Composing Strong Dissertations and Theses: Things to Remember

Some of you may be asking yourself, what is the actual difference between a dissertation and a thesis, right? Well for one, a dissertation is always a requirement for a doctoral degree while a thesis is a requirement for a master’s degree some of the time but not in all cases. The differences can be confusing as they do have the same format. They are quite different though. For example, a thesis is basically a long paper on a specific aspect of what it is you have learned over the years in the particular field you have chosen to study. On the other hand, a dissertation requires a discovery of some kind. It is not enough to simply explain what you know; you have to prove something new that will be a benefit to your chosen field. Now that you know what the differences are, what do you have to do to make your thesis or dissertation a good one?

Things to remember

• Let your advisors guide you.
• Follow the format exactly.
• Thesis: you are basically writing a research paper in great length to prove your understanding.
• Dissertation: you must develop a new theory related to your field and prove it.

Let you advisors guide you

Your teachers and the committees and advisors who work with you on these kinds of papers can be of great help. You can run everything by them to ensure you are doing the right things and they know what they are talking about because they have already done theirs. Let them help you.

Follow the format exactly

Both papers have the same kind of format. It must have an introductory section, a literary section, a body, concluding section a bibliography and an appendix. You can look up and view samples to make sure you have the format right and you can always ask someone if you do.

Thesis: a research paper

While writing a thesis you are basically doing the same work as you would in a research paper, just a good amount longer. An average thesis is normally about a hundred pages. You are using the previous works and studies of others and their research to write a paper on specific research you have done to prove that you really grasp you field of study.

Dissertation: develop and prove a new theory

In a dissertation you are coming up with a hypothesis all your own and using research to prove it to be true. Consider contributing to the field as a rite of passage. Everyone before you has done so and now it is your turn to take what you know and postulate something that others do not yet know to be true.

Now that you know both the similarities and differences, along with what each actually entails, you should be well on your way to writing your own. After all of that studying for all of those years this is the big hurdle you must now jump over to complete your degree. Just remember that it has been done by many others, so you can do this. Don’t make it too big a deal and just focus on the facts.