Deciding to further your studies and actually writing your dissertation are two different things entirely. Writing a dissertation takes long-term commitment and dedication. If you think about it, any of your undergraduate coursework gets done within a semester or two at the most. A dissertation, on the other hand, takes up to three years to write.
Only when you finish it all up can you truly appreciate the road that you were on. Seeing that this is a daunting task to take on, you would be wise to stock up on some tools that will make your life a bit easier. You could use dissertation help online in the UK or check out the software below.
Scrivener
If ever you have tackled a long piece of writing, you would have probably been hit by page fright. You cannot begin to think where you need to start and how to pen all your ideas down. The sheer weight of the task that is set before you seem impossible to complete. That is until you discover Scrivener.
Scrivener is the single most useful word processing software that you will ever encounter. This is not just any word processor. Scrivener is basically your brain on a screen. It doesn't matter in which order you write your ideas down, as long as you get your stream of consciousness down on paper, Scrivener can help you get everything in order.
Instead of having multiple apps open at the same time, you can customize the layout of your workspace and view everything from scanned notes to PDF files and your dissertation on one screen.
Mendeley
If you have ever attended a postgraduate lecture before, you would probably have heard the lectures implore you to read as much as possible. Mendeley is the tool you need to put everything in order so you can actually remember where you found information, or at least track down where you found it.
Using Mendeley is as easy as browsing for college essays for sale. You can even get thesis, dissertation, term papers and other writing help from online writing services.
Mendeley acts like the super mall for resources that you need for your dissertation. Not only can you organize your resources, but it also allows you to access research that is relevant to your topic.
The service is cloud-based, so you have all your material with you at all times. Mendeley also has a browser extension that allows you to import directly from your browser. If that is not enough, it is also a social networking platform where thousands of researchers connect and share.
Ref-n-Write
Any researcher will tell you what a pain it is to continuously check if the register of their writing is academic enough. Writers who are not native English speakers often find it difficult to get the message across in clear and grammatically correct language. This is where Ref-n-Write comes in.
This app acts as an add-in for Microsoft Word and is used to check your writing style. It is preloaded with over 20 000 academic phrases that are frequently used. If there is a particular style that you prefer, you can always import that document and the app will sync your document to match the uploaded file's register and tone.
This app is designed to help you communicate clearly and make suggestions as you go along. Whether you are a new writer or a seasoned academic, Ref-n-Write will help you to improve on your writing and editing skills.
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Grammarly
If you thought you could rely on a normal spell checker, then you have to read Ode to a Spell Checker. There are so many errors that can slip into your writing and the reason why they do is that writing a dissertation takes so long.
More importantly, though, it is made up of a number of writing sessions and some of these sessions can be super long. It is then understandable for errors to creep in.
You could go and re-read the last five-page that you penned, but that would not be efficient in your already tight schedule. Grammarly does it all on the fly, it points out grammar, spelling, punctuation, context and inappropriate colloquialisms and even incorrect use of the passive voice.
The best feature though has to be the plagiarism checker. With the premium version of Grammarly, your work is cross-referenced with text from over 16 billion web-pages to ensure that everything you write is authentic.
Endnote
Like Scrivener is the King of word processors for academics, so Endnote is the Mother of all referencing software. No one that writes a dissertation should go without this handy and powerful tool. Especially not when universities don't take too kindly to students who plagiarize.
There are so many referencing styles out there and your institution might be partial to a particular one. Endnote makes it easy to convert references from one style to another.
Using the site while you write feature instantly builds your bibliography at the end of your dissertation. If you happen to lose all your references, no need to fret as they also have a cloud service where you can store everything.
Conclusion
If you are going to write your dissertation, then you need all the help you are going to get. It is a long and sometimes lonely road, but with these tools, you will stay motivated and even come across people who are in the same boat as you.
Apart from the time that it takes to write a dissertation, it also takes tremendous skill and planning to get the job done. Time is often in short supply, so it would only make sense to set yourself up with the tools that will lighten the load.
Author Bio:
Michael Turner is an academic writing expert working as a mentor and consultant for various writing services and tech startups. His main area of work includes academic writing, creative writing and resume writing. In his free time, he loves to read fiction, watch TV and play outdoor games.