how to structure epq dissertation

How To Write An EPQ Essay & Dissertation (9 Steps)

Writing an EPQ essay involves several steps to ensure a well-structured and compelling piece.

Here is a 9-step guide to help you write an effective EPQ essay:

• Brainstorm EPQ topic ideas : Choose an engaging topic that interests you and is relevant to your academic or career goals.
• Conduct research : Gather information from various sources to support your arguments and provide evidence.
• Create a structure : Organise your essay with a clear introduction, main body, and conclusion. Outline the main points and arguments you will cover in each section.
• Write an introduction : Begin your essay with an introductory paragraph that introduces the topic, outlines the scope of the essay, and provides an overview of the structure 4 .
• Develop the main body : Write the main body of the essay, focusing on presenting your arguments, evidence, and analysis. Ensure each paragraph has a clear topic sentence and flows logically from one point to the next.
• Use proper referencing : Cite your sources correctly to avoid plagiarism and demonstrate your research skills.
• Write a conclusion : Summarise your main points and answer the question you posed at the beginning of the essay.
• Review and revise : Proofread your essay for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. Ensure your arguments are clear, coherent, and well-supported 1 .
• Seek feedback : Ask a teacher, tutor, or peer to review your essay and provide constructive feedback to help you improve your work

The article below is designed to help you develop a strong foundation for writing your EPQ essay by providing practical tips and guidance from an expert in the field.

You’ll learn about key elements such as structure, formatting, research methods, argumentation techniques and more so that you can craft a compelling paper that stands out from the crowd.

By following these steps, you’ll have all the tools necessary to make sure your EPQ essay stands out and meets its desired goals.

• 1 Understanding The EPQ Essay Requirements
• 2.1 Organizing Ideas
• 2.2 Outlining Content
• 3 Formatting Your Essay
• 4 Researching For Your Essay
• 5 Developing Your Argument
• 6 Crafting A Compelling Conclusion
• 7 Writing a good EPQ essay

Understanding The EPQ Essay Requirements

Navigating the world of EPQ essay writing can be intimidating, and even overwhelming at times! But never fear – with a little bit of knowledge and preparation you’ll find yourself soaring towards success.

At its core, crafting an effective EPQ essay comes down to analyzing expectations and exploring options. It’s important to take into account the specific requirements for your topic or course; many professors will have different standards that need to be met.

Once you’re clear on what needs to be accomplished, it’s time to get creative – start brainstorming ideas and looking for relevant sources that support them. Be sure to record everything as you go along so you don’t forget any key details later on in the process.

Research is essential here, but make sure not to lose sight of the bigger picture: Your paper should still reflect your unique perspective and originality. With this approach, you can create an engaging work that will stand out from the crowd — one which takes readers on a journey of exploration through freedom-filled imagination!

Structuring Your EPQ Essay

Organizing your ideas is an important part of writing an EPQ essay.

Start by making a list of the main points you want to make and then organize them into groups that fit with your argument.

Once you have your ideas organized, you can start outlining the content. This will help you create a logical flow of information and ensure that your essay is structured in a clear and concise way.

It’ll also make it easier to write the actual essay, and make sure that you haven’t skipped any important points.

Organizing Ideas

Organizing your ideas is an important part of writing a successful EPQ essay. Before you start jotting down notes or typing away on your computer, identify the sources that will be most useful in completing your project.

Ask yourself questions like “what do I already know?” and “where can I find more information?” By identifying these sources early on, you’ll ensure that all the research needed to write a quality paper has been done ahead of time.

Once you’ve identified the best source material for your project, it’s time to develop a structure for your essay. Think about how each point should flow logically from one to another and what order would make the most sense when reading through your work.

As with any type of academic writing, having an outline helps keep everything organized and makes it easier to create well-structured argument points throughout your paper.

Additionally, if there are sections where multiple topics require further discussion, consider breaking them up into separate paragraphs so readers can easily digest each idea independently.

Writing an EPQ essay doesn’t have to be overwhelming; by taking proactive steps to organize ideas before starting the actual writing process, you’re sure to craft an impressive piece of work!

Outlining Content

Once you’ve identified the sources and outlined your structure, it’s time to start brainstorming techniques for what content should be included in your essay.

This is an important step to ensure that all the key points are covered in a logical order. Brainstorming can include anything from writing down ideas as they come to mind or even mapping out each section with bullet points.

Additionally, if there are any specific topics you’d like to discuss further, consider breaking them up into separate paragraphs so readers can easily digest each idea independently.

No matter which strategy works best for you, it’s essential to make sure that each point has been thoroughly researched beforehand—this will guarantee that only quality information is presented throughout your paper.

Writing an EPQ essay doesn’t have to be daunting; by taking proactive steps such as outlining the content of your project ahead of time, you’re sure to craft an impressive piece!

Formatting Your Essay

The formatting of your essay is as important as the structure. When structuring, you made sure all the pieces were in place and ready to go; now it’s time to make them look nice.

You should consider several stylistic choices when formatting:

• Word choice – Use precise language that adds power and meaning to each sentence without detracting from its original intent
• Font size – Choose a font size that looks professional yet comfortable for reading
• Headers/subheaders – Create visual breaks between sections using headers or subheaders with interesting titles that capture readers’ attention
• Margins – Establish margins so your reader can easily find where one section ends and another begins

By implementing these subtle but powerful formatting techniques, you will improve the overall quality of your EPQ essay and ensure a successful submission!

Researching For Your Essay

The research phase of an EPQ essay is one of the most important steps to ensure you can write a quality paper. Defining your objectives clearly and citing sources accurately are essential for success. As such, it’s important to take your time during this step, as any mistakes here will be difficult to recover from later on in the writing process.

When researching for your essay, begin by getting organized. Gather all pertinent information related to your topic and compile them into separate folders or files so they’re easy to access when needed.

Once that’s completed, start reading up on relevant materials and taking notes along the way – summarize each source and make sure you properly cite authors at the end of each note taken. Doing so will help you save valuable time looking back through books or articles once you move onto actually putting pen to paper (or fingers to keys).

Ultimately, if done correctly, research should provide a solid foundation which allows you to create an innovative and unique piece of work without having to worry about accuracy or plagiarism issues!

Developing Your Argument

Having completed your research, it’s time to develop your argument.

To do this, start by brainstorming ideas about the topic and evaluating sources for their relevance and suitability. Consider which evidence is best placed to support your position on a particular issue or idea.

After gathering all of your information from various sources, try to identify the common themes that emerge in relation to the topic you are researching. In order to form an effective argument, you will need to assess how each piece of evidence fits together in order to demonstrate its relevance and importance.

This could include looking at different perspectives on an issue or comparing multiple results of research studies into a specific field. Additionally, make sure that when forming your argument you take note of any counter arguments which may be presented as these can help strengthen your overall conclusion.

Once you have identified all relevant points related to your argument, consider how they work together and analyse them more deeply – this will allow you to draw meaningful conclusions from the data available.

Crafting A Compelling Conclusion

The conclusion of your EPQ essay is essential to summarizing all the points you have made and discussing their implications. It’s important to remember that this section should be both succinct and clear, so as not to confuse or distract from the main message of your paper.

When writing a compelling conclusion, start by restating your thesis statement in a different way than you did at the beginning of your paper.

Take some time to review each point discussed throughout the body paragraphs and summarize them briefly. This will help remind readers what they just read and why it matters.

Additionally, make sure to tie up loose ends, such as unanswered questions, by either providing an answer or referring back to prior sections.

Finally, conclude with a strong sentence that drives home the importance of your topic while offering insight into future research possibilities or other relevant discussions.

Writing a good EPQ essay

In conclusion, writing an EPQ essay is a unique challenge that requires serious attention and hard work.

With the right structure, research, argumentation, and conclusion in place however, you can put together a compelling piece of writing that will impress even the most discerning master’s student.

One interesting statistic to consider when crafting your essay is that only 50% of students who submit an EPQ are successful in achieving their desired grade.

This serves as a reminder to emphasise quality over quantity in your work: focus on making sure each element of your essay is thoroughly researched and well-written before submitting it for review.

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• How to Write an EPQ Essay

Writing an EPQ essay can seem like a daunting task, which is why we’ve written this nine-step guide to help make the whole process easier.

In addition to the A-Levels you’re already doing, you can choose to take an EPQ (Extended Project Qualification). An EPQ is an independent research project, and it’s extremely beneficial as it counts towards UCAS tariff points.

Consisting of around 5,000 words, an EPQ essay is an in-depth assignment which takes about 120 hours to complete.

That may seem like a lot of extra work to take on alongside your existing studies, however it can be hugely beneficial when applying to get into university.

Choosing to undertake independent research and reading can prove to future educators that you’re willing to take on extra work to really show what you can do academically, as well as demonstrating that you have interests that go beyond the curriculum. An EPQ sits nicely with a summer school course such as a law summer school , business summer school , engineering summer school and medicine summer school . During your course you have the chance to explore and understand your subject further, demonstrating your commitment to your studies, and develop ideas for your EPQ.

How do you write an EPQ essay?

To write an EPQ essay, you need to: come up with a compelling idea that you’re interested in, write down everything you know about the subject to generate further ideas, find the best essay question to use, reference your sources properly, write a sharp introduction and conclusion, get feedback on your essay, and make sure you double-check your work before submitting it.

The key to writing any extended document is planning, which is why we’ve written this nine-step guide to help you write the best EPQ essay.

Read on for our top tips on how to write an extended project essay.

9 steps to write your EPQ essay

1. come up with an idea.

