Structure And Format Of Writing A Masters Dissertation: A Complete Guide

The structure and format of your dissertation relate to the overall look of your dissertation that includes the division of each chapters, headings and subheading. When a student is going to write a dissertation, then the first question comes to his/her mind that “What should my dissertation look like? The answer is the overall structure of your dissertation must be fairly standard. On the other hand, the exact structure of your dissertation must depend upon your field or the requirements of the supervisor. When you are writing a dissertation on any subject, then the beginning and the concluding sections of almost all the subjects are written by following the same guidelines. However, the body of each dissertation may vary from one subject to the other subject. Here, we will discuss the structure and format of the dissertation.
Structure and format of a dissertation
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The most important things that are necessary to write in a master’s dissertation are given below;

The first few pages include;

a) Title page

The title page is the first page of your dissertation and it should be eye catching for the audience. The title page should contain the title of your dissertation, your name, your supervisor name, your educational program and your department name.

b) Acknowledgement page

In the acknowledgement page, you should try to thank all the people who have provided you assistance for the dissertation writing task.

c) Abstract

The abstract of your dissertation is an important section of your dissertation. With the help of this abstract, the readers decide that whether your dissertation is worthy to read or not. You should write the problem, the solution of the problem, the way adopted to solve the problem and findings of the dissertation in the abstract.

d) Table of contents

With the help of the table of contents, it is easy for a reader to find any specific section of your dissertation. In the table of contents, you should write all the chapters along with the page numbers.

e) List of figures and tables

Like the table of contents, it is also necessary for you to provide a list of all the figures and tables along with their page numbers in the list of figures and tables.

f) List of abbreviations

If you have used some key terms in your dissertation, then it is necessary for you to provide these key terms along with explanations in the list of abbreviations. This list should be provided in the alphabetical order.

A General Outline for Dissertation Chapters

a) Introduction Chapter

In the introduction chapter, it is necessary for you to provide a detailed introduction of your dissertation topic and research questions, the main points of your dissertation in the form of the thesis statement, the purpose of research, and also describe the construction of your dissertation.

b) Literature review Chapter

In the literature review, it is necessary for a student to provide a comparison of his/her research with the previous research and describe how his/her research is different from the previous research and also whether previous research supports your own hypothesis of not. It also serves as a proof showing the need to conduct your own research. You need to select the literature for review very carefully and then write it in a professional manner.

c) Research Methodology Chapter

Research is the most important part of writing a dissertation. Its reason is that when you are going to write a dissertation, then you will require data to write the dissertation and this data is collected with the help of conducting an effective research. In the research design, you should try to offer the answers to the following questions;

How to conduct an effective research?

Where to collect the data for the dissertation?

How to get assistance while conducting an effective research?

d) Research Results and Discussion Chapter

Here, it is necessary for a student to write the findings and results of the dissertation.

In the discussion, you should provide a detailed analysis of the research results answering the research questions. This section should consist of a lot of paragraphs and each paragraph should contain only one concept. Moreover, there should be a connection between all the paragraphs of the discussion.

e) Conclusion and Recommendation

The concluding section of a dissertation provides a brief summary of all the main points of the dissertation. It can be started by giving the brief introduction, literature review, methodology that was used and results. The second part of the conclusion should provide an answer to the research question as well as your own opinion about the whole research. And lastly, it should offer recommendations.

f) Reference list

When you are going to write a dissertation, then you will need to collect the data from the different sources. It is necessary for a student to provide all of these sources in the reference list of dissertation. These sources should be valid.

This is the basic structure for writing a dissertation. You can adjust your dissertation structure by following the guidelines of the supervisor. When we talk about the format of the dissertation, then there are three formatting styles. These formatting styles are APA, MLA and Chicago or Turabian style. You can select one of them according to the requirements of the supervisor.



Mostly students are not familiar with the requirements of a writing style and make mistakes while formatting or structuring the dissertation. Thus they lose precious marks and get low grades. In this situation, they can get help from Expert writers at dissertation writing services UK who are able to complete your dissertations meeting all the requirements and instructions of your supervisors.

2 Comments

  1. Understanding the structure and format of a master's dissertation is invaluable as a custom logo design company. This complete guide provides essential insights, ensuring our research projects are well-organized, coherent, and impactful. A well-structured dissertation is key to our professional growth and academic success.

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  2. While discussing dissertation structure, it's akin to organizing Basketball positions effectively. Each section, like players on the court, plays a crucial role in delivering a successful academic performance. Great guide!

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