Dissertation Format
A dissertation is an original, usually book-length research document written by a doctoral student in the student’s area of study. Dissertations are typically required to follow a very specific format according to the student’s department, institution, and field. Every dissertation writer should take care to investigate the specific guidelines outlined by his or her institution, as many institutions publish instructions regarding their preferred dissertation format.
Formatting dissertations is different from formatting other texts a student may write in the course of his or her graduate study because a dissertation must be presented in final, publishable form. A dissertation is considered a “finished” document and will likely be filed and published in the exact version in which the student submits it. This is the reason dissertation formats are so specific.
Though dissertation formats vary from institution to institution, most dissertation formats will be some variation of the following outline, containing: (1) pages of front matter including a title page, copyright page, approval page, abstract, table of contents, list of tables, and list of figures; (2) the main body of the dissertation broken into specific sections if necessary or mandated by formal requirements (see below); (3) a comprehensive list of references; (4) an appendix; and (5) the dissertation writer’s curriculum vitae.
Almost every dissertation will include similar pages in the front matter, as detailed above. Of these, the most important and standardized element is the abstract, which is a brief summary of the dissertation’s study and results. All abstracts should be less than 350 words. This is a key element of dissertation format that is mandated by nearly every institution and discipline because this is the word limit determined by research databases that publish dissertations.
The format of the dissertation’s main body is largely determined by whether the dissertation is a critical analysis or a research study. A critical analysis dissertation is typically written in the humanities, and examines a text or theory in an original way. The main body of these types of dissertations can typically take a format of the author’s choosing. A research study dissertation, on the other hand, usually follows a standard, five-chapter dissertation format, consisting of (1) an introduction of the research problem and a statement of the study’s purpose; (2) a review of existing literature on the topic; (3) a methodology section explaining the study’s procedure; (4) a results chapter outlining the study’s findings; and (5) a discussion chapter that suggests the implications of the results.
The references section of a dissertation should be a comprehensive listing of every study or text cited in the body of the paper.
An appendix is a section for presenting supplementary materials or materials that would hinder the reading of the dissertation if placed in the body of the text.
The student’s curriculum vitae is usually the final section of a dissertation.
Download a Paper from our Database | Order a One-of-a-Kind, Custom-written Paper
Related posts:- Writing a Dissertation - Writing a dissertation is the most extensive project a student will complete before earning his or her doctoral degree. A dissertation is a long, in-depth, and original document that often...
- MIT Dissertation - An MIT dissertation is a long and innovative document composed by a doctoral student enrolled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a distinguished institution located in Cambridge, Massachusetts that is...
- APA Research Paper Format - Research papers written according to the stylistic guidelines set forth by the American Psychological Association (APA) must follow a specific format as outlined by the APA’s Publication Manual. Formatting APA...
- Dissertation Proposal - A dissertation proposal is a document outlining a doctoral student’s planned research study on a specific topic in their area of expertise. Dissertation proposals must be submitted to a student’s...
- Education Dissertation - An education dissertation is an in-depth document that investigates in a thorough and innovative way some practice, theory, or method related to education. Education dissertations are often research studies, meaning...
Tags: custom dissertation format, custom written dissertation format, customized dissertation format, dissertation format, dissertation format help, dissertation format service, dissertation format tutorial, dissertation format writing, dissertation formats, how to write a dissertation format, write a dissertation format, write dissertation formats, writing a dissertation format, writing dissertation formats
