LingoCulture

  • Sign Up for $1

Plurals in French: A full guide on how to form le pluriel en français

Full Width Featured Image With Sidebar

How do we form plurals  in French? Often it’s as simple as adding an -s , just like you do in English. Words with certain endings, however, have different rules for forming their French plurals. So which French plurals end in -x , and which ones remain unchanged ? What about pluralizing compound nouns  in French?

Today we’ll cover all the different groups of French nouns to see their pluralization rules . We’ll also include any exceptions for each of the rules we see. We’ll provide several example words to demonstrate every one of the French pluralization rules, along with their English translations.

This post complements our other intermediate post on French gender rules , as well as our beginner post on the French articles . For now, let’s just dive into our post on forming the plural  of French nouns.

Scroll down to the conclusion for a quick reference table  of all the French pluralization rules .  Read on for explanations of each one.

This article is brought to you by LingoCulture, Where you can get unlimited private French classes via Zoom with native teachers for a flat monthly rate. It’s the closest thing to immersion you can get without living in a French-speaking country. Click here to learn more.

Most French nouns: -s

This is clearly the easiest rule for French plurals, since it’s so close to the default rule for pluralizing English nouns. Just add an -s  to make most French nouns plural.

  • un croissant / des croissant s
  • une baguette / des baguette s
  • un sandwich / des sandwich s
  • une limonade / des limonade s

We’re not even going to translate these French words for you, as they’re so close to their English counterparts! The important thing is to see le singulier  of each one, compared with le pluriel . So what’s the most common French pluralization rule ?

  • Pour la majorité des noms communs au singulier , nous ajoutons simplement -s  pour les avoir au pluriel . – For the majority of regular nouns in singular , we simply add -s  to have them in plural .

French nouns ending in -s, -x, -z: no change

This rule has parallels with certain English words that are unchanged between singular and plural, particularly where adding an additional pluralization would just sound comical. Think of English words like series, crossroads, headquarters, or species, which exhibit no change between their singular and plural forms .

  • un cours / des cours – a course / some courses
  • un pays / des pays – a country / some countries
  • un prix / des prix – a price, a prize / some prices, some prizes
  • un choix / des choix – a choice / some choices
  • un nez / des nez – a nose / some noses
  • un gaz / des gaz – a gas / some gasses

French nouns ending in -ou: -s

In general, we just add an -s  to words that end in -ou, so the plural form becomes -ous.

  • un bisou / des bisous  – a little kiss / some little kisses
  • un clou / des clou s  – a nail / some nails
  • un coup / des coup s  – a hit / some hits
  • un trou / des trou s  – a hole / some holes

There are a handful of very common French nouns that are exceptions  to this rule, so let’s see them all here. Rather than adding an -s to make these plurals in French, these exceptions end in -x  instead.

  • un bijou / des bijou x  – a piece of jewelry / some pieces of jewelry
  • un caillou / des caillou x  – a stone / some stones
  • un chou  / des chou x  – a cabbage / some cabbages
  • un genou / des genou x  – a knee  / some knees
  • un hibou / des hiboux  – an owl / some owls
  • un joujou / des joujou x  – a children’s toy / some children’s toys
  • un pou / des pou x  – a lice / some lice
  • un ripou / des ripou x  – a rotten cop / dirty cops (slang)

French nouns ending in -eu, -œu, -au, -eau: -x

Just like we saw with the list of exceptions to the previous rule, adding -x  to form French plurals is common for many French nouns that end in vowel sounds.

  • un feu / des feu x  – a fire / some fires
  • un jeu / des jeu x  – a game / some games
  • un vœu / des vœu x  – a wish / some wishes
  • un tuyau / des tuyau x  – a pipe / some pipes
  • un chapeau / des chapeau x  – a hat / some hats
  • un cadeau / des cadeau x  – a gift / some gifts
  • un couteau / des couteau x  – a knife / some knives
  • un bateau / des bateau x  – a boat / some boats

There are only three exceptions  to this rule: bleu ,  pneu , and landau . These simply end in -s  to become plural.

Un bleu  can describe either a bruise  or a blue thing , while when we’re talking about fromage , le bleu  refers to a family of very flavorful cheeses. Les Bleus  is the nickname for the French national team . Un landau  is a type of baby stroller  with coverings that can fold open or closed. Un pneu  is just a tire .

  • un bleu / des bleu s
  • un pneu / des pneu s
  • un landau / des landau s

French nouns ending in -al: -aux

For French nouns ending in -al, we have a variant on the -x ending, whereby we drop the -al and replace it with -aux . The resulting pronunciation of the plural ending for these nouns ends up resembling the pronunciation of the previous set of plurals we just saw.

  • un chev al  / des chev aux  – a horse / some horses
  • un journ al  / des journ aux  – a newspaper / some newspapers
  • un hôpit al / des hôpit aux – a hospital / some hospitals
  • un anim al / des anim aux – an animal / some animals

There are only a handful of exceptions  to this rule, most of which are fairly common French nouns. Let’s see all of them here, where their plurals simply end in -s .

  • un bal / des bal s  – a formal dance event like a ball or a prom / the proms
  • un carnaval / des carnaval s  – a carnival / some carnivals
  • un chacal / des chacal s  – a jackal / some jackals
  • un festival / des festival s  – a festival / some festivals
  • un récital / des récital s  – a recital / some recitals
  • un régal / des régal s  – a delight / some delights

French nouns ending in -ail: -s

The pronunciation of French words ending in -ail is different enough from those ending in -al that the default rule for their plural forms is to just add an -s .

  • un détail / des détail s  – a detail / some details
  • un chandail / des chandail s  – a sweater / some sweaters
  • un éventail / des éventail s  – a folding fan / some folding fans
  • un gouvernail / des gouvernail s  – a rudder / some rudders

In reality, not many French nouns end in -ail, so it’s just as important to be aware of the exceptions  to this general rule. These words resemble those from our previous rule, where we drop the -ail and replace it with -aux .

  • un b ail  / des b aux  – a lease / some leases
  • un cor ail  / des cor aux  – a coral / some corals
  • un ém ail  / des ém aux  – an enamel / some enamels
  • un soupir ail  / des soupir aux  – a basement window / some basement windows
  • un trav ail  / des trav aux  – a job or a gig / some jobs
  • un vant ail  / des vant aux  – a removable panel / some removable panels
  • un vitr ail  / des vitr aux – a stained-glass window / some stained-glass windows

Highly-irregular French plurals

So far, we’ve seen all the general rules for forming the plural of French nouns. Fortunately, only three words have such irregular plurals in French that we need to point them out individually. The first two are common enough that you should definitely know them.

The French word for an eye  is un œil . But the plural of un œil  is des yeux ! You probably already knew this one if you’ve studied the parts of the body in French .

The French word for the sky  is le ciel . And if we’re talking about different skies , we’ll need un ciel  in plural: des cieux .

Finally, we have an interesting French word to refer to our ancestors . In singular, un aïeul  can refer to someone anywhere in our lineage. When we refer generally to our ancestors in plural, with forebears  or forefathers as other possible translations, we use the irregular French plural of des aïeux . When we refer specifically to our grandparents , however, the plural is des aïeuls . What’s more, if we’re just talking about our grandmothers , we use the feminine form as des aïeules !

Un aïeul  is a fairly deferential term we use for our elders, so don’t worry too much about mastering the intricacies of its use. But you should definitely memorize des yeux  and des cieux  as the French plurals for un œil  and un ciel ! We’ll end this section with the list of highly-irregular French plurals.

  • un œil / des yeux – eyes
  • un ciel / des cieux – skies
  • un aïeul / des aïeux – ancestors
  • un aïeul / des aïeuls, des aïeules – grandparents

Plurals of French nouns borrowed from other languages

As a general rule, if a French noun is still clearly linked to its foreign origin, its plural form should follow its foreign pattern .

  • un paparazzo / des paparazzi
  • un curriculum vitæ / des curricula vitæ
  • un minimum / des minima

On the other hand, it’s common enough for foreign words to be adopted into the French language and eventually follow the regular French pluralization rules we’ve seen above.

