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A Step-By-Step Guide to Write the Perfect Dissertation

“A dissertation or a thesis is a long piece of academic writing based on comprehensive research.”

The significance of dissertation writing in the world of academia is unparalleled. A good dissertation paper needs months of research and marks the end of your respected academic journey. It is considered the most effective form of writing in academia and perhaps the longest piece of academic writing you will ever have to complete.

This thorough step-by-step guide on how to write a dissertation will serve as a tool to help you with the task at hand, whether you are an undergraduate student or a Masters or PhD student working on your dissertation project. This guide provides detailed information about how to write the different chapters of a dissertation, such as a problem statement , conceptual framework , introduction , literature review, methodology , discussion , findings , conclusion , title page , acknowledgements , etc.

What is a Dissertation? – Definition

Before we list the stages of writing a dissertation, we should look at what a dissertation is.

The Cambridge dictionary states that a dissertation is a long piece of writing on a particular subject, especially one that is done to receive a degree at college or university, but that is just the tip of the iceberg because a dissertation project has a lot more meaning and context.

To understand a dissertation’s definition, one must have the capability to understand what an essay is. A dissertation is like an extended essay that includes research and information at a much deeper level. Despite the few similarities, there are many differences between an essay and a dissertation.

Another term that people confuse with a dissertation is a thesis. Let's look at the differences between the two terms.

What is the Difference Between a Dissertation and a Thesis?

Dissertation and thesis are used interchangeably worldwide (and may vary between universities and regions), but the key difference is when they are completed. The thesis is a project that marks the end of a degree program, whereas the dissertation project can occur during the degree. Hanno Krieger (Researchgate, 2014) explained the difference between a dissertation and a thesis as follows:

“Thesis is the written form of research work to claim an academic degree, like PhD thesis, postgraduate thesis, and undergraduate thesis. On the other hand, a dissertation is only another expression of the written research work, similar to an essay. So the thesis is the more general expression.

In the end, it does not matter whether it is a bachelor's, master or PhD dissertation one is working on because the structure and the steps of conducting research are pretty much identical. However, doctoral-level dissertation papers are much more complicated and detailed.

Problems Students Face When Writing a Dissertation

You can expect to encounter some troubles if you don’t yet know the steps to write a dissertation. Even the smartest students are overwhelmed by the complexity of writing a dissertation.

A dissertation project is different from any essay paper you have ever committed to because of the details of planning, research and writing it involves. One can expect rewarding results at the end of the process if the correct guidelines are followed. Still, as indicated previously, there will be multiple challenges to deal with before reaching that milestone.

The three most significant problems students face when working on a dissertation project are the following.

Poor Project Planning

Delaying to start working on the dissertation project is the most common problem. Students think they have sufficient time to complete the paper and are finding ways to write a dissertation in a week, delaying the start to the point where they start stressing out about the looming deadline. When the planning is poor, students are always looking for ways to write their dissertations in the last few days. Although it is possible, it does have effects on the quality of the paper.

Inadequate Research Skills

The writing process becomes a huge problem if one has the required academic research experience. Professional dissertation writing goes well beyond collecting a few relevant reference resources.

You need to do both primary and secondary research for your paper. Depending on the dissertation’s topic and the academic qualification you are a candidate for, you may be required to base your dissertation paper on primary research.

In addition to secondary data, you will also need to collect data from the specified participants and test the hypothesis . The practice of primary collection is time-consuming since all the data must be analysed in detail before results can be withdrawn.

Failure to Meet the Strict Academic Writing Standards

Research is a crucial business everywhere. Failure to follow the language, style, structure, and formatting guidelines provided by your department or institution when writing the dissertation paper can worsen matters. It is recommended to read the dissertation handbook before starting the write-up thoroughly.

Steps of Writing a Dissertation

For those stressing out about developing an extensive paper capable of filling a gap in research whilst adding value to the existing academic literature—conducting exhaustive research and analysis—and professionally using the knowledge gained throughout their degree program, there is still good news in all the chaos.

We have put together a guide that will show you how to start your dissertation and complete it carefully from one stage to the next.

Find an Interesting and Manageable Dissertation Topic

A clearly defined topic is a prerequisite for any successful independent research project. An engaging yet manageable research topic can produce an original piece of research that results in a higher academic score.

Unlike essays or assignments, when working on their thesis or dissertation project, students get to choose their topic of research.

You should follow the tips to choose the correct topic for your research to avoid problems later. Your chosen dissertation topic should be narrow enough, allowing you to collect the required secondary and primary data relatively quickly.

Understandably, many people take a lot of time to search for the topic, and a significant amount of research time is spent on it. You should talk to your supervisor or check out the intriguing database of ResearchProspect’s free topics for your dissertation.

Alternatively, consider reading newspapers, academic journals, articles, course materials, and other media to identify relevant issues to your study area and find some inspiration to get going.

You should work closely with your supervisor to agree to a narrowed but clear research plan.Here is what Michelle Schneider, learning adviser at the University of Leeds, had to say about picking the research topics,

“Picking something you’re genuinely interested in will keep you motivated. Consider why it’s important to tackle your chosen topic," Michelle added.

Develop a First-Class Dissertation Proposal.

Once the research topic has been selected, you can develop a solid dissertation proposal . The research proposal allows you to convince your supervisor or the committee members of the significance of your dissertation.

Through the proposal, you will be expected to prove that your work will significantly value the academic and scientific communities by addressing complex and provocative research questions .

Dissertation proposals are much shorter but follow a similar structure to an extensive dissertation paper. If the proposal is optional in your university, you should still create one outline of the critical points that the actual dissertation paper will cover. To get a better understanding of dissertation proposals, you can also check the publicly available samples of dissertation proposals .

Typical contents of the dissertation paper are as follows;

• A brief rationale for the problem your dissertation paper will investigate.
• The hypothesis you will be testing.
• Research objectives you wish to address.
• How will you contribute to the knowledge of the scientific and academic community?
• How will you find answers to the critical research question(s)?
• What research approach will you adopt?
• What kind of population of interest would you like to generalise your result(s) to (especially in the case of quantitative research)?
• What sampling technique(s) would you employ, and why would you not use other methods?
• What ethical considerations have you taken to gather data?
• Who are the stakeholders in your research are/might be?
• What are the future implications and limitations you see in your research?

Let’s review the structure of the dissertation. Keep the format of your proposal simple. Keeping it simple keeps your readers will remain engaged. The following are the fundamental focal points that must be included:

Title of your dissertation: Dissertation titles should be 12 words in length. The focus of your research should be identifiable from your research topic.

Research aim: The overall purpose of your study should be clearly stated in terms of the broad statements of the desired outcomes in the Research aim. Try and paint the picture of your research, emphasising what you wish to achieve as a researcher.

Research objectives: The key research questions you wish to address as part of the project should be listed. Narrow down the focus of your research and aim for at most four objectives. Your research objectives should be linked with the aim of the study or a hypothesis.

Literature review: Consult with your supervisor to check if you are required to use any specific academic sources as part of the literature review process. If that is not the case, find out the most relevant theories, journals, books, schools of thought, and publications that will be used to construct arguments in your literature research.Remember that the literature review is all about giving credit to other authors’ works on a similar topic

Research methods and techniques: Depending on your dissertation topic, you might be required to conduct empirical research to satisfy the study’s objectives. Empirical research uses primary data such as questionnaires, interview data, and surveys to collect.

On the other hand, if your dissertation is based on secondary (non-empirical) data, you can stick to the existing literature in your area of study. Clearly state the merits of your chosen research methods under the methodology section.

Expected results: As you explore the research topic and analyse the data in the previously published papers, you will begin to build your expectations around the study’s potential outcomes. List those expectations here.

Project timeline: Let the readers know exactly how you plan to complete all the dissertation project parts within the timeframe allowed. You should learn more about Microsoft Project and Gantt Charts to create easy-to-follow and high-level project timelines and schedules.

References: The academic sources used to gather information for the proposed paper will be listed under this section using the appropriate referencing style. Ask your supervisor which referencing style you are supposed to follow.

