Over the summer of your third year and into your final year, you may be required to write a dissertation. If you are, this will likely be the longest and most difficult assignment you will undertake, but you will have a much longer amount of time to complete it to make up for this.

Using your time wisely and structuring your research correctly will allow you to find success, and in this guide, we will break down our advice for exactly how to do that.

Depending on your course, your dissertation will most likely involve finding a topic that interests you, meeting your supervisor to go through and confirm the topic, conducting preliminary research and/or writing your first outline, planning the structure of your dissertation, writing your chapters and introduction and conclusion, and finally proofreading before submission.

You may have other tasks depending on the type of dissertation you are doing, but these headings will apply to most academic dissertations.

Finding a topic that interests you

The first thing to do when considering your dissertation is deciding what kind of form you want it to take. For some subjects, this is straightforward, but for others like the School of English, you have a few different options. You may be able to run a project or other major research initiative instead of a traditional written dissertation, so it’s worth checking with your Head of School and reading the dissertation handbook if one is provided.

In the case of English, we have three different options to choose from: a creative writing dissertation (in which we produce a piece of creative writing that’s ready to publish/perform depending on the medium), an open archive dissertation (in which a public-facing exhibition is prepared along with a report on the contents and methods used), and a standard academic research model.

Once you know what form you want your dissertation to take, the next thing is deciding what you want your topic to be. If you’re doing a creative dissertation, you will have already settled on the rough idea you’re going for. If not, this is the part where you think back on everything you have studied so far and decide what interests you and what you would like to learn more about. From there, you can ask yourself what is missing from the area, and what you believe you can contribute to the field through your work.

Obviously, you should not write your dissertation on something that is too similar to what you have done in assignments before as you might be self-plagiarising. When you think you have a topic, then you can arrange a meeting with someone from your school with expertise in that area.

Meeting with your supervisor

Finding a supervisor will vary from school to school. In some schools, they’ll assign you a supervisor to work with, in others it is on the student to reach out to potential supervisors who have expertise in the area you’re interested in.

Either way, now is the time to reach out to your supervisor and set up a meeting to go over your topic and your proposed structure. In the meeting, ensure you have a basic overview of what the dissertation will involve. Your supervisor will discuss with you whether they feel the topic would work and they may suggest that you slightly alter your title.

Once you and your supervisor have agreed on a topic, then you are ready to start conducting your research.  

Conducting research on your title

Once you know what your title is, it is then time for you to carry out research. You may have already done some research prior to deciding on your title, but this phase largely includes collating any previous research you have done and carrying out any experiments or interviews that are required.

You will also likely need to go through the library for materials or sources, especially if your dissertation is relying on primary source analysis. It is important to be aware of the current research in the area as you will likely be iterating on the latest findings in your field.

It is also important that you use the internet for useful resources, including databases like JSTOR and others listed on the Trinity libraries database. Keep a record of the research you think is most helpful so that you can come back to it later and reference it in your own work.  

Planning the structure of your dissertation

Every dissertation will need a clear introduction and conclusion but after that is your decision as to how you would like to structure it.

Most dissertations are separated into several chapters, and you must decide how many chapters you would like and then decide how to structure them. You will be given a word count at the beginning of the process, but how you choose to distribute it among the sections is up to you. You should have an idea of how many paragraphs you would like to write per chapter and how long you would like these paragraphs to be.

Also, it is important that your paragraphs contain a strong topic sentence, reference to the material you are describing, and your own commentary on what you have described before carefully transitioning to your next paragraph.  

Writing an introduction

The introduction is perhaps the most important part of your dissertation as it paints the clearest picture of what to expect from your essay, and outlines the sections to follow.

In your introduction, it is important that you provide your reader with some background information on the current area of research, what questions your research will attempt to answer and why your research is significant to the area.

Gradcoach.com mentions the four main components of an introduction as: background information, problem statement within the current research, research questions, and the significance of your study.  

Writing your chapters 

This is where your actual research is presented, including methodologies used, analysis of documents and/or interviews and an evaluation of what your research demonstrates.

Here you should refer back to your plan and write your paragraphs based around the structure you decided to use.

For every paragraph, you will need a strong topic sentence, a description of what you have researched, and some short commentary on that research before you transition to your next paragraph.  

This part shouldn’t be too difficult if you have a well-constructed plan and a clear idea of what you want to say. You may discover more about your research topic as you write your main paragraphs. This is fine and happens within most dissertations.

It is common to learn a lot during the writing process and your perspective and the topic might change significantly. It is supposed to be a learning experience, and this is a crucial part of that process.

At this stage, the most important thing is to write content that your supervisor can review with you. Your first draft will not be perfect, but it’s far easier to edit a written draft than to examine what’s in your brain. This part of the dissertation is crucial and you should spend all the time you are given on constantly improving it.

When you are happy with the content in your main chapters and your deadline date is coming then you can move on to your conclusion.  

Writing your conclusion

Your conclusion is where you restate your main arguments and explain how they contribute to the overall argument you are making within your dissertation.

Gradcoach claims that the two most important parts of a conclusion are your key findings and the implications of these findings.

You should summarize what you have learned through carrying out this research and how this research affects and contributes to the current research within the area, as well as explaining what you found through your analysis.  

Proofreading and referencing

Once you have completed a full draft, the last thing left is to proofread for spelling and grammar, and to add in any remaining references as well as your bibliography.

When you have finished your first draft, you can meet with your supervisor again and go through it together. The feedback you get at this point is crucial in helping you improve your writing and your analysis, so don’t be afraid to ask questions and receive criticism.

If there is anything you have learned after the writing process, include it at this stage. Be aware that you might have to remove entire paragraphs. It is also worth revisiting the secondary reading as your knowledge of your title will have improved and you might want to take note of other points made by the authors you used for research.  

Final Thoughts

Your dissertation should be seen as your opportunity to demonstrate what you have learned during your degree. For most undergraduates, this is their first contribution to their field and their first taste of what working as a researcher entails.

It may also be the platform from which they launch a literary career or go into a job as a curator or archivist, depending on the subject area. It is a unique piece of work, and you should be proud of it.

Frustrating as the process may be at times, your dissertation is a major achievement and no matter what grade you receive in the end, you should be proud of having completed it.