In your academic life, you will be required to write different assignments. These may be essays or research papers, or dissertations. However, many of us end up wondering about the differences between these types of academic writings. Many students get confused about the approach they should take when writing these assignments. They may seem similar after all. As much as many students can confuse these together. They are all different academic assignments that you will be required to write.
Now you have the task to write a dissertation. However, you still do not know how it’s different from any other assignment. Don’t worry though because you are at the right place. This blog is going to explore the ways in which dissertations differ from other assignments.
How Are Dissertations Different From Other Assignments?
Before we delve into the differences between a dissertation and other assignments, let’s find out what a dissertation really is. Once we can understand the meaning, it will allow us to differentiate the basics. You definitely won’t need a dissertation guru for this.
What Is A Dissertation?
The word dissertation comes from ‘dissertate’ which means to debate. It is a long kind of essay that requires research. With this research, you present evidence that supports your argument.
Dissertations are usually necessary for the completion of a college or university degree. In case you are pursuing a master’s, you will be required to write a thesis. Both a dissertation and a thesis are mainly similar in nature. A thesis is only slightly shorter and simpler than a dissertation.
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Freedom Of Choice
Writing a dissertation gives you the choice to decide on your topic. The research you want to do, or an argument you present is solely your choice. This freedom in choosing your own topic is mainly absent in essays. You will be clearly told what to write on. This would be the first difference you will notice.
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Length Of A Dissertation Versus Other Assignments
A dissertation is typically very lengthy than any other assignment or essay. It takes up a lot of time and can be exhausting for students. Yet it is necessary for course completion. Many students would give up writing dissertations because of the length of it. This is what leads them to ‘pay for dissertation’ services.
However, if the topic is of your interest, then this length requirement would be the least of your worries. So, you would appreciate the freedom to choose your own topic of interest. It can be incredibly boring and tiring otherwise, to be stuck with a topic you do not like.
An essay would usually require you to write 2000 to 2500 words. Although for a dissertation you will often find yourself writing up to 6000 words, sometimes even more or less.
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Structure Of Writing
The structure of any other assignment versus your dissertation will be immensely different. This is because a dissertation requires much more information than any other. An essay for instance has a very basic structure. An introduction, body of the essay, and conclusion. However, if you are writing a dissertation the structure will be very different. It includes the following broad headings:
- An abstract
- Introduction
- Literature review
- Theoretical framework
- Methodology
- Results
- Discussions
- Result
- References
This may seem overwhelming. Many students would simply hire a ‘write my dissertation online’ service. However, in theory, all these headings are easy to write. It takes less time to write them as much as it takes to research your topic.
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Introducing A New Argument
A dissertation requires you to present a new argument. In a way, you must answer the question ‘What are you bringing to the table?’ you must add to the subject of your research. The purpose of a dissertation is always to identify a research gap and resolve it. You may also write a dissertation proving a previous research right or wrong. Basically writing a paper overviewing the existing literature.
Dissertations are written to expand the limited knowledge on a topic. You must present a fresh and new perspective. Basically, writing a dissertation makes you explore your creativity. It also tests your conceptual understanding of a topic. With all this freedom of being creative, a dissertation becomes an opportunity to paint your own art piece.
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Personal Involvement
Since you are required to present your own argument and perspective, you are more involved in a dissertation. You will be required to carry out your own research. You will also have to present evidence for your claims.
In short, you are more involved in the entire process of writing a dissertation than with any other academic writing. Although of course, if you are hiring a dissertation guru for help, then this may not apply to you. Your overall involvement will be limited. Many students prefer writing their papers all by themselves. It is because anybody else may not do justice to your analysis and perspective.
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Carrying Out Research
Another difference between a dissertation and any other assignment is the weight of research you must carry out. As briefly mentioned before, you will be required to research your topic extensively.
This research will be part of your literature review, theoretical framework, and results.
In a literature review, you must present all the existing relevant information. You will have to cite different authors whose research you state in your paper. You will build towards your own results with the help of these past researches. The citations will make up the references of your paper.
The theoretical framework will include the model you plan to work with. Usually, this model is inspired by your literature review.
Lastly, to provide evidence in support of your argument, you will carry out tests according to the nature of your data. The results of these tests will form your (empirical) results heading. That is it, the rest of your headings in the dissertation revolve around these main parts.
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The Analytical And Critical Aspects Of Dissertation
As we have established that a dissertation revolves around research it is somewhat obvious that a dissertation deal with analysis and critical thinking. If you have to be creative with a sophisticated topic of study, you will have to think critically.
Moreover, when presenting your results, you will have to analyze the information. This analysis will be presented in your paper so your reader understands the end result of your research. All of these things are crucial aspects of a dissertation and are very different from say, an essay. When you are writing an essay, you will not have to carry out any extensive research. Also, you will also not have to provide any citations or references in your essay.
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Conclusion:
To sum this up, a dissertation and other assignments are quite different. In dissertation writing, you will have to choose your own topic on which you must carry out extensive research. This research makes up the most crucial parts of your paper. Besides that, a dissertation is typically lengthier than an essay. The structure of your dissertation paper easily includes 8 to 9 headings whereas an essay would have only 3. Lastly while writing a dissertation you will be more involved, creative, and analytical. These are the main differences between a dissertation paper and any other assignment you will usually have to write.
How is a dissertation different from a research paper?
The difference between a research paper and a dissertation is only very minor. You must write a dissertation in order to complete a degree program. That is the requirement in most universities. However, in the case of a research paper, it is required to complete a class or a course. This is also not necessary for all classes. It would be required according to the nature of the course.
