In essence, a dissertation is a research project typically carried out as part of a postgraduate degree. The majority of degrees give out dissertations as part of their final assignments with the aim of testing the research abilities of students and how independently they can carry out the assignment. Some students usually seek essay writing help from https://www.wiseessays.com/essay-writing-help to help them in their research work.
Preparing and writing can be very arduous work and requires lots of time and effort. Usually, it is advisable to choose a topic or proposition you are passionate about. That way it will seem less of a hurdle to overcome and more of a goal to accomplish.
As with all other academic writings, dissertations have a structure that must be adhered to for the best effect and grades.
Not every structure is the exact same way, the structure of your dissertation will depend largely on several factors, for example, your field, the topic, your method of approach, or even the type of dissertation. There are two types:
Empirical dissertations
These are dissertations that involve research and data collection. It involves lots of gathering information, analyzing this information, and presenting it as relevant, useful data.
Non-empirical dissertation
These are usually based on already existing information and research already done by others. In this type of dissertation, you need to make sure you don’t just copy others but instead provide your own insight and critically analyze the provided data.
But in order to give proper context, a typical dissertation structure will be outlined and is as follows:
- Title page
- Acknowledgments
- Abstracts
- Table of contents
- Lists of figures and tables
- List of abbreviations
- Glossary
- Introduction
- Literature review
- Methodology
- Results
- Discussion
- Conclusion
- References
Now we have a basic idea of what a dissertation should look like, but today we will be taking an in-depth look at one specific part of a dissertation and it is abstract.
Writing a dissertation abstract is not so different from writing an abstract for a high school term paper or a college research paper.
An abstract is an articulate summary of a research paper, documentary, analysis or review of a topic or subject matter. It usually highlights key areas like research purpose, the relevance of your work, its effects, and potential outcomes. It is usually a single paragraph of 200-300 words, the aim is to be as concise as possible.
Now let us talk about dissertation abstracts, are they any different? Well not so much, in this post we will be taking a comprehensive look at how to write a well-arranged abstract.
Before you begin writing your abstract, there are a few basic requirements or prerequisites that will be needed for effective writing.
Prerequisites:
Writing the abstract for your dissertation will take some preparation and usually the first thing I would recommend is finding good examples of already written abstracts online. It doesn’t have to be related to your topic but it would be a big plus if it is indeed related to your proposition. Take a look at the writing patterns, vocabulary, and structure. Try to gain understanding and have some practice.
It is also advisable to write the abstract after you have written your dissertation paper, that way you are sure of capturing everything properly. Keep in mind that your abstract must accomplish three main goals:
- Give the reader a comprehensive explanation of your dissertation
- Be brief but still give enough information about the paper
- Give an overview or summary of the dissertation
Writing requirements:
Each and every write-up has pre-stated writing guidelines that must be adhered to. Word count and writing style should be taken into consideration. You should know that dissertation abstracts are of two types:
Descriptive abstracts
Descriptive abstracts are usually used to explain research methods as well as purposes of research without explaining any results because they have a dedicated section.
Informative abstracts
Informative abstracts are summarised versions of your paper intended to give a debriefing of your research and its results.
The main difference between the two types is that the informative type is longer and it must include research results. It would be advisable to use informative types for longer or more technical research and use descriptive options for shorter less intricate papers.
Provide an introduction/background
The introduction of your abstract is very vital to letting the audience know the purpose of your research and its relevance. You should have an excellent introductory sentence that states the topic as well as addresses a problem or a solution. It should immediately grab the attention of the reader.
State your aim
Define the purpose of your research. What is the practicality of your paper, what problem does the research address or attempt to solve, or what idea are you presenting?
State the objective of your research. Use affirmative words and verbs to describe what you intend to do or show.
Describe your methodology
This is the part of your essay where you precisely explain the methods and techniques used in accomplishing your research. Avoid bogus details, only include information that is relevant to your paper.
Results or findings
Summarise your research results. Emphasize only the important findings, the reason people read the abstract is to discover your results so the results subsection will naturally be the longest part of your abstract. Be very detailed, but also be very precise.
Conclusion
Lastly, state the conclusion of your research paper. The audience should have a clear comprehension of the point that your research has established. If your aim was to solve a problem, then your conclusion should include recommendations and relevant suggestions.
It is very vital to check that all of the presented data you have included coincides with the information in the main body of your paper.
It takes a lot of time and effort to put together a notable dissertation paper with a standout abstract so it may be difficult to evaluate your own work at first glance, it would be a good idea to give your finished work to a friend, relative or colleague and ask him or her to read it aloud. This can help you spot grammatical errors and also know which areas of the abstract will require revision or complete removal.
