Dissertation outline with chapters, sections and word counts
A blank document and a 12,000-word target is the hardest part of a dissertation. Give your todo.is agent your topic, research question and your university's rules, and this prompt builds a chapter-by-chapter outline with word counts, what each section must answer, and a writing schedule up to your deadline.
The prompt
- Create a dissertation outline. Degree and subject: [DEGREE AND SUBJECT]. Topic and research question: [TOPIC AND QUESTION]. Method: [METHOD]. Total length: [WORD COUNT]. Deadline: [DEADLINE]. Follow my department's handbook if I attach it: [HANDBOOK]. For each chapter give: the sections and sub-sections, a word count, 2 to 4 questions that section must answer, and the sources or data it will need. Add a weekly writing schedule from today to the deadline with time for supervisor feedback and editing. Find 6 to 8 recent, relevant academic sources with links I can start from (I will check them). Deliver it as a Word document I can write straight into, with the headings already in place.
What to change
- [DEGREE AND SUBJECT]: e.g. "BA Psychology", "MSc Marketing", "MA Education".
- [TOPIC AND QUESTION]: e.g. "remote work and team trust: how do hybrid teams build trust without daily contact?".
- [METHOD]: e.g. "semi-structured interviews with 12 managers", "survey", "secondary data", "literature-based".
- [WORD COUNT]: e.g. "12,000 words excluding references and appendices".
- [DEADLINE]: e.g. "28 April".
- [HANDBOOK]: Attach the handbook or marking criteria, or write "no handbook".
Example result
- Dissertation outline
- MSc Management · "How do hybrid teams build trust without daily contact?" · qualitative, 12 interviews · 12,000 words
- 1. Introduction (1,200 words)
- • 1.1 Background: the shift to hybrid work since 2020
- • 1.2 Problem: trust research assumes regular face-to-face contact
- • 1.3 Research question and 3 objectives
- • 1.4 Structure of the dissertation
- • *Must answer:* Why does this matter now? What exactly will you find out?
- 2. Literature review (3,300 words)
- • 2.1 Defining trust in teams (cognitive vs affective trust)
- • 2.2 Trust in virtual and remote teams
- • 2.3 What changes in hybrid settings
- • 2.4 Gap: little qualitative work on managers' practices
- • *Must answer:* What do we know, where do studies disagree, and what is missing?
- 3. Methodology (2,000 words)
- • 3.1 Research philosophy and approach (interpretivist, inductive)
- • 3.2 Sampling: 12 managers of hybrid teams, recruitment
- • 3.3 Semi-structured interviews and question guide
- • 3.4 Thematic analysis steps
- • 3.5 Ethics, consent and data storage
- • 3.6 Limitations of the design
- 4. Findings (2,500 words)
- • One section per main theme (expect 3 to 4), with quotes
- • *Must answer:* What did participants say, in their own words?
- 5. Discussion (2,000 words)
- • Compare each theme with the literature in chapter 2
- • Practical implications for managers
- 6. Conclusion (1,000 words)
- • Answer to the research question, contribution, limitations, future research
- Writing schedule (sample weeks)
- • Weeks 1 to 3: literature review draft
- • Weeks 4 to 5: ethics approval, interview guide, recruit participants
- • Weeks 6 to 8: interviews and transcription
- • Weeks 9 to 11: analysis and findings
- • Week 12: discussion and conclusion; send full draft to supervisor
- • Weeks 13 to 14: revisions, references, proofreading
How to do it with todo.is
- Fill in your degree, topic, method, word count and deadline, and attach the handbook if you have one.
- Send it to your todo.is agent from the Today screen or by email.
- You get a Word file with all headings in place, word counts, guiding questions and a weekly schedule.
- Turn the schedule into a recurring to-do: "every Monday at 9, tell me this week's dissertation goal on WhatsApp".
Tips for a better result
- Take the outline to your supervisor early. Agreeing on the structure saves big rewrites later.
- Word counts vary by method. Empirical dissertations need more space for methods and findings; library-based ones put more into analysis.
- Check every suggested source yourself and read it before citing. Never cite a paper you have not opened.
- Follow your university's AI policy. An outline and a plan are usually fine; the writing must be your own.
dissertation outline: FAQ
- How many chapters does a dissertation have? Usually five or six: introduction, literature review, methodology, findings or results, discussion and conclusion. Some subjects combine findings and discussion.
- How long should a literature review be in a dissertation? Often about 25 to 30% of the total, so around 3,000 words in a 12,000-word dissertation. Your handbook may say otherwise.
- Can it outline a PhD thesis? Yes. Give the total length, the papers or studies it includes, and your structure (monograph or thesis by publication), and it adjusts the chapters.
- Does it find real sources? It searches the web and scholarly sites and gives links. Open each one, check it is relevant and peer-reviewed, and cite it only after reading it.
JavaScript is required to use the todo.is app.