The proposals we write have:

• Precision and Clarity
• Zero Plagiarism
• High-level Encryption
• Authentic Sources

Investigation, Research and Data Collection

This is the most critical stage of the dissertation writing process. One should use up-to-date and relevant academic sources that are likely to jeopardise hard work.

Finding relevant and highly authentic reference resources is the key to succeeding in the dissertation project, so it is advised to take your time with this process. Here are some of the things that should be considered when conducting research.

dissertation project, so it is advised to take your time with this process. Here are some of the things that should be considered when conducting research.

You cannot read everything related to your topic. Although the practice of reading as much material as possible during this stage is rewarding, it is also imperative to understand that it is impossible to read everything that concerns your research.

This is true, especially for undergraduate and master’s level dissertations that must be delivered within a specific timeframe. So, it is important to know when to stop! Once the previous research and the associated limitations are well understood, it is time to move on.

However, review at least the salient research and work done in your area. By salient, we mean research done by pioneers of your field. For instance, if your topic relates to linguistics and you haven’t familiarised yourself with relevant research conducted by, say, Chomsky (the father of linguistics), your readers may find your lack of knowledge disconcerting.

So, to come off as genuinely knowledgeable in your own field, at least don’t forget to read essential works in the field/topic!

Use an Authentic Research database to Find References.

Most students start the reference material-finding process with desk-based research. However, this research method has its own limitation because it is a well-known fact that the internet is full of bogus information and fake information spreads fasters on the internet than truth does .

So, it is important to pick your reference material from reliable resources such as Google Scholar , Researchgate, Ibibio and Bartleby . Wikipedia is not considered a reliable academic source in the academic world, so it is recommended to refrain from citing Wikipedia content.Never underrate the importance of the actual library. The supporting staff at a university library can be of great help when it comes to finding exciting and reliable publications.

Record as you learn

All information and impressions should be recorded as notes using online tools such as Evernote to make sure everything is clear. You want to retain an important piece of information you had planned to present as an argument in the dissertation paper.

Write a Flawless Dissertation

Start to write a fantastic dissertation immediately once your proposal has been accepted and all the necessary desk-based research has been conducted. Now we will look at the different chapters of a dissertation in detail. You can also check out the samples of dissertation chapters to fully understand the format and structures of the various chapters.

Dissertation Introduction Chapter

The introduction chapter of the dissertation paper provides the background, problem statement and research questions. Here, you will inform the readers why it was important for this research to be conducted and which key research question(s) you expect to answer at the end of the study.

Definitions of all the terms and phrases in the project are provided in this first chapter of the dissertation paper. The research aim and objectives remain unchanged from the proposal paper and are expected to be listed under this section.

Dissertation Literature Review Chapter

This chapter allows you to demonstrate to your readers that you have done sufficient research on the chosen topic and understand previous similar studies’ findings. Any research limitations that your research incorporates are expected to be discussed in this section.

And make sure to summarise the viewpoints and findings of other researchers in the dissertation literature review chapter. Show the readers that there is a research gap in the existing work and your job is relevant to it to justify your research value.

Dissertation Methodology

The methodology chapter of the dissertation provides insight into the methods employed to collect data from various resources and flows naturally from the literature review chapter.Simply put, you will be expected to explain what you did and how you did it, helping the readers understand that your research is valid and reliable. When writing the methodology chapter for the dissertation, make sure to emphasise the following points:

• The type of research performed by the researcher
• Methods employed to gather and filter information
• Techniques that were chosen for analysis
• Materials, tools and resources used to conduct research (typically for empirical research dissertations)
• Limitations of your chosen methods
• Reliability and validity of your measuring tools and instruments (e.g. a survey questionnaire) are also typically mentioned within the mythology section. If you used a pre-existing data collection tool, cite its reliability/validity estimates here, too.Make use of the past tense when writing the methodology chapter.

Dissertation Findings

The key results of your research are presented in the dissertation findings chapter . It gives authors the ability to validate their own intellectual and analytical skills

Dissertation Conclusion

Cap off your dissertation paper with a study summary and a brief report of the findings. In the concluding chapter , you will be expected to demonstrate how your research will provide value to other academics in your area of study and its implications.It is recommended to include a short ‘recommendations’ section that will elaborate on the purpose and need for future research to elucidate the topic further.

Follow the referencing style following the requirements of your academic degree or field of study. Make sure to list every academic source used with a proper in-text citation. It is important to give credit to other authors’ ideas and concepts.

Note: Keep in mind whether you are creating a reference list or a bibliography. The former includes information about all the various sources you referred to, read from or took inspiration from for your own study. However, the latter contains things you used and those you only read but didn’t cite in your dissertation.

Proofread, Edit and Improve – Don’t Risk Months of Hard Work.

Experts recommend completing the total dissertation before starting to proofread and edit your work. You need to refresh your focus and reboot your creative brain before returning to another critical stage.

Leave space of at least a few days between the writing and the editing steps so when you get back to the desk, you can recognise your grammar, spelling and factual errors when you get back to the desk.

It is crucial to consider this period to ensure the final work is polished, coherent, well-structured and free of any structural or factual flaws. Daniel Higginbotham from Prospects UK states that:

“Leave yourself sufficient time to engage with your writing at several levels – from reassessing the logic of the whole piece to proofreading to checking you’ve paid attention to aspects such as the correct spelling of names and theories and the required referencing format.”

What is the Difference Between Editing and Proofreading?

Editing means that you are focusing on the essence of your dissertation paper. In contrast, proofreading is the process of reviewing the final draft piece to ensure accuracy and consistency in formatting, spelling, facts, punctuation, and grammar.

Editing: Prepare your work for submission by condensing, correcting and modifying (where necessary). When reviewing the paper, make sure that there are coherence and consistency between the arguments you presented.

If an information gap has been identified, fill that with an appropriate piece of information gathered during the research process. It is easy to lose sight of the original purpose if you become over-involved when writing.

Cut out the unwanted text and refine it, so your paper’s content is to the point and concise.Proofreading: Start proofreading your paper to identify formatting, structural, grammar, punctuation and referencing flaws. Read every single sentence of the paper no matter how tired you are because a few puerile mistakes can compromise your months of hard work.

Many students struggle with the editing and proofreading stages due to their lack of attention to detail. Consult a skilled dissertation editor if you are unable to find your flaws. You may want to invest in a professional dissertation editing and proofreading service to improve the piece’s quality to First Class.

Tips for Writing a Dissertation

Communication with supervisor – get feedback.

Communicate regularly with your supervisor to produce a first-class dissertation paper. Request them to comprehensively review the contents of your dissertation paper before final submission.

Their constructive criticism and feedback concerning different study areas will help you improve your piece’s overall quality. Keep your supervisor updated about your research progress and discuss any problems that you come up against.

Organising your Time

A dissertation is a lengthy project spanning over a period of months to years, and therefore it is important to avoid procrastination. Stay focused, and manage your time efficiently. Here are some time management tips for writing your dissertation to help you make the most of your time as you research and write.

• Don’t be discouraged by the inherently slow nature of dissertation work, particularly in the initial stages.
• Set clear goals and work out your research and write up a plan accordingly.
• Allow sufficient time to incorporate feedback from your supervisor.
• Leave enough time for editing, improving, proofreading, and formatting the paper according to your school’s guidelines. This is where you break or make your grade.
• Work a certain number of hours on your paper daily.
• Create a worksheet for your week.
• Work on your dissertation for time periods as brief as 45 minutes or less.
• Stick to the strategic dissertation timeline, so you don’t have to do the catchup work.
• Meet your goals by prioritising your dissertation work.
• Strike a balance between being overly organised and needing to be more organised.
• Limit activities other than dissertation writing and your most necessary obligations.
• Keep ‘tangent’ and ‘for the book’ files.
• Create lists to help you manage your tasks.
• Have ‘filler’ tasks to do when you feel burned out or in need of intellectual rest.
• Keep a dissertation journal.
• Pretend that you are working in a more structured work world.
• Limit your usage of email and personal electronic devices.
• Utilise and build on your past work when you write your dissertation.
• Break large tasks into small manageable ones.
• Seek advice from others, and do not be afraid to ask for help.

