Professors often grade dissertations and essays poorly due to bad readability. Despite extracting information from the right sources, students are unable to perform well in their papers. Then they wonder what went wrong. So, in this post, the experts at our law dissertation writing service will discuss how students can improve the readability of their essays and dissertations.
1. Use Simple Vocabulary
Your professors will assess your dissertation and grade it according to the quality of content and information. However, trying to impress them using difficult and hardly understandable vocabulary might backfire. The topic of your dissertation is already pretty complex. Hence, to ensure your reader understands every piece of information perfectly, use words the masses can easily understand. Your paper won’t serve its purpose if your readers find it difficult to understand your arguments due to overly difficult words.
2. Define Complex Terms
While writing a dissertation on a technical topic, you’ll have no choice but to use difficult terms. However, if you do so, make sure you define and explain those terms in detail to help readers understand the context of your arguments. If you don’t explain these terms in your paper by assuming your reader might already know about them, your writing piece is bound to fail. Also, even if your professors know the jargon, they want you to at least define them for better readability and understanding. Finally, you have a massive word count to fill while writing dissertations. So, don’t shy away from defining technical terms.
3. Write Short, Simple, and Well-Structured Sentences
Short sentences are easy to read. If you write sentences running for 2-3 lines, your reader will find it difficult to understand what message you’re trying to deliver. They’ll get confused and won’t be able to relate to your arguments as well. So, it’s better to keep your sentences short. While proofreading your paper, look for long sentences that can be broken into two or three short ones. Moreover, don’t forget to add proper punctuation. Otherwise, your professor won’t be fond of the quality of your dissertation. Remember! Simple is always better, even if your topic is complex or technical.
4. Avoid Using Passive Voice as Much as You Can
Here’s an example for those who don’t know the difference between active and passive voice:
Active Voice Example: Michael was driving the bike.
Passive Voice Example: The bike was driven by Michael.
As you can see, the active voice sample is more direct. Hence, even if the sentence’s content, context, and style are complex, it’ll be easily understandable if written in active voice.
On the other hand, writing a sentence in passive voice can further increase its complexity. It can make the words difficult to read and understand.
5. Use Subheadings
Dissertations are lengthy. Hence, it’ll be difficult for the reader to understand your research’s functioning and outcome if you just fill in thousands of words of information without proper sectioning. Your professor might have to assess dozens of lengthy papers. Hence, they often skim dissertations and try to understand the arguments by just reading the subheadings and some important pieces of content. You have to adapt to their short attention span. You can deliver your message clearly and effectively by writing impactful subheadings and dividing your content perfectly between them. Just make sure the subheadings and title of your paper are followed by relevant content.
6. Use Pictures and Graphs
You might have used the best sources for researching and extracting the best possible pieces of information to support your arguments or ideas. But, your dissertation will be pretty long, and you should add some visuals to keep the reader interested until the end. For example, if you mention the results and findings of a certain experiment, visualising the data using graphs and charts can help the reader understand the research outcome better. In addition, you can use different types of diagrams to explain complex terms and concepts. However, if you’re extracting multimedia from a source, don’t forget to cite it according to the referencing style suggested by your professor.
7. Hook the Reader from the Beginning
Academic writing is not at all boring. If you find the paper dry and overall uninteresting, it’s the authors’ fault. We always say how important it is to start the introduction of your manuscript with a hook, but most never follow the advice. If you start strong, the reader will be motivated to read through the document in its entirety. Of course, you have to keep their interest in the chapters that follow, but if you get their attention right from the beginning, there’s a good chance they will finish it.
8. Use Personal Language
Many students hesitate to use personal language while writing a dissertation or essay. However, if you’re explaining something to your readers, you should address them. Otherwise, the readers won’t be able to relate to the information discussed in your paper. Also, they won’t be interested in reading your entire dissertation if you’re not connecting with them. By using pronouns like “you” and “I”, you can make the content of your paper more engaging and interesting. Also, it’ll be easier for you to explain difficult and crucial concepts using personal language.
9. Add Some Humour
We don’t recommend students use humour while writing dissertations. However, you can use slightly humorous phrases and hooks wherever appropriate to keep your audience engaged. Your essays might not be as long as your dissertations and theses, but you would want your audience to stay interested and read your document thoroughly until the end. Hence, you can add some light-hearted and humorous sentences.
10. Structure and Organise Your Body Paragraphs in the Right Order
Professors hate to see a badly structured and formatted paper. Our experts suggest students thoroughly check their project requirements and brainstorm on the subject before writing their manuscript. To explain your topic and discuss the main idea better, you should organise your arguments in the right order. Every paragraph should connect perfectly with the next one. The reader will get confused if you talk about your opinions at random. You should create an outline before writing your dissertation for better organisation and flow of the write-up.
We hope this list of advice helps you improve the readability of your writing projects. But if you ever need assistance, you can always call upon experts in the field.
When students have to turn in multiple assignments before short deadlines, it becomes difficult for them to maintain quality. Hence, you should opt for our essay and dissertation writing service. Dissertation Pros is the leading academic writing firm in the UK, and the quality of our papers shows why we are the best.