One of the main reasons students fail their EPQ is because they’ve chosen the wrong subject matter. It’s vital that you choose a topic you’re genuinely interested in, otherwise you won’t have any motivation to work on it. Because of the extra workload, many students choose to start their EPQ over the summer holidays, and with all the distractions that summer brings (trips to the beach, sunbathing in the garden or hanging out with friends in the park) there’s even more reason to pick a subject you don’t find boring, or you’ll just look for any excuse to avoid doing it. Before finalising your topic, you might want to discuss your ideas with your supervisor so they can check you’re on the right track.

2. Write down everything you know about the subject.   

Before doing any extra reading, it’s really helpful to write down everything you already know about your chosen subject. This can help to get your thoughts and ideas – which are often jumbled up – out of your head and down onto a piece of paper or computer screen so that you can begin to organise and make sense of them. This is also useful for identifying any gaps in your knowledge. However, if the gaps in your knowledge are vast and your chosen topic isn’t giving you enough inspiration, don’t be afraid to abandon your original idea entirely and come up with something new. It’s better to start again from scratch at this stage, rather than 2,000 words in.

3. Think of a question

Whatever your chosen topic, you’ll need to think of a question to answer. This is an extremely important part of your EPQ and will form the basis of your essay, so it really is worth thinking long and hard about. The way in which you phrase your question or hypothesis will affect the structure and flow of the whole essay. For example, some typical essay question formats include ‘Compare and contrast’, ‘Critically evaluate’ and ‘Analyse and conclude’. The type of question you want to answer will affect whether you need to highlight and critique a number of theories or evaluate how useful a particular concept is. And remember that your extended project essay needs to be approximately 5,000 words long, so you should choose a question that allows for extended research and arguments. It’s also worth bearing in mind that questions without definitive answers are better as there will generally be much more to write about.

4. Research the topic

Next, you should start thinking about the main body of the essay and how you’re going to go about fleshing out your ideas. Ideally, this step should take up half the amount of total time you spend working on your EPQ essay. You should spend a good deal of time reading books, papers and online journals that have been written about your chosen subject. The Internet is an excellent source of information, but anyone can write anything and publish it online, so make sure your sources are credible and recognised by the examining body. Wikipedia, for example, should be avoided as a reliable source of information as anyone can edit the text that’s been written there. While doing your research, you’re going to come across many different opinions and arguments and it’s all going to come from a variety of sources. So now is also a good time to think about how you’re going to organise it all.

5. Remember to reference your sources

As with any piece of academic work, referencing your sources is vital so the examiners can check you’re not plagiarising. It’s also good to demonstrate that your information has come from a range of places so the person marking your essay can see that you’ve researched your topic widely and have considered several different viewpoints. You’ll need to provide a bibliography at the end of your EPQ essay and if you can’t say where your information has come from, you’ll be unable to use it, so it’s a good idea to get into the habit of doing this as you go along. Whether you choose to create a spreadsheet on your computer or annotate photocopies and clippings with a pen, it doesn’t matter how you go about doing this as long as you remember to do it. It’ll make your life so much easier in the long-run!

6. Create subsections

Splitting your essay up into sections can help to make sure you’re writing enough and exploring the topic in as much depth as possible. Keep your word count in mind when dividing up your essay and try to split each section equally. But while mini topics are good for breaking the 5,000 words down into more manageable chunks, you have to make sure each one relates back to your original question, otherwise you could risk wasting some of those words on irrelevant information. Don’t sacrifice the important stuff by shoehorning facts and figures into your chosen subsections. It’s worth thinking about the order of these sections too. It’s usually best to write in a ‘news story’ format, with the most important subtitles at the top and the less relevant stuff filtering down to the bottom, however you could consider working chronologically if that works better for your chosen topic.

7. Write an introduction and a conclusion

As strange as it sounds, it can be helpful to write your introduction and conclusion paragraphs once you’ve completed the main body of the essay. This is because your thoughts on the subject matter are more likely to be more organised, therefore it will be easier to summarise the main points clearly and concisely. Your first paragraph should introduce the subject matter, briefly expanding upon your question and how you’re going to go about answering it, while your conclusion should refer back to the title and answer the question you asked at the beginning of your essay. Ensure that both paragraphs are as direct and succinct as possible, in order to show that you have a clear understanding of your topic.

8. Ask for feedback

Whether it’s a friend, a relative or – even better – your course tutor, it’s a good idea to have your work checked over by someone else. Because you’ve spent hour upon hour absorbed in your subject matter, you can lose sight of certain things, so it makes sense to have your EPQ essay looked at from a different viewpoint. A second opinion can ensure that everything you’ve written is concise and accurate and the person checking your work can give you advice on what to leave out or add in; especially if they already have some knowledge on the subject matter.

9. Double-check everything before submitting your work

It’s a good idea to leave it a day or so before coming back to your essay to proofread it so that you’re viewing it with a fresh pair of eyes. We recommend going over it a couple of times – once to check that you’ve covered everything in terms of the subject matter and another for housekeeping. You want to ensure that you don’t lose any marks for basic things like spelling, punctuation and grammar. You should also take this time to make sure footnotes are accurate, as well as checking over any graphs, charts, diagrams and images.

We hope you’ve enjoyed reading this step-by-step guide and we’re confident that you now have everything you need to go on to successfully write an EPQ essay. Good luck!

EPQ Guide: Expressing your ideas

• The Inquiry Process
• Developing a line of inquiry
• Finding and selecting sources
• Working with ideas

Expressing your ideas

This is the stage you have been building towards - writing your report. Although that is largely the focus of this page , it is not all there is to the EPQ.

Your EPQ will be assessed on:

• Your completed Production Log
• if your project is a research based written report of any kind (e.g. a science investigation or an essay) it should be approximately 5,000 words long
• If your project is an artefact, it must be accomapanied by a research based written report of a minimum of 1,000 words. For artefacts, you may include photos showing various stages of the production process as well as the final product. You do not need to submit a large artefact as evidence - photographs or other media are fine.
• If your product was itself a presentation then you still need to produce a presentation about the process of producing it!
• Your presentation must be delivered live to a non-specialist audience and might use flipcharts or posters, presentation tools such as PowerPoint or Prezi or short video clips. The evidence for your presentation will  include a record in your Production Log of questions your supervisor asked and how you responded.

Am I ready?

Am I ready to start writing my essay?

Before you start writing, think:

• Is my investigation largely complete? As you write you may find that you need a few additional resources or information to support your argument, but you should not sta rt to write until you are largely sure where your argument is going.
• Have I filled in a Research Organiser (which you will find on the Working with Ideas tab)? This will help you to organise your thoughts and make sure you understand the argument you intend to make and have the evidence to support it. While not compulsory, it makes writing your final essay significantly easier.
• Do I understand how to write in an appropriate academic style? Guidance is given in the Academic Writing box below.
• Do I know how to import my sources from my Investigative Journal? Don't waste time putting all your citation data in again! Import all your sources as you set up your document. There are helpsheets in the Resources for PC / Mac users boxes to the right.

You should use the Oakham APAv3 Academic Writing Template (below) rather than a generic Word template to set up your essay.

(The image below is taken from the EE LibGuide, but the template is just as useful for EPQs)

Citing and referencing

There are many different ways to acknowledge the sources you use. These are called referencing styles . You are free to use any recognised referencing style you wish for your EPQ, but Oakham's 'house style' is APA. We suggest you use this because we already have a lot of support in place for it. APA is an 'Author-date' system, meaning that you show which source you have used by putting the author and date in brackets after it in your text, and then put the full reference in an alphabetical list at the end of the essay. The Library does not support 'footnote referencing', where you put all the information in a footnote at the bottom of the page. If you want help with this then please talk to the member of staff who suggested that you use it.

For detailed information and guidance on how to use sources in your writing and how to cite and reference them accurately using the tools in Microsoft Word, consult the Citing and Referencing LibGuide . This site includes information about how to reference all sorts of different kinds of sources, including videos and works of art, and what to do if you are using a source written in a language that is not the language of your essay. It also gives some examples of how to use in-text citations , whether quoting, paraphrasing or just referring to a source more generally, and how to use the automatic citing and referencing tools in Word .

Academic writing

Stages in an academic essay

Your thesis is the point you want to make. It emerges from your research and your task is to use the evidence you have found to establish it as the most reasonable response to that research.

In both approaches, you must state the research question in your introduction, and make sure you return to it in your conclusion .

Sections required in your essay

Have a look at the Formal Presentation guide in the sidebar for a guide to laying out your essay.

Paragraph Structure

Paragraphs themselves have a structure - the most common you will have come across is likely to be PEEL. The letters often stand for slightly different things in different subjects, but the idea is largely the same - introduce your main idea for the paragraph ( Point ), justify it with Evidence and/or Examples , and Evaluate this evidence. Finally, Link back to the Research Question and/or Link forward to the next paragraph.

This is not the only way to write a paragraph and, with experience, you will soon find that your argument develops a flow of its own that does not require a formula - indeed, your essay would be very dull if every paragraph followed exactly the same structure. However, this structure can be a useful scaffold to get you started and make sure you don't miss anything important.

The structure of academic writing

Note that the following graphic was originally produced for the IB Extended Essay, but is equally applicable to the EPQ.

Planning your essay

It is vital to plan your essay before you start writing. An essay plan provides an outline of your argument and how it develops.

What sections and subsections do you need?

Although this might change as you write your essay, you should not start writing until you have your overall structure. Then think about roughly how you are going to divide your 5000 words between the different sections. 5000 words seems like a lot before you start writing, but it is much easier to write to the limit, section by section, than to try to cut your essay down once it is written.

What will the reader will expect to see and where?

