Writing your dissertation

Overview Dissertation structure and components Writing Software assistance A look at past dissertations

Structure: research dissertation (1) Introduction –gives aims of dissertation, research question(s), overview of approach, outline of structure of dissertation (~1,000 words) Chapter 1 –reviews previous work in the area of interest, identifies gap in knowledge or contribution you can make (~ 3,000 words) Chapter 2 –sets up the theoretical framework, defining concepts, looking at typologies, evaluating previous research (~ 3,000 words) Note: Structure and word lengths will vary from dissertation to dissertation, depending on topic.

Structure: research dissertation (2) Chapter 3 –presents methodology, i.e. details of data collection/selection and methods of analysis (~ 2,000 words) Chapter 4 –presents data analysis in detail and discusses results of analysis (~ 4,000 words) Conclusion –states what dissertation has done, discusses main findings, suggests areas for further research (~ 2,000 words) Note: Structure and word lengths will vary from dissertation to dissertation, depending on topic.

Structure: transl. commentary (1) Introduction –what is source text, where published, for whom, etc., hypothetical/real translation situation, translation brief, outline content of remainder of commentary (~ 1,000 words) Chapter 1 –area of focus 1: define phenomenon, review previous work in area, identify issues in your text, categorise where appropriate, describe and discuss examples (~ 3,000 words) Note: Structure and word lengths will vary from dissertation to dissertation, depending on topic.

Structure: transl. commentary (2) Chapter 2 –area of focus 2 define, review, categorise, describe, discuss, as for Chapter 1 (~ 3,000 words) Conclusion –mention other aspects of interest, outline what commentary has achieved (~ 500 words) Note: Structure and word lengths will vary from dissertation to dissertation, depending on topic.

Other elements ST and TT side by side Abstract –short summary of dissertation (300 wds) Table of contents –give page numbers for the different chapters/sections Bibliography –list ALL works that you have referred to in text, and ONLY these works –no bullet points, list alphabetically Appendix/Appendices –numbered, for other data Footnotes –use sparingly, often not necessary CD-ROM for subtitles, speech

STTT

Working with online resources Reference in text where required List in bibliography, alphabetically by author or organisation or website title Give ‘last accessed on DD/MM/YY’ List with printed material or separately As with printed material, don’t rely too heavily on one source As with printed material, read critically

Writing conventions Follow usual conventions for academic writing, in particular –avoid sweeping generalisations and absolute claims –use appropriate technical terminology –reference and quote appropriately In commentary, resist temptation to be too informal, anecdotal –it may help to use first person narration sparingly; alternate with passive constructions, ‘the translator’, etc.

Examples, text excerpts not necessary to list/analyse all instances of phenomenon categorise and give representative examples of category give back translations of examples so that non-speakers of language can follow discussion number examples consecutively and refer to them by number give additional data in appendix, if relevant, but do not put material in appendix if it is central to discussion may help to add line numbers to ST and TT, for referencing purposes

Software assistance: Word (1) Define styles –decide on formatting for Heading 1, Heading 2, body text, footnote text, etc., then click Format in menu bar, then Style, then Modify –then access styles from menu bar and use consistently Use outline numbering, e.g. Chapter 2 (Heading 1) 2.1 ABC XYZ (Heading 2) 2.2 ABC XYX (Heading 2) ABC XYZ (Heading 3) ABC XYZ (Heading 3) 2.3 ABC XYZ (Heading 2)

Software assistance: Word (2) Table of contents –use Headings styles in text –from menu bar, click Insert, then Table of Contents Tables, graphs, figures –number each one and refer to Table 1, Figure 3 etc. in text –Insert then Caption to have automatic numbering; Insert, then Table of Figures to have automatic listing of all tables, figures Pagination –avoid widows and orphans: Insert, then Page break to force text to next page

Software assistance: Word (3) To make global changes –Edit, then Find and Replace –also possible to find and replace specific formatting or patterns To assist with long, frequent formulations –Tools, then Autocorrect –give abbreviation and long version, e.g. jspn could automatically produce Journal for Specialists in Pediatric Nursing To add line numbers –Page setup, then Layout; choose frequency of numbering

Other tools (1) Terminology management –MultiTerm Translation memory –Translator’s Workbench, Wordfast Corpus analysis –Wordsmith Tools concordances (KWIC) alphabetical word lists frequency lists collocations –British National Corpus

Other tools (2) Web editing –NVU Subtitling software Bibliography management –Endnote Online survey software – /web/communications/onlinesurvey/ /web/communications/onlinesurvey/ Index Translationum: – then click on Databaseshttp://portal.unesco.org/culture/

Task Examine a dissertation and consider the following: Do you think the abstract and/or introduction informs you adequately about the content of the dissertation? Is the structure of the dissertation transparent and meaningful? Read a section of text and evaluate how well it adheres to academic writing conventions. Comment on the quality of presentation and formatting of the dissertation. In your opinion, does the final section/chapter conclude the dissertation convincingly?