Published on
December 2, 2016
by
Sarah Vinz.
Revised on
March 2, 2021.
It’s important that your dissertation topic is relevant. Relevance means that your research can contribute something worthwhile. But for whom must it actually be relevant?
The answer is simple: the topic should be relevant for all of the parties that are involved in your dissertation. You and your educational program are just the starting point.
If you are writing your dissertation about an organization where you are interning or working, it should also be relevant to that entity.
Finally, your dissertation may also need to have scientific, social or practical relevance.
Continue reading: Relevance of your dissertation topic
Published on
October 19, 2016
by
Sarah Vinz.
Revised on
March 24, 2017.
An abstract is a brief yet thorough summary of your research. Its purpose is to provide readers with a clear overview of what you have investigated and your corresponding conclusions.
Continue reading: Example of a dissertation abstract
Published on
February 11, 2016
by
Sarah Vinz.
Revised on
June 21, 2019.
English has two types of articles: definite (the) and indefinite (a/an). You can improve the articles that appear in your dissertation by:
- not using unnecessary articles with plural nouns,
- not using “a” or “an” with uncountable nouns,
- using articles with singular countable nouns,
- correctly choosing “a” or “an” in front of an acronym,
- correctly deciding if an acronym for an entity needs “the,” and
- and correctly identifying if a country name needs “the.”
Continue reading: Definite and indefinite articles (the/a/an)
Published on
February 6, 2016
by
Sarah Vinz.
Revised on
July 20, 2020.
When you are writing a dissertation, thesis or research paper, many words and phrases that are acceptable in conversations or informal writing are considered inappropriate in academic writing.
You should try to avoid expressions that are too informal, unsophisticated, vague, exaggerated, or subjective, as well as those that are generally unnecessary or incorrect.
Bear in mind, however, that these guidelines do not apply to text you are directly quoting from your sources (including interviews).
Continue reading: Taboo words in academic writing
Published on
January 19, 2016
by
Sarah Vinz.
Revised on
May 7, 2021.
Hyphens have many functions, but their main role is to link words (or parts of words). They most commonly appear with compound adjectives, phrasal verbs being used as nouns, and after some prefixes.
Continue reading: Hyphens (-)
Published on
December 22, 2015
by
Sarah Vinz.
Revised on
October 8, 2020.
There are three main options for capitalizing chapter and section headings within your dissertation: capitalizing all significant words, capitalizing only the first word, and a combination of the two.
Continue reading: Capitalization in titles and headings
Published on
December 7, 2015
by
Sarah Vinz.
Revised on
April 16, 2020.
Concise writing presents ideas clearly and does not use more words than are truly necessary. Conciseness is an important characteristic of academic writing, especially given how complex the subject matter frequently is.
Two of the biggest enemies of concise writing are inflated phrases and redundancies. It’s easy to think that using more complicated-sounding phrases will give your text a more academic feel, but mostly it just makes it harder to follow.
Using the below strategies will make your writing not only tighter, but also more effective.
Continue reading: How to write more concisely
Published on
October 14, 2015
by
Sarah Vinz.
Revised on
March 24, 2017.
During your writing, you will sometimes encounter passages where you end up repeating yourself quite frequently. Presenting a lot of information in the same way is often the result of not being armed with synonyms or alternative ways to phrase things.
This frequently happens in the introduction section, where you are expected to present the structure (or outline) of your dissertation. Indeed, there are not that many different ways to state what is included in Chapter 2, or are there?
Continue reading: Tips for writing an overview of your dissertation
Published on
October 14, 2015
by
Sarah Vinz.
Revised on
August 14, 2020.
The theoretical framework defines the key concepts in your research, proposes relations between them, and discusses relevant theories based on a literature review.
A strong theoretical framework gives your research direction, allowing you to convincingly interpret, explain and generalize from your findings.
Continue reading: Sample theoretical framework of a dissertation
Published on
October 14, 2015
by
Sarah Vinz.
Revised on
October 22, 2020.
Theories are developed by researchers to explain phenomena, draw connections, and make predictions. In the theoretical framework, you explain the theories that support your research, showing that your work is grounded in established ideas.
Continue reading: Developing your theoretical framework