Look back at your checklist and think about where in your essay you are planning to include the required information. Make sure the flow of your essay makes sense to a reader who may be a subject expert but knows little about your topic. Have you included background information? Details of experimental methods? Arguments and counter arguments?

Now get writing!

You've read all the guidance. You've made your plan. Now you have a blank screen in front of you and you just need to get started! Start with the section you think you will find easiest to write and work outwards from there, or follow the steps below to get started. Don't forget to write with the word limit in mind though.

What if you are writing lots of paragraphs but your essay just doesn't seem to be coming together?

1. Condense each paragraph into a short statement or bullet point. This is the skeleton structure of your essay.

2. Look at the order of the statements.

• Is the order logical?
• Does each point follow another in a sensible order?
• Do you need to change the order?
• Do you need to add paragraphs?
• Do you need to remove paragraphs?

3. Add, subtract and rearrange the paragraphs until your structure makes sense.

4. Redraft using your new paragraph order.  

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

Willard, D. (2003) My journey to and b eyond tenure in a secular university . Retrieved from: www.dwillard.org/articles/individual/my-journey-to-and-beyond-tenure-in-a-secular-university . Accessed: 9th May 2020

Oh no! It's too long!!

If you haven't managed to write to the word limit and are suddenly faced with cutting down an essay that is over the word limit, try these tips on concise writing from Purdue Online Writing Lab.

Use the menu on the left of this page from Purdue OWL to browse the four very practical pages on writing concisely and one on the Paramedic Method for reducing your word count.

AQA Guide to completing the Production Log: Expressing your ideas

AQA copyright notice

The presentation above contains slides from the AQA presentation  Teaching slides: how to complete the production log  (available from the AQA EPQ Teaching and Learning Resources website ).  These slides are Copyright © 2020 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

A downloadable copy of the Production Log can be found here , on the Home tab of this guide.

Formal presentation

Guides for PC users

• Citing and Referencing in Word 2016 for Windows
• Managing Sources in Word 2016 for Windows
• Creating a Table of Contents in Word 2016 for Windows

Guides for Mac users

• Managing Sources in Word 2016 for Mac
• Citing and Referencing in Word 2016 for Mac
• << Previous: Working with ideas
• Next: Reflecting >>
• Last Updated: Feb 27, 2023 2:28 PM
• URL: https://oakham-rutland.libguides.com/EPQ

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EPQs: designing your research question

The Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) is an opportunity for you to work independently on a topic that really interests you or that you think is important. It is equivalent to an A-level qualification. These articles are designed to help you if you are enrolled on an EPQ.

Why do research?

Pause for a moment and think about this. You could think about this on your own, or you could talk to friends, colleagues in the same class, or your family.

Perhaps there’s something that you’re already very interested in and you want to take a bit further. It might be that you want to develop skills that will be useful to you at university, such as studying independently, understanding how research works and communicating well. Perhaps it’s as simple as you’d like something to put on your UCAS statement, to show you can be self-motivated and self-managed. It might be that you enjoy finding things out, asking a question no one has asked before and uncovering answers that no one else has found.

All of these are excellent reasons for undertaking an EPQ.

Understanding why you want to do a research project will help you in your first task: designing a research question.

Designing your research question .  

The research process is a cycle (Figure 1): we design a question, we gather some evidence we hope will help us answer that question, we analyse the evidence to find the answer, we communicate with other people about our answer and from that we realise there is probably another question to ask!

What makes a good research question ?

Once you have decided on a topic to research, the first step for a dissertation/research review EPQ is to design a good research question.

In other words, how do you move from ‘this is a topic I’m interested in’ to ‘this is the question I want to ask’? 

Alessandra, a Senior Research Fellow in AstrobiologyOU, offers her thoughts on what makes a good research question. As you listen, pick out what you think are her main points.

Alessandra : What makes a good research question? 

Many people would say that it is important to have a research question that deals with the big problems of our time, that impacts on most of the world population, that can provide an answer to some of the big challenges, the big questions. 

Well, I will say that this perspective needs to be reversed. To have a good research question you need to start from what bothers you? What’s your original perspective? 

Where is it that you have an original point of view on the problems? The challenges of our time? It’s only through your voice and your unique point of view that some of the problems, the challenges, can become opportunities.

Doing something  novel  means   asking a question that no one has asked before and finding answers that no one else has found. 

Vague questions are very tricky to answer, especially if your time is limited, so keeping your question  focussed  helps it to be  answerable . 

Leaving  room for development  helps ensure you will stay interested through the process of planning, research, development and review. 

Questions that are open to a  range of perspectives  will give you much more opportunities to develop your skills in presenting arguments and discussing their strengths and weaknesses.

Finally, the question should be  interesting  – for you, of course, but also for those who will read your dissertation or watch your final presentation.

The ‘ten words’ technique and exercise.

Developing a research question is a cycle of refining, considering and re-stating. You will have to go round a few times until you settle on something you’re happy with. One tool you can use to develop a draft research question is ‘ten words’.

EXERCISE: Hold in your mind the thing that you are interested in and, without thinking too much about it, jot down ten words that relate to it.

• Sevasti’s ten words
• Ann’s ten words

Sevasti, a microbial ecologist in AstrobiologyOU, wrote down ten words to describe her research interests (Figure 2). A microbial ecologist studies micro-organisms’ relationship with one another and with their environment; in other words, their ecology.

Sevasti cheated a bit – some items on her list are more than a single word – but then she does work on some very complex science!

Ann is a researcher in science communication and lecturer in astrobiology education. The ten words she chose (Figure 3) look very different to Sevasti’s because they have very different research interests.  

Your ten words will be unique to you and your interests.

To design a draft research question, you could look to how these words could be combined. For example, a question that comes out of Ann’s ten words in Figure 3 might be:  how important were social media to the #blacklivesmatter movement?

Refining your question .

Once you have come up with a draft question, it’s a good idea to share it with others so that you can benefit from their feedback. If you are studying for your EPQ at school, you could ask fellow students or your teacher for feedback; if you’re studying at home, you could ask friends or family.

However, please remember that your EPQ must be your own work and that ideas gathered through conversation must be written from your perspective and cannot be copied from, or written by, another person

Discussing your proposed question can help you be sure it makes sense, and that it really describes what you want to research. Sometimes the comments people make will suggest a different – but still interesting – direction to go in. Sometimes you might disagree with the feedback, or it might prompt you to think so differently about your question that you decide to change it entirely. Remember that this process is a cycle!

The following audio discusses some of the comments Ann received when she asked for feedback. Recall that the first draft of the question was:

How important were social media to the #blacklivesmatter movement?

Having come up with your question, it’s time to start thinking about how we can criticise and improve it to make sure it’s a really good question that meets all the criteria we discussed earlier.

So once you’ve come up with your question, it’s time to discuss the idea with friends, family, teachers. Whoever makes sense to you. It’s about asking if this question makes sense outside your head. 

Can you clearly describe what it is you want to do? What the question is you want to ask? And also think about the questions that people ask you back. There might suggest an interesting different direction or some sub-questions that actually might be more interesting to answer. 

To take a few examples, these are the kinds of questions that colleagues might ask me if I proposed this question. Well OK, which social medium? There are lots of different social media. Is there one that’s more prominent than another and therefore more worth looking at? 

What about the role of the movement? Is this movement different to other campaigns? Are there other social movements I could compare it to, to make the question more interesting? There’s a time element.

Am I thinking about very recent events or events going back a few years? Am I interested in the momentary flowering of a movement? Or the development of a movement? Is there enough evidence for me to be able to answer this question? 

You might say that Black Lives Matter is a relatively recent movement, and therefore there might not be enough material in the research literature. By asking and answering these kinds of questions, you eventually come down and shape your question into a really solid one that’s worth your while answering.

Comments on Ann’s question

Ann received feedback such as:

• which social medium would you look at?
• is one social medium more worth looking at; is there one that is more used by young people?
• is this movement different to other campaigns?
• are there any other social movements you could compare it to?
• you haven't mentioned time – are you looking at the last ten months, the last ten years, or what?
• this is quite a recent social movement – will there be enough evidence?

Thinking about these comments, how would you change the question to meet all the criteria for a good research question? Look back at  ' What makes a good research question '  if you need a reminder.

Ann’s question could be refined to compare different social media-based movements: 

How are young people using social media for activism?: comparing #blacklivesmatter and #FridaysForFuture

This version still covers all of Ann’s interests and is novel, but it’s more answerable because: 

• it’s more focussed – it considers a specific community (young people) 
• it contains a range of perspectives (compares two different movements) 

To make it even more answerable, she could make a few more changes; perhaps the question could look at just one kind of social media (say Instagram) and perhaps over just one year (such as 2020). 

How did young people use social media for activism?: comparing the content of Instagram posts on #blacklivesmatter and #FridaysForFuture during 2020 

This version still leaves some room for development. In future, Ann could expand it to look at other social media platforms, other date ranges or other campaigns.

It’s ok to change your mind.

By thinking, discussing and refining, you come to a strong question that you will want to focus on during your EPQ.

But it’s important to remember that questions are never static. As you read more about your topic, gather more evidence and look into the question further, you might change your mind about the topic or want to refine your question even more.

That’s absolutely fine, and it’s a completely normal part of research. As we said earlier, getting to the right question is a cycle of refining, considering and re-stating. Don’t forget to ask for feedback each time – this will help you to reflect on what you are doing and make improvements where needed.

Getting – and giving – feedback .

Although feedback from friends, teachers and colleagues is helpful in improving our work, it can be difficult to deal with. Sometimes it can feel as if people are criticising us personally, rather than commenting on our work.

