Setting the Tone of Your Dissertation

Many factors can affect the quality and acceptance of a doctoral candidate’s dissertation. Among these factors are matters of literary voice, literary person and time tense. Contradictions within these topics can make the dissertation confusing and difficult to read. Paying close attention to these issues will give the doctoral candidate an edge in gaining approval for their dissertation.

Establishing Your Voice

A dissertation’s voice refers to the sentence construction utilized throughout the document. There are two basic voice forms: passive and active. Which voice is appropriate for the dissertation depends primarily on the audience and industry involved. In non-scientific matters, use of the active voice is preferred; in scientific matters, passive voice is highly favored.

Who’s on First?

In a formal dissertation, the question of personage can be confusing. As a general rule, first and second person have no place in a dissertation. When self-reference or content-reference is necessary, it should be phrased as a pointer to the relevant information, as in “Chapter 2 contains…”

The Royal “We”

As a rule, the word we should be avoided, in part due to the question of personage and in part due to the vagueness of the word. Does it mean we as in the reader and author, the author and his or her advisor, the research team, some other unspecified group? The rule in dissertations is clarity and specific references. For the most part, only the Queen of England can get away with the line “we are not amused.”

Establishing Time Tense

Dissertations should be written in the present tense. Exceptions to this are direct references to historical events or anticipated future events. Particular caution should be taken to avoid mixing time tense words and phrases unless comparing a past condition or vent to a present condition or event.