In short
- Most dissertations have six chapters, each with its own job.
- The literature review shows what’s known; the methodology says how you found out more.
- Findings report what you found; the discussion says what it means.
- Write the introduction and abstract last.
A dissertation feels like one huge piece of writing. It’s actually a set of shorter pieces, each answering a different question about your research. Once you know what each chapter is for, you can plan and write them one by one.
This lesson is part of step 5, plan the chapters. Your department’s handbook comes first: follow its structure if it sets one.
The chapters, one by one
Introduction
Why the topic matters, your research question or aims, and how the dissertation is laid out. Short, and written last.
Literature review
What’s already known, organised by theme rather than one source after another, and the gap your research fills. This is where your reading turns into an argument.
Methodology
How you did the research and why: your approach, your data or sources, how you analysed them, ethics, and the limits of your method.
Findings or results
What you found, reported clearly, often with tables or quotes. Keep interpretation for the next chapter.
Discussion
What your findings mean, how they compare with the literature, and their limits. Often the chapter that earns the most marks.
Conclusion
The answer to your research question, what it adds, and what future research could do. No new findings.
Around them: an abstract (a short summary, written last), the references, and appendices for material like questionnaires or consent forms.
A sample split for 10,000 words
| Chapter | Rough share | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction | 10% | 1,000 |
| Literature review | 25% | 2,500 |
| Methodology | 15% | 1,500 |
| Findings | 20% | 2,000 |
| Discussion | 20% | 2,000 |
| Conclusion | 10% | 1,000 |
A starting point only: your department or supervisor may expect a different balance.
The order to write them
- First: the literature review and methodology, often alongside your proposal and ethics application.
- Then: the findings, once your data is in, followed by the discussion.
- Last: the conclusion, introduction and abstract, when you know what the dissertation says.
Questions each chapter answers
If you’re stuck on a chapter, ask what question it has to answer for the reader:
| Chapter | The question it answers |
|---|---|
| Introduction | What is this about, and why does it matter? |
| Literature review | What do we already know, and what’s missing? |
| Methodology | How did you find out, and why that way? |
| Findings | What did you find? |
| Discussion | What does it mean, and how sure can we be? |
| Conclusion | So what is the answer, and what next? |
Common mistakes
- A literature review that lists sources. Group them by theme and say what they add up to.
- Discussing results in the findings chapter. Report first, interpret later, unless your department combines them.
- A conclusion with new material. If it’s new, it belongs in the discussion.
Plan your chapters in KanBananza
- Ten thousand words and one blank page. The ready-made Dissertation, chapter by chapter board has a card for each chapter, from the proposal to the final checks. Free
- Feedback scattered across emails. Paste your supervisor’s comments into the chapter card’s notes, so they’re there when you redraft. Free
- Three chapters open, none finished. Set a card limit on the Writing column, so you can’t start too many at once. Full Bananza
For your level
EPQ
An EPQ dissertation often follows a similar shape on a smaller scale: an introduction, a review of your research, your discussion and a conclusion, plus the production log.
Undergraduate
Check whether your department expects an empirical structure or themed chapters, and ask for an example of a good past dissertation.
Master’s and PhD
The same chapters, longer and with more weight on originality. A thesis may split the findings across several chapters.
Questions
What chapters does a dissertation have?
A typical empirical dissertation has an introduction, literature review, methodology, findings or results, discussion and conclusion. Many add an abstract, references and appendices. Some subjects, especially in the humanities, use themed chapters instead.
What order should I write the chapters in?
Not necessarily the order they appear. Many students write the literature review and methodology first, then the findings and discussion, and the introduction and abstract last, once they know what the dissertation says.
How long is each chapter?
It depends on your subject and your department’s guidance. For a 10,000-word empirical dissertation, the literature review and discussion are often the longest chapters, and the introduction and conclusion the shortest.
Is a humanities dissertation different?
Often, yes. History, English and similar subjects usually have an introduction, several chapters each making part of the argument, and a conclusion, rather than separate methods and results.
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