You will want to receive – and will be asked to give – feedback all the way through the EPQ, from designing your question to writing your dissertation and preparing your presentation, so it’s a good idea to think about how you will cope. 

• Receiving feedback
• Giving feedback
• Start stop continue

When you  get feedback:

First,  take a breath . Remember all feedback is useful, no matter how it makes you feel the first time you see or hear it.

Read or listen to  all  the feedback before you make any decisions. Good feedback will offer you positive as well as critical comments, but sometimes we have to remind ourselves to look for the positive!

Remember that the people who give feedback aren’t automatically right. Think carefully about what they have said and  weigh their feedback  against what you intended to say or do. If you’re still happy with your decision, it’s your work and you have the final say.

Identify solutions  to the issues people have raised. Could you find more information to back up your points? Could you write from a different point of view to make things clearer? Could you cut out material that is less relevant?

Implement your solutions , then go back to the people who gave you feedback to see if they make sense.

When you’re asked to  give  feedback:

• focus on the work, not the person
• be kind, but don’t be afraid to give constructive criticism
• make specific suggestions about actions the person could take

• give one piece of positive feedback. For example:  ‘this is a really clear question … ’
• give one or more pieces of critical  but constructive  feedback. For example:  ‘but did you mean … here?’  or  ‘it would help me to understand if you talked more about …’
• give one piece of positive feedback. For example:  ‘I’d like to know more about …’

Another method is the ‘start stop continue’ technique, which is where you suggest one thing they could:

• start doing
• continue doing

In this resource, we have looked at the first part of the research cycle – how to design a research question, and how you can refine and improve it through feedback. When you have settled on your research question, you’re ready to move on to the next step: gathering evidence (or data) to help you answer it.  

Other articles in this series...

EPQs: finding and using evidence

Finding the evidence that will help you understand a topic or answer a question is an important stage in the research process. And once you have found it, you will need to examine it closely and carefully, to judge how reliable it is and whether it is useful to help you answer your question.

EPQs: writing up your dissertation

You have collected and analysed your evidence and considered it in relation to your research question. The next step is to communicate all that you have done. Your dissertation is the element of the EPQ that is read and assessed by others who haven’t been involved in your research.

EPQs: why give a presentation?

What are the guidelines for the presentation?

Become an OU student

Ratings & comments, share this free course, copyright information, publication details.

• Originally published: Wednesday, 3 May 2023
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Dissertation Structure & Layout 101: How to structure your dissertation, thesis or research project.

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) Reviewed By: David Phair (PhD) | July 2019

So, you’ve got a decent understanding of what a dissertation is , you’ve chosen your topic and hopefully you’ve received approval for your research proposal . Awesome! Now its time to start the actual dissertation or thesis writing journey.

To craft a high-quality document, the very first thing you need to understand is dissertation structure . In this post, we’ll walk you through the generic dissertation structure and layout, step by step. We’ll start with the big picture, and then zoom into each chapter to briefly discuss the core contents. If you’re just starting out on your research journey, you should start with this post, which covers the big-picture process of how to write a dissertation or thesis .

*The Caveat *

In this post, we’ll be discussing a traditional dissertation/thesis structure and layout, which is generally used for social science research across universities, whether in the US, UK, Europe or Australia. However, some universities may have small variations on this structure (extra chapters, merged chapters, slightly different ordering, etc).

So, always check with your university if they have a prescribed structure or layout that they expect you to work with. If not, it’s safe to assume the structure we’ll discuss here is suitable. And even if they do have a prescribed structure, you’ll still get value from this post as we’ll explain the core contents of each section.  

Overview: S tructuring a dissertation or thesis

• Acknowledgements page
• Abstract (or executive summary)
• Table of contents , list of figures and tables
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: Literature review
• Chapter 3: Methodology
• Chapter 4: Results
• Chapter 5: Discussion
• Chapter 6: Conclusion
• Reference list

As I mentioned, some universities will have slight variations on this structure. For example, they want an additional “personal reflection chapter”, or they might prefer the results and discussion chapter to be merged into one. Regardless, the overarching flow will always be the same, as this flow reflects the research process , which we discussed here – i.e.:

• The introduction chapter presents the core research question and aims .
• The literature review chapter assesses what the current research says about this question.
• The methodology, results and discussion chapters go about undertaking new research about this question.
• The conclusion chapter (attempts to) answer the core research question .

In other words, the dissertation structure and layout reflect the research process of asking a well-defined question(s), investigating, and then answering the question – see below.

To restate that – the structure and layout of a dissertation reflect the flow of the overall research process . This is essential to understand, as each chapter will make a lot more sense if you “get” this concept. If you’re not familiar with the research process, read this post before going further.

Right. Now that we’ve covered the big picture, let’s dive a little deeper into the details of each section and chapter. Oh and by the way, you can also grab our free dissertation/thesis template here to help speed things up.

The title page of your dissertation is the very first impression the marker will get of your work, so it pays to invest some time thinking about your title. But what makes for a good title? A strong title needs to be 3 things:

• Succinct (not overly lengthy or verbose)
• Specific (not vague or ambiguous)
• Representative of the research you’re undertaking (clearly linked to your research questions)

Typically, a good title includes mention of the following:

• The broader area of the research (i.e. the overarching topic)
• The specific focus of your research (i.e. your specific context)
• Indication of research design (e.g. quantitative , qualitative , or  mixed methods ).

For example:

A quantitative investigation [research design] into the antecedents of organisational trust [broader area] in the UK retail forex trading market [specific context/area of focus].

Again, some universities may have specific requirements regarding the format and structure of the title, so it’s worth double-checking expectations with your institution (if there’s no mention in the brief or study material).

Acknowledgements

This page provides you with an opportunity to say thank you to those who helped you along your research journey. Generally, it’s optional (and won’t count towards your marks), but it is academic best practice to include this.

So, who do you say thanks to? Well, there’s no prescribed requirements, but it’s common to mention the following people:

• Your dissertation supervisor or committee.
• Any professors, lecturers or academics that helped you understand the topic or methodologies.
• Any tutors, mentors or advisors.
• Your family and friends, especially spouse (for adult learners studying part-time).

There’s no need for lengthy rambling. Just state who you’re thankful to and for what (e.g. thank you to my supervisor, John Doe, for his endless patience and attentiveness) – be sincere. In terms of length, you should keep this to a page or less.

Abstract or executive summary

The dissertation abstract (or executive summary for some degrees) serves to provide the first-time reader (and marker or moderator) with a big-picture view of your research project. It should give them an understanding of the key insights and findings from the research, without them needing to read the rest of the report – in other words, it should be able to stand alone .

For it to stand alone, your abstract should cover the following key points (at a minimum):

• Your research questions and aims – what key question(s) did your research aim to answer?
• Your methodology – how did you go about investigating the topic and finding answers to your research question(s)?
• Your findings – following your own research, what did do you discover?
• Your conclusions – based on your findings, what conclusions did you draw? What answers did you find to your research question(s)?

So, in much the same way the dissertation structure mimics the research process, your abstract or executive summary should reflect the research process, from the initial stage of asking the original question to the final stage of answering that question.

In practical terms, it’s a good idea to write this section up last , once all your core chapters are complete. Otherwise, you’ll end up writing and rewriting this section multiple times (just wasting time). For a step by step guide on how to write a strong executive summary, check out this post .

Need a helping hand?

Table of contents

This section is straightforward. You’ll typically present your table of contents (TOC) first, followed by the two lists – figures and tables. I recommend that you use Microsoft Word’s automatic table of contents generator to generate your TOC. If you’re not familiar with this functionality, the video below explains it simply:

If you find that your table of contents is overly lengthy, consider removing one level of depth. Oftentimes, this can be done without detracting from the usefulness of the TOC.

Right, now that the “admin” sections are out of the way, its time to move on to your core chapters. These chapters are the heart of your dissertation and are where you’ll earn the marks. The first chapter is the introduction chapter – as you would expect, this is the time to introduce your research…

It’s important to understand that even though you’ve provided an overview of your research in your abstract, your introduction needs to be written as if the reader has not read that (remember, the abstract is essentially a standalone document). So, your introduction chapter needs to start from the very beginning, and should address the following questions:

• What will you be investigating (in plain-language, big picture-level)?
• Why is that worth investigating? How is it important to academia or business? How is it sufficiently original?
• What are your research aims and research question(s)? Note that the research questions can sometimes be presented at the end of the literature review (next chapter).
• What is the scope of your study? In other words, what will and won’t you cover ?
• How will you approach your research? In other words, what methodology will you adopt?
• How will you structure your dissertation? What are the core chapters and what will you do in each of them?

These are just the bare basic requirements for your intro chapter. Some universities will want additional bells and whistles in the intro chapter, so be sure to carefully read your brief or consult your research supervisor.

If done right, your introduction chapter will set a clear direction for the rest of your dissertation. Specifically, it will make it clear to the reader (and marker) exactly what you’ll be investigating, why that’s important, and how you’ll be going about the investigation. Conversely, if your introduction chapter leaves a first-time reader wondering what exactly you’ll be researching, you’ve still got some work to do.

Now that you’ve set a clear direction with your introduction chapter, the next step is the literature review . In this section, you will analyse the existing research (typically academic journal articles and high-quality industry publications), with a view to understanding the following questions:

• What does the literature currently say about the topic you’re investigating?
• Is the literature lacking or well established? Is it divided or in disagreement?
• How does your research fit into the bigger picture?
• How does your research contribute something original?
• How does the methodology of previous studies help you develop your own?

Depending on the nature of your study, you may also present a conceptual framework towards the end of your literature review, which you will then test in your actual research.