Dissertation Examples

Here are some samples of a dissertation to inspire you to write mind-blowing dissertations and to help bring all the above-mentioned guidelines home.

DE MONTFORT University Leicester – Examples of recent dissertations

Dissertation Research in Education: Dissertations (Examples)

How Long is a Dissertation?

The entire dissertation writing process is complicated and spans over a period of months to years, depending on whether you are an undergraduate, master’s, or PhD candidate. Marcus Beck, a PhD candidate, conducted fundamental research a few years ago, research that didn’t have much to do with his research but returned answers to some niggling questions every student has about the average length of a dissertation.

A software program specifically designed for this purpose helped Beck to access the university’s electronic database to uncover facts on dissertation length.

The above illustration shows how the results of his small study were a little unsurprising. Social sciences and humanities disciplines such as anthropology, politics, and literature had the longest dissertations, with some PhD dissertations comprising 150,000 words or more.Engineering and scientific disciplines, on the other hand, were considerably shorter. PhD-level dissertations generally don’t have a predefined length as they will vary with your research topic. Ask your school about this requirement if you are unsure about it from the start.

Focus more on the quality of content rather than the number of pages.

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Phrases to Avoid

No matter the style or structure you follow, it is best to keep your language simple. Avoid the use of buzzwords and jargon.

A Word on Stealing Content (Plagiarism)

Very straightforward advice to all students, DO NOT PLAGIARISE. Plagiarism is a serious offence. You will be penalised heavily if you are caught plagiarising. Don’t risk years of hard work, as many students in the past have lost their degrees for plagiarising. Here are some tips to help you make sure you don’t get caught.

• Copying and pasting from an academic source is an unforgivable sin. Rephrasing text retrieved from another source also falls under plagiarism; it’s called paraphrasing. Summarising another’s idea(s) word-to-word, paraphrasing, and copy-pasting are the three primary forms plagiarism can take.
• If you must directly copy full sentences from another source because they fill the bill, always enclose them inside quotation marks and acknowledge the writer’s work with in-text citations.

Are you struggling to find inspiration to get going? Still, trying to figure out where to begin? Is the deadline getting closer? Don’t be overwhelmed! ResearchProspect dissertation writing services have helped thousands of students achieve desired outcomes. Click here to get help from writers holding either a master's or PhD degree from a reputed UK university.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does a dissertation include.

A dissertation has main chapters and parts that support them. The main parts are:

• Introduction
• Literature review
• Research Methodology
• Your conclusion

Other parts are the abstract, references, appendices etc. We can supply a full dissertation or specific parts of one.

What is the difference between research and a dissertation?

A research paper is a sort of academic writing that consists of the study, source assessment, critical thinking, organisation, and composition, as opposed to a thesis or dissertation, which is a lengthy academic document that often serves as the final project for a university degree.

Can I edit and proofread my dissertation myself?

Of course, you can do proofreading and editing of your dissertation. There are certain rules to follow that have been discussed above. However, finding mistakes in something that you have written yourself can be complicated for some people. It is advisable to take professional help in the matter.

What If I only have difficulty writing a specific chapter of the dissertation?

ResearchProspect ensures customer satisfaction by addressing all relevant issues. We provide dissertation chapter-writing services to students if they need help completing a specific chapter. It could be any chapter from the introduction, literature review, and methodology to the discussion and conclusion.

You May Also Like

Are you looking for intriguing and trending dissertation topics? Get inspired by our list of free dissertation topics on all subjects.

Looking for an easy guide to follow to write your essay? Here is our detailed essay guide explaining how to write an essay and examples and types of an essay.

Learn about the steps required to successfully complete their research project. Make sure to follow these steps in their respective order.

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• Dissertation & Thesis Outline | Example & Free Templates

Dissertation & Thesis Outline | Example & Free Templates

Published on 8 June 2022 by Tegan George .

A thesis or dissertation outline is one of the most critical early steps in your writing process . It helps you to lay out and organise your ideas and can provide you with a roadmap for deciding what kind of research you’d like to undertake.

Generally, an outline contains information on the different sections included in your thesis or dissertation, such as:

• Your anticipated title
• Your abstract
• Your chapters (sometimes subdivided into further topics like literature review, research methods, avenues for future research, etc.)

In the final product, you can also provide a chapter outline for your readers. This is a short paragraph at the end of your introduction to inform readers about the organisational structure of your thesis or dissertation . This chapter outline is also known as a reading guide or summary outline.

Table of contents

How to outline your thesis or dissertation, dissertation and thesis outline templates, chapter outline example, sample sentences for your chapter outline, sample verbs for variation in your chapter outline, frequently asked questions about outlines.

While there are some inter-institutional differences, many outlines proceed in a fairly similar fashion.

• Working Title
• ‘Elevator pitch’ of your work (often written last).
• Introduce your area of study, sharing details about your research question, problem statement , and hypotheses . Situate your research within an existing paradigm or conceptual or theoretical framework .
• Subdivide as you see fit into main topics and sub-topics.
• Describe your research methods (e.g., your scope, population , and data collection ).
• Present your research findings and share about your data analysis methods.
• Answer the research question in a concise way.
• Interpret your findings, discuss potential limitations of your own research and speculate about future implications or related opportunities.

To help you get started, we’ve created a full thesis or dissertation template in Word or Google Docs format. It’s easy adapt it to your own requirements.

 Download Word template    Download Google Docs template

It can be easy to fall into a pattern of overusing the same words or sentence constructions, which can make your work monotonous and repetitive for your readers. Consider utilising some of the alternative constructions presented below.

Example 1: Passive construction

The passive voice is a common choice for outlines and overviews because the context makes it clear who is carrying out the action (e.g., you are conducting the research ). However, overuse of the passive voice can make your text vague and imprecise.

Example 2: IS-AV construction

You can also present your information using the ‘IS-AV’ (inanimate subject with an active verb) construction.

A chapter is an inanimate object, so it is not capable of taking an action itself (e.g., presenting or discussing). However, the meaning of the sentence is still easily understandable, so the IS-AV construction can be a good way to add variety to your text.

Example 3: The I construction

Another option is to use the ‘I’ construction, which is often recommended by style manuals (e.g., APA Style and Chicago style ). However, depending on your field of study, this construction is not always considered professional or academic. Ask your supervisor if you’re not sure.

Example 4: Mix-and-match

To truly make the most of these options, consider mixing and matching the passive voice , IS-AV construction , and ‘I’ construction .This can help the flow of your argument and improve the readability of your text.

As you draft the chapter outline, you may also find yourself frequently repeating the same words, such as ‘discuss’, ‘present’, ‘prove’, or ‘show’. Consider branching out to add richness and nuance to your writing. Here are some examples of synonyms you can use.

A thesis or dissertation outline is one of the most critical first steps in your writing process. It helps you to lay out and organise your ideas and can provide you with a roadmap for deciding what kind of research you’d like to undertake.

When you mention different chapters within your text, it’s considered best to use Roman numerals for most citation styles. However, the most important thing here is to remain consistent whenever using numbers in your dissertation .

All level 1 and 2 headings should be included in your table of contents . That means the titles of your chapters and the main sections within them.

The contents should also include all appendices and the lists of tables and figures, if applicable, as well as your reference list .

Do not include the acknowledgements or abstract   in the table of contents.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the ‘Cite this Scribbr article’ button to automatically add the citation to our free Reference Generator.

George, T. (2022, June 08). Dissertation & Thesis Outline | Example & Free Templates. Scribbr. Retrieved 14 May 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/thesis-dissertation/outline-thesis-dissertation/

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Dissertation Explained: A Grad Student’s Guide

Updated: August 7, 2023

Published: March 10, 2020

Higher education is filled with milestones. When completing your PhD , you will be required to complete a dissertation. Even if you’ve heard this word thrown around before, you still may be questioning “What is a dissertation?” It’s a common question, especially for those considering to join or are already in a graduate program. As such, here’s everything you need to know about dissertations.

What is a Dissertation?

A dissertation is a written document that details research. A dissertation also signifies the completion of your PhD program. It is required to earn a PhD degree, which stands for Doctor of Philosophy.

