dissertation structure and formatting guidelines

Dissertation Structure and Formatting Guidelines for UK Students


The structure and format of a dissertation are critical for presenting your research or thesis in a well-organized and professional manner, enhancing its academic value and effectively showcasing your contributions to the field.

Title Page

 You need the title of your project, your name, project year, and word count. Also, look for other details, if required, like the ID number and so on.  Make sure that you are checking the requirements of your University and that it matches all on your Title page. This page should have around 15-20 words. It should be direct, accurate, and interesting. Because these are things that will give you marks.

Title

Name of the student

Year

Count

Contents Page

The contents page has all the chapters and the sub-chapters of your dissertation.  In this, you have Declaration, Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, List of Tables, List of Figures, List of Charts, List of Abbreviations, References, and Appendix.  Add all of these in this order, and that gives an impression of a properly researched Thesis.

dissertation structure and formatting guidelines for uk students

Declaration

The declaration generally talks about the declaration of your work, and this abides by the academic rules, standards, and conduct. Also, to state that it has been submitted to this committee and was never shared with any other committee and was never published before in any other channels as well. There should be a provision added for Date and Signature on the Declaration page.

Abstract

An Abstract is a summary of your completed research. This kindles the interest of the readers, and they would want to read and know more about your research. It should be between 250-350 words in length. 

The basic components of an Abstract are; Introduction, Material and Methods, Results, and Conclusion.

  • Introduction 
  1. Why have you decided to research that specific problem?
  2. What practical, scientific, theoretical, or artistic gap is your research filling?
  • Material and Methods

What methods have you used and materials used to get the results?

  • Results

What is the outcome of your research based on the above procedure?

  • Conclusion

What are the larger implications of your findings, especially for the problem identified by you?

Introduction

  • Background to Thesis

This is the general introduction, which gives the background of the thesis and needs to give proper justification for why this is a worthwhile question or purpose.

  • Purpose/Research Question

This requires a topic-specific title and should be filled and arranged with ideas rather than the authors and their works.

  • Hypothesis

This essentially says what you are going to do. What do you think when you do this, and what is going to happen?

Material and Methods

  • Objective of the study

This is to give you information on what materials are used in the experiments, what materials are used and how is the test conducted to ensure the research objectives.

  • Study Procedure

This is about writing during the research process so that you don’t forget the important points towards the end.

  • Data Analysis and Statistical Methods

Here you will mention any experiments that you are doing, your analysis, your stats, and your procedure

Results

In this section, you provide facts and details of your project or thesis. Provide the tables or figures that have your data. Don’t just stop yourself from mentioning the materials from the tables, also highlight the important points in the tables and figures.

Add your Sub results like Result 1 & Result 2

Discussion 

You shouldn’t add any new references under this which are not part of your thesis earlier. You go into more depth, and hence, your methods and research are more analytical and critical.

  • Future Outlook

The aim is to create an echo and remind the reader of what you said earlier by repeating the same words.

  • Conclusion

You would leave the readers with the findings and outcome of your Project and thesis, which is more descriptive.

Then you add the List of tables, List of figures, List of Charts, and List of Abbreviations, and then the References 

  • References

Strom, S. (2005, August). Aero Air: Catering to the jet set. Portland Business Journal, 3, 22-36.

  • Appendix

Conclusion

To effectively organize your dissertation, start with the Methods and Materials section, as it remains relatively stable throughout the research process and provides a solid foundation for your writing. Next, move on to the Literature Review to establish the context and background for your study.

Once this is complete, focus on documenting the Results, followed by creating visual representations like tables, charts, and figures to illustrate your findings. Afterward, summarize the outcomes and implications of your research in the Conclusion.

Finally, draft the Abstract, which serves as a concise summary of the entire work, and conclude with a properly formatted References section to ensure all sources are accurately cited. This structured approach streamlines the process and ensures a cohesive and comprehensive dissertation.

Digi Assignment always gives you proper guidance and reference materials to have the right structure and format when working on your thesis.

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