Plurals of French titles

We’re listing these words in their own section since they seem to play by their own rules. These titles are nonetheless very common words in the language, so it’s important to know their plural forms in French.

The reason for their irregular pluralization is that they were originally formed from two words: an adjective and a noun. They’re always written as a single word in contemporary French, but their plural forms still reflect the necessary change in form to the original adjectives and to the nouns. See our posts on French adjectives  and on possessive adjectives  for more detail on those forms.

Here the full list of titles with irregular plural forms  in French.

  • monsieur / messieurs – Sir
  • madame / mesdames – Mrs
  • mademoiselle / mesdemoiselles – miss
  • gentilhomme / gentilshommes – gentleman
  • bonhomme / bonshommes – fellow

Plurals of French compound nouns

Before we wrap up, we should mention the special case of compound nouns  in French. These take many forms, and there are specific pluralization rules that apply to each type. We won’t go into all the excruciating details here, but we’ll at least point out the main concepts for pluralizing French compound nouns .

The big question is which individual words within the compound noun should become plural, and which keep their original form. The most important rule  is that if the compound noun is composed of multiple nouns, we pluralize the individual nouns that indicate what’s in plural, while leaving other ones in singular if they don’t reflect what’s in plural.

  • des portes-fenêtres – doors that are essentially big windows
  • des pauses-café – coffee breaks
  • des pommes de terre – potatoes

The same rule applies where the nouns are linked by prepositions.

  • des œils-de-bœuf – round dormer windows (note that we don’t write yeux-de-bœuf!)
  • des arcs-en-ciel – rainbows
  • des eaux-de-vie – brandies, traditional spirits

If the compound noun’s individual words don’t necessarily reflect what is being described in plural, they all remain unchanged in plural.

  • des tête-à-tête – face-to-face discussions
  • des pied-à-terre – temporary or second homes
  • des passe-partout – master keys, picture frame mattings

Where compound nouns include adjectives and nouns, the adjectives need to reflect the plural form. Where a compound noun includes an adverb, the adverb is always invariable. The same rules about the nouns that we saw in our previous examples still apply though!

  • des coffres-forts – safes
  • des sages-femmes – midwives
  • des petits-beurre – butter cookies

For compound nouns that contain verbs and nouns, the verbs are unchanged while the nouns follow the same rules we’ve already seen.

  • des chasse-neige – snowplows
  • des tire-bouchons – corkscrews

Don’t worry if you’re unsure of the plurals of French compound nouns. Indeed, most native speakers get them wrong a lot too! If you follow the basic rules we’ve laid out here, you’ll be ahead of a lot of native French speakers!

Conclusion: Plurals in French

Today we went deep on one of the fundamentals of the language: how to make a word plural in French . We looked at the whole spectrum of French nouns, from the regular ones  that simply take -s in plural , to nouns with various endings that need different combinations ending in -x .

For each of the standard French pluralization rules, we also saw all of their exceptions . We had a special section for the three highly-irregular French plurals : yeux , cieux , and aïeux vs aïeuls . We even went into the special cases of how to pluralize words of foreign origin , and how to make compound nouns  plural in French.

If you’ve followed along here, you’re now ready to make any French noun plural! For easy reference, we recommend sharing or bookmarking this page for easy access. To sum things up for you, we’ll leave you with an easy table of all the main French pluralization rules  we saw today!

KEEP READING

Quel definition: understanding all the forms of quel in french, lingoda vs lingoculture: a review of french language classes online, the alouette song: meaning and lyrics in french and english, ordinal numbers in french: a simple guide.

  • Petite section
  • Moyenne section
  • Grande section
  • Première STMG
  • Première ST2S
  • Terminale STMG
  • Terminale STI2D
  • Terminale ST2S
  • Humanités, littérature et philosophie
  • Histoire-Géo.-Géopolitique-Sciences politiques
  • Mathématiques
  • Enseignement scientifique
  • Sciences de la vie et de la Terre
  • Physique-Chimie
  • Spécialité anglais
  • Programme Consulter le programme
  • Révisions Réviser le cours
  • Sujets corrigés Travailler sur des sujets corrigés
  • Lexique Trouver la définition d'un mot
  • Méthodologie Consulter la méthodologie
  • Podcasts Écouter les podcasts
  • Bilan Bilan trimestriel
  • Se connecter
  • Créer un compte

Rimbaud, Cahier de Douai  : émancipations créatrices

I. sous la plume d'un écolier buissonnier, feuilles volantes, une écriture au jour le jour, ii. la fureur de la poésie, appétit de vivre et truculence poétique, l'appel vibrant de la liberté, iii. une quête d'absolu, ailleurs : déceptions, autrefois : nostalgies.

  • Bibliography
  • More Referencing guides Blog Automated transliteration Relevant bibliographies by topics
  • Automated transliteration
  • Relevant bibliographies by topics
  • Referencing guides

Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Identité plurielle'

Create a spot-on reference in apa, mla, chicago, harvard, and other styles.

Consult the top 22 dissertations / theses for your research on the topic 'Identité plurielle.'

Next to every source in the list of references, there is an 'Add to bibliography' button. Press on it, and we will generate automatically the bibliographic reference to the chosen work in the citation style you need: APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, Vancouver, etc.

You can also download the full text of the academic publication as pdf and read online its abstract whenever available in the metadata.

Browse dissertations / theses on a wide variety of disciplines and organise your bibliography correctly.

Özmen, Fazilet Ahu. "La Jeunesse alevie : une jeunesse plurielle, traditionnaliste ou postmoderniste ?" Strasbourg, 2009. http://www.theses.fr/2009STRA1061.

Vinet, Élise. "L' identité sexuée, une approche plurielle : dynamique représentationnelle, variabilité contextuelle, ancrage psychosocial subjectif et contribution à l'action." Montpellier 3, 2008. http://www.theses.fr/2008MON30046.

Corcuff, Stéphane. "Une identification nationale plurielle : les Waishengren et la transition identitaire à Taiwan, 1988-1997." Paris, Institut d'études politiques, 2000. http://www.theses.fr/2000IEPP0036.

Routier, Guillaume. "De l’engagement au désengagement corporel : une approche sociologique plurielle des dynamiques, ruptures et permanences identitaires face à l’acceptation du danger dans les sports de nature." Thesis, Rennes 2, 2011. http://www.theses.fr/2011REN20023/document.

Routier, Guillaume. "De l'engagement au désengagement corporel : une approche sociologique plurielle des dynamiques, ruptures et permanences identitaires face à l'acceptation du danger dans les sports de nature." Phd thesis, Université Rennes 2, 2011. http://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00628608.

Faya, Jean. "La vérité plurielle des médecins : Approche anthropologique de la vaccination contre l’hépatite B, sur les pentes de la Croix-Rousse à Lyon." Thesis, Lyon 2, 2013. http://www.theses.fr/2013LYO20068/document.

Le, Bris Anne. "Maternités célibataires en Tunisie : parcours pluriels et identités négociées." Thesis, Paris 8, 2017. http://www.theses.fr/2017PA080128.

Mathis, Noelle. "Identités plurilingues et création textuelle en français langue étrangère : une approche sociolinguistique d'ateliers d'écriture plurielle." Phd thesis, Université d'Avignon, 2013. http://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00967502.

Mathis, Noëlle. "Identités plurilingues et création textuelle en français langue étrangère : une approche sociolinguistique d'ateliers d'écriture plurielle." Thesis, Avignon, 2013. http://www.theses.fr/2013AVIG1121/document.

Tristani, Julie-Maria. "Patrimonialisation et muséographie en Corse : des musées pour une île aux identités plurielles." Toulouse 2, 2008. http://www.theses.fr/2008TOU20084.

Bevilacqua, Elisabetta. "L'Algérie natale entre désenchantement et nostalgie : écritures plurielles de l'exil." Thesis, Université de Lorraine, 2015. http://www.theses.fr/2015LORR0060/document.

Deroche, Benjamin. "Quelles images pour Brest ? : photographier la ville : usages pluriels du medium dans la construction de l'image urbaine." Thesis, Brest, 2012. http://www.theses.fr/2012BRES0008.

