LAW DISSERTATION STRUCTURE
The structure of a law dissertation is quite similar to a report.
Although it will depend very much on what you are presenting, the following is an acceptable structure for a law dissertation
Project Structure
| Title/question | Content | Word limit |
| Introduction | Your introduction should explain:
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As a general guide an introduction should not normally utilise more than 10% of your word limit. |
| Main body | You can and should break this down into chapters/sections appropriate for the topic of your Project.
Use headings to organise your Project.
Indicate the headings you will use and a brief synopsis of the content under each heading.
All Projects will involve some element of description but in order to achieve a higher mark your Project should demonstrate critical analysis/reasoning perhaps comparison and this requires depth of understanding, going beyond just description.
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In your Research Plan and Project Structure you should Indicate the amount of words that you will allocate to each heading as some may be more detailed than others.
Top tip: it is better to allocate more words to a chapter involving critical analysis than to a chapter which is predominately or completely descriptive.
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| Conclusion | Your conclusion should not introduce anything new!
This is where you should summarise your argument and main themes, state your general conclusions and try to make clear how those conclusions are important or significant.
Top Tip: remember to link back to your Project title.
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As a general guide a conclusion should not normally utilise more than 10% of your word limit. |
| Bibliography | Make sure to list all of the primary and secondary sources that formed part of your research – even if you read it but didn’t refer to it in the Project.
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