Again, some universities will want you to focus on some of these areas more than others, some will have additional or fewer requirements, and so on. Therefore, as always, its important to review your brief and/or discuss with your supervisor, so that you know exactly what’s expected of your literature review chapter.

Now that you’ve investigated the current state of knowledge in your literature review chapter and are familiar with the existing key theories, models and frameworks, its time to design your own research. Enter the methodology chapter – the most “science-ey” of the chapters…

In this chapter, you need to address two critical questions:

• Exactly HOW will you carry out your research (i.e. what is your intended research design)?
• Exactly WHY have you chosen to do things this way (i.e. how do you justify your design)?

Remember, the dissertation part of your degree is first and foremost about developing and demonstrating research skills . Therefore, the markers want to see that you know which methods to use, can clearly articulate why you’ve chosen then, and know how to deploy them effectively.

Importantly, this chapter requires detail – don’t hold back on the specifics. State exactly what you’ll be doing, with who, when, for how long, etc. Moreover, for every design choice you make, make sure you justify it.

In practice, you will likely end up coming back to this chapter once you’ve undertaken all your data collection and analysis, and revise it based on changes you made during the analysis phase. This is perfectly fine. Its natural for you to add an additional analysis technique, scrap an old one, etc based on where your data lead you. Of course, I’m talking about small changes here – not a fundamental switch from qualitative to quantitative, which will likely send your supervisor in a spin!

You’ve now collected your data and undertaken your analysis, whether qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods. In this chapter, you’ll present the raw results of your analysis . For example, in the case of a quant study, you’ll present the demographic data, descriptive statistics, inferential statistics , etc.

Typically, Chapter 4 is simply a presentation and description of the data, not a discussion of the meaning of the data. In other words, it’s descriptive, rather than analytical – the meaning is discussed in Chapter 5. However, some universities will want you to combine chapters 4 and 5, so that you both present and interpret the meaning of the data at the same time. Check with your institution what their preference is.

Now that you’ve presented the data analysis results, its time to interpret and analyse them. In other words, its time to discuss what they mean, especially in relation to your research question(s).

What you discuss here will depend largely on your chosen methodology. For example, if you’ve gone the quantitative route, you might discuss the relationships between variables . If you’ve gone the qualitative route, you might discuss key themes and the meanings thereof. It all depends on what your research design choices were.

Most importantly, you need to discuss your results in relation to your research questions and aims, as well as the existing literature. What do the results tell you about your research questions? Are they aligned with the existing research or at odds? If so, why might this be? Dig deep into your findings and explain what the findings suggest, in plain English.

The final chapter – you’ve made it! Now that you’ve discussed your interpretation of the results, its time to bring it back to the beginning with the conclusion chapter . In other words, its time to (attempt to) answer your original research question s (from way back in chapter 1). Clearly state what your conclusions are in terms of your research questions. This might feel a bit repetitive, as you would have touched on this in the previous chapter, but its important to bring the discussion full circle and explicitly state your answer(s) to the research question(s).

Next, you’ll typically discuss the implications of your findings . In other words, you’ve answered your research questions – but what does this mean for the real world (or even for academia)? What should now be done differently, given the new insight you’ve generated?

Lastly, you should discuss the limitations of your research, as well as what this means for future research in the area. No study is perfect, especially not a Masters-level. Discuss the shortcomings of your research. Perhaps your methodology was limited, perhaps your sample size was small or not representative, etc, etc. Don’t be afraid to critique your work – the markers want to see that you can identify the limitations of your work. This is a strength, not a weakness. Be brutal!

This marks the end of your core chapters – woohoo! From here on out, it’s pretty smooth sailing.

The reference list is straightforward. It should contain a list of all resources cited in your dissertation, in the required format, e.g. APA , Harvard, etc.

It’s essential that you use reference management software for your dissertation. Do NOT try handle your referencing manually – its far too error prone. On a reference list of multiple pages, you’re going to make mistake. To this end, I suggest considering either Mendeley or Zotero. Both are free and provide a very straightforward interface to ensure that your referencing is 100% on point. I’ve included a simple how-to video for the Mendeley software (my personal favourite) below:

Some universities may ask you to include a bibliography, as opposed to a reference list. These two things are not the same . A bibliography is similar to a reference list, except that it also includes resources which informed your thinking but were not directly cited in your dissertation. So, double-check your brief and make sure you use the right one.

The very last piece of the puzzle is the appendix or set of appendices. This is where you’ll include any supporting data and evidence. Importantly, supporting is the keyword here.

Your appendices should provide additional “nice to know”, depth-adding information, which is not critical to the core analysis. Appendices should not be used as a way to cut down word count (see this post which covers how to reduce word count ). In other words, don’t place content that is critical to the core analysis here, just to save word count. You will not earn marks on any content in the appendices, so don’t try to play the system!

Time to recap…

And there you have it – the traditional dissertation structure and layout, from A-Z. To recap, the core structure for a dissertation or thesis is (typically) as follows:

• Acknowledgments page

Most importantly, the core chapters should reflect the research process (asking, investigating and answering your research question). Moreover, the research question(s) should form the golden thread throughout your dissertation structure. Everything should revolve around the research questions, and as you’ve seen, they should form both the start point (i.e. introduction chapter) and the endpoint (i.e. conclusion chapter).

I hope this post has provided you with clarity about the traditional dissertation/thesis structure and layout. If you have any questions or comments, please leave a comment below, or feel free to get in touch with us. Also, be sure to check out the rest of the  Grad Coach Blog .

Psst... there’s more!

This post was based on one of our popular Research Bootcamps . If you're working on a research project, you'll definitely want to check this out ...

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36 Comments

many thanks i found it very useful

Glad to hear that, Arun. Good luck writing your dissertation.

Such clear practical logical advice. I very much needed to read this to keep me focused in stead of fretting.. Perfect now ready to start my research!

what about scientific fields like computer or engineering thesis what is the difference in the structure? thank you very much

Thanks so much this helped me a lot!

Very helpful and accessible. What I like most is how practical the advice is along with helpful tools/ links.

Thanks Ade!

Thank you so much sir.. It was really helpful..

You’re welcome!

Hi! How many words maximum should contain the abstract?

Thank you so much 😊 Find this at the right moment

You’re most welcome. Good luck with your dissertation.

best ever benefit i got on right time thank you

Many times Clarity and vision of destination of dissertation is what makes the difference between good ,average and great researchers the same way a great automobile driver is fast with clarity of address and Clear weather conditions .

I guess Great researcher = great ideas + knowledge + great and fast data collection and modeling + great writing + high clarity on all these

You have given immense clarity from start to end.

Morning. Where will I write the definitions of what I’m referring to in my report?

Thank you so much Derek, I was almost lost! Thanks a tonnnn! Have a great day!

Thanks ! so concise and valuable

This was very helpful. Clear and concise. I know exactly what to do now.

Thank you for allowing me to go through briefly. I hope to find time to continue.

Really useful to me. Thanks a thousand times

Very interesting! It will definitely set me and many more for success. highly recommended.

Thank you soo much sir, for the opportunity to express my skills

Usefull, thanks a lot. Really clear

Very nice and easy to understand. Thank you .

That was incredibly useful. Thanks Grad Coach Crew!

My stress level just dropped at least 15 points after watching this. Just starting my thesis for my grad program and I feel a lot more capable now! Thanks for such a clear and helpful video, Emma and the GradCoach team!

Do we need to mention the number of words the dissertation contains in the main document?

It depends on your university’s requirements, so it would be best to check with them 🙂

Such a helpful post to help me get started with structuring my masters dissertation, thank you!

Great video; I appreciate that helpful information

It is so necessary or avital course

This blog is very informative for my research. Thank you

Doctoral students are required to fill out the National Research Council’s Survey of Earned Doctorates

wow this is an amazing gain in my life

This is so good

How can i arrange my specific objectives in my dissertation?

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How to Conduct an Effective Literature Review for Your EPQ: A Step-by-Step Guide

• backlinkworks
• Writing Articles & Reviews
• September 23, 2023

Introduction

A literature review is an important component of any Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) project. IT involves researching and analyzing existing literature and scholarly works relevant to your topic. A well-conducted literature review can provide a solid foundation for your EPQ, helping you to identify gaps in the research, establish the context for your study, and build a strong theoretical framework.

Why is a literature review important?

Conducting an effective literature review is crucial for several reasons:

• Identifying existing knowledge: A literature review enables you to familiarize yourself with the existing research and theories related to your topic. This helps you understand what is already known, what gaps exist in the literature, and how your project can contribute to the field.
• Guiding your research: A well-constructed literature review can help you determine the direction and scope of your EPQ project. IT serves as a roadmap, assisting you in identifying the key concepts, theories, and methodologies that are relevant to your research.
• Building a theoretical framework: A literature review allows you to identify and analyze different theories and perspectives related to your topic. This helps you establish a strong theoretical foundation for your project and provides a basis for your analysis and interpretation of the data.
• Supporting your arguments: By citing relevant literature, you can support your arguments and claims with evidence from authoritative sources. This enhances the credibility and reliability of your EPQ project.

Step-by-Step Guide to Conducting an Effective Literature Review

1. define your research question.

The first step in conducting a literature review is to clearly define your research question or objective. This will help you narrow down your search and focus on the most relevant sources.

2. Develop a search strategy

Once you have defined your research question, you need to develop a search strategy to identify relevant literature. Start by brainstorming keywords and phrases related to your topic. Use synonyms and variations of these terms to broaden your search.

Next, identify the most appropriate sources for your research. These may include academic databases, libraries, online journals, books, and relevant websites. Consider both primary and secondary sources to ensure comprehensive coverage of your topic.