A PhD is created from knowledge acquired from:

1. Coursework:

A PhD program consists of academic courses that are usually small in size and challenging in content. Most PhD courses consist of a high amount and level of reading and writing per week. These courses will help prepare you for your dissertation as they will teach research methodology.

2. Research:

For your dissertation, it is likely that you will have the choice between performing your own research on a subject , or expanding on existing research. Likely, you will complete a mixture of the two. For those in the hard sciences, you will perform research in a lab. For those in humanities and social sciences, research may mean gathering data from surveys or existing research.

3. Analysis:

Once you have collected the data you need to prove your point, you will have to analyze and interpret the information. PhD programs will prepare you for how to conduct analysis, as well as for how to position your research into the existing body of work on the subject matter.

4. Support:

The process of writing and completing a dissertation is bigger than the work itself. It can lead to research positions within the university or outside companies. It may mean that you will teach and share your findings with current undergraduates, or even be published in academic journals. How far you plan to take your dissertation is your choice to make and will require the relevant effort to accomplish your goals.

Moving from Student to Scholar

In essence, a dissertation is what moves a doctoral student into becoming a scholar. Their research may be published, shared, and used as educational material moving forwards.

Thesis vs. Dissertation

Basic differences.

Grad students may conflate the differences between a thesis and a dissertation.

Simply put, a thesis is what you write to complete a master’s degree. It summarizes existing research and signifies that you understand the subject matter deeply.

On the other hand, a dissertation is the culmination of a doctoral program. It will likely require your own research and it can contribute an entirely new idea into your field.

Structural Differences

When it comes to the structure, a thesis and dissertation are also different. A thesis is like the research papers you complete during undergraduate studies. A thesis displays your ability to think critically and analyze information. It’s less based on research that you’ve completed yourself and more about interpreting and analyzing existing material. They are generally around 100 pages in length.

A dissertation is generally two to three times longer compared to a thesis. This is because the bulk of the information is garnered from research you’ve performed yourself. Also, if you are providing something new in your field, it means that existing information is lacking. That’s why you’ll have to provide a lot of data and research to back up your claims.

Your Guide: Structuring a Dissertation

Dissertation length.

The length of a dissertation varies between study level and country. At an undergraduate level, this is more likely referred to as a research paper, which is 10,000 to 12,000 words on average. At a master’s level, the word count may be 15,000 to 25,000, and it will likely be in the form of a thesis. For those completing their PhD, then the dissertation could be 50,000 words or more.

Photo by  Louis Reed  on  Unsplash

Format of the dissertation.

Here are the items you must include in a dissertation. While the format may slightly vary, here’s a look at one way to format your dissertation:

1. Title page:

This is the first page which includes: title, your name, department, degree program, institution, and submission date. Your program may specify exactly how and what they want you to include on the title page.

2. Acknowledgements:

This is optional, but it is where you can express your gratitude to those who have helped you complete your dissertation (professors, research partners, etc.).

3. Abstract:

The abstract is about 150-300 words and summarizes what your research is about. You state the main topic, the methods used, the main results, and your conclusion.

4. Table of Contents

Here, you list the chapter titles and pages to serve as a wayfinding tool for your readers.

5. List of Figures and Tables:

This is like the table of contents, but for graphs and figures.

6. List of Abbreviations:

If you’ve constantly abbreviated words in your content, define them in a list at the beginning.

7. Glossary:

In highly specialized work, it’s likely that you’ve used words that most people may not understand, so a glossary is where you define these terms.

8. Introduction:

Your introduction sets up the topic, purpose, and relevance. It’s where readers will understand what they expect to gain from your dissertation.

9. Literature Review / Theoretical Framework:

Based on the research you performed to create your own dissertation, you’ll want to summarize and address the gaps in what you researched.

10. Methodology

This is where you define how you conducted your research. It offers credibility for you as a source of information. You should give all the details as to how you’ve conducted your research, including: where and when research took place, how it was conducted, any obstacles you faced, and how you justified your findings.

11. Results:

This is where you share the results that have helped contribute to your findings.

12. Discussion:

In the discussion section, you explain what these findings mean to your research question. Were they in line with your expectations or did something jump out as surprising? You may also want to recommend ways to move forward in researching and addressing the subject matter.

13. Conclusion:

A conclusion ties it all together and summarizes the answer to the research question and leaves your reader clearly understanding your main argument.

14. Reference List:

This is the equivalent to a works cited or bibliography page, which documents all the sources you used to create your dissertation.

15. Appendices:

If you have any information that was ancillary to creating the dissertation, but doesn’t directly fit into its chapters, then you can add it in the appendix.

Drafting and Rewriting

As with any paper, especially one of this size and importance, the writing requires a process. It may begin with outlines and drafts, and even a few rewrites. It’s important to proofread your dissertation for both grammatical mistakes, but also to ensure it can be clearly understood.

It’s always useful to read your writing out loud to catch mistakes. Also, if you have people who you trust to read it over — like a peer, family member, mentor, or professor — it’s very helpful to get a second eye on your work.

How is it Different from an Essay?

There are a few main differences between a dissertation and an essay. For starters, an essay is relatively short in comparison to a dissertation, which includes your own body of research and work. Not only is an essay shorter, but you are also likely given the topic matter of an essay. When it comes to a dissertation, you have the freedom to construct your own argument, conduct your own research, and then prove your findings.

Types of Dissertations

You can choose what type of dissertation you complete. Often, this depends on the subject and doctoral degree, but the two main types are:

This relies on conducting your own research.

Non-empirical:

This relies on studying existing research to support your argument.

Photo by  freddie marriage  on  Unsplash

More things you should know.

A dissertation is certainly no easy feat. Here’s a few more things to remember before you get started writing your own:

1. Independent by Nature:

The process of completing a dissertation is self-directed, and therefore can feel overwhelming. However, if you approach it like the new experience that it is with an open-mind and willingness to learn, you will make it through!

2. Seek Support:

There are countless people around to offer support. From professors to peers, you can always ask for help throughout the process.

3. Writing Skills:

The process of writing a dissertation will further hone your writing skills which will follow you throughout your life. These skills are highly transferable on the job, from having the ability to communicate to also developing analytical and critical thinking skills.

4. Time Management:

You can work backwards from the culmination of your program to break down this gargantuan task into smaller pieces. That way, you can manage your time to chip away at the task throughout the length of the program.

5. Topic Flexibility:

It’s okay to change subject matters and rethink the point of your dissertation. Just try as much as possible to do this early in the process so you don’t waste too much time and energy.

The Wrap Up

A dissertation marks the completion of your doctoral program and moves you from being a student to being a scholar. While the process is long and requires a lot of effort and energy, you have the power to lend an entirely new research and findings into your field of expertise.

As always, when in the thick of things, remember why you started. Completing both your dissertation and PhD is a commendable accomplishment.

Related Articles

Dissertation Structure & Layout 101: How to structure your dissertation, thesis or research project.

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) Reviewed By: David Phair (PhD) | July 2019

So, you’ve got a decent understanding of what a dissertation is , you’ve chosen your topic and hopefully you’ve received approval for your research proposal . Awesome! Now its time to start the actual dissertation or thesis writing journey.

To craft a high-quality document, the very first thing you need to understand is dissertation structure . In this post, we’ll walk you through the generic dissertation structure and layout, step by step. We’ll start with the big picture, and then zoom into each chapter to briefly discuss the core contents. If you’re just starting out on your research journey, you should start with this post, which covers the big-picture process of how to write a dissertation or thesis .

*The Caveat *

In this post, we’ll be discussing a traditional dissertation/thesis structure and layout, which is generally used for social science research across universities, whether in the US, UK, Europe or Australia. However, some universities may have small variations on this structure (extra chapters, merged chapters, slightly different ordering, etc).

So, always check with your university if they have a prescribed structure or layout that they expect you to work with. If not, it’s safe to assume the structure we’ll discuss here is suitable. And even if they do have a prescribed structure, you’ll still get value from this post as we’ll explain the core contents of each section.  

