Where To Get Good Examples Of Dissertation Acknowledgements

When you have so many other parts of your dissertation writing to worry about, you may not think that the acknowledgements section is very important, or even that you should have one. On the contrary, it’s an important section and is expected to be there. It goes without saying that a dissertation is such a huge undertaking it’s normal to have several people who have helped you along the way. This section is to acknowledge and thank them.

There are a couple of good ideas of where to look for good examples. Here are the 2 best:

• Read the dissertations written by previous students in your faculty and see what they wrote for their acknowledgement. You might find a few different styles are being used, so look through a few of them before you decide which you like best. Also, check and see if your supervisor has given you any specific guidelines to follow before you start writing yours.


• Search online for examples. These are given freely at most sites, especially college and university sites that post tutorials for students to use. You can also find examples online through writing agencies. Some come at a cost and others are given freely. You will have to search and see what comes up. Always use examples that come from trustworthy sites, such as .edu which indicates an educational institution.

You will want to find the perfect balance between thanking everyone who made a meaningful or significant contribution and the politics of including everyone you’re expected to include. There is also the option of using a dedication page so that someone who didn’t necessarily help with you in your dissertation journey but did inspire you along the way won’t be neglected or forgotten.

Some writers opt to list the names in the acknowledgements while others choose to write a sentence about each person’s name, identifying the type of assistance they gave.

Some universities have a dissertation repository or archive where you can find previously published papers to browse through. The format for acknowledgements hasn’t changed significantly over the past few years but it’s probably better to use more recent examples than to go too far back in time.

The acknowledgement section will contain your personal feelings or gratitude of what others have done to contribute to your success in doing the research and writing this paper, which is considered the crowning culmination of your time in academics.