3. Conduct a literature search

Using your search strategy, begin exploring the identified sources. Start with academic databases like PubMed, Google Scholar, or JSTOR, as they provide access to a wide range of scholarly articles and research papers.

Make use of advanced search tools and filters to refine your search results. Take note of the relevant sources, including the title, authors, and abstracts, for further evaluation and analysis.

4. Evaluate the literature

After conducting the initial search, IT is important to critically evaluate the literature to determine its relevance, reliability, and credibility. Consider the following criteria:

• Publication date: Ensure that the sources you use are up-to-date and relevant to your research. However, older articles can be included to provide historical context or trace the development of a particular theory.
• Author credentials: Evaluate the expertise, qualifications, and reputation of the authors. Look for authors who are recognized authorities in the field.
• Research design and methodology: Assess the rigor and validity of the research methods used in the studies. Consider whether the sample size, data collection techniques, and analysis methods are appropriate and reliable.
• Consistency and relevance: Look for common themes, findings, and arguments across the literature. Ensure that the sources you select directly address your research question and contribute to the overall understanding of your topic.

5. Organize and synthesize the literature

Once you have evaluated the literature, IT is important to organize and synthesize the information. Create a clear structure for your literature review, categorizing the sources according to themes, theories, or methodologies.

Identify the main arguments, theories, and findings from each source, and compare and contrast them. Look for patterns and connections that emerge across the literature. This will help you build a coherent narrative and identify any gaps or debates in the existing research.

6. Write your literature review

With a clear synthesis of the literature, you can now begin writing your literature review. Follow a logical structure, starting with an introduction that provides an overview of the topic and states your research question or objective.

Organize the body of your literature review according to the themes, theories, or methodologies you have identified. Present the key findings and arguments from each source, critically analyzing and synthesizing the information.

Finally, conclude your literature review by summarizing the main points and highlighting the gaps or areas for further research. Make sure to cite all the sources you have referenced in a consistent citation style, such as APA or MLA.

A well-conducted literature review is a crucial step in any EPQ project. IT helps you identify and analyze the existing knowledge related to your topic, guides your research, builds a theoretical framework, and supports your arguments with credible evidence. By following the step-by-step guide outlined in this article, you can conduct an effective literature review that enhances the quality and impact of your EPQ project.

Q: How many sources should I include in my literature review?

The number of sources you include in your literature review largely depends on the scope of your research and the depth of existing literature on your topic. Aim for a balance between comprehensiveness and relevance. Include enough sources to demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the topic, but also focus on the most influential and recent works.

Q: How do I avoid plagiarism in my literature review?

To avoid plagiarism, IT is essential to properly attribute the ideas, opinions, and findings of other authors. Make sure to cite all the sources you have referenced in a consistent citation style, such as APA or MLA. Paraphrase and summarize the information in your own words, and use quotation marks for direct quotations. Always provide a clear citation whenever you use someone else’s work.

Q: Can I include non-academic sources in my literature review?

While academic sources are generally preferred for a literature review, IT might be relevant to include some non-academic sources, such as government reports, industry publications, or reputable websites. However, ensure that these sources are reliable, authoritative, and directly contribute to your research question.

Q: How do I determine the quality of a source?

When evaluating the quality of a source, consider the publication date, author credentials, research design and methodology, consistency and relevance to your research question. Look for peer-reviewed articles from reputable journals and books from renowned publishers. Assess the reliability and credibility of the sources by checking the reputation of the authors and the publication venues.

Q: Does the literature review come before or after the data collection?

The literature review usually comes before data collection in the research process. IT provides the theoretical and conceptual background for your study, helping you design your research methodology and data collection instruments. However, IT is important to continuously review and update the literature as your project progresses, as new studies and findings might emerge.

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How To Write An EPQ Essay (Step-by-Step Guide)

In A-Level by Think Student Editor March 29, 2019 8 Comments

Whatever the reasons were for you choosing to write an EPQ, the grade you get is most definitely important to you. That is why I have written this (hopefully) detailed guide on how to write an EPQ.

1. Think Of An EPQ Topic That Genuinely Interests You 

It’s important to choose an EPQ you’re interested in, or you may run into some problems . Many students take EPQs each year, and many students fail because they make this mistake.

If you don’t take an EPQ you’re interested in, you’ll have no motivation to work on it . This will be because you start to want to do other things, anything instead of your EPQ.

Think about revision, for example. Is it interesting? Nope. Would you rather be playing videogames, watching Netflix, or literally anything else? Yeah, me too.

If you’re not motivated to write your EPQ essay, then you’ll either not do it or do it badly. If you don’t work hard for it, you won’t get good marks – and therefore there’s less point in even taking it in the first place .

If you find an EPQ topic to write your essay on that genuinely peaks your interest, you’ll find it much easier to get better grades in it.

A more interesting EPQ essay topic will mean that your focus is better . This will result in a better EPQ, meaning more marks when you hand it in.

You’ll also enjoy the EPQ a lot more if you find it interesting . You’ll find the whole experience a lot more fun, and therefore a lot easier too.

To find an EPQ topic that genuinely interests you, you just have to think about what you like. There are lots of different things you can do, but you only get to choose once – so choose carefully.

And if you’re really stuck on ideas, take a look at this list of 600+ EPQ ideas that guarantee an A* . Any of these ideas will be great for your EPQ, so just choose one that interests you and that you’ll actually enjoy.

2. Create A Mind Map Surrounding Your EPQ Topic

A mind map is where you write down everything you know about a topic . In this case, you’d be writing down all the ideas and concepts surrounding your EPQ topic.

That way you can see everything you need to write about in your EPQ essay. You’re essentially making a mood board for whatever EPQ idea you’ve chosen, and it will help you get in the right mindset for the task ahead.

Mind maps are most commonly used to identify gaps in your knowledge . Students tend to use them when revising to work out what they don’t know, whilst also helping them consolidate what they do know.

In terms of your EPQ essay, a mind map will provide a loose structure for you to follow . You’ll come up with lots of different things you can write about, and that will make the essay a lot easier.

In addition to this, whilst creating your mind map you may even decide to change your topic entirely. You might find that the topic you’ve chosen isn’t giving you any idea inspiration, and so you move on to a different topic. 

To make sure you get your mind maps right, you might want to follow this helpful guideline . It’s mainly about studying, but the same things can be said for planning your EPQ essay.

Don’t try rushing in to your EPQ essay without first creating a mind map . Mind maps are more useful than most students think…

Mind maps will help you avoid getting lost in what you’ve written, what you’ve missed, and what you’re planning on doing. You can use your EPQ topic mind maps as a sort of checklist as you write your EPQ essay.

3. Use Your Mind Map To Think Of A Question Related To Your Main EPQ Topic

Many students forget to think about this, but it’s probably the most important part of your EPQ . If you get this bit wrong, you can say goodbye to a good grade in your EPQ.

The question relating to your EPQ topic of choice is what you’ll spend your time working on . The 5000 words you write will be about this question, and so it really needs to be a good one.

If you don’t make it a question that interests you, then you’ll find it harder to write as much about it. Find a question that genuinely peaks your interest (relating to your EPQ of course) and the rest will come naturally.

It’s also important, however, that you choose a question where there’s a lot to write about . If you choose a question with lots to write about, you can use that to your advantage when trying to reach those 5000 words.

However, if you don’t choose a question where there’s a lot to write about, you’ll find that your EPQ is slow and drains you. Not only that, but it’ll probably be worse in terms of grade too.

I’d suggest doing a little background research into your question before you start writing your EPQ essay . Just check that there’s lots to write about and then you can avoid starting something you can’t finish.

As a general rule, you’ll want questions that don’t have definitive answers. If you can find a question that is inconclusive, you’re onto a winner.

If you can’t be bothered to look up EPQ questions, then there’s an alternative . Take a look at this list of 600+ EPQ ideas that guarantee an A* .

4. Write Down Subtitles That Relate To Your Main EPQ Question

Writing down subtitles for your EPQ question means that you’ll have a better idea of what’s actually going into your EPQ essay .

When you create your subtitles for your EPQ essay, you’re essentially writing down all the mini-topics you’ll write about. You split up the massive 5000 word count into smaller, more manageable parts.

I’d suggest making as many subtitles as you can that relate to your main EPQ question. Just go for a massive brainstorm ( potentially using your mind map ) to try and come up with lots of subtitles.

That way you maximize the chances of you making some actually good subtitles. You’ll have lots of options to choose from, and your EPQ will benefit from having such a varied range of points.

You also put yourself in the right mindset for your EPQ essay . You’ll be much more open to different ideas and approaches whilst actually writing the EPQ, and examiners will see this and give you extra credit.

However, you need to make sure that the subtitles you’re writing actually relate to your EPQ question . If they don’t, you could run into some serious problems.

If you choose to work on a subtitle that doesn’t wholly relate to your EPQ question, you risk filling up your word count with irrelevant information. That means less room for the important stuff, and less marks for you.

Make sure you check all your subtitles before you start writing . Work out what the plan is before you start writing, so that you don’t have to rewrite a large portion of your EPQ essay.

So grab a pen and paper, sit down, put on some nice music, and get to writing those subtitles.

5. Triple Check That Every Subtitle Question Actually Relates To The Main EPQ Topic

By this point, you should have around 16 subtitles that you want to include in your EPQ essay . 16 subtitles will give you a nice 300 word per subtitle guide, give or take a few.

Any more subtitles, and you run the risk of overcomplicating your EPQ. Any fewer, and you’ll struggle to reach that gargantuan 5000 word count.

