Published on
August 25, 2022
by
Shona McCombes
Revised on
January 14, 2025.
Your research methodology discusses and explains the data collection and analysis methods you used in your research. A key part of your thesis, dissertation, or research paper, the methodology chapter explains what you did and how you did it, allowing readers to evaluate the reliability and validity of your research and your dissertation topic.
Published on
August 21, 2022
by
Shona McCombes.
Revised on
January 14, 2025.
The discussion section is where you delve into the meaning, importance, and relevance of your results.
It should focus on explaining and evaluating what you found, showing how it relates to your literature review and paper or dissertation topic, and making an argument in support of your overall conclusion. It should not be a second results section.
There are different ways to write this section, but you can focus your writing around these key elements:
Recommendations: Avenues for further studies or analyses
NoteThere is often overlap between your discussion and conclusion section, but these are usually separate sections. However, in some cases, these two sections are combined.
If you’re unsure about your field’s best practices, check out sample dissertations in your field or your departmental guidelines.
Published on
July 21, 2022
by
Shona McCombes.
Revised on
June 5, 2023.
Every paragraph in your paper needs a topic sentence. The topic sentence expresses what the paragraph is about. It should include two key things:
The topic of the paragraph
The central point of the paragraph.
After the topic sentence, you expand on the point zwith evidence and examples.
To build a well-structured argument, you can also use your topic sentences to transition smoothly between paragraphs and show the connections between your points.
Published on
May 6, 2022
by
Shona McCombes.
Revised on
January 17, 2025.
A hypothesis is a statement that can be tested by scientific research. If you want to test a relationship between two or more variables, you need to write hypotheses before you start your experiment or data collection.
Example: Hypothesis
Daily apple consumption leads to fewer doctor’s visits.
Published on
April 15, 2022
by
Shona McCombes
Revised on
January 16, 2025.
Quoting means copying a passage of someone else’s words and crediting the source. To quote a source, you must ensure:
The quoted text is enclosed in quotation marks or formatted as a block quote
The original author is correctly cited
The text is identical to the original
Scribbr’s Chat with PDF tool can help you quickly and easily find relevant quotes in sources. The exact format of a quote depends on its length and on which citation style you are using. Quoting and citing correctly is essential to avoid plagiarism which is easy to detect with a good plagiarism checker.
Published on
June 7, 2021
by
Shona McCombes.
Revised on
March 5, 2024.
In MLA style, the list of Works Cited (also known as a reference list or bibliography) appears at the end of your paper. It gives full details of every source that you cited in an MLA in-text citation.
Like the rest of an MLA format paper, the Works Cited should be left-aligned and double-spaced with 1-inch margins.
You can use our free MLA Citation Generator to create and manage your Works Cited list. Choose your source type and enter the URL, DOI or title to get started.
Published on
February 7, 2020
by
Shona McCombes.
Revised on
June 1, 2023.
When you apply for graduate school, you’ll usually be asked to submit a resume or CV along with your application. A graduate school resume should give a focused, concise overview of relevant experiences and achievements.
The exact sections you include depend on your experiences and on the focus of the program you’re applying to. Ensure your resume gives full details of:
Your college education
Relevant work experience
Relevant voluntary and extracurricular experience
Any awards, honors, publications, or other relevant achievements
Any relevant skills, certifications, and memberships
The main difference from a regular resume is that you’ll put more emphasis on your education and academic interests to show that you’re a good candidate for graduate school.
Download the Word templates and adjust them to your own purposes.
However, citations look slightly different in each style, with different rules for things like title capitalization, author names, and placement of the date.
There are also some differences in layout and formatting. Download the Word templates for a correctly formatted paper in either style.
