Many students do not know this but writing a great dissertation introduction will get you good marks. Similarly, writing a poor one will make you lose marks. So, keep reading this article to learn how to write a dissertation introduction sample.
How to Write a Dissertation Introduction Outline
1. Choose Your Topic
The first thing to do is to select a topic that you understand. Now, choosing your topic depends on two factors. First of all, your school may give you a list of relevant topics to choose from. On the other hand, a school may give its students the freedom to create their topics. If you fall into the first category, it may be easy for you. However, if you fall into the second category, it may be harder. Now, do not rush to start crafting topics. What you should do first is create a theme that you would like to work on. Answer these questions: what interests you within your scope of the study? What problems can you identify from that? Do you have a proposed solution for these problems? When you can get a theme, crafting a topic will become easier. You can either introduce your topic at the middle or the end of your introduction chapter.
2. Give Reasons for Choosing Your Topic
Next, write down the reasons for selecting your topic. This matters a lot as your reader will want to know why you chose to carry out research in that particular area. So, make sure you give strong reasons.
3. Research Your Topic
The next thing to do after choosing a topic and giving reasons for choosing it is to do your research. You can use either a physical library, its online database, or even Google scholar for this. Also, do not limit your research to only written texts, videos can help you. Now, when you do your research, make sure you only do so within the scope of academics. This means, whatever sources you use must be academic or from authoritative sites. Avoid citing sources from random blogs and websites.
Be sure to read some representative introduction samples to get a better idea of how to they usually look. For example, have a look at this one:
Dissertation Introduction Sample
4. Read the Other Chapters
Ideally, even though your introduction will come first in your sample dissertation introduction structure, you should write it last. This is because you cannot properly introduce content that you have not written and understood. Now, in your introduction, you need to give an accurate overview of everything you will be doing in your other chapters. And how will you know what you will be doing in your other chapters if you do not write them first? So, write your literature review, methodology, analysis, and discussion chapters first before writing your introduction chapter.
5. Write Your Hook, Background, and Aims
The hook is the opener of your dissertation introduction samples and it can either arouse or kill the reader’s interest. You can use a controversial statement, a shocking question, or a bold declaration for your hook. After your hook, the next thing to do is to give a background story of your topic. This will allow the reader to understand the events that led up to you choosing that topic. After that, state what you hope to achieve from the dissertation. This is usually further broken down into aims or research questions.
6. Cite Your Sources: Examples of dissertation Introductions
Now, when writing your introduction, you are going to cite your sources. Usually, to cite a source, all you need to do is provide the author’s surname and the publication year in parenthesis. However, on some occasions, you do not have to do that. Examples of how to cite include:
- Author’s name and publication year in parenthesis: Darwin (2009) (Darwin, 2009).
- Mentioning the publication title along with the author’s surname: According to Darwin’s 2009 How to Write a Book.
- Mentioning only the author’s surname because you have mentioned it before: Darwin further asserts that not every writer should be an author.
7. Proofread and Edit
After writing your introduction, the next thing to do is proofread and edit for mistakes, wrong information, confusing statements, etc. You can also give a professor or an expert to proofread for you.
8. Use a Plagiarism Checker
Lastly, use a plagiarism checker to ensure your work is 100 percent original before you send it. There are many reliable free and premium scanners that will help you.
Conclusion
When you put these tips to work when writing the introduction for dissertation sample, it will be much easier for you to write a winning dissertation introduction.
