Doctoral candidates may define dissertation with any number of subjective comments – “that terrible thing I have to complete before I get my degree,” “that culminating piece of research which is going to define me in my field,” or “that project that is going to consume the next 12-18 months of my life.”

Your literature review – it can be a “bear” to complete, and anything that can shorten your searches and your review will certainly be welcome.

What is a thesis statement? It is the most important sentence, or collection of sentences in any paper you produce while you are in college. What is a thesis statement supposed to do? The thesis statement serves two purposes.

There is no graduate course that prepares students for the “ins and outs” of thesis writing. Many departments will publish “guides,” but these really pertain to the structure and formatting of the finished product rather than providing step-by-step instructions on how to write a thesis.

So, you’re a little nervous. You’ve never written a dissertation before. But there are some steps you can take that will help you learn how to write a dissertation and make the entire process easier for yourself.

First, lose the idea that you are just going to be writing one large research paper with a thesis statement and something to prove. The purpose of a dissertation literature review is to summarize the research studies of those who have gone before you, and the results of those research studies.