Redrafting your dissertation

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Redrafting your dissertation

Dr Cheryl Lange
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Youve finished the first draft - well done

• Dont race off to show it to your supervisor.
• There are still a couple of important things you
  need to do.

Set aside your work for a few days
Redraft
Many ideas in this presentation are adapted
from Evans, D Gruba, P 2002 (2nd ed.) How to
write a better thesis, Melbourne, Melbourne
University Press, pp. 123-139.
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Things to check
Structure
2. Spelling, grammar, punctuation, formatting, etc.
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Structure some questions

• Is there a table of contents? (check that there
  is agreement between the table of contents and
  your chapter headings)
• Does the Introduction mention
• why the research is being done
• what the aim is
• how the aim will be achieved
• what the scope of the dissertation is?
• Do the conclusions correspond with the aim?

Note areas to be improved in the margins of the text
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Redraft questions ask yourself

• Does the logic of my argument flow from
  introduction to conclusion? (If not, fix up any
  gaps, repetitions, problems with order, etc.)
• Has my aim shifted during my research? (If yes,
  re-write your aim.)
• Is there material in the body that would be
  better off in an appendix? (If so, move it to an
  appendix.)
• Have important points emerged that I didnt
  consider when structuring my first draft? (If so,
  work out how/where to incorporate them.)

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Results more questions

• Are the results of my experiments, interviews or
  other aspects of my own work clearly presented
  and explained?
• Am I discussing the implications of my results as
  I go? (OK if you are doing a dissertation in the
  humanities and some social sciences. NOT OK, for
  dissertations in physical, biological sciences.)

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Discussion and Conclusions

• Have I discussed my findings in terms of
  improving or extending current theory or
  practice? (This may not be necessary for some
  coursework dissertations.)
• Do my conclusions follow on from my discussion?
  (They should.)
• Have I introduced new discussion topics into my
  conclusion? (If yes, you will have to rewrite
  your discussion to include the new ideas or
  rewrite your conclusion and leave them out.)
• Do my conclusions explain the implications of my
  work for theory or practice or provide
  recommendations? (They should, depending on your
  dissertation requirements.)

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More redrafting questions

• Does my formatting confirm to the specifications
  of my unit/discipline?
• Have I checked my spelling thoroughly (dont rely
  solely on spell check)
• Does my punctuation help the reader understand my
  various points of view?
• Have I labelled all my tables and figures
  correctly?
• Have I meticulously checked my referencing?

Redrafting takes time but it MUST be done
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Want to impress your examiners?

• Use a clear, direct writing style

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Tips for writing concisely
Circle the prepositions (of, in, about, for, onto, into)
Draw a box around the "is" verb forms
Ask, "Where's the action?
Change the "action" into a simple verb
Move the doer into the subject (Who's kicking whom)
Eliminate any unnecessary slow wind-ups
Eliminate any redundancies.
http//owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/635/1/
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An example

• http//owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/635/1/

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More help?

• See Guide to Grammar and Writing Concise
  Sentences for lists of redundant phrases
  http//grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/concise.htm
  
• About.Com Grammar and Compositions lists 200
  Common Redundancies http//grammar.about.com/od/w
  ords/a/redundancies.htm