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The excitement to complete a doctorate often comes to a halt for many students when they begin writing the dissertation. Although a student has the research laid out and their hypothesis in mind, condensing your topic idea, methodology, and research questions into a few words can prove a major challenge.
A testament to the challenge presented by the dissertation introduction is the huge number of students who seek custom dissertation writing services after numerous revisions and rejection by the dissertation committee.
How can you surmount the daunting chore of writing a compelling introduction for your dissertation?
Read on to establish the tips that ought to come in handy to help you avoid the common stumbling blocks encountered by students.
Tips for writing an outstanding introduction for your dissertation
1. Save your introduction for last
The fact that the introduction is the first chapter in your paper does not necessarily imply that you start by working on this chapter.
During the development of your paper, you might have to adjust your arguments and points of view in light of the research and sources you encounter.
Editing the introduction each time you make a change in your paper can be a daunting task that drains you of your energy.
Equivalently, saving the changes for last risks forgetting to finetune your introduction, therefore, resulting in a mismatch between the ideas communicated in the introduction and the arguments within the body.
Ideally, start by completing the rest of your dissertation before shifting focus to the introduction.
Also, consider developing a reverse outline for your paper and highlighting the key ideas in each section to give the reader a summary of what your dissertation entails.
2. Outline your introduction
Whether you write your introduction before or after the completion of your dissertation, the outline ought to come in handy to help you structure your thoughts. The outline should highlight the pertinent research questions, your methodology, your approach to analyzing the research problem, and the thesis statement.
When going about this, we suggest that revise various dissertations that were submitted to your faculty to establish the introduction standards for your faculty. Afterward, come up with a draft of your introduction and edit it in line with various faculty guidelines, overcoming errors that could derive a negative attitude from the dissertation committee.
3. Make use of a relevant hook
A common piece of advice thrown around for the dissertation introduction is to make it engaging. However, few people shed light on how you can achieve this ‘secret ingredient’ for A-level dissertation papers.
When approaching your introduction, we recommend that you employ a hook that highlights the importance of your research question. You could, for instance, employ a chain of rhetorical questions, provoking the reader to view the key research question from a different light.
Alternatively, share shocking facts and statistics about a problem at hand, before diving into the approach you intend to take to establish a solution.
4. Consult
With so much pressure to achieve an excellent score in your dissertation, you could easily fall victim to the perfectionism trap. This may cause you to procrastinate or to waste much of your time thinking of the ‘ideal introduction’.
We suggest that you reach out to peers and dissertation writing experts to overcome this challenge. These individuals have a lesser attachment to your dissertation and can thus analyze the introduction objectively, making any relevant changes.
Furthermore, an expert is better placed to diagnose the issues limiting your introduction from becoming the best it can be, helping you overcome your limitations.
5. Describe the background
Without ample background information, a serious niche problem can easily come off as a minor issue to your readers. When writing the introduction, highlight the background for your topic to show the reader why solving the problem you have identified is of great importance.
This will help you to show how your research fits in with the existing knowledge and clarify the aspect of the problem you intend to solve. As a result, you will have an easier time transitioning to your arguments and introducing the research questions.
6. Acknowledge the limitations of your work
Although the introduction is meant to woo the reader into reading your paper, we advise that you maintain honesty by admitting the limitations of your selected research approach.
This will help the reader to gauge the feasibility of your methodology and establish how your work fits into their research needs.
Also, highlight the outline for your paper to give the reader a glimpse of the flow of ideas within your paper.
It is worth noting that the introduction should only contain a summary of ideas as opposed to diving into the nitty-gritty elements of each chapter.
Also Read: How to Properly Organize the Learning Process?
Conclusion
If approached poorly, the dissertation introduction can prove a daunting task. These tips should come in handy to help you overcome the common challenges students face when writing a dissertation introduction.
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