The Dissertation The Introduction

Telling the ‘story’ of your dissertation Briefly, describe the background to your dissertation e.g. Why is it currently an issue? What are the current trends? What are politicians saying about it? Outline the issues you are going to deal with Give a clear indication that you will examine ‘both sides’ of the issue (remember all dissertations are “to what extent” type questions.

Telling the ‘story’ of your dissertation DO NOT WRITE IN THE FIRST PERSON (“I am going to show…..”. Say instead “In this dissertation…..” or “This dissertation will argue that....” If you have enough words left, describe the main methods you used and any issues there were with those methods (if you are short of words, this will be included as an appendix) Are there any particularly relevant theories which feature in your dissertation? Mention them here.

Telling the ‘story’ of your dissertation Finish off with: Restating your hypothesis A clear statement of the main Aims of your dissertation Please look at the examples on the server and the SQA website especially “example 6” which was given an A pass (43/45)