How To Make The Most Of A Dissertation Example: Tutorial

Useful Tips On How To Use A Dissertation Example Effectively

It is important to have a few good samples of any type of academic writing you want to produce just to make sure you remain on track. Not having these can lead you to make the kinds of mistakes that become ingrained in your writing style over time if you continue to practice them. With that in mind, consider the process laid out below if you intend to use sample papers:

Read through it

Having acquired a sample dissertation, you should spend some quiet, focused and uninterrupted time reading through it from start to finish. You may even want to start over if you get distracted because your understanding of this sample is crucial to your deriving meaningful benefits from it.

Highlight anything that strikes you as interesting

Having finished your first reading, you can read again and this time you should highlight the parts that seemed most important to you the first time around. This will make you more likely to not only observe but to comprehend the things that make that particular sample powerful.

Compare it to any guidelines you have received

If you have gotten this sample from the lecturer who will be correcting your own work eventually, this step is especially useful. Guidelines can vary significantly from person to person and college to college so if your adviser likes a particular paper it should follow the instructions he or she gave almost exactly.

Compare it to any work you have completed in the past

If you have completed any papers of a similar nature in the past, this is a good opportunity to compare what you have done to the exceptional sample. If your work is very similar you can congratulate yourself. This proves you are already on the right track. If your old work is very different you can look for the specific ways that it veers off course so that in future practice you will know what things to target specifically.

Critique it

No matter how good a paper is it will almost always fall short of perfection in one way or another. Look through your sample for errors. Doing this with a paper that is close to perfect will make you more sensitive to errors when you notice them in your own work or that of others.

Your use of a good sample represents a significant step in the direction toward better writing. Combine it with regular practice for quicker success.