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Basic Things You Should Know About The Dissertation

Dissertation is one of the trickiest academic papers one has to write while in school. To help you gain more confidence in writing a dissertation, there are basics things you should know.

The arrangement of the dissertation

The first thing you should get right is the arrangement of the dissertation. Here are some of the sections that ought to be included.

  • Title page

  • Abstract

Every university requires students to include an abstract within the preliminary pages of the thesis. An abstract is like a concise summary of the content of your paper, including the objectives, statement of the problem, methodology, results and conclusion. It is important to note that, you cannot include formulas, illustrations or graphs in the abstract.

  • Acknowledgement (if any, but not a must)

  • Preface (optional)

  • Abbreviations list (if any)

  • Glossary (if any)

  • Dedication (optional)

  • Table of contents

You should conform to the University table of content guidelines in an approved style manual. A table of content is a reflection of the whole thesis outline and organization of the text.

  • Lists of calculations, graphs, figures, tables or illustrations

  • Introduction

It should clearly provide an overview of the topic and the research problem being discussed. Additionally, it should point out how the research will contribute towards better understanding in that particular field

  • Text body divided into chapters

  • List of references

Every point or argument made within the text should be referenced. The reference list should then be provided at the end of the text. You should also follow the guidelines in an approved style manual provided by your supervisor.

  • Appendices

Layout and Formatting

Page size: It should be 8.50*11.0

Margin: The standard format is 1 inch on all sides including the page number.

Spacing: All preliminary text and pages should be double spaced. Some University may require you to have single spaced text on quotations and references.

Pagination: All pages must be numbered apart from the title page. Always start the numbering on the second page with Arabic numerals in the right upper right-hand corner. Moreover, you should not have empty pages.

Dissertation Title

Dissertation is an important paper that is part of valuable resource for scholars. It should therefore be stored in a retrieval system that is easily accessible. This means that the title of your dissertation should be as accurate and meaningful as possible in reference the content therein.