The acknowledgements in a dissertation show your gratitude and gratefulness to academic guides and teachers who helped you during your dissertation work. Since writing acknowledgements is tricky and requires certain knowledge regarding tone and addressing, this blog is going to explore the relevant steps and stages.
The acknowledgement section in a dissertation is a personal yet formal thank-you section, expressing gratitude to advisors, project guides, peers, head of the department, family members, colleagues and friends for their constant support. You can use a first-person style to convey your respect and appreciation. It is one of the standard academic practices to thank professionals who contributed to the research and project completion. On the other hand, it also helps develop personal and professional relationships, as well as a sense of community in the academic sphere.
In this blog, we will provide a comprehensive understanding of the optimum acknowledgement format for a dissertation and how to write an acknowledgement for a dissertation.
Who Should You Acknowledge in Your Dissertation?
Here are some of the key personalities whom you can acknowledge in your dissertation.
Academic Support
For the academic support, you can acknowledge the guidance of the following personalities:
- Peers and collaborators
- Professors and dissertation supervisor.
- Institutions and funding bodies.
- Lab head, technicians and research assistants.
Personal Support
For this, you can acknowledge the emotional guidance you received during your dissertation or thesis.
- Practical and emotional support from family and friends.
- Children, partners and pets, providing emotional encouragement.
- Anyone specific (neighbours, internet friend, motivational speaker and others) inspiring during the research.
Step-by-Step Guide: How to Write an Acknowledgement for a Dissertation
As you’re now aware of the importance of acknowledgements in a dissertation, you must know the steps you need to follow to properly and professionally acknowledge the emotional support and academic guidance you received to improve the quality of your dissertation.
Step 1: Start with Academic Contributors
First, acknowledge your indebtedness to your academic advisors and teachers/professors, as you received first-hand guidance from them. Their contributions in collecting primary or secondary (or both) data, identifying research participants and data analysis shape the quality of dissertations, as well as their academic value.
Step 2: Include Funding/Institutional Support
Now, the acknowledgement format in a dissertation should also include your institution, based on their facilities and arrangements, generating long-term support for your academic work. You need to acknowledge your institution for its long-term support. In this regard, you can prioritise three different types of facilities that are mostly provided by institutions.
Funding, helping you to not only earn your bread but valuable for academic programmes (e.g., using paid software, tuition fees).
Well-equipped laboratories, ensuring research programmes and spontaneous resource allocation.
Symposiums and conferences, arranged by institutions, foster the exchange of ideas and thoughts, which improve your theoretical knowledge and critical thinking.
Step 3: Add Personal Thanks
Dissertation acknowledgements hold a special place for personal guidance as well, and you can acknowledge the emotional support and wholehearted guidance you received from your family and friends. In this regard, you can also mention your pet’s name or any celebrated personalities whose words or actions influenced your dissertation work.
Step 4: Keep Tone Respectful
Remember, as the dissertation and its academic consequences impact your career-based activities and programmes, keep the tone respectful and professional to avoid any drawbacks. Moreover, make your acknowledgement to the point and brief, as overly emotional words and expressions may affect the scholarly values of your dissertation. You can convey your sincerity with appreciation and warmth, while your modesty will help you maintain a professional boundary.
Step 5: Proofread for Clarity, Spelling of Names and Order
Do not forget to double-check your acknowledgements and spellings before submitting, whether you have followed the acknowledgement format for the dissertation. You must use correct titles and well-structured paragraphs to ensure better readability. Moreover, write the acknowledgement for your dissertation on a single page and keep it concise.
| Steps | Key Requirements | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Thanking Academic Contributors |
| I want to convey my gratitude and regards to my professor, Dr. George Williams, for his support and academic guidance. |
| Acknowledging Institutional Support |
| I am grateful to the management of the University of Edinburgh for ensuring adequate lab facilities and funding. |
| Personal Thanks |
| I am grateful to my brother and dog, Sherry, for their emotional support and encouragement throughout the research work. |
| Respectful Tone and Clarity |
| I sincerely thank my research guide and lab assistant for helping me collect relevant data and analyse it to procure numerous insights. |
Table 1: Steps to Write A Dissertation Acknowledgement With Key Requirements and Examples
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Structure and Tone of Acknowledgements
Your professional approach and tone make an acknowledgement sound and effective. Here you can find some key information about your tone and structure.
Formal vs. Informal Balance
At the beginning of your dissertation, you must thank the academic staff, supervisors, and institutional committee members, and it must be specific, clear and appreciative, mentioning their individual contributions to your dissertation. Secondly, you need to convey your gratitude to personal acquaintances, including friends and family, in an informal approach.
First-person vs. Third-person Writing
Not only professional language, your approach should also address the academic members in the first person. It makes your tone more professional and respectful, and reflects your gratitude without any false or pretentious manner.
Length Guidelines
Remember, a lengthy acknowledgement might dilute your thanksgiving message, and the faculty expertise might find it boring as well.
Keep your acknowledgement right above the abstract and do not write more than a single page to ensure the impact and focus.
This is not a story of academic struggles or personal sacrifices. So, do not make it too long by adding unnecessary information.
Note: Here are some examples of good opening and closing sentences for acknowledgements.
| Opening Sentence(s) |
|
| Closing Sentence(s) |
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Table 2: Examples of Opening and Closing Sentences in Dissertation Acknowledgements
Dos and Don’ts of Dissertation Acknowledgement
As this section is a pivotal part of your dissertation, you must know the dos and don’ts while writing acknowledgements.
| Dos(s) | Don’ts |
|
|
Table 3: Dos and Don’ts: Writing Acknowledgement in Your Dissertation
Dissertation Acknowledgement Samples
Example 1: Formal and Professional
Firstly, my regards go to Dr. John Smith and Dr. Kevin Jones for their professional endeavours to keep the laboratories safe and sound. Apart from them, I also want to thank the lab staff and assistants for their support and engagement.
Example 2: Mixed Personal+Professional
At the very beginning, I want to thank Professor Dr. Ethane Wilson (Department of Astrophysics, University of Edinburgh) for his encouragement, support and professional engagement that helped me to experience the best outcomes of my research. I am also grateful to my father for his emotional guidance and support, which kept me active and engaged.
In Summary
This blog talks in detail about the process of writing acknowledgements, required to be in first person and formal language. You can acknowledge not only the contribution of professionals, but also your friends and family, for their contribution. It is ideal to write acknowledgements on one page and maintain a respectful voice, as well. You can follow the dissertation acknowledgement samples given in the blog to acknowledge your guide, family and friends.
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Frequently Asked Questions
In the acknowledgement section of your dissertation, you are expected to convey your regards and appreciation for teachers, staff, research board members and others who helped you to conduct your research.
Yes, your approach and language must be professional, while in cases you can use a mixed approach, thanking not only the academic persons but also the personal supports, including parents, friends or pets.
Put the acknowledgement section at the beginning of your dissertation, just after the title page.
The acknowledgement should be within 1 page, and the message must be clear and concise.
