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The term “first” associated with anything brings shivers to our bodies. And when it comes to assignments, the name dissertation is enough to make students crumble.
“How do I do my dissertation the first time minus the challenges?” – That is a common question among most students.
If that is what you are wondering and you want to take this challenge head-on, here are some tips on how to write your first dissertation flawlessly:
1) Get your topic ready
Let’s start with the most basic tip, i.e., getting your topic first. A dissertation calls for hefty research, so one must pick a topic that offers broader scope. However, it should be narrowed down to some extent to do justice to the topic.
Try to go for controversial or trending topics. This will help you frame creative headlines which can garner the attention of the readers of your paper.
2) Outline first
Now that you have your topic ready, it is time for you to outline your entire paper. A dissertation follows a very strict outline. This includes an introduction, literature review, methodology, observation, results and references. This should be followed without fail, or it could lead to the deduction of marks.
Most students get into research first, but in our experience, an outline can create the paper’s direction. Once your outline is ready with your headlines, you can research and fill in the empty areas.
3) Research second
After creating the outline, it is time for you to start researching. A dissertation is a lengthy process, so you need to research immediately. Don’t go lazy on research since this will make your paper valuable, and dissertations are meant to offer educational information to the readers.
Research through online journals, books, previous articles etc. Try to find crucial data and analytics on your topic. Heavy research will also give you an idea of how you can contribute to the matter.
4) Write sooner
Researching is vital, but some students get caught up so much that it delays the writing process. Make sure that you start writing as soon as possible. If not, you will end up missing your deadline.
Write as soon as possible to have sufficient time to plan. Keep editing for the end, and do not do it along the way. A hasty writing process can lead to confusion and mistakes frequently, which will call for extra efforts to rectify them.
5) Cite along the way
We do not recommend editing along the way, but a pro tip is to cite along the way while writing. Reports claim that 90% of academic papers are never cited, but dissertations call for citations. This is because you will be getting so much data from other papers. Hence, you need not provide their link or else it could lead to cases of plagiarism.
Some students do the silly mistake of doing citations at the end, which is a hassle. This can lead to negligence of a few papers or create mistakes while citing. Hence, copy the links in one place and simply put them systematically in the end.
6) If stuck, move on
If it takes long hours to write the introduction, move on to the main body. There is no point in feeling stuck and wasting your time. Instead, focus on other areas to make the work productive. You can work on methods, observations or even the discussion if you do not want to do your literature review first.
Many writers keep the introduction and conclusion for the end to create one that reinstates the main paper.
7) Getting ideas is not duplication
If you are stuck and still want to make it productive, why not get ideas from others? With a dissertation, there are numerous times when one works on existing topics with new updates. Once you find a paper similar to your topic, you will get an idea of how to craft it. This especially helps beginners, as most of them are clueless about how to begin.
This can give you ideas on areas to cover, structure to follow and important areas to mention. And no, getting inspiration is not copying ideas as long as you are citing r links. If stuck, you can always get new ideas which will give you a fresh perceptive.
8) Visuals are a thing
And if you did not know, visuals are a thing with dissertations too. Many have a notion that dissertations are only for writing. Well, that is true, but not entirely. You must also add graphs, break chunky paragraphs and make it visually pleasing.
After all, readers read with their eyes first. And if it does not look pleasing, they can skip reading it. And anyway, a dissertation is quite long. So why not make it appealing to keep the audience interested?
9) Accuracy key
With dissertations, you need to be sure of adding only accurate details. It would help if you researched the methodology, samples and values to ensure that your paper does not have flaws.
Wise people say that adding misleading information is even more unacceptable than adding no information at all. Hence double-check and cross-examine all the information you have input is accurate to suppress cross-questions on your work.
10) Know when to take breaks
A dissertation is time-consuming, but you must take breaks midway for your sanity. Your writing gets better when you do it mindfully. It will help if you take breaks to recharge your mind to make the process fruitful. Take walks, chat with others and do leisure activities.
The key to taking breaks and still completing your work on time again relies on writing sooner and planning things in routine.
11) Set your deadlines
Want to complete your paper sooner? Well, it’s quite easy. Set your deadlines. Set your deadlines two weeks before or 1 week before the final submission.
But simply setting a deadline is not enough. You also need not be serious about following them. If not, you will still be stuck in the loop of completing the dissertation in one rush.
12) Don’t overlook proofreading
Proofreading and editing are the basics of any paper. And with a dissertation, the responsibility to do justice to the paper increases even more. Proofread your papers and take breaks along the way. Since dissertations are long, why not proofread a few sections at a time?
While proofreading, make sure to analyze spelling, data input, citations and structure. Any loopholes which do not serve the purpose should be eliminated. Proofreading is the final chance to make your paper perfect.
Do it as many times as possible to make your paper crisp in the end.
13) Get suggestions
If you do not trust your proofreading skills, then why not get suggestions from others? You can ask your friends, family, and siblings to take a look at your dissertation.
Their suggestions on first impressions, areas to improve and remove can bring significant changes to the paper.
Get suggestions from others and incorporate them to make it more pleasing for other readers.
And there you have all the vital tips on how to write a dissertation. Writing a dissertation will be quite easy for you now. Start following them, and slowly you will see big changes in your writing style and grades over time.
