main options. You are capable of doing research and creating content independently or using professional help. Let’s see the main pros and cons of these approaches. 

The first choice is called traditional. Independent writing means you are the idea generator, writer, editor, proofreader, and consultant for yourself. Every element of your thesis totally depends on you. This isn’t good or bad but a reality for many students. Such a rhythm of life without support drives them crazy: individuals experience anxiety, depression, issues with sleep, panic attacks, and other awful symptoms. 

Anyway, one person can handle the above issues and keep working on assignments. But a stressful atmosphere badly influences the content quality and people too. Even if they know how to write a dissertation or thesis there is no guarantee of successful results. 

If you prefer independent writing you have more disadvantages than advantages. You may avoid extra spending on professional assistance but will be exhausted with your work. And what is more important – you’ll likely make many mistakes that influence the final grade. 

The second choice presents a modern point of view on writing your dissertation or thesis. It means you can find a reliable service and gain support from a professional writer. Depending on your preferences, you may order different services:

  • to write my dissertation for me. A professional author will write a thesis according to all requirements of your university and academic department. You can select comprehensive or partial assistance;
  • to edit a draft. If you decide to write your thesis without assistance but still need partial support then rely on experts. they will improve your draft, correct weak sections, and give you extra benefits;
  • to proofread a text. Making mistakes during writing a thesis is okay. Leaving them in the final text is inappropriate. Order high-quality proofreading to get rid of all mistakes and misprints.

So feel free to ask experts to ‘write my dissertation for me‘. This is a win-win strategy for students because it provides them with beneficial experience and guaranteed results.

Basic Definitions: What Is A Dissertation Paper

This is a formal academic paper that includes making research according to a standard procedure. It is also known as a thesis in some countries as well. This assignment is a part of undergraduate or graduate study depending on the exact educational program. It also may be a final assignment to get a Ph.D. degree. 

Sometimes students don’t understand what is a dissertation and what is a thesis. Usually, these terms are used as substitutable. In the following guide, we’ll consider these words as synonyms. 

Talking about this paper, the role of research is vitally important. An author is required to follow 4 traditional steps in his or her investigation: state the exact questions, analyze the previous contributions of other scientists, collect information for making further conclusions, and answer the main questions using your findings during research. 

This research procedure is a must because its absence means you only write an opinion essay. If you can’t understand how to write a dissertation or thesis without using your opinions then repeat all the preparation. While you aren’t ready to accept the definition of this assignment then you are prohibited to move on to the next stage. 

If you can rely on the question & answer procedure then keep going. With a basic understanding of what is a dissertation, you are coming close to the practical part of your assignment. 

A Successful Topic For A Successful Dissertation

A research topic is an element that can play a significant role in your future. A bad one will write off all your contributions to the field. A good one will level up your achievements and guarantee a successful paper acceptance by a scientific community. That’s why you must pay profound attention to the topic selection stage.

Let’s clarify the main features of a good topic:

  • importance. Old-fashioned and useless topics are the worst choices you can make. They have lost or never have any meaning for scientists or humanity. As a researcher you want to bring value to the research problem, so do people who will estimate your job;
  • originality. It’s vitally important to analyze questions that were never stated before or which still don’t have proper answers. Unique topics are meant to make useful contributions to the exact field while non-unique topics only take precious time of the audience;
  • clearness. The perfect topic allows a reader to clearly understand what the thesis will be dedicated to. No misunderstandings of the context are allowed. Make sure any person will understand what you are going to investigate in your research.

Anyway, writing a quality dissertation or thesis without the topic is impossible. The research questions you have stated before will be very helpful. By asking them, you can define the general topic of your thesis or define its draft copy at least. 

How To Write A Dissertation Or Thesis 

Once you feel you are ready and your deadline doesn’t give you a choice it’s time to start. Make sure to organize your working space and schedule your time. Such small things are very helpful no matter your writing skills and confidence. 