Boutenbat, Hanane. "Le féminin pluriel : construction de l'identité chez Joanna Russ, Ursula Le Guin, Toni Morrison, Margaret Atwood, et Daphne Marlatt." Paris 8, 2013. http://www.theses.fr/2013PA084111.

Ha, Soon Christelle Siw Chin. ""Claiming America" : poétique de la transgressivité dans l'œuvre de Maxine Hong Kingston." Thesis, Normandie, 2019. http://www.theses.fr/2019NORMR094.

Hidair, Isabelle. "La construction identitaire des Créoles de Guyane : de la gestion d'un héritage pluriel à l'insertion dans un contexte multiculturel." Paris, EHESS, 2003. http://www.theses.fr/2003EHES0156.

Razafimandimbimanana, Elatiana. "Langues, représentations et intersubjectivités plurielles : une recherche ethno-sociolinguistique située avec des enfants migrants plurilingues en classe d'accueil à Montréal." Phd thesis, Université Rennes 2, 2008. http://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00306026.

Akyalçin, Kaya Dilek. "Les Sabbatéens saloniciens (1845-1912) : des individus pluriels dans une société urbaine en transition." Paris, EHESS, 2012. http://www.theses.fr/2012EHES0066.

Gomis, Aimé. "Écritures du corps dans la littérature sénégalaise. Esquisse d'une corporéité et implications plurielles : de Senghor à Ken Bugul." Thesis, Paris 3, 2010. http://www.theses.fr/2010PA030085.

Maurer, George-Molland Sylvie. "Les relations intergroupes interethniques, intercommunautaires dans un pays pluriel : le cas des "Créoles" à l'Ile Maurice." Thesis, Grenoble, 2014. http://www.theses.fr/2014GRENL009/document.

Legendre, Marie. "La Moyenne-Égypte du VIIe au IXe siècle : apports d’une perspective régionale à l’étude d’une société entre Byzance et l’Islam." Thesis, Paris 4, 2014. http://www.theses.fr/2014PA040164.

Peigné, Céline. ""Une contextualisation du français dans la pluralité sud-africaine, approche sociolinguistique et didactique"." Phd thesis, Université François Rabelais - Tours, 2010. http://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00565537.

Aissani, Louiza. "Transgressions et croisements : le cas de l'adolescent fugueur chez Leïla Sebbar." Thèse, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/1866/7126.

Le pluriel: plural nouns in French grammar

How to form the plural of french nouns, the plural of compound nouns in french.

  • Lingolia Plus French

What is le pluriel in French?

In French nouns can be singular or plural (pluriel). The plural form of a noun is usually formed by changing the article to les/des and adding an -s to the end of the word, however there are many exceptions!

Learn how to use plural nouns in French grammar with Lingolia’s quick and easy examples, then put your knowledge to the test in the exercises.

dissertation au pluriel

les billets

l'argent (no plural)

General Rules

The plural of most nouns is formed by adding an -s to the end of the word. This -s is silent: it is almost never pronounced aloud.

Plurals ending in - x

Some nouns form their plural with an - x . This includes:

  • nouns that end in - eau or - au Example: un château – des château x a castle – castles
  • nouns that end in -eu (except for pneu and bleu tyre, blue ) Examples: un cheveu – des cheveu x a hair – hair un pneu – des pneu s tyre – tyres
  • nouns that end in -ou, such as genou, caillou, hibou, bijou, pou, chou, joujou knee, pebble, owl, a piece of jewellery, louse, cabbage, toy Example: un genou – des genou x a knee – knees
  • nouns that end in - al. The ending - al becomes - aux in the plural. The exceptions to this are: le bal, le cal, le carnaval, le chacal, le festival, le régal dance, callus, carnival, jackal, festival, treat , whose plurals are formed by adding an -s. Examples: un journal – des journ aux a newspaper - newspapers but: un festival – des festival s a festival - festivals
  • nouns that end in - ail. The ending - ail becomes - aux in the plural. Examples include le bail, le corail, l’émail, le soupirail, le travail, le vitrail lease, coral, email, basement window, work, stained glass window Example: un vitrail – des vitrau x a stained-glass window - stained-glass windows but: un rail – des rail s a rail/track - rails/tracks

Nouns that end in - s , - x or - z in the singular do not change in the plural.

Some plural forms are completely irregular.

As their name suggests, compound nouns (les noms composés) consist of two or more words usually connected by a hyphen. The words that make up a compound noun can be nouns , verbs , adjectives , adverbs or prepositions . It’s not always easy to form the plural of these nouns, but the following rules can help:

  • If the compound noun includes an adjective , this always changes to agree with the plural. Examples: les grand s -parents grandparents les longue s -vues telescopes les saule s -pleureurs weeping willows
  • If the first word of the compound noun is grand , it only receives the plural -s in the masculine plural form. Examples: les grand s -pères grandfathers les grand-mères grandmothers
  • If the compound noun includes a verb , adverb or preposition , this remains unchanged in the plural. Examples: les porte -monnaie wallets , les lave -vaisselle dishwasher , les sèche -cheveux hairdryers (verb) les arrière -pensées ulterior motives , les avant -gardes frontliner (adverb) les arcs- en -ciel rainbows , les gardiens de but goalkeepers (preposition)
  • In the majority of cases, nouns receive the plural -s , although there are some exceptions. Examples: les rouges-gorges robin redbreasts , les choux-fleurs cauliflowers , les portes-fenêtres French doors , les bateaux-mouches tourist river boats on the Seine
  • If the compound noun contains nouns that refer to a collective entity or uncountable nouns, these remain in the singular. Examples: les porte-monnaie wallets , les lave-vaisselle dishwashers the nouns monnaie (money) and vaisselle (dishes) are uncountable and refer to collectives, meaning that they do not change in the plural des pommes de terre potatoes the word terre (earth) refers to the soil in which the potatoes grow, meaning that it is uncountable and remains unchanged in the plural
  • In some cases, whether or not the words within the compound noun are singular or plural depends on their meaning. Examples: une brosse à dents a toothbrush The noun dents (teeth) is always used in the plural although the compound noun is singular. This is because we brush all our teeth, not just one. un chef-d’œuvre/des chefs-d’œuvre masterpiece/masterpieces The word œuvre refers to an abstact concept in this compound noun, meaning that it stays in the singular.

How good is your French?

Find out with Lingolia’s free grammar test

Take the test!

Maybe later

WxT Language switcher

  • Français fr

informations/renseignements

This content is available in French only.

Le mot pluriel informations au sens de « renseignements » est maintenant attesté.

  • Vous devrez obtenir toutes les informations pertinentes.
  • N’hésitez pas à demander des informations sur cette question.
  • Il détient des informations confidentielles sur son voisin.

Cependant, certaines expressions sont parfois plus fréquentes avec un des termes :

  • donner, dévoiler, puiser, recevoir un ou des renseignements
  • service de renseignements
  • demande de renseignements
  • détenir, délivrer, démentir, obtenir, soutirer, transmettre une ou des informations

En tant que complément

En position de complément, information peut s’écrire au singulier ou au pluriel, selon le sens voulu.

Au singulier

Quand il désigne l’action de s’informer ou d’informer ou l’ensemble des informations, on le voit au singulier :

  • voyage/réunion/séance d’information
  • agence d’information
  • journal d’information ou d’opinion
  • techniques/moyens d’information
  • liberté d’information/de l’information

On le rencontre aussi fréquemment au singulier dans le domaine scientifique (communications, informatique, etc. ) :

  • théorie de l’information
  • unité d’information
  • traitement de l’information
  • supports d’information
  • quantité/perte d’information (ou : de l’information)

On écrira informations au pluriel au sens de « nouvelles à la radio ou à la télévision » ou de « renseignements » :

  • bulletin d’informations
  • journal d’informations
  • transmission d’informations
  • divulgation d’informations

Copyright notice for Clés de la rédaction

© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Public Services and Procurement A tool created and made available online by the Translation Bureau, Public Services and Procurement Canada

Search by related themes

Want to learn more about a theme discussed on this page? Click on a link below to see all the pages on the Language Portal of Canada that relate to the theme you selected. The search results will be displayed in Language Navigator .