It’s essential that you break down your EPQ essay into smaller modules like this, to make it easier for you in the long term. 16 subtitles will mean the best productivity for you when you actually come to write your EPQ essay .

The next step is to order your subtitles, for easier reading. You’ll want to make the layout of your subtitles as sensible and as easy to follow as possible for your examiner .

If you please your examiner like this, they’ll be more inclined to give you more marks. They mark you on your written communication, and therefore you’ll want to make sure you’re communicating the most effective way.

Try ordering your subtitles by the order of most important to least important . Laying out your subtitles this way will show your examiner that you’ve really thought about your EPQ and understand what they want to see.

Alternatively, you could lay out your subtitles chronologically . What I mean by this is that you start with your question, move onto research, then explanations, and finally a conclusion.

This is probably the best way to lay out your EPQ essay subtitles . It’s the easiest way to follow the process you went through, and examiners like to see EPQ essays that are laid out like this.

It’s how I laid my EPQ essay subtitles out, and I got an A* – so I’d suggest doing the same.

6. Allocate A Word Count To Each Element Of Your EPQ Structure

You’ll want an introductory paragraph to start with, and that should only take about 200-300 words . Don’t go overboard with your introduction, as you should aim to make the bulk of your essay about your EPQ question.

I’ve already mentioned it, but you want to write about 300 words per subtitle . This is the perfect amount of words to write if you want the EPQ essay to go as smoothly as possible.

16 subtitles at 300 words each will put you at just under 5000 words – 4800, to be exact. That will leave you just enough room to add a short introduction too.

You can go for less subtitles, but that means a higher word count for each individual subtitle . If you make your word count per subtitle too high, then you’ll struggle when it comes to actually writing your EPQ essay.

You could also try more subtitles if you want, but that then means you’d write less per subtitle . That means there’s less room for all your explanation, and less marks when you hand it in.

I’d recommend keeping your subtitle count between 14 and 18 . That way you give yourself the best chances of your EPQ being easier to write.

You also make it easier for you to enjoy, too. Making your EPQ essay subtitles this long means you’ll find it easier and less monotonous, and therefore you’ll enjoy it more.

The word count of each element in your EPQ essay has an impact on your productivity and focus, too . Generally, the shorter the piece of writing you have to do, the more productive you’ll be.

Setting yourself short-term goals like this will help you stay focused and make your EPQ that little bit better. It’s worth setting effective word counts for your EPQ essay elements for those extra marks .

7. Research, Research ( And A Little Bit More Research )

Research should make up about 40%-50% of your total EPQ essay . That’s a lot of research, and you can see from this figure that quality research is crucial to your success.

The reason research takes up so much space is because you need to explore all opportunities within your question. Research will help you develop ideas and improve your knowledge of the subject, helping you to better answer your EPQ essay question.

And besides, who doesn’t want help reaching the massive 5000 word count?

There are many ways to research, with the most common being the internet, and books . Both ways of researching are valid and useful, but you still need to be careful.

Especially with the internet, you may come across facts and information that isn’t entirely accurate. This is because anybody can access anything, and usually the information you see online is edited by people who aren’t professionals.

Try to stay away from websites like Wikipedia, where anybody can change the information you see . There are much better alternatives out there, like Google Scholar for example.

Whereas with books, they have to go through a long-winded process to ensure they’re accurate . Books tend to be slightly more reliable than the internet, especially if they have an ‘exam-board approved’ label on them.

I’d also recommend keeping track of all the sources of your information, as you’ll have to write a bibliography at the end of your EPQ .

What that basically means is that you have to reference each individual source of information after you’ve written your EPQ essay. That’s just so examiners can check to see if you’re plagiarising any content, in case you were wondering.

8. Check That Your EPQ Structure Still Makes Sense

You should have around 16 subtitles ready to go, in chronological order or order of importance . I’d suggest chronological order, but that’s up to you.

You should also have space to add an introduction and conclusion paragraphs . They shouldn’t take up too much space, but still leave some room for you to add them in.

You’ll actually want to wait until the end of your EPQ essay to write either of these paragraphs, so it might help to add placeholders until you get to writing them.

Around 7 of your subtitles should be based on research . You’ll want to leave yourself a nice amount of in-depth research, whilst also allowing room for all that explanation.

If you don’t give the right proportions for your research and explanation subtitles, your EPQ can become lopsided. Examiners will easily spot this and take away precious marks.

You’ll want your conclusion to be longer than your introduction, as you’re essentially summing up all that you’ve written . Your conclusion should be about the same size as your subtitles, but maybe just a little bit bigger.

If all else fails, just read through your structure and think about it from an examiners’ point of view. Does it all make sense? Are the subtitles in a sensible order? Have you left space for your introduction and conclusion paragraphs?

If you reckon you’ve got all these elements in the right order and the right sizes, you should be good to go. Just keep a clear focus on your EPQ essay question, and you can’t go wrong.

9 . Write Down The Answers To Each Of Your Subtitles

Start with your subtitles to get the main bulk of your EPQ essay underway . The quicker you get your subtitles done, the sooner you can finish your EPQ.

Starting your subtitles first is a good idea, as they make up most of your EPQ. You’ll want to get them done first, and then you have time after that to work on the finer details.

As I’ve said, your subtitles should be around 300 words long . This will allow you just enough space to answer the subtitle, without repeating yourself or going overboard.

If you go too far over 300 words, you risk either repeating yourself or just extending your points so much that your words become empty. Empty words = no marks, which is what you definitely don’t want.

If you don’t write 300 words, the points you make are likely to be underdeveloped. This means you can’t get into the top band of marks no matter how good what you’re saying is – there’s just simply not enough of it.

Of course, if you think you can express yourself in more or less than 300 words, go for it . Everybody’s different, and some people have better writing skills than others.

The amount of words you write per subtitle can also depend on how many subtitles you have . If you have less subtitles, you write more words per subtitle, and vice versa – simple maths.

Try to explore every possibility within your subtitle. The more routes you go down and the further the detail you go into, the more marks you’ll get from the examiner.

10 . Write The Introduction And Conclusion Paragraphs

Your introduction paragraph needs to be slightly shorter than your average subtitle paragraph . Usually about 200-300 words, the introduction will basically talk about what’s to come in your EPQ essay.

If you make your introduction too long, you waste space that you might need for your research/explanations. You also take up space that could be used for your conclusion, which is very important.

It’s a good idea to write your introduction paragraph after you’ve written all of your subtitles . It may sound odd, but there’s method to the madness.

If you write your introductory paragraph last, it’ll be a lot more accurate than if you’d have done it at the start. You’ll know exactly what’s in your EPQ, and therefore your introduction can accurately ‘introduce’ your essay .

Your conclusion paragraph should be slightly longer than your average subtitle, and definitely longer than your introduction . I’d say about 400 words, your conclusion should sum up everything you’ve talked about in your EPQ essay.

Your conclusion should essentially answer the question you asked at the start of your EPQ essay. You should aim to include everything you talked about in your other subtitles (that’s why it’s a little bit longer).

You’ll obviously want to write your conclusion paragraph after everything else, or you’ll have nothing to conclude. Once you get on to your conclusion, you’re on the home stretch.

11. Get Someone To Proof Read It To Make Sure There Are No Errors

Proof reading your EPQ essay is so, so, SO important to your success . If you don’t proof read your EPQ essay, you may miss some pretty crucial mistakes…

I’m not just talking about the spelling mistakes you may have made (although you might want to fix those too). I mean the mistakes where you contradict yourself, go off topic, or even just get your facts wrong.

I’m sure I don’t need to explain it, but these mistakes will cost you dearly when your EPQ gets examined . Sometimes just a few marks can be the difference between an A and an A*, so you need to maximize your chances of success.

A good way to ensure your EPQ essay is perfect is to get someone else to look through it. Having a second opinion ensures that everything you’ve written is accurate and concise, and it’s better than just checking through it yourself.

If you rely on your own methods of checking through your work, you’re more likely to miss mistakes . Having a fresh perspective on your work broadens the chances of catching every mistake you make.

It doesn’t matter who you get to check your work . You can ask friends, family, or even your teachers/tutor – just get it proof read before you send it off to be marked .

If you need to check through it for spelling mistakes or wording issues, there’s a handy little trick I used for my EPQ essay. Paste your entire essay into google translate, and have it read out to you .

That way you can listen and check for anything that’s not quite right, and sort it out in time for your EPQ essay to be examined.

Thanks so much for the help !

This is so, so helpful, thanks so much!

How many resources should I have for my EPQ?

20-25 should be the right number

Hi, thanks for the cool tips! I will definitely keep it for myself

Hello, thanks for the cool advice, but the most difficult thing for me is 1 point – to think through the topic itself. Therefore, already at the first stage, I give up and turn to the college essay writing service. This service helped me more than once or twice. My friends also use it. Also, it is difficult for me to create a mental map, which is in point 2. Therefore, I would rather spend my writing time on purposes that are useful to me.

This is so useful! I have been working on my EPQ over the past few weeks and have had a few big quandries about how I should go about forming an answer to my question and this has made it much clearer. Thank you!

Chris Rand Writes

Cambridge, England.

How to get a 100%, A* EPQ mark – some tips

My son did his Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) in 2018, at Hills Road Sixth Form College, Cambridge, and it was really interesting to watch. For something worth just half an A-level (and in reality when it comes to university applications, worth nothing), it required an astonishing amount of work. For busy sixth-formers to find the time or the motivation requires some dedication. That said, the EPQ is a good introduction to doing a properly planned and structured research project, so I encouraged my son to take the trouble. He did so, and his project was eventually marked 100% (A*) in 2019.

