Guidelines for writing dissertations

CONTENTS

  1. Introduction: What is different in academic writing?
  2. Structure
  3. Style
  4. References and Quotations
  5. Reading for Writing
  6. Developing an Argument
  7. The Structure of Dissertations

1.INTRODUCTION: WHAT IS DIFFERENT IN ACADEMIC WRITING

In your Masters programme, you will have to write assignments for most modules, as well as a dissertation of 15,000 words at the end. The type of writing that is required at Mastersdegree level in the Social Sciences may be different from the writing you have done either professionally, or in a previous degree course. These guidelines offer information on the characteristics of academic writing in the Social Sciences.

Here are the main features that distinguish academic writing from some other types of writing.

1.1 Academic writing needs to be presented in a specific way

Academic writing requires a clear structure, an objective and relatively formal style, precise language, and the acknowledgement of all sources that you used. These features are discussed in sections 2, 3, and 4. You also have to stay within the set word limits for the various assignments and the dissertation (these are stated in the Programme Handbook).

1.2 Unlike other forms of writing,all claims made in academic writing must be backed up by evidence

In some types of writing, you can make claims on the basis of your personal opinions or assumptions. In academic writing, you must provide appropriate justification for your claims through arguments and evidence.

Evidence comes from research. In your assignments, the evidence for your claims will mainly come from the work of other scholars in the field. In your dissertation, it is likely that you will carry out empirical research yourself. Then, you will have two sets of claims and two evidence bases:

1) Claims by other authors that justify your research and position it in the field. These claims will be based on your careful review of the literature. The literature review will have provided evidence of what previous research has achieved, and which questions it has left unanswered.

2) Claims based on the evidence of your own research. These claims usually represent new knowledge in the field.

Example: Need for evidence
In everyday conversations, you are not normally expected to provide a detailed analysis of the topic. For instance, if someone asks you ‘What do you think of devolution?’ they want to know whether you are for or against, and they would be bored if you went into an analysis of the current debate. In academic writing, the priorities are reversed. The reader is not interested in your personal opinion, but wants to know what are (a) the main issues to be considered, and (b) the various lines of argument that can be developed. You must put the reader in the position to form his/her own judgement based on the evidence and arguments that you have presented. Your claims or conclusion are less important than how you arrived at them.

This feature of academic writing is further discussed in sections 4, 5, and 6.

1.3 Academic writing at Masters and Doctoral degree level is not about testing your knowledge- it is about building knowledge

At undergraduate level, some exams and assignments may be designed to test students’ knowledge of facts. At Masters level, you are expected to contribute to knowledge through your writing. It is not enough toreportwhat others in the field have done and written. You are expected to critically analyse the literature and to take astance, expressing your ownvoiceby challenging existing claims, concepts and theories.

The assignment topic or question often indicates this expectation by asking you to ‘discuss’ or ‘evaluate’.

2.STRUCTURE

Assignments and dissertations need a clear structure with headings and sub-headings for the various chapters and sections. The sections need to be structured by paragraphs.

2.1. The main sections of assignments
Assignments usually have three main sections, the Introduction, the Main Text and the Conclusion, followed by the Reference List and, if appropriate, Appendices. The Main Text should be structured by headings that reflect your line of argument.
TheIntroductionsets the scene. It introduces the question/problem and explains the purpose and focus of the paper. It also provides some background information, for instance on previous work in the area, and on research gaps. If necessary, it provides definitions of the key term(s). Finally, the Introduction outlines in summary form how you are going to deal with the topic, and the various stages you will take before reaching the Conclusion. If appropriate, you also may state here why the topic is relevant to you, for instance in relation to your professional context.

For an example of an Introduction see the example for Signposting below.

TheMain Textincludes a critical review of the literature. Based on this review, you will develop your argument. The nature of the argument is specific to the assignment question/topic and can be any of the following: a) you argue for one position presented in the literature and explain why this is, on the basis of your critical analysis, more convincing than others; b) you argue that all current positions are not convincing and explain why; c) you argue that for your specific professional context, one position is more applicable than the others.
Depending on the question/topic, there might be other lines of argument. The important point is that you take a stance and make a critical evaluation of the literature instead of just reporting it.

TheConclusionshould give the reader the clear impression that the purposes of the assignment have been achieved. It typically includes:

  • A summary of the main points (discussed in the Main Text)
  • Concluding statements drawn from these points

The Introduction and Conclusion must link together; at the end of your paper, you should look back at the goals you set out in the Introduction and discuss how you achieved them.

The dissertation is usually about your own research, not a given question/topic, and therefore the structure includes chapters such as ‘Research Methodology’, ‘Findings’, and ‘Discussion of Findings’. The structure of the dissertation is discussed in section 7.

2.2. Signposting

Signpostingis an important feature of academic writing which enables the reader to follow your development of the topic. You need to signal how the various sections of your writing link together, and what you are going to discuss next and why.
There are two aspects to signposting: 1) saying where you are; 2) saying where you are going.
Below is an example of signposting, where the signposting devices are highlighted in bold print.

