A dissertation is an exposition of a particular topic.
Dissertation is a concept that derives from the Latin word dissertatio . The term refers to the act and result of speaking : exposing a topic in a methodical and detailed manner.
Some examples
Let's see the term in context with the help of some example sentences: “The Minister of Economy's speech was followed very closely by the deputies,” “When the coach began his speech, no journalist knew what he was going to say.” " , "A renowned endocrinologist will give a lecture on hypothyroidism tomorrow at the municipal hospital ."
In these three cases, we can clearly see that a dissertation is done on a particular topic, with a high degree of knowledge and preparation. This is not a spontaneous exhibition , but one that is carefully prepared, reviewed and presented to an audience that will find it interesting or necessary. This is also important: the dissertation is done in an environment related to the topic, as opposed to a free topic presentation in an educational center.
An oral presentation
The idea of a dissertation is usually associated with an oral presentation . The speaker shares his or her reasoning about an issue, provides arguments, or tries to educate listeners.
Depending on the context, however, the notion can refer to certain specific practices. In the French educational system, to mention one case, a dissertation is an exercise that consists of answering, by appealing to arguments, a question posed by a certain problem. In some cases, the speaker must also present his or her conclusions .
Conference, colloquium or class
The dissertation, on the other hand, can be a lecture , a colloquium , or a class . The presentation can be accompanied by audiovisual or graphic resources to reinforce the transmission of knowledge, although oratory is the main element.
Broadly speaking, for the dissertation to be successful as a communicative process (that is, for the objectives set by the speaker to be met), it is necessary to prepare it correctly. Planning has to be structured around three questions: why? (what is the purpose), for whom? (what is the target audience) and how? (how the goal is intended to be achieved).
How to write a dissertation
Since the dissertation has to be based on reliable information, which the presenter can defend with his own knowledge and thorough prior research, the preparation process must follow a solid structure . We do not always find a receptive audience that accepts our points of view and arguments with total openness, but sometimes we are forced to complement the material with certain statements that add weight to it, that validate it, and we must anticipate all of this.
The structure of the dissertation should include an introduction, development, and conclusion.
Above we talked about the three key questions to start the work, and precisely the second allows us to know who will receive our dissertation. Regarding the content , the first step is to choose the topic, as well as the main thesis that we will defend in front of the public. By investigating and documenting ourselves appropriately, we will be able to find information that is related to the topic, that is very complete, that is accurate, reliable and up to date. This last point is of special importance, since knowledge is constantly updated.
With all this we can move on to organize the information as necessary, respecting chronology or any other relevant criteria. When writing the dissertation we must respect a basic structure: the introduction, where we define the chosen topic; its development, where we must present a minimum of three arguments for its defense; the conclusion, where we can take the opportunity to emphasize the most important points to reinforce its impact on the public.