Overview: S tructuring a dissertation or thesis

• Acknowledgements page
• Abstract (or executive summary)
• Table of contents , list of figures and tables
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: Literature review
• Chapter 3: Methodology
• Chapter 4: Results
• Chapter 5: Discussion
• Chapter 6: Conclusion
• Reference list

As I mentioned, some universities will have slight variations on this structure. For example, they want an additional “personal reflection chapter”, or they might prefer the results and discussion chapter to be merged into one. Regardless, the overarching flow will always be the same, as this flow reflects the research process , which we discussed here – i.e.:

• The introduction chapter presents the core research question and aims .
• The literature review chapter assesses what the current research says about this question.
• The methodology, results and discussion chapters go about undertaking new research about this question.
• The conclusion chapter (attempts to) answer the core research question .

In other words, the dissertation structure and layout reflect the research process of asking a well-defined question(s), investigating, and then answering the question – see below.

To restate that – the structure and layout of a dissertation reflect the flow of the overall research process . This is essential to understand, as each chapter will make a lot more sense if you “get” this concept. If you’re not familiar with the research process, read this post before going further.

Right. Now that we’ve covered the big picture, let’s dive a little deeper into the details of each section and chapter. Oh and by the way, you can also grab our free dissertation/thesis template here to help speed things up.

The title page of your dissertation is the very first impression the marker will get of your work, so it pays to invest some time thinking about your title. But what makes for a good title? A strong title needs to be 3 things:

• Succinct (not overly lengthy or verbose)
• Specific (not vague or ambiguous)
• Representative of the research you’re undertaking (clearly linked to your research questions)

Typically, a good title includes mention of the following:

• The broader area of the research (i.e. the overarching topic)
• The specific focus of your research (i.e. your specific context)
• Indication of research design (e.g. quantitative , qualitative , or  mixed methods ).

For example:

A quantitative investigation [research design] into the antecedents of organisational trust [broader area] in the UK retail forex trading market [specific context/area of focus].

Again, some universities may have specific requirements regarding the format and structure of the title, so it’s worth double-checking expectations with your institution (if there’s no mention in the brief or study material).

Acknowledgements

This page provides you with an opportunity to say thank you to those who helped you along your research journey. Generally, it’s optional (and won’t count towards your marks), but it is academic best practice to include this.

So, who do you say thanks to? Well, there’s no prescribed requirements, but it’s common to mention the following people:

• Your dissertation supervisor or committee.
• Any professors, lecturers or academics that helped you understand the topic or methodologies.
• Any tutors, mentors or advisors.
• Your family and friends, especially spouse (for adult learners studying part-time).

There’s no need for lengthy rambling. Just state who you’re thankful to and for what (e.g. thank you to my supervisor, John Doe, for his endless patience and attentiveness) – be sincere. In terms of length, you should keep this to a page or less.

Abstract or executive summary

The dissertation abstract (or executive summary for some degrees) serves to provide the first-time reader (and marker or moderator) with a big-picture view of your research project. It should give them an understanding of the key insights and findings from the research, without them needing to read the rest of the report – in other words, it should be able to stand alone .

For it to stand alone, your abstract should cover the following key points (at a minimum):

• Your research questions and aims – what key question(s) did your research aim to answer?
• Your methodology – how did you go about investigating the topic and finding answers to your research question(s)?
• Your findings – following your own research, what did do you discover?
• Your conclusions – based on your findings, what conclusions did you draw? What answers did you find to your research question(s)?

So, in much the same way the dissertation structure mimics the research process, your abstract or executive summary should reflect the research process, from the initial stage of asking the original question to the final stage of answering that question.

In practical terms, it’s a good idea to write this section up last , once all your core chapters are complete. Otherwise, you’ll end up writing and rewriting this section multiple times (just wasting time). For a step by step guide on how to write a strong executive summary, check out this post .

Need a helping hand?

Table of contents

This section is straightforward. You’ll typically present your table of contents (TOC) first, followed by the two lists – figures and tables. I recommend that you use Microsoft Word’s automatic table of contents generator to generate your TOC. If you’re not familiar with this functionality, the video below explains it simply:

If you find that your table of contents is overly lengthy, consider removing one level of depth. Oftentimes, this can be done without detracting from the usefulness of the TOC.

Right, now that the “admin” sections are out of the way, its time to move on to your core chapters. These chapters are the heart of your dissertation and are where you’ll earn the marks. The first chapter is the introduction chapter – as you would expect, this is the time to introduce your research…

It’s important to understand that even though you’ve provided an overview of your research in your abstract, your introduction needs to be written as if the reader has not read that (remember, the abstract is essentially a standalone document). So, your introduction chapter needs to start from the very beginning, and should address the following questions:

• What will you be investigating (in plain-language, big picture-level)?
• Why is that worth investigating? How is it important to academia or business? How is it sufficiently original?
• What are your research aims and research question(s)? Note that the research questions can sometimes be presented at the end of the literature review (next chapter).
• What is the scope of your study? In other words, what will and won’t you cover ?
• How will you approach your research? In other words, what methodology will you adopt?
• How will you structure your dissertation? What are the core chapters and what will you do in each of them?

These are just the bare basic requirements for your intro chapter. Some universities will want additional bells and whistles in the intro chapter, so be sure to carefully read your brief or consult your research supervisor.

If done right, your introduction chapter will set a clear direction for the rest of your dissertation. Specifically, it will make it clear to the reader (and marker) exactly what you’ll be investigating, why that’s important, and how you’ll be going about the investigation. Conversely, if your introduction chapter leaves a first-time reader wondering what exactly you’ll be researching, you’ve still got some work to do.

Now that you’ve set a clear direction with your introduction chapter, the next step is the literature review . In this section, you will analyse the existing research (typically academic journal articles and high-quality industry publications), with a view to understanding the following questions:

• What does the literature currently say about the topic you’re investigating?
• Is the literature lacking or well established? Is it divided or in disagreement?
• How does your research fit into the bigger picture?
• How does your research contribute something original?
• How does the methodology of previous studies help you develop your own?

Depending on the nature of your study, you may also present a conceptual framework towards the end of your literature review, which you will then test in your actual research.

Again, some universities will want you to focus on some of these areas more than others, some will have additional or fewer requirements, and so on. Therefore, as always, its important to review your brief and/or discuss with your supervisor, so that you know exactly what’s expected of your literature review chapter.

Now that you’ve investigated the current state of knowledge in your literature review chapter and are familiar with the existing key theories, models and frameworks, its time to design your own research. Enter the methodology chapter – the most “science-ey” of the chapters…

In this chapter, you need to address two critical questions:

• Exactly HOW will you carry out your research (i.e. what is your intended research design)?
• Exactly WHY have you chosen to do things this way (i.e. how do you justify your design)?

Remember, the dissertation part of your degree is first and foremost about developing and demonstrating research skills . Therefore, the markers want to see that you know which methods to use, can clearly articulate why you’ve chosen then, and know how to deploy them effectively.

Importantly, this chapter requires detail – don’t hold back on the specifics. State exactly what you’ll be doing, with who, when, for how long, etc. Moreover, for every design choice you make, make sure you justify it.

In practice, you will likely end up coming back to this chapter once you’ve undertaken all your data collection and analysis, and revise it based on changes you made during the analysis phase. This is perfectly fine. Its natural for you to add an additional analysis technique, scrap an old one, etc based on where your data lead you. Of course, I’m talking about small changes here – not a fundamental switch from qualitative to quantitative, which will likely send your supervisor in a spin!

You’ve now collected your data and undertaken your analysis, whether qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods. In this chapter, you’ll present the raw results of your analysis . For example, in the case of a quant study, you’ll present the demographic data, descriptive statistics, inferential statistics , etc.

Typically, Chapter 4 is simply a presentation and description of the data, not a discussion of the meaning of the data. In other words, it’s descriptive, rather than analytical – the meaning is discussed in Chapter 5. However, some universities will want you to combine chapters 4 and 5, so that you both present and interpret the meaning of the data at the same time. Check with your institution what their preference is.

Now that you’ve presented the data analysis results, its time to interpret and analyse them. In other words, its time to discuss what they mean, especially in relation to your research question(s).

What you discuss here will depend largely on your chosen methodology. For example, if you’ve gone the quantitative route, you might discuss the relationships between variables . If you’ve gone the qualitative route, you might discuss key themes and the meanings thereof. It all depends on what your research design choices were.

