I thought I'd share my tips for writing and editing essays/dissertations. Good luck to everyone currently writing up their dissertations/revising for exams :)
What should I include in the intro?
It's up to you when you decide to write the introduction, but it's important to keep the following questions in mind...
❖ What is the subject matter of the dissertation/essay?
❖ Why is this subject matter important/relevant/topical?
❖ What is your research question?
❖ What is the aim of the dissertation?
When you write your introduction you should consider how your essay/research relates to previous research and what contributions it will be making to the field of existing knowledge. This shows an in-depth understanding of your chosen topic and indicates to the marker that you've done your research and have considered the questions carefully.
Top Tip!
Briefly outline your topic and reference significant authors you will be using throughout your research. It is important to question why your research is relevant and how it will be important for future discussions and researchers.
Give a time frame. Consider when your data was collected, was it recent or could it be considered outdated? If so, how does this affect your research? Could it be updating previous research or filling in a gap within the literature?
What should I include in the Literature Review?
Key things to include in the review:
❖ What have people done/researched in the field?
❖ What research philosophy/data collection methods did other scholars use? Did it work? What limited their research?
❖ Use good accounts/studies of what has been researched, organise material into themes
❖ What things do writers agree/disagree with?
❖ Put the reading into chronological order- this will make it logical and help your writing flow
❖ How do your research questions relate to previous work?
❖ Establish the gap in the literature
Top Tip!
Explain in this section why the approaches you have used are useful in understanding the strategy being discussed. It is important that everything you state is relevant and clearly explained to the reader so that there is a logical progression to the argument.
What should I include in the methodology?
(This is basically the research proposal but includes more detail)
❖ Give a description of your methodology and why you have chosen it
❖ Needs to be appropriate to the research questions
❖ Advantages and disadvantages of your chosen methodology
❖ Explain the chosen methods, why you prefer them
❖ How did you conduct the research?
❖ Research philosophy
What should I include in the discussion/analysis of findings?
❖ What have you discovered which is appropriate to the methodology- do justice to your findings
❖ Restate the aims and objectives of your research
❖ Highlight the main overarching themes
❖ Organise material and findings into themes
❖ Do not be afraid to admit irregularities or unambiguous patterns.
❖ Was your research limited by lack of data?
❖ What can you legitimately conclude/reasonably infer?
❖ Place findings within a broader context to wider literature
❖ Conclude- does it confirm or refute other findings?
❖ What should future research look like?
I hope this guide has been useful and can help you when you're writing/editing your essay/dissertation. Remember to take lots of breaks in between studying and take care of yourself :)
If you need a playlist to accompany your studying then check out my Spotify Study Playlist (link down below)
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