Dissertation Writing Style

There are established rules about the language, grammar and style that should be used in Dissertations or Extended Project at Newcastle College…: 

• 

  (By Sure2Win on Flickr. Creative Commons)

  Write in Plain English – simplicity, conciseness and clarity of language is very important; make every word count. Short paragraphs and sentences work best.
• Assume you are addressing an intelligent reader, though one not knowledgeable about this particular topic.
• Be objective and factual, not opinionated or vague.
• NEVER use the word “I” (say “The researcher …”, “It is recommended that…” or “The evidence indicates…”)
• Word process your work in Times New Roman or Arial font, size 12pt; 1.5 line spacing (except your References); and “justified” alignment.
• Use numbered sub-headings to structure the work (eg 1.1 Introduction, 1.2 Aims & Objectives, 2.1 Literature Review, 2.1.1 Historical Theories, 2.1.2 Criticisms of Historical Theories, 2.2 Recent Findings, 3.1 Methodology, etc).
• Any quotations longer than 12-15 words should be in their own, indented paragraph.
• Include diagrams and/or graphs, number them (Fig.1, Fig.2, etc) and have a List of Illustrations after your Contents page.
• Any information that is not essential to your study, but might be of interest to the reader, should be put in Appendices. They should be labelled Appendix A, B, C, etc along with the starting page number in your text, and added to the Contents page.

Double-check your drafts so far - do you need to make any amendments?
This is also an ideal opportunity to look over your work afresh and edit out anything that doesn't work, or that you don't need, anymore.

More information and guidance for writing extended projects is available in the "Dissertations" folder here.