4 Ways How a Dissertation Differs from an Essay

When you look at an essay and a dissertation, certain differences are quite obvious. An essay is relatively short and precise, compared to a dissertation. But, there is much more to it. If you are interested, keep on reading the article for a detailed insight.

A dissertation editing and writing differs from an essay in the:

1. Structure

If you take a look at the structure, you will find that the dissertation has several sections in comparison to an essay. An essay consists of an introduction (hook, thesis statement, and overview), body (three to five subheadings) and a precise conclusion. In conclusion, you have to restate the thesis statement and also mention the future scope of research.  

On the other hand, a dissertation must include an introduction, literature review, methodology, results, discussion, and conclusion. Moreover, you can include subheadings under each section to maintain articulation of arguments, facts and figures. Usually, the word count of a dissertation is around 10,000-15,000.

2. Purpose

The purpose of an essay and a dissertation varies. An essay writer’s duty is to shed light on a particular topic by offering their thoughts and validating their arguments. And the way the writers narrate their story or share facts falls within four categories: persuasive, expository, narrative or descriptive.

But, a dissertation provides students with an opportunity to showcase their research and findings in a particular field of study. Here, the technical knowledge of the student is put to the test, and they share new thoughts to an existing study. Furthermore, dissertations are published in academic journals to promulgate these ideas among scholars.

3. Target Audience

The target audience of both online essay writing and dissertations are different. An essay is assigned by the teachers at schools and universities. Thus, it is usually reviewed by the teachers. However, a few of the essays are published in magazines and newspapers, and some become a part of an essay compilation.

On the contrary, a dissertation is reviewed by an academic committee and scholars belonging to that field of study. A dissertation can either be accepted or rejected, depending on several factors. If the writer fails to provide valid proof to the statement, or rips-off content from published journals, or does not abide by the authentic structure, his dissertation will be rejected.

4. Requirements

An essay can be considered complete, even if the writers do not cite information from external sources. For instance, expository essays do not require any validation or personal opinions of the writers. Based on the type of the essay, the requirements are considered.

However, a dissertation requires critical analysis of the topic, sufficient facts and evidence. Moreover, the student has to present new ideas, and just cannot state existing facts and cite prior research materials in their write-ups. Thus, dissertation writing demands a lot of effort and research work.

As you can see, an essay and a dissertation almost have no resemblance to each other except for the fact that both require research work. Hopefully, you also get an idea of the structure of an essay and a dissertation.  

Summary: The article above highlights the significant differences between a dissertation and an essay. You will also get to know interesting information on the two forms of academic paper writing and their formatting styles.