  • Grammaire et syntaxe
  • Accord en nombre
  • Vocabulaire
  • Expressions et locutions
  • Synonymes et nuances de sens

Related links

  • Clés de la rédaction (home page)
  • Writing tools
  • Language Navigator (for fast access to language tips)
  • TERMIUM Plus ®
  • Contact the Language Portal of Canada

Thank you for your help!

You will not receive a reply. For enquiries,  contact us .

Grad Coach

How To Write A Dissertation Or Thesis

8 straightforward steps to craft an a-grade dissertation.

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) Expert Reviewed By: Dr Eunice Rautenbach | June 2020

Writing a dissertation or thesis is not a simple task. It takes time, energy and a lot of will power to get you across the finish line. It’s not easy – but it doesn’t necessarily need to be a painful process. If you understand the big-picture process of how to write a dissertation or thesis, your research journey will be a lot smoother.  

In this post, I’m going to outline the big-picture process of how to write a high-quality dissertation or thesis, without losing your mind along the way. If you’re just starting your research, this post is perfect for you. Alternatively, if you’ve already submitted your proposal, this article which covers how to structure a dissertation might be more helpful.

How To Write A Dissertation: 8 Steps

  • Clearly understand what a dissertation (or thesis) is
  • Find a unique and valuable research topic
  • Craft a convincing research proposal
  • Write up a strong introduction chapter
  • Review the existing literature and compile a literature review
  • Design a rigorous research strategy and undertake your own research
  • Present the findings of your research
  • Draw a conclusion and discuss the implications

Start writing your dissertation

Step 1: Understand exactly what a dissertation is

This probably sounds like a no-brainer, but all too often, students come to us for help with their research and the underlying issue is that they don’t fully understand what a dissertation (or thesis) actually is.

So, what is a dissertation?

At its simplest, a dissertation or thesis is a formal piece of research , reflecting the standard research process . But what is the standard research process, you ask? The research process involves 4 key steps:

  • Ask a very specific, well-articulated question (s) (your research topic)
  • See what other researchers have said about it (if they’ve already answered it)
  • If they haven’t answered it adequately, undertake your own data collection and analysis in a scientifically rigorous fashion
  • Answer your original question(s), based on your analysis findings

 A dissertation or thesis is a formal piece of research, reflecting the standard four step academic research process.

In short, the research process is simply about asking and answering questions in a systematic fashion . This probably sounds pretty obvious, but people often think they’ve done “research”, when in fact what they have done is:

  • Started with a vague, poorly articulated question
  • Not taken the time to see what research has already been done regarding the question
  • Collected data and opinions that support their gut and undertaken a flimsy analysis
  • Drawn a shaky conclusion, based on that analysis

If you want to see the perfect example of this in action, look out for the next Facebook post where someone claims they’ve done “research”… All too often, people consider reading a few blog posts to constitute research. Its no surprise then that what they end up with is an opinion piece, not research. Okay, okay – I’ll climb off my soapbox now.

The key takeaway here is that a dissertation (or thesis) is a formal piece of research, reflecting the research process. It’s not an opinion piece , nor a place to push your agenda or try to convince someone of your position. Writing a good dissertation involves asking a question and taking a systematic, rigorous approach to answering it.

If you understand this and are comfortable leaving your opinions or preconceived ideas at the door, you’re already off to a good start!

 A dissertation is not an opinion piece, nor a place to push your agenda or try to  convince someone of your position.

Step 2: Find a unique, valuable research topic

As we saw, the first step of the research process is to ask a specific, well-articulated question. In other words, you need to find a research topic that asks a specific question or set of questions (these are called research questions ). Sounds easy enough, right? All you’ve got to do is identify a question or two and you’ve got a winning research topic. Well, not quite…

A good dissertation or thesis topic has a few important attributes. Specifically, a solid research topic should be:

Let’s take a closer look at these:

Attribute #1: Clear

Your research topic needs to be crystal clear about what you’re planning to research, what you want to know, and within what context. There shouldn’t be any ambiguity or vagueness about what you’ll research.

Here’s an example of a clearly articulated research topic:

An analysis of consumer-based factors influencing organisational trust in British low-cost online equity brokerage firms.

As you can see in the example, its crystal clear what will be analysed (factors impacting organisational trust), amongst who (consumers) and in what context (British low-cost equity brokerage firms, based online).

Need a helping hand?

dissertation au pluriel

Attribute #2:   Unique

Your research should be asking a question(s) that hasn’t been asked before, or that hasn’t been asked in a specific context (for example, in a specific country or industry).

For example, sticking organisational trust topic above, it’s quite likely that organisational trust factors in the UK have been investigated before, but the context (online low-cost equity brokerages) could make this research unique. Therefore, the context makes this research original.

One caveat when using context as the basis for originality – you need to have a good reason to suspect that your findings in this context might be different from the existing research – otherwise, there’s no reason to warrant researching it.

Attribute #3: Important

Simply asking a unique or original question is not enough – the question needs to create value. In other words, successfully answering your research questions should provide some value to the field of research or the industry. You can’t research something just to satisfy your curiosity. It needs to make some form of contribution either to research or industry.

For example, researching the factors influencing consumer trust would create value by enabling businesses to tailor their operations and marketing to leverage factors that promote trust. In other words, it would have a clear benefit to industry.

So, how do you go about finding a unique and valuable research topic? We explain that in detail in this video post – How To Find A Research Topic . Yeah, we’ve got you covered 😊

Step 3: Write a convincing research proposal

Once you’ve pinned down a high-quality research topic, the next step is to convince your university to let you research it. No matter how awesome you think your topic is, it still needs to get the rubber stamp before you can move forward with your research. The research proposal is the tool you’ll use for this job.

So, what’s in a research proposal?

The main “job” of a research proposal is to convince your university, advisor or committee that your research topic is worthy of approval. But convince them of what? Well, this varies from university to university, but generally, they want to see that:

  • You have a clearly articulated, unique and important topic (this might sound familiar…)
  • You’ve done some initial reading of the existing literature relevant to your topic (i.e. a literature review)
  • You have a provisional plan in terms of how you will collect data and analyse it (i.e. a methodology)

At the proposal stage, it’s (generally) not expected that you’ve extensively reviewed the existing literature , but you will need to show that you’ve done enough reading to identify a clear gap for original (unique) research. Similarly, they generally don’t expect that you have a rock-solid research methodology mapped out, but you should have an idea of whether you’ll be undertaking qualitative or quantitative analysis , and how you’ll collect your data (we’ll discuss this in more detail later).

Long story short – don’t stress about having every detail of your research meticulously thought out at the proposal stage – this will develop as you progress through your research. However, you do need to show that you’ve “done your homework” and that your research is worthy of approval .

So, how do you go about crafting a high-quality, convincing proposal? We cover that in detail in this video post – How To Write A Top-Class Research Proposal . We’ve also got a video walkthrough of two proposal examples here .

Step 4: Craft a strong introduction chapter

Once your proposal’s been approved, its time to get writing your actual dissertation or thesis! The good news is that if you put the time into crafting a high-quality proposal, you’ve already got a head start on your first three chapters – introduction, literature review and methodology – as you can use your proposal as the basis for these.

Handy sidenote – our free dissertation & thesis template is a great way to speed up your dissertation writing journey.

What’s the introduction chapter all about?

The purpose of the introduction chapter is to set the scene for your research (dare I say, to introduce it…) so that the reader understands what you’ll be researching and why it’s important. In other words, it covers the same ground as the research proposal in that it justifies your research topic.

What goes into the introduction chapter?

This can vary slightly between universities and degrees, but generally, the introduction chapter will include the following:

  • A brief background to the study, explaining the overall area of research
  • A problem statement , explaining what the problem is with the current state of research (in other words, where the knowledge gap exists)
  • Your research questions – in other words, the specific questions your study will seek to answer (based on the knowledge gap)
  • The significance of your study – in other words, why it’s important and how its findings will be useful in the world

As you can see, this all about explaining the “what” and the “why” of your research (as opposed to the “how”). So, your introduction chapter is basically the salesman of your study, “selling” your research to the first-time reader and (hopefully) getting them interested to read more.