My best advice is to reverse-engineer the whole exercise. Remember, the EPQ is not about your project itself, but about the process of planning and executing it. So get the detailed marking scheme from the exam board’s website, and painstakingly go through every single item, noting what needs to be done to get full marks. Keep this in mind throughout the project.

Show how you’ve developed a range of skills by creating as much supporting material around the project as you can. For example, the core product from my son’s project was always going to be a dissertation. But along the way he also created a blog (to use as the project diary), a video and a podcast. He interviewed real people for comments, created an illustration in Adobe Illustrator and found out how to use Microsoft Excel for a Gantt Chart. All of these gave him new things to learn, and more importantly to write about.

There’s no way around it: if you want to get a really top mark in your EPQ, you’re going to have to devote all the time they suggest, and possibly more. But it can be an interesting experience.

My son’s project was eventually picked up by a campaigning group which I belong to, and published on their website . However, the best place to see the project in full is at the website he created to showcase the work here .

3 thoughts on “ How to get a 100%, A* EPQ mark – some tips ”

Hi, great tips. I will definitely use these.

I don’t know how I got here, but this was a really interesting read with good insight and advice. Congratulations to your son. My daughter did an EPQ in engineering materials and biomimicry and was very proud of it. Unlike you, I didn’t get to see it! She was a shy worker. So much work and dedication can go into such a project (including travel to attend a conferences, writing to researchers, waiting for replies, etc). She messed up a bit in her A level results, but her EPQ helped get accepted on her course. So in her case it did count. She ended up being a top mark student in her university course.

Really interesting that the EPQ counted for something, Mari. And so pleased your daughter’s hard work paid off!

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• How to Write an Abstract | Steps & Examples

How to Write an Abstract | Steps & Examples

Published on 1 March 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on 10 October 2022 by Eoghan Ryan.

An abstract is a short summary of a longer work (such as a dissertation or research paper ). The abstract concisely reports the aims and outcomes of your research, so that readers know exactly what your paper is about.

Although the structure may vary slightly depending on your discipline, your abstract should describe the purpose of your work, the methods you’ve used, and the conclusions you’ve drawn.

One common way to structure your abstract is to use the IMRaD structure. This stands for:

• Introduction

Abstracts are usually around 100–300 words, but there’s often a strict word limit, so make sure to check the relevant requirements.

In a dissertation or thesis , include the abstract on a separate page, after the title page and acknowledgements but before the table of contents .

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Table of contents

Abstract example, when to write an abstract, step 1: introduction, step 2: methods, step 3: results, step 4: discussion, tips for writing an abstract, frequently asked questions about abstracts.

Hover over the different parts of the abstract to see how it is constructed.

This paper examines the role of silent movies as a mode of shared experience in the UK during the early twentieth century. At this time, high immigration rates resulted in a significant percentage of non-English-speaking citizens. These immigrants faced numerous economic and social obstacles, including exclusion from public entertainment and modes of discourse (newspapers, theater, radio).

Incorporating evidence from reviews, personal correspondence, and diaries, this study demonstrates that silent films were an affordable and inclusive source of entertainment. It argues for the accessible economic and representational nature of early cinema. These concerns are particularly evident in the low price of admission and in the democratic nature of the actors’ exaggerated gestures, which allowed the plots and action to be easily grasped by a diverse audience despite language barriers.

Keywords: silent movies, immigration, public discourse, entertainment, early cinema, language barriers.

Prevent plagiarism, run a free check.

You will almost always have to include an abstract when:

• Completing a thesis or dissertation
• Submitting a research paper to an academic journal
• Writing a book proposal
• Applying for research grants

It’s easiest to write your abstract last, because it’s a summary of the work you’ve already done. Your abstract should:

• Be a self-contained text, not an excerpt from your paper
• Be fully understandable on its own
• Reflect the structure of your larger work

Start by clearly defining the purpose of your research. What practical or theoretical problem does the research respond to, or what research question did you aim to answer?

You can include some brief context on the social or academic relevance of your topic, but don’t go into detailed background information. If your abstract uses specialised terms that would be unfamiliar to the average academic reader or that have various different meanings, give a concise definition.

After identifying the problem, state the objective of your research. Use verbs like “investigate,” “test,” “analyse,” or “evaluate” to describe exactly what you set out to do.

This part of the abstract can be written in the present or past simple tense  but should never refer to the future, as the research is already complete.

• This study will investigate the relationship between coffee consumption and productivity.
• This study investigates the relationship between coffee consumption and productivity.

Next, indicate the research methods that you used to answer your question. This part should be a straightforward description of what you did in one or two sentences. It is usually written in the past simple tense, as it refers to completed actions.

• Structured interviews will be conducted with 25 participants.
• Structured interviews were conducted with 25 participants.

Don’t evaluate validity or obstacles here — the goal is not to give an account of the methodology’s strengths and weaknesses, but to give the reader a quick insight into the overall approach and procedures you used.

Next, summarise the main research results . This part of the abstract can be in the present or past simple tense.

• Our analysis has shown a strong correlation between coffee consumption and productivity.
• Our analysis shows a strong correlation between coffee consumption and productivity.
• Our analysis showed a strong correlation between coffee consumption and productivity.

Depending on how long and complex your research is, you may not be able to include all results here. Try to highlight only the most important findings that will allow the reader to understand your conclusions.

Finally, you should discuss the main conclusions of your research : what is your answer to the problem or question? The reader should finish with a clear understanding of the central point that your research has proved or argued. Conclusions are usually written in the present simple tense.

• We concluded that coffee consumption increases productivity.
• We conclude that coffee consumption increases productivity.

If there are important limitations to your research (for example, related to your sample size or methods), you should mention them briefly in the abstract. This allows the reader to accurately assess the credibility and generalisability of your research.

If your aim was to solve a practical problem, your discussion might include recommendations for implementation. If relevant, you can briefly make suggestions for further research.

If your paper will be published, you might have to add a list of keywords at the end of the abstract. These keywords should reference the most important elements of the research to help potential readers find your paper during their own literature searches.

Be aware that some publication manuals, such as APA Style , have specific formatting requirements for these keywords.

It can be a real challenge to condense your whole work into just a couple of hundred words, but the abstract will be the first (and sometimes only) part that people read, so it’s important to get it right. These strategies can help you get started.

Read other abstracts

The best way to learn the conventions of writing an abstract in your discipline is to read other people’s. You probably already read lots of journal article abstracts while conducting your literature review —try using them as a framework for structure and style.

You can also find lots of dissertation abstract examples in thesis and dissertation databases .

Reverse outline

Not all abstracts will contain precisely the same elements. For longer works, you can write your abstract through a process of reverse outlining.

For each chapter or section, list keywords and draft one to two sentences that summarise the central point or argument. This will give you a framework of your abstract’s structure. Next, revise the sentences to make connections and show how the argument develops.

Write clearly and concisely

A good abstract is short but impactful, so make sure every word counts. Each sentence should clearly communicate one main point.

To keep your abstract or summary short and clear:

• Avoid passive sentences: Passive constructions are often unnecessarily long. You can easily make them shorter and clearer by using the active voice.
• Avoid long sentences: Substitute longer expressions for concise expressions or single words (e.g., “In order to” for “To”).
• Avoid obscure jargon: The abstract should be understandable to readers who are not familiar with your topic.
• Avoid repetition and filler words: Replace nouns with pronouns when possible and eliminate unnecessary words.
• Avoid detailed descriptions: An abstract is not expected to provide detailed definitions, background information, or discussions of other scholars’ work. Instead, include this information in the body of your thesis or paper.

If you’re struggling to edit down to the required length, you can get help from expert editors with Scribbr’s professional proofreading services .

Check your formatting

If you are writing a thesis or dissertation or submitting to a journal, there are often specific formatting requirements for the abstract—make sure to check the guidelines and format your work correctly. For APA research papers you can follow the APA abstract format .

Checklist: Abstract

The word count is within the required length, or a maximum of one page.

The abstract appears after the title page and acknowledgements and before the table of contents .

I have clearly stated my research problem and objectives.

I have briefly described my methodology .

I have summarized the most important results .

I have stated my main conclusions .

I have mentioned any important limitations and recommendations.

The abstract can be understood by someone without prior knowledge of the topic.

You've written a great abstract! Use the other checklists to continue improving your thesis or dissertation.

An abstract is a concise summary of an academic text (such as a journal article or dissertation ). It serves two main purposes:

• To help potential readers determine the relevance of your paper for their own research.
• To communicate your key findings to those who don’t have time to read the whole paper.

Abstracts are often indexed along with keywords on academic databases, so they make your work more easily findable. Since the abstract is the first thing any reader sees, it’s important that it clearly and accurately summarises the contents of your paper.

An abstract for a thesis or dissertation is usually around 150–300 words. There’s often a strict word limit, so make sure to check your university’s requirements.

The abstract is the very last thing you write. You should only write it after your research is complete, so that you can accurately summarize the entirety of your thesis or paper.

Avoid citing sources in your abstract . There are two reasons for this:

• The abstract should focus on your original research, not on the work of others.
• The abstract should be self-contained and fully understandable without reference to other sources.

There are some circumstances where you might need to mention other sources in an abstract: for example, if your research responds directly to another study or focuses on the work of a single theorist. In general, though, don’t include citations unless absolutely necessary.

The abstract appears on its own page, after the title page and acknowledgements but before the table of contents .

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the ‘Cite this Scribbr article’ button to automatically add the citation to our free Reference Generator.

McCombes, S. (2022, October 10). How to Write an Abstract | Steps & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved 14 May 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/thesis-dissertation/abstract/

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