WRITING YOUR THESIS

DISSERTATION
PIN-429 / 2ND TERM, 2022
English Pedagogy Program
Universidad Católica del Maule
 SKILLS

1 Communication skills – verbal and written: the ability to express your

ideas clearly and convincingly.
2 Numerical reasoning – the ability to carry out simple arithmetical
operations and interpret and use data.
3 Logical reasoning – the ability to reason consistently.
4 Conceptual thinking – the ability to analyze concepts and arguments, to
synthesize ideas into concepts and to create new ones.
5 Teamwork – working effectively and confidently with others.
6 Planning and organizing – the ability to analyze a task, put together an
effective plan, and carry it out effectively.
7 Problem solving and creative thinking – analyzing problems, gathering
information and using it creatively.
8 Leadership – the ability to form an effective team and motivate others.
9 Flexibility – the ability to adapt your thinking and the way you work to changing
circumstances; not being rigid in your thinking.
10 Initiative, self-motivation and self-awareness – the confidence to act on your
own initiative, to motivate yourself to come up with new ideas and solutions,
and to be self-reflective – able to identify your own weaknesses and areas in
which you need to improve.
 Difference between
“Essay and Dissertation”

The most obvious difference is size.

Essays are relatively short – say, 2,000–3,000 words,
whereas an undergraduate dissertation can be 8,000–
12,000 words, perhaps more in some cases.
This means we must analyze more extensively a larger body
of material, critically evaluating it using more detailed and
subtle arguments.
A dissertation also affords you the opportunity to work more independently, so
that you can explore your own original ideas.

A dissertation is designed as an opportunity to do some genuine thinking.

Teachers’ role is to teach students not “what to think”, but rather “how to
think”.
Your dissertation may be the first time you’ve been asked to do some
genuine thinking.
• It gives you the opportunity not only to choose the topic and questions
you want to investigate but also to develop your abilities to interpret
texts, weigh up empirical evidence and come to your own measured
judgment.
• You are not just setting out a simple catalogue of what you believe to
be the right answers, nor are you just laying down a thesis and
defending it. A mature thinker is guided by the evidence, whichever way
it points.
• He or She doesn’t just decide what he/she believes to be the case and
then search around for the evidence to support it.
When conducting a research:
-you decide on the focus, direction and organisation of your work.
-You choose the questions for which you want answers or the hypothesis you want to test.
-It gives you the opportunity to produce a substantial piece of independent work, which reflects a
wider range of your skills and abilities.
In the process:
-you will show that you can manage a large research project, organise your own schedule, set
targets, maintain your motivation throughout and produce a well reasoned and organised
presentation of the results.
In short, you will show yourself, your examiners and future employers that you have the personal
resources to take on a large project and succeed.
If this sounds daunting, it is only because the demands are new. They are not beyond your grasp.
Research general steps:

1. Identify a problem – that raises particularly interesting issues worth

researching.
2 Analyze it – produce significant, interesting questions that are capable of
sustaining an in-depth investigation.
3 Explore the literature – in an organised, systematic way to show that
your research is supported by existing theory. In effect, you are showing
examiners that you can educate yourselves about the topic.
4 Design a research strategy – that uses the most effective research
methods to gather the evidence that answers your questions.
5. Devise the most effective data-collection tools – instruments, like
questionnaires and interview questions, which are valid and reliable in
gathering the evidence you need.

6. Process the material – analyze the evidence you gather and critically
assess it.
7. Draw conclusions – on the basis of this material.
8. Write the dissertation – present your findings in accordance with the
established academic practices.
The purpose of dissertations:

To communicate the results + to show you have chosen the most

effective methods and used them skilfully.