Writing a dissertation is much easier when you know the exact steps you must follow. For this reason, here we have 0 stages of your journey with the destination of ‘a successful thesis’. You may follow them independently or ask experts to ‘do my dissertation for me‘. 

Step #1. Create a research proposal

You can’t start your research without approval. That’s why the next step is to prove to the representatives of your university that your topic is worth researching. And a research proposal of your thesis is meant to do it for you. 

It must meet the following requirements:

  • explain that your topic is clear, unique, and important so you can make a useful contribution to the exact field;
  • highlight you have already made a short literature overview to make sure you have a base for your research;
  • share your methodology that will help you find a new solution for a current issue or bring up to date an existing problem.

At this stage, you shouldn’t have a draft copy of your paper or even a dissertation structure. Making a basic overview of the advantages of your research is enough to shape the destiny of your topic.

Step #2. Write an introduction 

The opening chapter is meant to introduce the general canvas of your research paper. It must answer 2 main questions: what you are going to investigate and why you decided to do it. This is the beginning of your paper so keep in mind to present the topic and your goals to the readers. 

Your dissertation format and university’s requirements determine the structure of the introduction. But in most cases it must contain the following elements:

  • a basic explanation of the topic’s background;
  • a research problem that highlights the current issue in the exact field;
  • a one or several research questions the author plans to discuss in the following work;
  • a description of the research role for the scientific community and humanity in general.

It is important to remember what a dissertation or thesis is without a question & answer scheme. The points to mention in the opening chapter and their order may differ but all statements belong to the same field. A writer has to briefly answer the mentioned above research questions. 

Step #3. Prepare a literature overview 

Because an author is obligated to define a gap in the field or a research issue he or she must pay attention to the current findings and discussions on the exact topic. That’s the reason to make an overview of established resources made before your research. 

Be ready to read not only how to write a dissertation or thesis but also the thesis of other authors. This is a kind of investigation that will help you to share the current status of your research objectives. It’s important: this process is usually underrated by writers. They make a brief observation of books and articles but forget to do in-depth research. Please, schedule enough time at this stage.

After you have collected good content for your literature overview you have to write this paragraph. Make a summary of information regarding your research questions. 

Step #4. Select a research strategy and do it

Finally, it’s time to do research for your assignment. At this stage, you are required to select a strategy based on methodology. With the number of different research methods, you will investigate a subject and reveal your findings. 

Collecting and analyzing data is one of the most significant stages of writing a thesis. Once the data is collected make sure to organize it properly. You should be patient and work on this task as long as it requires your attention. 

Be ready that things usually go sideways no matter your wish and level of preparation. It’s okay until you deal with the research issues. 

Step #5. Share the findings of your research 

You have the exact dissertation structure that has 2 sections: results and discussions. While the order of these chapters varies, the content in each one must be unique. 

Here are the main differences between these parts:

  • the results paragraphs is meant to present your findings;
  • the discussion paragraphs must explain the meaning of your findings to your research questions. 

By making this chapter of the thesis, you are coming close to the core tasks of your work. You will answer the questions you have previously stated and complete your initial purposes. 

Step #6. Make a conclusion 

No matter the specific academic requirements, a modern dissertation format means to bring up the final words and discuss the implementations of your findings. Place here your key results and findings with full descriptions of their meanings.

Then you need to evaluate the implementations of your key findings. With such a conclusion you’ll finish a full circle of your research job. 

Selecting The Best Dissertation Format

Writing a dissertation or thesis means you have to follow plenty of rules and requirements. Students usually consider they may rely on a standard structure and make its sections step-by-step. Well, that is right and false at the same time. Let’s figure out how to structure a dissertation and how to build the perfect format for your research paper. 

In general, there is a standard structure you can rely on. It includes classic chapters like introduction, body, and conclusions plus special sections like abstract, proposal, hypothesis, etc. Besides, the perfect structure differs depending on several criteria: a discipline, university, topic, research method, etc. 

