ENGLISH LANGUAGE SUPPORT | DEPARTMENT OF STUDENT SERVICES | RYERSON UNIVERSITY
1
Writing a Graduate Dissertation
STAGES IN
WRITING A
DISSERTATION
THE PLANNING
STAGE
DESCRIPTION OF THE STAGE
You are about to become very busy with the most time-consuming task that you will
accomplish in your graduate program. Depending on the level of your work, your
subject area, and the complexity of your research, the dissertation could require
anything from one semester to a couple of years to complete.
First establish priorities. What are the most important things in your life? How much
time each week will you devote to these things? How much time is left over for the
dissertation? Try to set aside a block of time each day or several days a week for the
dissertation only. Arrange a time and place where there will be no interruptions.
HELPFUL
HANDOUTS AND
WEBLINKS
http://www.couns.uiuc.
edu/brochures/Dissertat
ion.htm
http://www.learnerasso
ciates.net/dissthes/#1
Next, make a long term plan. How much time will you spend on each part of the
process? Allocate days or weeks to each of the steps listed below. You can be flexible
about this and change your time plan as you go along. But be sure to have a schedule
and try to keep to it.
For a detailed description of the planning and organizing stage, check the weblinks to
the right.
THE RESEARCH
QUESTION
The next step in writing a graduate dissertation is to think long and hard about your
topic area. At this stage, you will also have many discussions with your dissertation
supervisor. By now you have read a great deal of the literature in your special area of
interest, and you will continue to read much more. You will gradually identify an area
in which some important questions have not yet been answered. State one or more of
these questions as research questions. Then keep reading, looking for the answers to
your research question(s). You are doing original research for your dissertation, so
steer your research questions into an area that has not yet been explored in depth. You
will be the first to provide an answer to your research question(s).
ELS handout:
“Research question and
hypothesis.”
For help with research questions, check the ELS handout, listed on the right and
available on the Ryerson ELS site.
WRITE A
PROPOSAL
Now is the time to go to the library and look at a few dissertations related to your
subject area. Notice their size, layout, pattern of organization, etc. Try to imagine what
yours will look like when it is finished.
When you feel that you have covered most of the important and relevant research for
your dissertation, it is time to write a proposal. The proposal includes the questions
that you will be studying and researching. It will outline the research method that you
will use. And it will suggest the kinds of answers that you expect to find in your
experiments or field research.
Important: From here on, make multiple copies of everything you write. Back up
your work every day on discs or USB drives. Store the copies in different places.
Recently in Toronto a scientist lost years of research when a thief broke into her
house and stole her computer and USB drive, which contained the only backup
copy of her work.
For a detailed description of how to write a proposal, check the weblink to the right.
http://www.learnerasso
ciates.net/dissthes/#8
ENGLISH LANGUAGE SUPPORT | DEPARTMENT OF STUDENT SERVICES | RYERSON UNIVERSITY
WRITE THE
DISSERTATION
When your supervisor has accepted your revised proposal, it is time to start writing the
dissertation itself. The proposal is the place to start. It contains rough drafts of a few of
the dissertation chapters, so you can begin by revising these chapters into their final
form.
Some words of advice:
Do not try to write the dissertation from beginning to end. Instead, write whatever
chapter you are researching at that time. You might right a part of a middle chapter,
and then a part of an earlier chapter, for example. But be sure that you keep going back
to your time plan and revising it to fit the job as it evolves.
2
http://www.learnerasso
ciates.net/dissthes/#17
http://www.it.bton.ac.u
k/staff/rng/papers/write
diss.html
ELS handouts:
“Definition”
The parts of a typical dissertation are:
Abstract
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Method(s)
Results
Discussion
Conclusions
References
“Evaluating sources”
However, these parts vary according to field of study, topic, method of research, and
several other criteria. Be sure that you are familiar with typical dissertations in your
field that were completed in your university. Model yours on the form and structure of
successful ones that you have found.