Most importantly, you need to discuss your results in relation to your research questions and aims, as well as the existing literature. What do the results tell you about your research questions? Are they aligned with the existing research or at odds? If so, why might this be? Dig deep into your findings and explain what the findings suggest, in plain English.

The final chapter – you’ve made it! Now that you’ve discussed your interpretation of the results, its time to bring it back to the beginning with the conclusion chapter . In other words, its time to (attempt to) answer your original research question s (from way back in chapter 1). Clearly state what your conclusions are in terms of your research questions. This might feel a bit repetitive, as you would have touched on this in the previous chapter, but its important to bring the discussion full circle and explicitly state your answer(s) to the research question(s).

Next, you’ll typically discuss the implications of your findings . In other words, you’ve answered your research questions – but what does this mean for the real world (or even for academia)? What should now be done differently, given the new insight you’ve generated?

Lastly, you should discuss the limitations of your research, as well as what this means for future research in the area. No study is perfect, especially not a Masters-level. Discuss the shortcomings of your research. Perhaps your methodology was limited, perhaps your sample size was small or not representative, etc, etc. Don’t be afraid to critique your work – the markers want to see that you can identify the limitations of your work. This is a strength, not a weakness. Be brutal!

This marks the end of your core chapters – woohoo! From here on out, it’s pretty smooth sailing.

The reference list is straightforward. It should contain a list of all resources cited in your dissertation, in the required format, e.g. APA , Harvard, etc.

It’s essential that you use reference management software for your dissertation. Do NOT try handle your referencing manually – its far too error prone. On a reference list of multiple pages, you’re going to make mistake. To this end, I suggest considering either Mendeley or Zotero. Both are free and provide a very straightforward interface to ensure that your referencing is 100% on point. I’ve included a simple how-to video for the Mendeley software (my personal favourite) below:

Some universities may ask you to include a bibliography, as opposed to a reference list. These two things are not the same . A bibliography is similar to a reference list, except that it also includes resources which informed your thinking but were not directly cited in your dissertation. So, double-check your brief and make sure you use the right one.

The very last piece of the puzzle is the appendix or set of appendices. This is where you’ll include any supporting data and evidence. Importantly, supporting is the keyword here.

Your appendices should provide additional “nice to know”, depth-adding information, which is not critical to the core analysis. Appendices should not be used as a way to cut down word count (see this post which covers how to reduce word count ). In other words, don’t place content that is critical to the core analysis here, just to save word count. You will not earn marks on any content in the appendices, so don’t try to play the system!

Time to recap…

And there you have it – the traditional dissertation structure and layout, from A-Z. To recap, the core structure for a dissertation or thesis is (typically) as follows:

• Acknowledgments page

Most importantly, the core chapters should reflect the research process (asking, investigating and answering your research question). Moreover, the research question(s) should form the golden thread throughout your dissertation structure. Everything should revolve around the research questions, and as you’ve seen, they should form both the start point (i.e. introduction chapter) and the endpoint (i.e. conclusion chapter).

I hope this post has provided you with clarity about the traditional dissertation/thesis structure and layout. If you have any questions or comments, please leave a comment below, or feel free to get in touch with us. Also, be sure to check out the rest of the  Grad Coach Blog .

Psst... there’s more!

This post was based on one of our popular Research Bootcamps . If you're working on a research project, you'll definitely want to check this out ...

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36 Comments

many thanks i found it very useful

Glad to hear that, Arun. Good luck writing your dissertation.

Such clear practical logical advice. I very much needed to read this to keep me focused in stead of fretting.. Perfect now ready to start my research!

what about scientific fields like computer or engineering thesis what is the difference in the structure? thank you very much

Thanks so much this helped me a lot!

Very helpful and accessible. What I like most is how practical the advice is along with helpful tools/ links.

Thanks Ade!

Thank you so much sir.. It was really helpful..

You’re welcome!

Hi! How many words maximum should contain the abstract?

Thank you so much 😊 Find this at the right moment

You’re most welcome. Good luck with your dissertation.

best ever benefit i got on right time thank you

Many times Clarity and vision of destination of dissertation is what makes the difference between good ,average and great researchers the same way a great automobile driver is fast with clarity of address and Clear weather conditions .

I guess Great researcher = great ideas + knowledge + great and fast data collection and modeling + great writing + high clarity on all these

You have given immense clarity from start to end.

Morning. Where will I write the definitions of what I’m referring to in my report?

Thank you so much Derek, I was almost lost! Thanks a tonnnn! Have a great day!

Thanks ! so concise and valuable

This was very helpful. Clear and concise. I know exactly what to do now.

Thank you for allowing me to go through briefly. I hope to find time to continue.

Really useful to me. Thanks a thousand times

Very interesting! It will definitely set me and many more for success. highly recommended.

Thank you soo much sir, for the opportunity to express my skills

Usefull, thanks a lot. Really clear

Very nice and easy to understand. Thank you .

That was incredibly useful. Thanks Grad Coach Crew!

My stress level just dropped at least 15 points after watching this. Just starting my thesis for my grad program and I feel a lot more capable now! Thanks for such a clear and helpful video, Emma and the GradCoach team!

Do we need to mention the number of words the dissertation contains in the main document?

It depends on your university’s requirements, so it would be best to check with them 🙂

Such a helpful post to help me get started with structuring my masters dissertation, thank you!

Great video; I appreciate that helpful information

It is so necessary or avital course

This blog is very informative for my research. Thank you

Doctoral students are required to fill out the National Research Council’s Survey of Earned Doctorates

wow this is an amazing gain in my life

This is so good

How can i arrange my specific objectives in my dissertation?

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Plan de dissertation : méthodologie et exemples

Publié le 27 novembre 2018 par Justine Debret . Mis à jour le 14 février 2022.

Le plan d’une dissertation est la structure ou le “squelette” de votre dissertation.

Table des matières

Combien de parties pour un plan de dissertation , plan de dissertation : apparent ou pas , les types de plan pour une dissertation, exemple de plan pour une dissertation (de philosophie), le plan d’une dissertation juridique, le plan d’une dissertation de philosophie.

Nous conseillons de faire un plan en trois parties (et deux sous-parties) pour les dissertations en général.

Toutefois, ce n’est pas obligatoire et vous pouvez le faire en deux parties (et trois sous-parties).

C’est différent pour les dissertations de droit ! Pour les dissertations juridiques, le plan doit contenir deux parties (et pas trois).

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Le plan d’une dissertation peut être apparent ou non, tout dépend du type de dissertation rédigé.

Les dissertations de philosophie n’ont en général pas de plan apparent. Les titres apparaissent dans une phrase introductive.

Attention ! Pour les dissertations juridiques, les titres doivent être apparents et ils ne doivent pas comporter des verbes conjugués.

Il en existe plusieurs et chaque type de plan de dissertation a ses spécificités.

1. Le plan d’une dissertation dialectique

Le plan dialectique (ou critique) est un plan « thèse, antithèse et synthèse ». Il est utilisé lorsque l’opinion exprimée dans le sujet de dissertation est discutable et qu’il est possible d’envisager l’opinion inverse.

Le plan d’une dissertation dialectique suit le modèle suivant :

I. Exposé argumenté d’une thèse. II. Exposé argumenté de la thèse adverse. II. Synthèse (dépassement de la contradiction)

2. Le plan de dissertation analytique

Le plan analytique permet d’analyser un problème qui mérite une réflexion approfondie. Vous devez décrire la situation, analyser les causes et envisager les conséquences. Il est possible de faire un plan « explication / illustration / commentaire ».

Le plan d’une dissertation analytique suit généralement le modèle suivant :

I. Description/explication d’une situation II. Analyse des causes/illustration III. Analyse des conséquences/commentaire

3. Le plan de dissertation thématique

Le plan thématique est utilisé dans le cadre de questions générales, celles qui exigent une réflexion progressive.

I. Thème 1 II. Thème 2 III.Thème 3

4. Le plan de dissertation chronologique

Le plan chronologique est utilisé dans le cas d’une question sur un thème dont la compréhension évolue à travers l’histoire.

