Writing your dissertation

1. Writing your dissertation

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

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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

8. ST TT

9. 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

10. 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.

11. 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

12. 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) 2.2.1 ABC XYZ (Heading 3) 2.2.2 ABC XYZ (Heading 3) 2.3 ABC XYZ (Heading 2)

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. Other tools (2) • Web editing • NVU • Subtitling software • Bibliography management • Endnote • Online survey software • http://ict.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/web/communications/onlinesurvey/ • Index Translationum: • http://portal.unesco.org/culture/ then click on Databases

17. 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?