“Putting logic into
language”
“Making writing more
connected”
“Paraphrasing and
summarizing”
“Avoiding plagiarism”
“Structuring a research
paper”
Write the abstract last. It is the summary of your entire dissertation.
If you want to know more about how English words and grammar are used in each of
the parts of a dissertation or any research paper, consult Weissberg, R. & Buker, S.
(1990). Writing up Research: Experimental Research Report Writing for Students of
English. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall Regents. A copy of this text is available by
appointment for reference. It is located in the ELS resource room, B19 in the Victoria
Building. Email Bob Roseberry at [email protected] to make arrangements to see it.
For a more detailed discussion of how to proceed with the writing of your dissertation,
check the weblinks for this section on the right.
Other materials that may be helpful to you at this stage are the ELS handouts listed on
the right and available on the Ryerson ELS website.
POLISHING AND
EDITING
Don’t wait until you finish the first draft of your dissertation to begin the polishing and
editing process. Do this as you go along. Write a section, polish it, and edit it. Do this
frequently. If you add information to a chapter, re-read the chapter to be sure that
everything fits smoothly together. Each time you use materials from a journal article,
book, or other source, make a note of the complete information for that source. Use
your computer word processor to do this. When your work is completed, you will have
your complete list of references all ready to be alphabetized and added at the end of
the dissertation.
http://www.lib.berkeley
.edu/TeachingLib/Guid
es/Internet/Style.html
At the beginning of the writing stage, be sure that you know what referencing style is
required. Then use that style to record all the source materials that you use. For
information on referencing styles in the arts and social sciences, check the first
weblink on the right. For sciences, check the second weblink.
“Self editing and peer
editing”
In addition to your dissertation supervisor, someone else should read through parts of
“Documenting sources”
http://writing.colostate.
edu/guides/sources/cbe/
ELS handouts:
“Descriptive outlining”
ENGLISH LANGUAGE SUPPORT | DEPARTMENT OF STUDENT SERVICES | RYERSON UNIVERSITY
your dissertation with you. Try to find another student who is working on his/her
dissertation, and arrange to help each other with editing. For information on editing,
consult the ELS handouts listed on the right.
3
“A checklist for writers
and editors”
When all the research has been completed and you and your supervisor are satisfied
with the content and organization of your dissertation, the dissertation is complete.
Congratulations on a job well done! It is time to start preparing for the so-called
Defence Examination.
THE DEFENCE
EXAMINATION
This sounds scary and aggressive, but in fact, it is a very cooperative gathering of
several professors and you, the candidate for the degree. In most cases, this
examination is basically a formality. Professors who are experts in your field of study
gather to review your work, discuss it with you, and recommend that you should be
“admitted” to the degree that you are seeking. It is a little like joining a very select
club. Remember: You would never have gotten this far if there had been any serious
problem with your work. To prepare for the examination, review the major findings of
your research. Be prepared to explain what you have done and how it is based on the
work of those who came before you. Give suggestions for future directions of research
following the work you have done. If any member of the examining board asks you an
embarrassing question such as “Have you read the work of Whimsy on this topic?”
and you haven’t, answer honestly. Say something like, “I didn’t come across that work
in my research. Could you let me have the details and I will look into it immediately. If
it is relevant to my own research, I can include it in the revised draft of my
dissertation.” Remember: You are not expected to know everything. But you should
show an interest in the work being done in your field and be willing to include it in
your studies. And it is normal to make last-minute changes in your dissertation after
the Defence Examination.
A couple of tips: Find out who will be on your examining board and be sure that you
are familiar with everything that they have written that is relevant to your dissertation.
And try to get permission to attend a Defence Examination of some other student
before you go to your own. That way you will have a better idea of what happens in
such an examination.
For more detailed information about how to prepare for the Defence Examination,
check the website listed on the right.
http://www.learnerasso
ciates.net/dissthes/#30