Skip to main content

How to Make Your Dissertation or Thesis Easier to Read

Dissertation Writing – Metatext & Signposting

If you are an international postgraduate student, you may have limited experience of extended writing such as that required for a dissertation. You may also find it a challenge to determine the research topic if you have previously been assigned these by tutors or supervisors. This is why initial planning of your dissertation or thesis is so important, as discussed in a previous post.

A key point to remember that when producing such a lengthy piece of written work, you have a responsibility to the reader – it is your responsibility to guide the reader through the text and ensure they understand the significance of each section in relation to other sections so they can comprehend the foundation and logic behind what you argue and also how the flow of what you present logically arrives at the conclusions made based on the research findings. This requires a degree of explicitness in writing which many students do not possess or may struggle to manage.



Using previews, reviews and overviews in your dissertation or thesis

One way to recognize your responsibility as the writer is to use metatext (metadiscourse) to acknowledge the reader. You, as the writer, can use metatext to help organize your dissertation for the reader and interact with the reader to help bring the text alive.

If you are a non-native English speaker, you will need to gain some experience in recognizing and using metatxet before you become proficient at it; in particular you should become aware of the need to include previews, reviews and overviews at certain critical points throughout a dissertation or thesis because it is such a long text. This will help the reader to better understand the structure of the text and the arguments which you present.

Example:

Here is an extract which shows how a PhD student structures the conclusion of a chapter by using a brief summary followed by a preview of the next chapter so that the reader has a clear signal as to where they currently are in the overall text. This is often referred to as ‘signposting’ – making sure that the reader does not become lost in the text.

7 Conclusion

This chapter has examined various methodologies employed in the discovery of patterns of preference related to interpersonal values and strongly argues that the Appraisal framework used is effective for identifying and describing interpersonal meanings in the subject of history as taught in schools. Chapter 8 will demonstrate the way in which this analytical method can make a significant contribution to how the interpretative nature of history is understood and especially the related written work produced by students.

Research data regarding reports written by examiners on PhD theses submitted shows how important signposting is in relation to the reader of the thesis. A summary of the most important points is included below:

  • A thesis which is evidently not reader-friendly has a negative impact on the enthusiasm of the examiner/reader while reading it.

  • Examiners value the overall presentation of a thesis and those which make a good impression are received more favorably.

  • Using signposting such as previews, summaries, clear sequencing, and avoiding unnecessary repetition helps the reader understand the text more easily.

  • A thesis which is badly written or presented is distracting for the examiner/reader. The thesis should include help for the reader to ensure it can be understood easily. The writing should be of high quality, content should be interesting, and generally the thesis should be well-presented.


  • Thesis & Dissertation Writing Help

  • 5 Tips for an Effective Thesis Statement
  • Avoid These 6 Common Dissertation Writing Problems

  • Popular posts from this blog

    Cambridge IELTS 11 Test 1 Writing Task 1 Question and Answer

    Task 1 Question How to Answer Task 1 Questions Sample Answer Cambridge 11 Writing Task 1 IELTS Writing Task 1 (Academic) tests your written communication skills - how well you can report/describe information. Cambridge IELTS Book 11 Test 1 Writing Task 1 IELTS Writing Test Task 1 You should spend about 20 minutes on this task. The charts below show the percentage of water used for different purposes in six areas of the world. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant Write at least 150 words. International English Language Testing System How would you answer this IELTS 11 Writing Task 1 question about water used for different purposes? IELTS 11 Writing Test 1, Task 1 Answer (useful vocabulary is highlighted ) The pie charts illustrates water usage in six different regions around the world. Notably , Europe consumes the greatest quantity of water for in

    How to Answer Cambridge 11 Test 2 Writing Task 1

    IELTS Writing How would you answer this IELTS Writing Task 1 question about: The charts below show the proportions of British students at one university in England who were able to speak other languages in addition to English, in 2000 and 2010? How to answer IELTS Task 1 writing questions? This is a question that many people ask when they are thinking about taking the International English Language Testing System exam. Cambridge 11 Test 2 Writing Task 1 - The charts below show the proportions of British students at one university in England who were able to speak other languages in addition to English. Cambridge 11 Test 2 Writing Task 1 - The charts below show the proportions of British students at one university in England who were able to speak other languages in addition to English. IELTS Writing Task 1 Structure If you want to do well in IELTS writing, it's important that you know how to answer Task 1 correctly! In this post, we will discuss some of the bas

    How To Answer Cambridge IELTS 8 Speaking Test 1

    Content Cambridge IELTS 8 Speaking Test 1 How to give your opinion in English Here are some questions from Cambridge IELTS Practice Tests Book 8 Speaking Test 1. They include the IELTS Cue Card Describe a time when you were asked to give your opinion in a questionnaire . A native English speaker gave these sample answers to show you what someone might say. Remember, you can answer these questions in many different ways. Cambridge IELTS 8 Speaking Test 1 IELTS Speaking Tip Do NOT try to memorize full answers - this is unnatural and IELTS examiners are trained to identify memorized answers. Cambridge IELTS 8 Test 1 Speaking Questions & Answers Part 1 Topic | Neighbours How well do you know the people who live next door to you? I know them quite well because we’ve lived beside each other for a couple of years now. The people who live to the right of me, wel