Hints and tips for your dissertation presentation

• Take out any long quotations from the literature section. Cut them right down to just the relevant bits. They are not going to earn you many marks.
• Don’t keep repeating yourself. Cross reference any sections so that you are not explaining the same thing over and over. Also, check if you have tables that you aren’t constantly using tables and then saying exactly the same thing underneath.
• Don’t leave in sections that aren’t really relevant. This will muddy your argument. Keep to the point.
• Make sure that your argument is logical, clear and structured.
• Don’t have sentences that are so long that they become complicated and obliterate the meaning. The reader will not give you marks for having to read the same sentence three times to understand it. in fact, they may not read it a second time but simply lower your marks.
• Proof read your spelling and grammar with a fine toothcomb. The English language is notorious for not following rules and it would be a shame to ruin your dissertation presentation because you have constantly used incorrect homophones. In other words, ensure that you are using the right were, where or wear.
• Check that you have got the word count right. Don’t be tempted to think that more is better because it isn’t. Dissertations are marked purely on quality as opposed to quantity. If you went over the word count by too much, you may not get marked for it all.

• It is important that this is kept simple so that the reader can quickly digest the information.
• Each university had its own requirements so make sure that you are aware of these.
• Normally, you would add the title of your dissertation; your name; the course number or modular number; which degree you are studying and the name of the university.
• Don’t be tempted to jazz it up by adding patterns or symbols.

Incidentally, when you’ve done all your research, it may be worth reviewing your title. The reason for this is that when you start off your dissertation, you have a working title but as your research becomes clearer, often you can pin down your title so that it actually works better. For instance, if you were researching “the parental effects of having a child with special needs”, you may wish to change it to “the effects having a child with special needs has on mothers in Oldham.” This will weigh down your topic more and also give the reader a further insight into what they are going to be reading.

Acknowledgements

It is your decision if you wish to add acknowledgements in your presentation. However, it is nice to thank those people that have helped you. You may wish to mention your tutors, the people who took part in your research and your family.

The abstract is occasionally required but in most cases, it will be your decision. However, if you want your dissertation to be the best that it can be, you should include an abstract because examiners like them. Place it in your dissertation presentation after the acknowledgements.

It is only approximately between 200 and 300 words but do ensure that you take your time to present an abstract that captures all the key points of your dissertation. Incidentally, the examiner should be able to read the abstract and understand exactly what your research is about. In other words, it has to be understood independently of your dissertation. If that sounds like a hard job, you need to use the following checklist to make sure that you have all the key points covered.

• The main outcomes of the study.
• A brief examination of the background of the study.
• The research questions that you explored.
• The methodology that you undertook.
• Your results and conclusion.
• How your work is important in its field and the further research that might be conducted as a result of it.