How do I write the introduction chapter, you ask? We cover that in detail in this post .

The introduction chapter is where you set the scene for your research, detailing exactly what you’ll be researching and why it’s important.

Step 5: Undertake an in-depth literature review

As I mentioned earlier, you’ll need to do some initial review of the literature in Steps 2 and 3 to find your research gap and craft a convincing research proposal – but that’s just scratching the surface. Once you reach the literature review stage of your dissertation or thesis, you need to dig a lot deeper into the existing research and write up a comprehensive literature review chapter.

What’s the literature review all about?

There are two main stages in the literature review process:

Literature Review Step 1: Reading up

The first stage is for you to deep dive into the existing literature (journal articles, textbook chapters, industry reports, etc) to gain an in-depth understanding of the current state of research regarding your topic. While you don’t need to read every single article, you do need to ensure that you cover all literature that is related to your core research questions, and create a comprehensive catalogue of that literature , which you’ll use in the next step.

Reading and digesting all the relevant literature is a time consuming and intellectually demanding process. Many students underestimate just how much work goes into this step, so make sure that you allocate a good amount of time for this when planning out your research. Thankfully, there are ways to fast track the process – be sure to check out this article covering how to read journal articles quickly .

Dissertation Coaching

Literature Review Step 2: Writing up

Once you’ve worked through the literature and digested it all, you’ll need to write up your literature review chapter. Many students make the mistake of thinking that the literature review chapter is simply a summary of what other researchers have said. While this is partly true, a literature review is much more than just a summary. To pull off a good literature review chapter, you’ll need to achieve at least 3 things:

  • You need to synthesise the existing research , not just summarise it. In other words, you need to show how different pieces of theory fit together, what’s agreed on by researchers, what’s not.
  • You need to highlight a research gap that your research is going to fill. In other words, you’ve got to outline the problem so that your research topic can provide a solution.
  • You need to use the existing research to inform your methodology and approach to your own research design. For example, you might use questions or Likert scales from previous studies in your your own survey design .

As you can see, a good literature review is more than just a summary of the published research. It’s the foundation on which your own research is built, so it deserves a lot of love and attention. Take the time to craft a comprehensive literature review with a suitable structure .

But, how do I actually write the literature review chapter, you ask? We cover that in detail in this video post .

Step 6: Carry out your own research

Once you’ve completed your literature review and have a sound understanding of the existing research, its time to develop your own research (finally!). You’ll design this research specifically so that you can find the answers to your unique research question.

There are two steps here – designing your research strategy and executing on it:

1 – Design your research strategy

The first step is to design your research strategy and craft a methodology chapter . I won’t get into the technicalities of the methodology chapter here, but in simple terms, this chapter is about explaining the “how” of your research. If you recall, the introduction and literature review chapters discussed the “what” and the “why”, so it makes sense that the next point to cover is the “how” –that’s what the methodology chapter is all about.

In this section, you’ll need to make firm decisions about your research design. This includes things like:

  • Your research philosophy (e.g. positivism or interpretivism )
  • Your overall methodology (e.g. qualitative , quantitative or mixed methods)
  • Your data collection strategy (e.g. interviews , focus groups, surveys)
  • Your data analysis strategy (e.g. content analysis , correlation analysis, regression)

If these words have got your head spinning, don’t worry! We’ll explain these in plain language in other posts. It’s not essential that you understand the intricacies of research design (yet!). The key takeaway here is that you’ll need to make decisions about how you’ll design your own research, and you’ll need to describe (and justify) your decisions in your methodology chapter.

2 – Execute: Collect and analyse your data

Once you’ve worked out your research design, you’ll put it into action and start collecting your data. This might mean undertaking interviews, hosting an online survey or any other data collection method. Data collection can take quite a bit of time (especially if you host in-person interviews), so be sure to factor sufficient time into your project plan for this. Oftentimes, things don’t go 100% to plan (for example, you don’t get as many survey responses as you hoped for), so bake a little extra time into your budget here.

Once you’ve collected your data, you’ll need to do some data preparation before you can sink your teeth into the analysis. For example:

  • If you carry out interviews or focus groups, you’ll need to transcribe your audio data to text (i.e. a Word document).
  • If you collect quantitative survey data, you’ll need to clean up your data and get it into the right format for whichever analysis software you use (for example, SPSS, R or STATA).

Once you’ve completed your data prep, you’ll undertake your analysis, using the techniques that you described in your methodology. Depending on what you find in your analysis, you might also do some additional forms of analysis that you hadn’t planned for. For example, you might see something in the data that raises new questions or that requires clarification with further analysis.

The type(s) of analysis that you’ll use depend entirely on the nature of your research and your research questions. For example:

  • If your research if exploratory in nature, you’ll often use qualitative analysis techniques .
  • If your research is confirmatory in nature, you’ll often use quantitative analysis techniques
  • If your research involves a mix of both, you might use a mixed methods approach

Again, if these words have got your head spinning, don’t worry! We’ll explain these concepts and techniques in other posts. The key takeaway is simply that there’s no “one size fits all” for research design and methodology – it all depends on your topic, your research questions and your data. So, don’t be surprised if your study colleagues take a completely different approach to yours.

The research philosophy is at the core of the methodology chapter

Step 7: Present your findings

Once you’ve completed your analysis, it’s time to present your findings (finally!). In a dissertation or thesis, you’ll typically present your findings in two chapters – the results chapter and the discussion chapter .

What’s the difference between the results chapter and the discussion chapter?

While these two chapters are similar, the results chapter generally just presents the processed data neatly and clearly without interpretation, while the discussion chapter explains the story the data are telling  – in other words, it provides your interpretation of the results.

For example, if you were researching the factors that influence consumer trust, you might have used a quantitative approach to identify the relationship between potential factors (e.g. perceived integrity and competence of the organisation) and consumer trust. In this case:

  • Your results chapter would just present the results of the statistical tests. For example, correlation results or differences between groups. In other words, the processed numbers.
  • Your discussion chapter would explain what the numbers mean in relation to your research question(s). For example, Factor 1 has a weak relationship with consumer trust, while Factor 2 has a strong relationship.

Depending on the university and degree, these two chapters (results and discussion) are sometimes merged into one , so be sure to check with your institution what their preference is. Regardless of the chapter structure, this section is about presenting the findings of your research in a clear, easy to understand fashion.

Importantly, your discussion here needs to link back to your research questions (which you outlined in the introduction or literature review chapter). In other words, it needs to answer the key questions you asked (or at least attempt to answer them).

For example, if we look at the sample research topic:

In this case, the discussion section would clearly outline which factors seem to have a noteworthy influence on organisational trust. By doing so, they are answering the overarching question and fulfilling the purpose of the research .

Your discussion here needs to link back to your research questions. It needs to answer the key questions you asked in your introduction.

For more information about the results chapter , check out this post for qualitative studies and this post for quantitative studies .

Step 8: The Final Step Draw a conclusion and discuss the implications

Last but not least, you’ll need to wrap up your research with the conclusion chapter . In this chapter, you’ll bring your research full circle by highlighting the key findings of your study and explaining what the implications of these findings are.

What exactly are key findings? The key findings are those findings which directly relate to your original research questions and overall research objectives (which you discussed in your introduction chapter). The implications, on the other hand, explain what your findings mean for industry, or for research in your area.

Sticking with the consumer trust topic example, the conclusion might look something like this:

Key findings

This study set out to identify which factors influence consumer-based trust in British low-cost online equity brokerage firms. The results suggest that the following factors have a large impact on consumer trust:

While the following factors have a very limited impact on consumer trust:

Notably, within the 25-30 age groups, Factors E had a noticeably larger impact, which may be explained by…

Implications

The findings having noteworthy implications for British low-cost online equity brokers. Specifically:

The large impact of Factors X and Y implies that brokers need to consider….

