Difference between coursework and dissertation writing

Introduction

Academic writing refers to the expression or styles which is used by researchers to define limits of their expertise. In order to display a clear understanding of a particular subject, the general purpose of academic writing is to present information. Any writing which is prepared to accomplish the requirement of college or university that include any writing assignment which is given in an academic setting is called Academic writing. Some of the academic writing examples include essays, research articles, academic journal, dissertation, thesis, coursework, conference papers etc. (History of Academic Writing 2019)

Coursework writing

The term ‘coursework’ stands for a work that is set at a regular interval of time as part of an educational course. (Custom Writings Services 2019)

It is curriculum-mandated written work in which students have to do outside of normal classroom hours. Curriculum-mandated means work is divided on the basis of course unit. (Paperwritingpro.com 2019)

Coursework is a practical or written work which is done by students in the form of thesis, project or paper, extended essays, practical activities, field studies, design studies etc. as part of the course unit. For the university or school, it is an essential requirements for being given a degree and to successfully complete the course. The class instructor or teachers can assess the coursework done by students. The guidelines and practices should be monitored while writing a coursework. Each coursework have different objectives differing from one course unit to another. Experiments, parameters, themes and title of the coursework project can be designed by the teachers, or specified in the syllabus. Students need to understand the topics and concept which is presented in a form of assignments. Students need to do their work either at classroom under the controlled conditions, or as homework (Planning Tank®, 2019)

Coursework is a task that is generally given by tutors to make sure that their students don’t lag behind skill development. It is a kind of assignment in which students need to do some research or practice about the topic and they need to write after practicing about the topic. After checking the written assignments, the students will get the marks which are combined with other exams and deliver the final marks of the students. (Custom Writings Services, 2019)

Process mapping of coursework writing:-

Figure 1: Process map of coursework writing

Dissertation writing

Writing a dissertation is an extended piece of writing which is between ten to twenty thousand words which is set by the department or selected by students themselves. The main aim of writing dissertation is to produce a creative piece of research work which is based on clearly defined topic. Dissertation is an independent work in the undergraduate program. However, these terms may vary from countries and universities depending upon their guidelines. For a student, it can be the longest and difficult piece of work they have ever done.

However, it is also a rewarding piece of work, unlike coursework or other assignments, the student can choose their topic of special interest and can work on their own initiative. It requires a range of research and planning skills which will provide a great value in future career at an organization. The topic and question of dissertation writing should be focused on how student can collect necessary data within specified time for undergraduate program. Students can choose a topic that they already know something about so that they have sufficient literature research and some interest and understanding of the theory behind the topic. (Dissertation Writing 2019)

Process mapping of dissertation writing:-

Figure 2: Process map of dissertation writing

Differences

Coursework and dissertation are something that students need to write at some point in their academic life. So as a student, a thought could cross their mind that what is the use of assigning them separately. The dissertation is longer than coursework writing. Coursework is an academic paper that is used to give more information about specific subject while the dissertation is also an academic paper but use to look for a writer to come up with the new idea to generate a conclusion about specific subject matter. (Anon 2019))

Coursework writing varies from one subject to another. (Planning Tank® 2019)For example, geography coursework differs from English coursework. Whereas the former requires student to focus on collecting, reporting, examining data about geographical content whereas latter requires students to choose a title from their choice in an essay format.

On the other hand, Dissertation should always be written in the passive voice, or in the third person, for example, student might write ‘a research was carried out to test….’ However, this pattern has now moved from that fact and written in the active voice and first person, as an example student might write ‘I carried out a research to test …..’ (skillsyouneed

2019)

In dissertation, the main role of supervisor while writing dissertation is to supervise the work. They should have an interest in helping students to get the best possible marks. Some supervisor spend a lot of time to help what students are planning to do in the research and finding and some will have very little contact with students.

In contrast, unless it is a group work, students are not allowed to get help from the instructor or other students while writing coursework. An instructor can only allow to give directions on how to handle the work and pointing out the specific areas which is critically checked by the examiner at the end.

While writing dissertation, Students should use referencing by the time they start writing dissertation, summarize it and group it by themes. If student cannot find any guidelines, they should ask their supervisor or the person who will mark the dissertation. Students need to use short and simple language.

On the other hand, Coursework is an assessed work which is done during the semester that will be further counts towards the overall mark for a course unit. For example, it may be an examination, class test, homework or online test etc. Students should get the feedback and marks within certain days of the deadline date or exam date depending upon the university guidelines. The timetable of the coursework will be ready at the beginning of the semester outlining the deadlines and the necessary feedback should also be returned.