I. Temporalité 1 II. Temporalité 2 III. Temporalité 3

Voici un exemple de plan analytique pour une dissertation sur le thème «  l’Homme est-il un animal social ? « .

1. La nature en nous 1.1. L’être humain, un animal parmi les autres ? 1.2. Les pulsions humaines comme rappel de notre archaïsme ? 2. La personne humaine : un être de nature ou de culture ? 2.1. La société comme impératif de survie : l’Homme est un loup pour l’Homme 2.2. La perfectibilité de l’Homme l’extrait de la nature 3. Plus qu’un animal social, un animal politique 3.1. L’Homme, un être rationnel au profit du bien commun 3.2. La coexistence humaine et participation politique du citoyen

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Les dissertations juridiques sont construites en deux parties et ont un plan apparent.

Le plan a une forme binaire  : deux parties (I et II), deux sous-parties (A et B) et parfois deux sous-sous-parties (1 et 2). Votre plan de dissertation doit reposer sur quatre idées principales.

Plus d’informations sur le plan d’une dissertation juridique

Les dissertations de philosophie sont construites en trois parties (en général) et n’ont pas de plan apparent.

Chaque partie est introduite avec une phrase d’introduction.

Plus d’informations sur le plan d’une dissertation de philosophie

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Debret, J. (2022, 14 février). Plan de dissertation : méthodologie et exemples. Scribbr. Consulté le 19 mai 2024, de https://www.scribbr.fr/dissertation-fr/plan-de-dissertation/

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Developing an effective M&A blueprint for insurers

At its core, programmatic M&A  is not a volume play; it’s a strategy for systematically acquiring small to midsize businesses, services, and capabilities and for effectively integrating them as new businesses or capabilities. Companies that adopt this approach to deal making , including a select group of insurers in both the life and property and casualty (P&C) sectors, have generated superior excess TSR by focusing on a series of smaller acquisitions to diversify product offerings or add new capabilities—rather than traditional financial-sector M&A goals that emphasize building scale.

About the authors

This article is a collaborative effort by Alex D’Amico , Oliver Engert , Jay Gelb , Sean O’Connell , Kurt Strovink , and Liz Wol , representing views from McKinsey’s Insurance and Strategy & Corporate Finance Practices.

It’s an approach insurers should consider. Deal making in the sector is likely to be brisk in the coming years as insurers seek to grow and diversify their earnings. Life insurers face ongoing challenges to sustaining growth in core life and annuity businesses; they also remain focused on improving ROE profiles by divesting or reinsuring legacy blocks. Meanwhile, P&C carriers are likely to seek bolt-on deals of companies that enhance their presence in growth markets and offer attractive cross-cycle ROE.

To support a programmatic approach to M&A, acquirers need to canvass a large number of potential acquisitions—as many as two to three times more than they did several years ago. But in our experience, many insurance carriers are facing that volume of activity with little more than the most basic framework describing the how and why of their M&A strategy. In a recent informal poll of insurance executives who focus on strategy, business development, and M&A, 1 Our informal poll, completed in the fourth quarter of 2021, solicited input from 12 North American insurance executives, representing traditional carriers as well as newer entrants. Seven of the 12 respondents reported closing at least one or two deals per year over the past five years, with none of them characterized as large deals. we found that some believe they have relevant capabilities in place given their frequent engagement in M&A (Exhibit 1). Yet few of these rise to the level of what we would define as a fully developed M&A blueprint . Without such a blueprint, companies will find it hard to distinguish between through-cycle opportunities  (during both upcycles and downturns) that are consistent with their corporate strategy and low-hanging opportunistic deals available in the marketplace that are not. Furthermore, without a developed M&A blueprint, insurers are more likely to pursue ad hoc synergies around each target with hit-or-miss returns.

A robust M&A blueprint addresses where, why, and how a company will undertake a systematic program of acquisition. It lays out well-defined themes and criteria that are explicitly grounded in strategy, builds conviction and alignment of stakeholders, and sets clear boundaries and integration plans. The result is that companies can be both more proactive and more opportunistic at identifying potential acquisition targets and will be better prepared for negotiations and integration. As important, an effective M&A blueprint will be an invaluable tool for executives communicating a compelling story, both internally and to investors, about the company’s deal-making strategy and its vision for the future.

Where and why

The foundation of any M&A blueprint is an explicit articulation of how M&A aligns with and furthers a company’s growth strategy. Companies that acquire businesses expecting to refine the strategic rationale later are unlikely to reap the rewards of programmatic deal making. So are those that see smaller acquisitions as malleable building blocks to be pieced together ad hoc, that take an opportunistic approach to M&A, or that proceed without a pressure-tested integration playbook.

For companies considering acquisitions, an M&A blueprint should target specific growth themes and boundary conditions that reflect a comprehensive self-assessment of a company’s competitive advantages as well as the compelling strategy requirements for its business model that make it well suited to pursue M&A in a specific area. For example, a personal lines P&C carrier’s corporate strategy included enhancing customer growth through a digital engagement platform. Confident in the company’s ability to rapidly scale new businesses, managers decided that a program of M&A to acquire the various components of an integrated, direct-to-consumer platform would be the best way to accelerate domestic growth and support international expansion.

Identifying growth themes

An effective blueprint for programmatic M&A identifies at most three actionable M&A growth themes. 2 Even experienced programmatic acquirers are often unable to focus on more than three M&A themes. Even so, companies with highly distinct business units, such as life and P&C insurance, could identify more than three themes. But in general, for carriers new to this approach, focusing on one or two M&A growth themes to start with could be more beneficial. These themes should be areas where the company can add value to targets and needs M&A to deliver its strategy. They might include, for example, themes leading to superior product manufacturing capabilities across life and annuities as well as personal and commercial P&C lines, the ability to operate effectively in multiple international markets—which can be difficult to achieve through organic growth—or opportunities to target smaller companies with differentiated offerings and niche areas, including asset management or specialty commercial P&C lines.

A vague M&A blueprint with an unclear link to strategy tends to lead to overly broad objectives for deal making. “Increasing our digital focus,” for example, is not specific enough to help executives identify potential M&A targets. A more actionable objective might be framed as “improving underwriting methodology by acquiring companies with expertise in areas such as data analytics, intelligent pricing, antifraud, and telematics.”

Converging around the top one to three areas where M&A can most substantially advance the organization’s strategy takes some planning. Getting a group of executives to agree on a shortlist of M&A themes is bound to evoke some friction. If you were to go around the table at the next strategy meeting and ask your company’s senior leadership team to identify the organization’s top M&A themes, you’d likely end up with a long list of ideas. That’s acceptable, at first, because such an exercise can serve as a mechanism that compels everyone to take a closer look at their data, assumptions, and biases—a process that elevates awareness and understanding. But eventually, the most effective M&A blueprints also reflect alignment and conviction among senior leadership (including business unit leadership and the business development team) around a shortlist of M&A themes.

Among the North American insurance industry M&A executives we polled, the two most common objectives of pursuing deals are the acquisition of new capabilities and the expansion of product and service offerings. Less relevant acquisition rationales included expanding geographically, realizing economies of scale, and acquiring undervalued companies.

The CFO of one leading insurance company successfully focuses the carrier’s M&A agenda around a prioritized set of growth and capability themes. Close collaboration between the CFO’s team and business unit leaders enables the company to identify top acquisition candidates—which is a big factor in their success at conducting due diligence on dozens of potential targets each year. This company successfully completes multiple bolt-on deals per year, many of which are privately negotiated transactions cultivated through proactive sourcing rather than well-known opportunities in the marketplace. In addition, the CFO’s team uses its playbook to create value and meet integration targets, which maintains capabilities, improves the cost structure, and typically includes a boundary condition of achieving earnings accretion within 12 months.

Setting boundary conditions

One aspect of this assessment that is often overlooked is an explicit acknowledgment of the market and organizational forces that define the boundaries of a company’s deal making in terms of size, type, and pace. The most concrete boundary is probably how much capital an insurer has on hand or can raise to fund a program of acquisitions—including capital not just for funding acquisitions but also for integrating and scaling each asset.