The limited impact of Factor E implies that brokers need to…

As you can see, the conclusion chapter is basically explaining the “what” (what your study found) and the “so what?” (what the findings mean for the industry or research). This brings the study full circle and closes off the document.

In the final chapter, you’ll bring your research full circle by highlighting the key findings of your study and the implications thereof.

Let’s recap – how to write a dissertation or thesis

You’re still with me? Impressive! I know that this post was a long one, but hopefully you’ve learnt a thing or two about how to write a dissertation or thesis, and are now better equipped to start your own research.

To recap, the 8 steps to writing a quality dissertation (or thesis) are as follows:

  • Understand what a dissertation (or thesis) is – a research project that follows the research process.
  • Find a unique (original) and important research topic
  • Craft a convincing dissertation or thesis research proposal
  • Write a clear, compelling introduction chapter
  • Undertake a thorough review of the existing research and write up a literature review
  • Undertake your own research
  • Present and interpret your findings

Once you’ve wrapped up the core chapters, all that’s typically left is the abstract , reference list and appendices. As always, be sure to check with your university if they have any additional requirements in terms of structure or content.  

dissertation au pluriel

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 ...

You Might Also Like:

Qualitative interview 101

20 Comments

Romia

thankfull >>>this is very useful

Madhu

Thank you, it was really helpful

Elhadi Abdelrahim

unquestionably, this amazing simplified way of teaching. Really , I couldn’t find in the literature words that fully explicit my great thanks to you. However, I could only say thanks a-lot.

Derek Jansen

Great to hear that – thanks for the feedback. Good luck writing your dissertation/thesis.

Writer

This is the most comprehensive explanation of how to write a dissertation. Many thanks for sharing it free of charge.

Sam

Very rich presentation. Thank you

Hailu

Thanks Derek Jansen|GRADCOACH, I find it very useful guide to arrange my activities and proceed to research!

Nunurayi Tambala

Thank you so much for such a marvelous teaching .I am so convinced that am going to write a comprehensive and a distinct masters dissertation

Hussein Huwail

It is an amazing comprehensive explanation

Eva

This was straightforward. Thank you!

Ken

I can say that your explanations are simple and enlightening – understanding what you have done here is easy for me. Could you write more about the different types of research methods specific to the three methodologies: quan, qual and MM. I look forward to interacting with this website more in the future.

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions 🙂

Osasuyi Blessing

Hello, your write ups is quite educative. However, l have challenges in going about my research questions which is below; *Building the enablers of organisational growth through effective governance and purposeful leadership.*

Dung Doh

Very educating.

Ezra Daniel

Just listening to the name of the dissertation makes the student nervous. As writing a top-quality dissertation is a difficult task as it is a lengthy topic, requires a lot of research and understanding and is usually around 10,000 to 15000 words. Sometimes due to studies, unbalanced workload or lack of research and writing skill students look for dissertation submission from professional writers.

Nice Edinam Hoyah

Thank you 💕😊 very much. I was confused but your comprehensive explanation has cleared my doubts of ever presenting a good thesis. Thank you.

Sehauli

thank you so much, that was so useful

Daniel Madsen

Hi. Where is the excel spread sheet ark?

Emmanuel kKoko

could you please help me look at your thesis paper to enable me to do the portion that has to do with the specification

my topic is “the impact of domestic revenue mobilization.

Submit a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

  • Print Friendly

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, automatically generate references for free.

  • Knowledge Base
  • Dissertation

What Is a Dissertation? | 5 Essential Questions to Get Started

Published on 26 March 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on 5 May 2022.

A dissertation is a large research project undertaken at the end of a degree. It involves in-depth consideration of a problem or question chosen by the student. It is usually the largest (and final) piece of written work produced during a degree.

The length and structure of a dissertation vary widely depending on the level and field of study. However, there are some key questions that can help you understand the requirements and get started on your dissertation project.

Instantly correct all language mistakes in your text

Be assured that you'll submit flawless writing. Upload your document to correct all your mistakes.

upload-your-document-ai-proofreader

Table of contents

When and why do you have to write a dissertation, who will supervise your dissertation, what type of research will you do, how should your dissertation be structured, what formatting and referencing rules do you have to follow, frequently asked questions about dissertations.

A dissertation, sometimes called a thesis, comes at the end of an undergraduate or postgraduate degree. It is a larger project than the other essays you’ve written, requiring a higher word count and a greater depth of research.

You’ll generally work on your dissertation during the final year of your degree, over a longer period than you would take for a standard essay . For example, the dissertation might be your main focus for the last six months of your degree.

Why is the dissertation important?

The dissertation is a test of your capacity for independent research. You are given a lot of autonomy in writing your dissertation: you come up with your own ideas, conduct your own research, and write and structure the text by yourself.

This means that it is an important preparation for your future, whether you continue in academia or not: it teaches you to manage your own time, generate original ideas, and work independently.

The only proofreading tool specialized in correcting academic writing

The academic proofreading tool has been trained on 1000s of academic texts and by native English editors. Making it the most accurate and reliable proofreading tool for students.

dissertation au pluriel

Correct my document today

During the planning and writing of your dissertation, you’ll work with a supervisor from your department. The supervisor’s job is to give you feedback and advice throughout the process.

The dissertation supervisor is often assigned by the department, but you might be allowed to indicate preferences or approach potential supervisors. If so, try to pick someone who is familiar with your chosen topic, whom you get along with on a personal level, and whose feedback you’ve found useful in the past.

How will your supervisor help you?

Your supervisor is there to guide you through the dissertation project, but you’re still working independently. They can give feedback on your ideas, but not come up with ideas for you.

You may need to take the initiative to request an initial meeting with your supervisor. Then you can plan out your future meetings and set reasonable deadlines for things like completion of data collection, a structure outline, a first chapter, a first draft, and so on.

Make sure to prepare in advance for your meetings. Formulate your ideas as fully as you can, and determine where exactly you’re having difficulties so you can ask your supervisor for specific advice.

Your approach to your dissertation will vary depending on your field of study. The first thing to consider is whether you will do empirical research , which involves collecting original data, or non-empirical research , which involves analysing sources.

Empirical dissertations (sciences)

An empirical dissertation focuses on collecting and analysing original data. You’ll usually write this type of dissertation if you are studying a subject in the sciences or social sciences.

  • What are airline workers’ attitudes towards the challenges posed for their industry by climate change?
  • How effective is cognitive behavioural therapy in treating depression in young adults?
  • What are the short-term health effects of switching from smoking cigarettes to e-cigarettes?

There are many different empirical research methods you can use to answer these questions – for example, experiments , observations, surveys , and interviews.

When doing empirical research, you need to consider things like the variables you will investigate, the reliability and validity of your measurements, and your sampling method . The aim is to produce robust, reproducible scientific knowledge.

Non-empirical dissertations (arts and humanities)

A non-empirical dissertation works with existing research or other texts, presenting original analysis, critique and argumentation, but no original data. This approach is typical of arts and humanities subjects.

  • What attitudes did commentators in the British press take towards the French Revolution in 1789–1792?
  • How do the themes of gender and inheritance intersect in Shakespeare’s Macbeth ?
  • How did Plato’s Republic and Thomas More’s Utopia influence nineteenth century utopian socialist thought?

The first steps in this type of dissertation are to decide on your topic and begin collecting your primary and secondary sources .

Primary sources are the direct objects of your research. They give you first-hand evidence about your subject. Examples of primary sources include novels, artworks and historical documents.

Secondary sources provide information that informs your analysis. They describe, interpret, or evaluate information from primary sources. For example, you might consider previous analyses of the novel or author you are working on, or theoretical texts that you plan to apply to your primary sources.

Dissertations are divided into chapters and sections. Empirical dissertations usually follow a standard structure, while non-empirical dissertations are more flexible.

Structure of an empirical dissertation

Empirical dissertations generally include these chapters:

  • Introduction : An explanation of your topic and the research question(s) you want to answer.
  • Literature review : A survey and evaluation of previous research on your topic.
  • Methodology : An explanation of how you collected and analysed your data.
  • Results : A brief description of what you found.
  • Discussion : Interpretation of what these results reveal.
  • Conclusion : Answers to your research question(s) and summary of what your findings contribute to knowledge in your field.

