By now, the weeks and months of hard work are almost over - you know your subject inside out, you have a thoroughly planned argument and you know exactly how you want to present it. But the final hurdle is probably the most important - if you do not write your dissertation well, all your efforts could end up being in vain. Writing 'well' obviously means sticking to your planned structure and argument, but also on style, eloquence and your ability critically assess what you have written at every step along the way.
Academic style
There is no single, universally agreed set of rules for how to write in an 'academic style'. However, convention has come to dictate certain expectations which academic works must satisfy, and the written style used is highly important in meeting these expectations. Academic writing must be formal, objective, detailed and precise. The key aims are to express your argument in a clear, measured way, without resorting to hyperbole or exaggeration, letting the quality of your argument speak for itself. It does require a certain degree of skill, but it should not be a cause of great concern. The key points to consider are as follows:
Avoid all colloquialisms and slang. Never use contractions - write out 'does not', 'is not', 'there will' etc in full rather than using 'doesn't', 'isn't or 'there'll'. Pay careful attention to your grammar, making sure you construct and punctuate phrases, clauses and full sentences in line with the rules of standard English. Avoid certain punctuation, such as exclamation marks, square brackets and the ampersign '&' for and, altogether. Pay particular attention to quotations and references, and make sure you consistently follow the rules of an accepted academic referencing system - see below for a full discussion of this aspect of academic writing.
Use impersonal language. Everything you write should have the gravitas of fact rather than personal opinion, tested and analysed against the evidence available. Do not use personal pronouns - there should be no 'I's' in your dissertation, and never refer directly to your reader as 'you'. Use the third person - 'it seems that' or 'there is an opinion that' are more impersonal, and therefore appear more objective, than 'I think'. Avoid emotive language - referring to a particular source you disagree with as 'nonsense' or similar damages the air of impartiality you should be striving for. By the same token, do not be overly forthright when making a statement - as well as tending towards the emotive, you can end up making generalisations. Always write as if you are open to the idea there are plenty of valid points which can be made to argue against what you are saying - using words and phrases such as 'may', 'possibly' and 'it seems that' will add to the impression of balance you achieve by actually offering contradictory evidence.
Be precise and concise. There is no need to write five or six words to get a point across if one or two will suffice, it will only make your prose seem flowery and convoluted. However, you should also avoid the kind of short, punchy style that characterises journalism and similar writing genres. Good academic writing should employ well-crafted sentences which develop a particular point logically through the use of clauses and sub-clauses. By the same token, a one-sentence paragraph is fine for a newspaper, but inappropriate for an academic essay - each paragraph should be a complete mini-argument in itself, offering a hypothesis, supporting and contradictory evidence, and an evaluation and analysis of the merits of the original point.
Choose your words carefully. Make sure you are saying what you mean. It is usually very obvious when someone uses a word in an inappropriate context because it sounds impressive. If you are unsure of how a particular word should be used, check it with a dictionary, or use another word instead. Do not assume that you are writing for a fellow expert who will understand technical jargon - always explain yourself in clear, straightforward terms, as this will help to demonstrate the depth of your knowledge of the subject.
Learn your house style thoroughly. Most universities and departments will have a standard house style governing the presentation of work. Not adhering to them can cost you marks. Whether or not you need a cover and contents page, how to space your lines and paragraphs, and the accepted style for headings, sub-headings and page numbers may seem trivial but they are all important for giving your final piece of work the polish of an accomplished dissertation.
None of this is to say that there is no room at all for flair and creativity in how you write your dissertation. As I said at the very beginning, this is your opportunity to show off your knowledge, unleash your full armoury of academic skills, and enjoy yourself in the process. A dissertation which is overly formal, impersonal and formulaic in its prose can end up being colourless, bland and uninteresting to read. Striking the right balance is important. Here are a few tips for making your writing formal yet eloquent:
Use adverbs and adjectives for emphasis. As long as you choose your words carefully, adding colour to your writing by using descriptive words can have a subtle yet noticeable effect. Describing a theory as interesting or controversial, for example, will help to flag up your agreement or disagreement with it in a subtle yet persuasive manner.
Avoid repetition. Continually using the same words and phrases over and over again can damage the impact of your work. Organising paragraphs around the phrase 'one the one hand... but on the other,' for example, may show you are taking a balanced view, but it will be clunky and repetitive to read. Familiarise yourself with a range of similar stylistic devices and their subtle differences in emphasis - although, as always, be careful to only use them if they can add something to your work, not just for the sake of squeezing them in.
Use examples. Wherever possible, referring to specifics rather than abstracts will give your argument much more impact. Using even the briefest reference to a specific person/theory/event is much stronger than talking generally about 'some' people/theories/events.
Reviewing your work
Get into the habit of reading and re-reading over your work again and again. Read both for sense and style, and get into the habit of being ruthless in editing out words, sentences and even paragraphs that you do not think add anything to the overall impact and flow of the argument. Your final dissertation should have no typos, no mistakes in spelling or grammar whatsoever, so exercise the strictest discipline in how you review it. Ask other people to read your work at intervals along the way, be it your tutor or a friend. Another pair of eyes can be invaluable for picking up on little mistakes you have simply missed, or offering a fresh perspective on how well a particular section reads, or whether you get your meaning across effectively in another.
