A dissertation can be the longest, difficult yet a rewarding piece of writing in a student’s life. Students at undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD levels are expected to submit a dissertation respectively during their course of study. The main aim of dissertation writing is to produce an originally researched and a clearly defined piece of writing. No matter at which educational level you are, your dissertation holds a great value in your academic as well as professional career.
However, there can be certain differences in the process of writing and conducting the research at different educational levels. While dissertation writing is a completely new experience for the undergraduate students, the postgraduate students are expected to show a higher level of independent research work in their dissertations. Here are six key differences between the undergraduate and postgraduate dissertation.
The Chapters of the Dissertation
The chapter requirements are quite similar for both the undergraduate and the postgraduate levels. They are written in similar kind of formats and involve a comparable type of information. However, the postgraduate dissertation requires a mandatory dissertation proposal. The common chapters are:
- Abstract
- The Introduction
- The Literature review
- Research methodology
- Data analysis
- Results
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
The Writing Style
A dissertation is a formal piece of writing which requires correct use of technical terms and theories related to the topic of study. Masters dissertation may require the use of more technical terms than the undergraduate dissertation. However, the students of both the educational levels are expected to pay attention to the writing tone, grammatical errors, typography mistakes, spellings, usage of abbreviations and the language. Students can take online dissertation help in UK and get a complete guidance on dissertation writing, editing, proofreading and referencing.
Choosing the Topic
The undergraduate students are not expected to present something new in their subject area although they are always encouraged to give their own inputs in the dissertation. It is generally expected that the undergraduates should solve the problems that have already been stated and solved by using their current knowledge and experience.
On the other hand, the postgraduate students are expected to put their own efforts in the dissertation. They should not only explain the problems that are already solved but they can also state their own perspective and conclusions regarding the topic.
But, no matter what topic the students choose, it must be relevant with respect to their subject and scope of the study. With dissertation writing services such as marketing dissertation help, students can easily choose a relevant topic and prepare their dissertation resourcefully.
The Amount of Research
The amount of research done might vary in both the levels of study. The undergraduate students are not expected to conduct a profound research and analysis of the dissertation topic. Moreover, the number of students in the undergraduate studies is greater than the postgraduate studies. So, the undergraduate students might feel less stressed as they are always surrounded by people who are facing the same situation and dissertation writing challenges.
Alternatively, the postgraduate dissertation requires an extensive amount of research and an in-depth study of the topic. The students need to present detailed data and hence the research may appear quite intense at the postgraduate level. The students have to work as per the deadlines and need to consult their supervisors quite often to ensure that they are on the right path.
The Length of the Dissertation
Since the research conducted at the post-graduation level is more intense and in-depth as compared to the undergraduate level, the length of the postgraduate dissertations is significantly larger than that of the undergraduate dissertation. However, the particular word count may vary between the universities. In general, an undergraduate dissertation can be 10000 to 15000 words long while a postgraduate dissertation can be about 15000 to 50000 words long depending upon the subject area of the dissertation.
The word counts are generally already stated in the dissertation writing guidelines. Writing such lengthy content requires time, practice and skills. The students who face difficulties in writing can seek dissertation writing guidance such as nursing dissertation help and get a complete guidance on writing a dissertation efficiently.
The Originality of the Dissertation
The main objective of the undergraduate dissertation is to enable the students to work according to the academic guidelines and procedures. The students might not have stringent deadlines and the instructions might not be as tough as compared to the postgraduate dissertation. The postgraduate students are expected to produce new insights into the topic of research and hence, the guidelines are quite demanding and comprehensive.
However, plagiarism is considered a serious issue in both the educational levels. Students are expected to create original content and follow the right referencing format every time they use someone else’s work in their dissertation.