Sometimes the order or naming of chapters might be slightly different, but all of the above information must be included in order to produce thorough, valid scientific research.

Other dissertation structures

If your dissertation doesn’t involve data collection, your structure is more flexible. You can think of it like an extended essay – the text should be logically organised in a way that serves your argument:

  • Introduction: An explanation of your topic and the question(s) you want to answer.
  • Main body: The development of your analysis, usually divided into 2–4 chapters.
  • Conclusion: Answers to your research question(s) and summary of what your analysis contributes to knowledge in your field.

The chapters of the main body can be organised around different themes, time periods, or texts. Below you can see some example structures for dissertations in different subjects.

  • Political philosophy

This example, on the topic of the British press’s coverage of the French Revolution, shows how you might structure each chapter around a specific theme.

Example of a dissertation structure in history

This example, on the topic of Plato’s and More’s influences on utopian socialist thought, shows a different approach to dividing the chapters by theme.

Example of a dissertation structure in political philosophy

This example, a master’s dissertation on the topic of how writers respond to persecution, shows how you can also use section headings within each chapter. Each of the three chapters deals with a specific text, while the sections are organised thematically.

Example of a dissertation structure in literature

Prevent plagiarism, run a free check.

Like other academic texts, it’s important that your dissertation follows the formatting guidelines set out by your university. You can lose marks unnecessarily over mistakes, so it’s worth taking the time to get all these elements right.

Formatting guidelines concern things like:

  • line spacing
  • page numbers
  • punctuation
  • title pages
  • presentation of tables and figures

If you’re unsure about the formatting requirements, check with your supervisor or department. You can lose marks unnecessarily over mistakes, so it’s worth taking the time to get all these elements right.

How will you reference your sources?

Referencing means properly listing the sources you cite and refer to in your dissertation, so that the reader can find them. This avoids plagiarism by acknowledging where you’ve used the work of others.

Keep track of everything you read as you prepare your dissertation. The key information to note down for a reference is:

  • The publication date
  • Page numbers for the parts you refer to (especially when using direct quotes)

Different referencing styles each have their own specific rules for how to reference. The most commonly used styles in UK universities are listed below.

You can use the free APA Reference Generator to automatically create and store your references.

APA Reference Generator

The words ‘ dissertation ’ and ‘thesis’ both refer to a large written research project undertaken to complete a degree, but they are used differently depending on the country:

  • In the UK, you write a dissertation at the end of a bachelor’s or master’s degree, and you write a thesis to complete a PhD.
  • In the US, it’s the other way around: you may write a thesis at the end of a bachelor’s or master’s degree, and you write a dissertation to complete a PhD.

The main difference is in terms of scale – a dissertation is usually much longer than the other essays you complete during your degree.

Another key difference is that you are given much more independence when working on a dissertation. You choose your own dissertation topic , and you have to conduct the research and write the dissertation yourself (with some assistance from your supervisor).

Dissertation word counts vary widely across different fields, institutions, and levels of education:

  • An undergraduate dissertation is typically 8,000–15,000 words
  • A master’s dissertation is typically 12,000–50,000 words
  • A PhD thesis is typically book-length: 70,000–100,000 words

However, none of these are strict guidelines – your word count may be lower or higher than the numbers stated here. Always check the guidelines provided by your university to determine how long your own dissertation should be.

At the bachelor’s and master’s levels, the dissertation is usually the main focus of your final year. You might work on it (alongside other classes) for the entirety of the final year, or for the last six months. This includes formulating an idea, doing the research, and writing up.

A PhD thesis takes a longer time, as the thesis is the main focus of the degree. A PhD thesis might be being formulated and worked on for the whole four years of the degree program. The writing process alone can take around 18 months.

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.

Caulfield, J. (2022, May 05). What Is a Dissertation? | 5 Essential Questions to Get Started. Scribbr. Retrieved 27 May 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/thesis-dissertation/what-is-a-dissertation/

Is this article helpful?

Jack Caulfield

Jack Caulfield

Other students also liked, how to choose a dissertation topic | 8 steps to follow, how to write a dissertation proposal | a step-by-step guide, what is a literature review | guide, template, & examples.

L'ESSOR DU CAPITALISME ET SES CONSÉQUENCES

Introduction.

dissertation au pluriel

A la fin du moyen-âge, on assiste à la naissance d'un nouveau système économique et social en Europe basé sur la propriété privée des moyens de production : le capitalisme. Il connaît un essor au XIXème siècle avec des conséquences qui ont bouleversé le monde.

Quels sont les fondements du système capitaliste ? Comment fonctionne-t-il ?

Et quelles sont ses conséquences ?

Finished Papers

I ordered a paper with a 3-day deadline. They delivered it prior to the agreed time. Offered free alterations and asked if I want them to fix something. However, everything looked perfect to me.

  • Our process

From a high school essay to university term paper or even a PHD thesis

How Do I Select the Most Appropriate Writer to Write My Essay?

The second you place your "write an essay for me" request, numerous writers will be bidding on your work. It is up to you to choose the right specialist for your task. Make an educated choice by reading their bios, analyzing their order stats, and looking over their reviews. Our essay writers are required to identify their areas of interest so you know which professional has the most up-to-date knowledge in your field. If you are thinking "I want a real pro to write essay for me" then you've come to the right place.

  • How it Works
  • Top Writers

Our team of paper writers consists only of native speakers coming from countries such as the US or Canada. But being proficient in English isn't the only requirement we have for an essay writer. All professionals working for us have a higher degree from a top institution or are current university professors. They go through a challenging hiring process which includes a diploma check, a successful mock-task completion, and two interviews. Once the writer passes all of the above, they begin their training, and only after its successful completion do they begin taking "write an essay for me" orders.

Megan Sharp

icon

Orders of are accepted for higher levels only (University, Master's, PHD). Please pay attention that your current order level was automatically changed from High School/College to University.

Customer Reviews

Diane M. Omalley

Customer Reviews

  • How it Works
  • Top Writers

Connect with the writers

Once paid, the initial draft will be made. For any query r to ask for revision, you can get in touch with the online chat support available 24X7 for you.

dissertation au pluriel

offers three types of essay writers: the best available writer aka. standard, a top-level writer, and a premium essay expert. Every class, or type, of an essay writer has its own pros and cons. Depending on the difficulty of your assignment and the deadline, you can choose the desired type of writer to fit in your schedule and budget. We guarantee that every writer will be a subject-matter expert with proper writing skills and background knowledge across all high school, college, and university subjects. Also, we don’t work with undergraduates or dropouts, focusing more on Bachelor, Master, and Doctoral level writers (yes, we offer writers with Ph.D. degrees!)

Customer Reviews

Once your essay writing help request has reached our writers, they will place bids. To make the best choice for your particular task, analyze the reviews, bio, and order statistics of our writers. Once you select your writer, put the needed funds on your balance and we'll get started.

dissertation au pluriel

1035 Natoma Street, San Francisco

This exquisite Edwardian single-family house has a 1344 Sqft main…

Verification link has been re- sent to your email. Click the link to activate your account.

You get wide range of high quality services from our professional team

Customer Reviews

Susan Devlin

IMAGES

  1. Langues24

    dissertation au pluriel

  2. Rédiger une dissertation

    dissertation au pluriel

  3. Comment rédiger une introduction de dissertation

    dissertation au pluriel

  4. MÉTHODOLOGIE: La dissertation littéraire : Les 5 étapes à suivre pour

    dissertation au pluriel

  5. Sujets De Dissertation De Francais

    dissertation au pluriel

  6. Une dissertation en Français

    dissertation au pluriel

VIDEO

  1. Ce que disent les corrections officielles sur les citations en dissertation au bac de français…

  2. C’est une idée fausse que beaucoup d’élèves ont sur la #dissertation au #bacdefrançais… #methode

  3. 3 EXEMPLES pour tes disserts sur le LANGAGE

  4. Les erreurs à éviter pour réussir la conclusion de la dissertation au baccalauréat

  5. La dissertation littéraire(Partie2)

  6. Arrête d’écrire “L’auteur critique” ! Voici des alternatives pour améliorer ton expression 👌

COMMENTS

  1. Pronoms personnels (je, nous, on) à utiliser dans un rapport

    par contre, même s'il n'y a qu'un seul auteur, on peut très bien écrire au pluriel quand on utilise on et nous. Cela étant, il n'y a rien de catastrophique dans tes autres propositions et tu peux très bien choisir d'utiliser des pronoms, voire de décrire à la première personne ce que tu as fait.