For instance, if you write a thesis in a humanistic discipline (philosophy, arts, history, etc.) then your assignment will remain a long essay containing arguments to support the main thesis. All paragraphs in the text will be connected with the overall canvas using additional statements and studies. An opposite example – writing a dissertation in science. This is a golden standard of traditional assignment structure that contains all the standard chapters in most cases. 

Sometimes an author may combine certain sections or change their order. For instance, the traditional structure means discussion should be followed by a conclusion. At the same time, you may face a rule to place a conclusion first. Such rules in dissertation writing are regulated by universities and relevant case studies. 

An Approximate Structure Of A High-quality Thesis

If you know how to write a dissertation or thesis but can’t clarify the best structure then you don’t know how to write it. Let’s figure out the most important sections of this paper:

  • Dissertation Introduction. The opening chapter must be strong, catchy, and comprehensive. Make sure to include to your dissertation introduction your topic, research questions, and so on;
  • Dissertation Conclusion. This is a final chance to influence readers’ aftertaste of your work. Use a positive tone of voice to end your dissertation conclusion;
  • Dissertation Results. You must represent your key findings here. It is good to share your final dissertation results with discussion ideas;
  • Dissertation Hypothesis. In other words, this is a prediction for your research. You must add your dissertation hypothesis to the opening chapter and discuss it in the discussion section;
  • Dissertation Abstract. Most authors prefer to write this summary at the very end of their paper. Usually, the dissertation abstract contains approximately 150-300 words;
  • Dissertation Discussion. This paragraph contains an explanation of your results and further implementations. Your dissertation discussion must relate to your research questions;
  • Dissertation Methodology. You require proper methods to do your research and receive fair results. Share these methods in the dissertation methodology section;
  • Dissertation Proposal. This is a chapter that is meant to get your topic approved by your university’s representative. A dissertation proposal is the first part of the paper to write as a final copy;
  • Dissertation Literature Review. The purpose of this part is to bring up to date all findings on the following topic made beforehand. A good dissertation literature review describes a theoretical framework from A to Z.

Please, remember that the exact sections and their order may vary. If you have any doubt about whether you need to place any content to your thesis or wonder about the right order then find answers with your supervisor and in your department’s manuals. 

Useful Dissertation Tips That Work

Having a dissertation step by step guide always plays into the hands of a writer. This comprehensive how-to will help you to start, continue, and finish your thesis successfully. Also, several professional tips in writing will be extremely helpful too:

  • plan your time. Don’t expect to start and finish your thesis in the same semester. Writing a paper and doing research is a significant job that takes time, effort, and energy. Let yourself move on little by little;
  • don’t be afraid of making mistakes. It’s okay to make mistakes and misprints in the text because in the end you’ll edit and proofread your content. Besides, most authors prefer to be on the safe side and hire a professional editor;
  • use an outline. Outlining helps to plan your writing and move step by step. It increases your chances of keeping things clear and not skipping any important detail;
  • take advantage of appendices. Add raw data you can refer to. It is very helpful to support your arguments and evidence.

These dissertation tips are quite simple. But using them you’ll improve your final text and be ready to end up the chapter of your life called ‘writing a thesis’.

A Dissertation Step By Step Guide: A Final Checklist

With the following guidelines and tips, you are capable of preparing a good research paper. Let’s just make a brief recap of how to write a dissertation or thesis:

  • get ready for writing mentally and physically;
  • select the writing approach that suits you the best;
  • reveal definitions of the basic terms;
  • choose a unique, valuable, and clear topic;
  • write a research proposal to get your topic’s approval;
  • make a draft of your opening section;
  • analyze current research and findings;
  • find your perfect research methods and do research;
  • present your results and start discussions;
  • make key findings and evaluate the implementations of your job.

Besides, remember about your writing options. Don’t hesitate to use a dissertation writing service for your sake. This is a great opportunity to maximize your success with your assignment!

Expert Dissertation Writing

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