Example of Signposting in an Introduction

Vocabulary is seen as an issue of primary importance nowadays in language teaching, and at the same time it is an issue that poses problems to learners.In this paper I am going to commenton what constitutes ease and difficulty in vocabulary acquisitionfocusing onhow it is influenced by lexical correspondences between first and second language.

After a brief opening, I will look more closelyat different dimensions of lexical correspondences between languages and explain how these can affect the acquisition of lexis. For the purpose of this essay,three groupsoflexical correspondences will be adapted: true lexical correspondences, polysemic extensions and non-correspondences.Then I will presentmy own small-scale action research as a way ofillustratingthe issue in question.Finally, I will discusssome teaching implications of the subject matter.

Extract from a student assignment

Note that the structure of the assignment is clearly signposted thought the discourse markers:after a brief opening(i.e. Introduction),then, finally(i.e. Conclusion).

2.3. Paragraphs

It is important to divide your text into meaningful paragraphs. This makes it easier for you to develop your argument, and for the reader to follow it. Consider the following guidelines:

  • Each paragraph should contain one main idea or topic.
  • The idea or topic is often introduced in the opening sentence. The rest of the paragraph is then used to give examples, evidence, definitions and further explanations of the idea/topic.
  • There is no golden rule about how long a paragraph should be. However, avoid paragraphs of just one or two sentences.

The following example shows the topic and topic development of two paragraphs.

Example: Paragraphs
Theteaching of foreign languages within the UKeducational system has given rise to a number ofconcernsover the years. These have been related to such issues as themost appropriate age for commencementof language learning (Burstall et al, 1974), themost appropriate teaching methodologies(Richards & Rogers, 1986), and the relativeachievements of girls and boys(Graham & Rees, 1995; Clark & Trafford, 1996). However, themajor concernhas undoubtedly been the apparent reluctance of the British to learn a foreign language at all, and the declining level of achievement in this domain (Saunders, 1998). As we move into an era where our future will need to be based on multilingualism (Graddol, 1997), such a situation has serious consequences.
Arecent reporton behalf of the Nuffield Foundation (Moys, 1998) highlights a number ofkey questions regarding the current situation and the future of foreign language learning, as well as emphasising the deeply political underpinnings of a policy on language learning.The Nuffield Inquiry points firmly to theneed for foreign languagesin the twenty-first century from a European perspective, from a business stance, and because of the increasing necessity for international communication. As David Graddol warns in the report, ‘Speaking English alone will not be enough to ensure a full and productive participation in the 21st Century’ (1997, p.29).
From:Williams, M, Burden, R. and Lanvers, U. (2002) ‘French is the language of love and stuff’: student perception of issues related to motivation in learning a foreign language.British Educational Research Journal, 28, 4, 503 – 527. / Topic
Examples
Focusing on key aspect
New Paragraph:
New topic
Details of topic
Focusing on key aspect

2.4. Tables and figure

It is sometimes more effective to use tables and figures than lengthy verbal explanations, particularly when you want to present numerical information. Tables can also be presented to summarise your argument. Make sure that all tables and figures in your paper have a number and a title. They also must be referred to in the text.

Example: Use of Tables
Another model of motivation was developed by Ritche and Martin (1999). The categories and some of the factors are listed in Table 1.
Table 1: Ritchie and Martin's motivational drivers
Economic Rewards / Intrinsic satisfaction / Social Relationships
  • Money
  • Career enhancement
/
  • Interest
  • Achievement
  • Self-development
  • Creativity
  • Power and Influence
/
  • Social contact
  • Recognition, respect

Extract from a student assignment

3. STYLE

Academic writing does not require a style or vocabulary that is radically different from other types of writing, e.g. writing you might have done professionally or for your first degree. Nor does it require an overuse of technical jargon. You are expected to express yourself in a clear, accurate, concise, objective and coherent manner.

3.1 Clarity

It is a myth that academic writing requires a ‘sophisticated’ style with long sentences, complex expressions, and technical jargon. Avoid overlong sentences and cut out redundant words and phrases.
This is illustrated in the following example.

Example: concise style

From a student assignment

  • What I propose to investigate is to identify levels of anxiety among foreign students of English and then to go to explain the reasons of these anxieties to exist.

Edited version (after cutting out redundent words and phrases):

  • I propose to identify levels of anxiety among foreign students of English and explain their reasons.

Here are a few rules for achieving clarity and accuracy:

  • Use short words, rather short sentences, and plain language. Plain language means for instance to use:toinstead ofin order to,goinstead ofproceed,I will explaininstead ofI intend to explain. Using plain language helps you to avoid mistakes.
  • Avoid tautology (using two or more words with the same meaning):for instance, expressions such asnew innovation,past history.
  • Avoid contracted verb forms:in an academic text it is not acceptable to use forms such as don’t, isn’t, it’s, weren’t.
  • Use British spelling conventions:behaviour, colourinstead ofbehavior, color;analyse, generaliseinstead ofanalyze, generalize.
  • Use your spell checker:correct spelling and punctuation is essential in academic writing.