  2. Dissertations / Theses: 'Plural of nouns'

    Ce constat, qui plaide pour l'admission du pluriel au rang d'un concept - désignant les vivants en temps que tel, au pluriel - exige une clarification de la pluralisation. Celle-ci passe par une mise au jour d'une phénoménalité dont le Soi est, non plus le donataire selon la tradition phénoménologique, mais à la fois le donateur et le ...

  3. Plurals in French: A full guide on how to form le pluriel en français

    Most French nouns: -s. This is clearly the easiest rule for French plurals, since it's so close to the default rule for pluralizing English nouns. Just add an -s to make most French nouns plural. un croissant / des croissant s. une baguette / des baguette s. un sandwich / des sandwich s. une limonade / des limonade s.

  4. Rimbaud, Cahier de Douai : émancipations créatrices

    Feuilles volantes Le titre de ce recueil ne fait toujours pas l'unanimité et on peut les trouver publiés aussi bien sous le titre de Cahier de Douai, au singulier, que celui de Cahiers de Douai, au pluriel. À cela, une raison simple : ces poèmes ont été rédigés par Rimbaud sur deux types de feuilles différents.Les quinze premiers poèmes ont été écrits sur du papier écolier et les ...

  5. Définition de dissertation

    Définition de dissertation : dictionnaire, étymologie, phonétique, citations littéraires, synonymes et antonymes de « dissertation » ... Pluriel : dissertations; Points au Scrabble : 13 points; ... Les informations complémentaires relatives au mot dissertation sont éditées par l'équipe éditoriale de lalanguefrancaise.com.

  6. PDF ABSTRACT Title of dissertation: LE ROMAN IVOIRIEN AU FĖ PLURIELLE

    Title of dissertation: LE ROMAN IVOIRIEN AU FĖMININ : UNE ĖCRITURE PLURIELLE Gbadoua Viviane Uetto Békrou, Doctor of Philosophy, 2006 ... Chapitre I: Le roman féminin ivoirien: un texte hybride, un texte pluriel----- 110 Chapitre II: La critique socio-politique----- 146 Chapitre III: Régression ou progression: une approche ambivalente de ...

  7. Dissertations / Theses: 'Pluriel'

    Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Pluriel' To see the other types of publications on this topic, follow the link: Pluriel. Author: Grafiati. Published: 4 June 2021 Last updated: 6 February 2022 Create a spot-on reference in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and other styles. Select a source type: Book ...

  8. Dissertations / Theses: 'Identité plurielle'

    List of dissertations / theses on the topic 'Identité plurielle'. Scholarly publications with full text pdf download. Related research topic ideas.

  9. Le pluriel: plural nouns in French grammar

    Example: un genou - des genou x. a knee - knees. nouns that end in - al. The ending - al becomes - aux in the plural. The exceptions to this are: le bal, le cal, le carnaval, le chacal, le festival, le régal. dance, callus, carnival, jackal, festival, treat. , whose plurals are formed by adding an -s. Examples:

  10. What Is a Dissertation?

    A dissertation is a long-form piece of academic writing based on original research conducted by you. It is usually submitted as the final step in order to finish a PhD program. Your dissertation is probably the longest piece of writing you've ever completed. It requires solid research, writing, and analysis skills, and it can be intimidating ...

  11. informations/renseignements

    Le mot pluriel informations au sens de « renseignements » est maintenant attesté. Vous devrez obtenir toutes les informations pertinentes. N'hésitez pas à demander des informations sur cette question. Il détient des informations confidentielles sur son voisin. Cependant, certaines expressions sont parfois plus fréquentes avec un des ...

  12. How To Write A Dissertation Or Thesis

    Craft a convincing dissertation or thesis research proposal. Write a clear, compelling introduction chapter. Undertake a thorough review of the existing research and write up a literature review. Undertake your own research. Present and interpret your findings. Draw a conclusion and discuss the implications.

  13. What Is a Dissertation?

    Revised on 5 May 2022. A dissertation is a large research project undertaken at the end of a degree. It involves in-depth consideration of a problem or question chosen by the student. It is usually the largest (and final) piece of written work produced during a degree. The length and structure of a dissertation vary widely depending on the ...

  14. dissertation sur le capitalisme

    dissertation sur le capitalisme. 2601 mots 11 pages. Montre plus. Le capitalisme est un régime économique qui depuis la chute du mur de Berlin tend à se développer dans le monde. Il est fondé sur les capitaux privés ; le pouvoir n'est plus détenu par les apporteurs de capitaux. Certains aspects du capitalisme évoluent grâce aux ...

  15. L'Essor Du Capitalisme Et Ses Conséquences

    Introduction. A la fin du moyen-âge, on assiste à la naissance d'un nouveau système économique et social en Europe basé sur la propriété privée des moyens de production : le capitalisme. Il connaît un essor au XIXème siècle avec des conséquences qui ont bouleversé le monde. Quels sont les fondements du système capitaliste ?

  16. Les Curriculum Vitae Au Pluriel

    Les Curriculum Vitae Au Pluriel - 695 . Finished Papers. Management Business and Economics Marketing Case Study +59 ... Article Critique, Powerpoint Presentation Poster, Dissertation chapter - Literature review, Business Report, Dissertation, Reaction paper, Concept Map, Motivation letter, Literature Review, Synopsis, Thesis Proposal ...

  17. Curriculum Vitae Pluriel

    Amount to be Paid. 249.00 USD. Read more. Curriculum Vitae Pluriel, Expected Revenue For A Business Plan, Types Of Quantitative Research For Dissertation, Do My Esl School Essay On Lincoln, Benefits Of Business Plan To Entrepreneurs, Top Cover Letter Ghostwriting Websites Us, Best Way To Conclude A Persuasive Essay. (415) 397-1966.

  18. Un Curriculum Vitae Au Pluriel

    Try EssayBot which is your professional essay typer. EssayBot is an essay writing assistant powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI). Given the title and prompt, EssayBot helps you find inspirational sources, suggest and paraphrase sentences, as well as generate and complete sentences using AI. If your essay will run through a plagiarism checker ...

  19. Thesis Au Pluriel

    Thesis Au Pluriel, Popular Writers Services For University, Cheap Cover Letter Ghostwriting Site Usa, College Essays Proofread Service, Bachelor Thesis Algorithms, Write Film Studies Article, Why Philosophy Is Your Favourite Class Essay

  20. Thesis Au Pluriel

    If you are thinking "I want a real pro to write essay for me" then you've come to the right place. Thesis Au Pluriel. Jam Operasional (09.00-17.00) +62 813-1717-0136 (Corporate) +62 812-4458-4482 (Recruitment) 599Orders prepared. REVIEWS HIRE.

  21. Les Curriculum Vitae Au Pluriel

    Les Curriculum Vitae Au Pluriel - 1647 Orders prepared. 100% Success rate For Sale . 9,000 . What is the native language of the person who will write my essay for me? ... Les Curriculum Vitae Au Pluriel, Behavioral Finance Dissertation Topics, How To Write Page Turning Scenes, School Admissions Application Letter, Substitute Teacher Cover ...

  22. Des Curriculum Vitae Au Pluriel

    1035 Natoma Street, San Francisco. This exquisite Edwardian single-family house has a 1344 Sqft main…. Bedrooms. 3. Hire experienced tutors to satisfy your "write essay for me" requests. Enjoy free originality reports, 24/7 support, and unlimited edits for 30 days after completion. 8 Customer reviews. ID 21067.