A Clear Guide To Chemistry Dissertation Writing For University Students

Majoring in chemistry, you will spend lots of time collecting data, mixing reagents, solving equations, and analyzing results. However, writing is also an important part of your study. If you have a dissertation as a part of your degree program, you should be careful and follow the requirements of your academic advisor carefully. The following clear guide provides you with vital things to keep in mind.

Useful Resources for Some Assistance with Academic Writing

Before you start writing your paper, you should select a topic, formulate a research question, prepare an outline, and learn how to write a proper dissertation. It makes sense to use one of the following helpful options.

First, keep your department requirements in hand and ask your academic advisor if you have any questions. You should attend a workshop with specific instructions on chemistry dissertation writing if there are any.

Second, visit a student writing center to get a formatting style manual and a paper template. It is also a good idea to read a few assignments prepared by your fellow students, so ask a center’s instructor to provide you with some sample papers.

Third, find a good dictionary at the school’s library. You will use many chemistry terms in your writing, so you may need to check their spelling to avoid mistakes.

Organizing Your Dissertation in Chemistry

You should follow a typical document organizational structure that includes these elements:

1. A properly formatted title page with your research topic.
2. A copyright page composed according to your school’s requirements.
3. An abstract that summarizes your research and presents your main findings.
4. A table of content with a list of sections and subsections.
5. A list of figures and tables with their numbers and titles as in your text. If you have plenty of figures and tables in your assignment, you should put the larger ones in the appendices.
6. A list of symbols and abbreviations.
7. An introduction with the problem statement, some background information, and your explanation why a chosen topic is important.
8. Acknowledgements. Here, you can thank your academic advisor, laboratory staff, librarians, and chemistry experts who helped you complete your dissertation.
9. Main sections with literature review, methodology, key findings, conclusions, and discussion.
10. A list of references to all the sources cited throughout the paper. Some instructors also allow their students to use footnotes. However, the sources mentioned in your footnotes should be also presented in your reference list.