3.2. Personal or impersonal?

Impersonal style (avoiding personal pronouns such as ‘I’, ‘we’) used to be required in academic writing. It was believed that the impersonal style enabled the writer to discuss ideas in a detached and objective way. This convention has changed, and the use of personal pronouns is now common and encouraged. Using ‘I’ or ‘we’ still allows you to be objective, if you draw on a range of authors and their arguments to support your position. The use of personal pronouns might make it easier, however, to develop your own voice. Some researchers argue that using the first person helps you to be reflective about your own contribution to the existing debate and knowledge.

3.3. Coherence

Coherence means that the text within paragraphs is well linked, and that the paragraphs are linked with each other. Coherence can be achieved with linking words and phrases (and/but, however, consequently, although…).

Coherence can also be achieved by pronouns, referring to previous statements (it, they, this, these, those…). The linking words and phrases are also calledcohesive devicesordiscourse markers.They show the reader how you move from one point to another and develop your argument.

Here are examples of linking words and phrases:

  • Adding ideas:and, also, as well as, besides, finally, first (second, third, etc.), finally, furthermore, in addition, likewise, similarly.
  • Emphasising ideas:above all, after all, especially, indeed, in fact, in particular, it is true, most important, of course, truly.
  • Illustrating ideas:for example, for instance, in other words, in particular, namely, specifically, such as, that is/
  • Comparing ideas:in the same way, likewise, similarly.
  • Contrasting ideas:yet, but, at the same time, conversely, despite, differently, even so, however, in contrast, nevertheless, notwithstanding, on the contrary, on the other hand, or, otherwise, rather, regardless.
  • Showing cause and effect:accordingly, as a result, consequently, for that reason, for this purpose, hence, otherwise, so, then, therefore, thus, to this end.
  • Placing ideas in time:again, already, always, at first, at least, at length, at once, at that time, at the same time, briefly, concurrently, during this time, earlier, eventually, finally, first (second, third, etc.), formerly, gradually, immediately, in future, in the meantime, in the past, last, lately, later, meanwhile, next, now, presently, promptly, recently, shortly, simultaneously, so far, sometimes, soon, subsequently, then, thereafter, until now.
  • Summarising ideas:altogether, as has been noted, finally, in brief, in conclusion, in other words, in short, in simpler terms, in summary, on the whole, to put it differently, to summarise.

The following example shows how pronouns and linking phrases create coherence in the text.

Example: Coherence

The teaching of foreign languages within the UK educational system has given rise to a number of concerns over the years.These[1] have been related to such issues as the most appropriate age for commencement of language learning (Burstall et al, 1974), the most appropriate teaching methodologies (Richards & Rogers, 1986), and the relative achievements of girls and boys (Graham & Rees, 1995; Clark & Trafford, 1996).However[2], the major concern has undoubtedly been the apparent reluctance of the British to learn a foreign language at all, and the declining level of achievement in this domain (Saunders, 1998). As we move into an era where our future will need to be based on multilingualism (Graddol, 1997),such a situation[3] has serious consequences.

From: Williams, M, Burden, R. and Lanvers, U. (2002) ‘French is the language of love and stuff’: student perception of issues related to motivation in learning a foreign language.British Educational Research Journal, 28,4, 503 – 527.

[1] Referring back to "concerns"

[2] Contrasting idea

[3] Referring to last point, link to next paragraph

4REFERENCES AND QUOTATIONS

As mentioned in Section 1.2., all claims in academic writing must be supported by evidence. Most evidence that you will provide in your papers will come from your reading of the work of other authors in the field, and some will come from other sources, for instance newspapers, websites, government reports. All your sources, including tables, charts or photos, must be acknowledged through references.
There are various conventions of referencing; for instance, in some disciplines references are provided in footnotes. In the Social Sciences, theHarvard Systemis used, in which a brief (partial) reference is included in the text, while the full bibliographical reference is presented at the end, in the ‘Reference List’.

4.1 Partial References (references within the text)

Within the text, only the author’s name(s), publication date, and –in case of direct quotations- page numbers, are presented. Below, you see examples and explanations of the various forms of partial references.

Partial References / Explanation
1 / Literacy is commonly regarded as autonomous (Street, 1984) / Work of single author
2 / Public involvement in policy formation is increasingly encouraged through dialogue and debate (New Economics Foundation, 2003). / Reported by an organisation; no specified author
3 / Explanation can be sought from the continuum of instrumental and integrative orientation, which is described as an antecedent that helps ‘to arouse motivation and direct it towards a set of goals’ (Dörnyei, 1998, p. 123). / Page number is given for direct citation
4 / Another important factor influencing students’ chances of completion is whether they obtained their preferred choice of university and course (OzgaSukhandan, 1998). / Work of two authors
5 / As Dewhurst (1992) argues, students are going to meet moral dilemmas before and after they leave school. / "Integral" reference = author's name is part of the text
6 / As Boyle et al (2002) point out, students need to be confident in order to be successful in their studies. / "Integral" reference/more than two authors
7 / Furthermore, there is evidence from academic research that generational values differ (e.g. Smola & Sutton 2002). / The e.g. means that there is more literature on the topic and that this is only an example.

Inexample 6, there are more than two authors. For space reasons, only the first author, Boyle, is named, the others are referred to with ‘et al’. Their names are listed in the Reference List.