Meaning & use
dissertation
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Meanings
nouncountable
A long piece of formal writing, based on your own research, that a student submits to earn a university degree.
Grammar: Often takes on: a dissertation on climate change.
Patterns
- a dissertation on something
- write a dissertation
- defend a dissertation
He spent two years writing his dissertation on medieval trade.
She will defend her dissertation in front of a committee next month.
The department keeps a copy of every dissertation in its library.
nouncountableformal
A long, serious discussion of a subject, in writing or in speech.
Grammar: Formal or humorous when used for a talk: he gave a dissertation on the best way to make tea.
Patterns
- a dissertation on something
The professor delivered a long dissertation on the history of the comma.
My uncle gave us a dissertation on how to grill a steak.
The author's dissertation on freedom ran to two hundred pages.
Word forms
| plural | dissertations |
|---|
Common combinations
- doctoral dissertation
- Her doctoral dissertation won a national prize.
- write a dissertation
- Students must write a dissertation in their final year.
- defend a dissertation
- He had to defend his dissertation in front of three professors.
- dissertation committee
- The dissertation committee asked many difficult questions.
- submit a dissertation
- The deadline to submit a dissertation is in May.
Synonyms and how they differ
- thesis
- Thesis is used for a master's or doctoral project depending on the country, and in the US often means a shorter work than a dissertation.
- treatise
- Treatise is a formal, detailed book on a subject and is not tied to a degree.
- monograph
- Monograph is a detailed scholarly book on one narrow topic, usually published rather than submitted for a degree.
- paper
- Paper is a casual, flexible word that can mean a short essay or a long research article.
Word family
- dissertate verb
- to speak or write at length on a subject; rare and formal
- dissertator noun
- a person who writes a dissertation; rare
Commonly confused: dissertation or thesis?
dissertation vs thesis
In American English a thesis is often a master's project and a dissertation a doctoral one, but British usage can be the reverse.
Practice
In American English, what is a dissertation most often?
Choose one answer.
A dissertation is usually the long research work submitted for a doctorate. A short essay, a book review or a speech does not fit that meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “dissertation”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.