Generating Unique English Dissertation Ideas: General Advice

English language has existed (and been explored) for centuries, but it can still provide tons of unique dissertation topics. Follow the simple steps below to discover a few.

Start in advance.

Give yourself enough time to pick your dissertation topic. The more time you spend now carefully selecting it, the less time you will waste struggling with the actual writing and research. As you won’t feel pressurized by tight deadlines, original ideas will be much more likely to occur.

Choose an area you are interested in.

You can’t simply pick an original topic in the field that does not intrigue you – all of them will seem boring. If you are not fascinated with neologisms or web slang, don’t write about them, however fashionable these topics are deemed by your peers. Instead, try to find a unique aspect to the subject which you love. Structural linguistics, for example, might seem like a “traditional” branch until you explore its possible uses for improving the performance of automatic grammar checkers.

Read as much as possible.

Once you have a vague idea of what you want to write about, reading a lot on related subjects can help crystallize your topic. Moreover, you can benefit even from reading interesting studies on totally unrelated areas (maybe not even related to language at all). You might discover ways to adapt an existing methodology, or use a theory for your own research. By using a methodology that no one has applied to the investigation of your research before, you can make your dissertation unique.

Record any ideas you have on the go.

Selecting a topic for your dissertation is a lengthy process. As you keep thinking about your choice, during the course of your daily activities, you might be struck by an insight in the most unexpected places – at the gym, or out in the street. Carry a notebook with you so you can write down your ideas right away, before they vanish, or use your smartphone for the same purpose.

Be critical.

After you have brainstormed for a while and developed a list of promising topics, review each one critically. Would it be of the same interest for your target audience as it is for you? What value can you add? Why is this subject worth exploration? What is the practical value of your research? Cross out any ideas for which you can’t answer these questions.

Use your supervisor’s assistance.

If you feel that you are completely stuck with your choice of topic, ask your supervisor for a hint. Your advisor probably has an excellent knowledge of English studies, and has read much existing research in this field. For this reason, he or she can easily invent an original dissertation topic for you.