A Complete History Dissertation Writing Guide For Postgraduate Students
Being a postgraduate student is a great experience. However, writing a history dissertation may seem a hard task for you. There are many ways to complete your assignment successfully, so you will hardly find an only correct writing strategy. Therefore, you can develop your own one by using the following advice from the dissertation writing guide for postgraduate students.
Composing a Clear Idea of What to Write About
Most academic advisors agree that choosing a right topic is crucial if you want to receive a top grade. You should avoid boring topics and focus your research. To understand whether you are truly interested in a chosen subject, you may do some preliminary literature study, watch a documentary movie, or study archive materials.
Do not hesitate to consult your academic advisor if you cannot come up with an interesting research idea. You should not wait until the last moment to specify your topic. On the contrary, you should start writing your dissertation as soon as you can. Your professor will also check whether your topic is overambitious or not and provide you with a list of literature to study.
Writing a History Dissertation in Five Simple Steps
When you have your research topic, you should understand what steps to make in order to complete your assignment without a hitch. There are only five simple steps to follow:
- Create an outline.
- Write your rough draft quickly.
- Revise your first draft.
- Compose your second draft.
- Proofread your assignment.
Having an outline is very helpful, so you will structure your argument, select appropriate evidence, and summarize your findings. You should write a detailed outline with a thesis, list of chapters and subchapters, brief conclusion, and a list of primary literature sources.
Follow your outline and do the necessary research. Remember to take notes while you are working at the library and studying electronic archives. Then, gather your notes and write your paper as fast as you can.
It is almost impossible to prepare a perfect first draft, so you should revise your writing in order to ensure that you have provided enough evidence to support your thesis. You should also check whether you have explained everything in a clear manner.
After the revision, you will need to re-write some parts of your dissertation, insert all the necessary citations, prepare a title page, and a list of references. It makes sense to take a break and then move to the fifth step.
It is important to correct all the grammar and punctuation mistakes, check the spelling of the names, places, and events. Keep in mind the rules of capitalization and double-check everything if you have any doubts.