Boundary conditions might also include financial metrics such as those reflecting an insurer’s growth targets, margins, earnings, or ROE. If a carrier is only anchored on certain return metrics, such as ROE or ROIC, to track ongoing performance of an acquired asset, then high-growth, early-stage companies often look less attractive. Alternatively, if an insurer is willing to look at an array of metrics based on the asset profile—such as ROE or ROIC for mature assets versus top-line growth for early-stage innovators—then it will have a greater degree of freedom for deal making. Finally, even softer assessments of organizational and cultural fit, financial limitations, or regulatory boundaries can further narrow the scope of potential targets.

Establishing these boundary conditions early—with explicit agreement from the CFO and the board—can help put teeth into investment commitments and align everyone on negotiable and nonnegotiable terms. Consider, for example, the case of one personal lines carrier. Over the years, the company had a generally successful track record of acquiring large insurers to add new brands and customer segments. However, these acquisitions were seldom fully integrated, resulting in unwieldy productivity metrics and a collection of separately maintained corporate functions, such as finance and HR. This M&A strategy worked reasonably well until the company realized its loose approach was not scalable. The insurer addressed this issue by resetting both its organizational and M&A approaches and refining its methodology to implement a series of boundary conditions for acquisitions linked to tightened integration parameters. These included centralized corporate functions that created additional efficiencies, rather than maintaining separate corporate functions for each company it acquired. As a result, the company is now able to effectively pursue growth through M&A.

Programmatic acquirers must give careful thought to how they plan to pursue M&A—a critical part of the M&A blueprint to advance their strategic plans.

How: A foundation for action

Programmatic acquirers must give careful thought to how they plan to pursue M&A—a critical part of the M&A blueprint to advance their strategic plans. This process includes constructing a high-level business case to identify the objectives and preliminary integration plans for each area. It also includes identifying the right capabilities and resources for each part of the deal-making process, as well as plans for tailoring the approach for each specific deal. Plans may need adjustments to reflect each deal’s sources of risk and whether value opportunities will come from consolidation, capability building, or new business opportunities, for example.

Business case to identify objectives

Once priority M&A themes and boundary conditions are established, the next critical step is to develop a granular road map for execution. The road map should identify how an acquisition would create value and create screening criteria to prioritize potential targets—within the boundary conditions of feasibility and availability.

Once the business case is developed at the theme level, carriers need to develop a plan for each identified acquisition candidate, including a top-down growth plan, capital and cost synergy assumptions, risk mitigation, and a determination of the investment needed to scale the asset. An effective business plan should be continuously refined based on the target’s relative size, its level of similarity with the acquiring business, and, as acquirers learn more about an asset, its working culture.

It is important to recognize that in a seller’s market, buyers face the risk of overpaying for an attractive asset. A critical way to reduce this risk is to apply the discipline of developing an M&A blueprint inclusive of a theme-level business case. This process is designed to enhance the due-diligence process and allow organizations to avoid making costly mistakes that are inconsistent with their growth strategies.

Capabilities and execution

Part of the self-assessment involved in developing an M&A blueprint is a review of the company’s internal talent; its capabilities; and the time needed to evaluate, pursue, and execute M&A deals, both before and after a transaction. If there are unknowns, what are the gaps that need to be addressed?

We recommend that companies develop a comprehensive integration playbook as part of the overall blueprint, including key activities for each area (such as value capture, cultural integration, and revenue synergies) and specific leadership roles that must be filled for a successful transaction. This includes senior sponsors in the organization, ideally business unit leaders who own initiatives and assign working teams against them.

At least half of the carriers we polled have playbooks centered on the initial stages of a deal, including target identification, due diligence, valuation, and integration planning checklists. But most of them lack guidelines about tailoring execution—a critical factor in the most effective acquisitions  (Exhibit 2). In particular, based on different deal archetypes in insurance, acquirers might have different perspectives on who leads across five critical design areas of merger integration:

• Governance: Who leads the overall value creation planning and business case development and review, and how they do it?
• Leadership: Who coordinates the integration and organization effort across ideation, business case development, approval, and rigorous tracking?
• Scope: What do we integrate, and to what extent, to realize the value aspiration?
• Speed and pace: How fast should we go, and how coordinated should the effort be?
• Culture and talent: How will we handle people?

One leading global player with a history of delivering strong M&A returns employs a highly disciplined, sponsor-oriented approach to deal making. The CFO assigns leadership roles to specific executives, who have ultimate responsibility for deal execution and integration. This approach ensures speedy decision making, which unblocks pain points and helps deliver a deal’s full value.

Building conviction

Embarking on a program of M&A requires conviction, commitment, and buy-in from internal and external stakeholders alike. An effective M&A blueprint, when developed collaboratively, can ensure that competing viewpoints are heard inside the company and that risks and opportunities are thoroughly vetted. This better prepares the CEO to communicate with the board but also enables the acquisition team to seek the support of its acquisition targets.

Embarking on a program of M&A requires conviction, commitment, and buy-in from internal and external stakeholders alike.

Drafting the M&A blueprint

An M&A blueprint isn’t something a single executive can draft—and it isn’t much use if it’s developed after the fact to confirm the hypotheses supporting an exciting deal. The best blueprints reflect senior-level coordination between corporate-strategy and corporate-development executives whose collective alignment helps build conviction in their decision to commit capital to transactions. When alignment is established, the process becomes efficient because executives are not debating which types of deals to target. This alignment occurs in no small part due to a transparent and unambiguous approach from the CEO.

After one deal failed to cross the finish line, a mutual insurer’s CEO and head of M&A conducted a six-week exercise to assess and strengthen the company’s M&A approach. As a result, the company aligned its growth themes and developed a process to scan for broadened opportunities—enhancements that led to a threefold increase in the number of potential acquisition candidates. The new blueprint increased the company’s confidence in deal making and ultimately led to multiple equity investments in companies that generated substantial financial returns and turbocharged capabilities.

Your reputation as an acquirer

For programmatic acquirers, today’s competitive M&A landscape has characteristics of a seller’s market. Small and midsize companies with innovative technology, next-generation products, undeveloped intellectual assets, or even well-honed capabilities in underserved markets can have multiple suitors—and they’re often interested in more than just the bottom-line sale price. As a result, acquirers need to make longer-term investments to build conviction in acquisition targets. Yet nearly half the carriers we polled lack a clear owner for proactive target cultivation, and only one-third of carriers regularly establish relationships with potential M&A targets.

Some acquirers maintain lists of potential acquisition targets and cultivate relationships with them, and we expect more companies to begin following suit in the next year or two. This development will change the job responsibilities of carriers’ most senior executives, including the CEO. For example, one global insurance industry leader keeps an extended list of close to 100 potential acquisition candidates. Executives update this list quarterly and actively reach out to candidates to cultivate them for potential fit and deals. Senior leaders will need to allocate greater portions of their time to cultivating acquisition candidates. As a result, they need to have time blocks (appropriately leveraged in coordination and collaboration with others) focused on developing long-term relationships with targets that might ultimately lead to acquisitions.

The most successful acquirers also take the long view on establishing and supporting their brand identity as a desirable buyer. Companies known for treating people fairly after an acquisition—as well as caring about the knowledge they bring to the enterprise—often enjoy an advantaged position among competing acquirers. A robust M&A blueprint should explicitly address a company’s reputation as a buyer, how that reputation will play out in the acquisition process, and how the acquisition team might use the blueprint as a screening criterion in cultivating acquisition candidates.

Programmatic M&A is a strategy for systematically building new businesses, services, and capabilities and effectively integrating them to build something that did not exist before. The companies that use a programmatic approach create deal flow linked to their conviction in their corporate strategy, understanding of their competitive advantage, and confidence in their capacity to execute.

Alex D’Amico and Kurt Strovink are senior partners in McKinsey’s New York office, where Jay Gelb , Sean O’Connell , and Liz Wol are partners; Oliver Engert is a senior partner in the Miami office.

The authors wish to thank Shaun Ayrton, Cristian Boldan, Alok Bothra, Deniz Lenger, Aria Mason, Yves Vontobel, and Andy West for their contributions to this article.

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