(Maths.manchester.ac.uk, 2019)

The coursework is focused for those students who don’t want wide research training and is intended to be more flexible. It involves a combination of core subjects and offers the opportunity for advanced study in a related field. In most of the coursework subjects, students will need to go to the timetabled classes.

While writing dissertation, Students need to have plenty of time to proof-read the work they have done so that they haven’t made any minor mistakes or errors. They will need to do it when they are fresh, not at night when they are tired. Students need to use formatting according to the university guidelines. Start the work into the template and start formatting.

Key Steps of writing coursework and dissertation:-

Figure 3: key steps of coursework and dissertation

Similarities

Both coursework and dissertation papers share similar structure. You will need an attentiontaking introduction, body paragraphs and a perfect supportive conclusion. Of course, there is a length constraint of the paper. The classic form of coursework writing is five paragraphs which comprise an introduction, paragraphs and a conclusion. Because dissertation paper need you to prove more depth knowledge about the content, they typically are much longer than coursework writing. Notwithstanding, both dissertation and coursework follow the similar organizational process. (Similarities Between Essays & Research Papers | Synonym 2019)

Whether it’s a coursework or dissertation, both of these style needs particular way of structuring headers, footers, reference pages, in-text citation. These formats helps to ensure consistency and help the reader to the relevant source material.

Most of the teachers would need references unless you write a personal narrative. For example, you obviously need to use the novel as a reference if you are writing an essay discussing a charac ter in a novel. To support your argument, you might also need additional source or two. Likewise, dissertation will also need the integration of several sources to support your thesis.

Whether writing dissertation or coursework, students need to get feedback from teacher or academic advisor. Both assignments require research of some kind. Both dissertation and coursework begin with an introduction, and include body paragraph and conclusion. A student has to defend both fully completed dissertation and coursework to get a certain degree. While writing dissertation or coursework, students should avoid copyright infringement.

Difference and similarities between coursework and dissertation in single image:-

Figure 4: difference and similarities between coursework and dissertation

Benefits of coursework writing

Coursework covers wide range of a topic. The writers perform extensive research from different sources available on book or internet when you go for coursework writing. Proper referencing and formatting are also needed while writing coursework. It has been seen that students get delay in completing their coursework or they complete their work when the deadlines are approaching. So, it helps to take better time management.

Benefits of dissertation writing

Dissertation is a lengthy task and consist of knowledge and ideas in which you could present to the people. In case of improving subject knowledge, it is the easiest way of research. Writing your dissertation can help you to improve your academic writing. Your mental and analytical skills can be enhanced. Communication skills can also be improved.

Challenges of coursework writing

Students make mistake by including low quality contents to their coursework subjects. If to look at the mark meaning, coursework reflects the much bigger picture. Students need to avoid unreliable and randomly chosen contents. The text should be relevant for studying course, pulling the writing context out of course will destroy the coursework.

While writing the coursework, students do not want to dive into a research part and try to skip it. In order to have a reliable content, research is what students are supposed to do and it helps to reflect the serious approach towards writing the coursework.

Making grammar and spelling mistake is one of the worst thing while writing academic coursework. It is better to waste some time before forwarding the paper to the professors than to lose your grade and reputation by creating typos and text errors.

It does not matter if it’s wrong or right, for example, a citation or bibliography in the wrong format, can automatically lower your grade. Tutors always expect the same formatting. So make sure that you know all the rules of formatting and citation.

Challenges of dissertation writing

Dissertation need to be original and can able to find findings and information, which create debates and discussion. (Lifesaver Essays 2019)

Many students may find hard to come up with the thesis statement. What they need to remember is that researchers should escape selecting topic which is too lame and general. Statement should be discrete, specific.

A dissertation need an extensive literature review of existing knowledge which is based on research evidence. You need to look up many sources and set all the information in an organized and cohesive way.

Time management is another issue, which is faced by many students. Many students do not plan their research so that they end up in a state of panic. So you need to plan your work and make a schedule.

Get help from other if you are finding difficult to motivate yourself.

Conclusion

Hence, Students must at some stage in their academic life write coursework and dissertation. A student may think of the way they are allocated differently as a student. The dissertation is longer than the reading of the lectures. Courses are an academic paper which offers more information on specific topics while the thesis is also an academic paper, which is used to find an author for the new idea to reach a conclusion on specific topics.

References 12

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