OUGD401 | Study task 6

The dissertations I have chosen to analyse are the following -

"How does Ikea sell the idea of "home" to the masses?" 
"The role of self-set projects within a progressive graphic design practice"
"Is Print Still Relevant within the Digital Age"

I am going to analyse the written form as well as -
-punctuation
-grammar
-tone-of-voice
-referencing
-vocabulary

What I first notice about the structure of each is that it is split into clear sections including contents page, introduction, chapters (main body), conclusion, image references (all in one section rather than in the essay) a bibliography broken down into sources e.g. websites and appendices. The order of this varies between dissertations. The introduction tends to explain the structure of the essay and how this will form an argument to ultimately answer the question. Infact, the answer to the question is vaguely given in the introduction e.g This essay argues that - preliminary answer to question - .

The tone-of-voice is interesting in that each chapter begins with a descriptor of the chapter "This is what this this chapter will discuss...". Similarly in the introduction "This piece of writing will discuss...". However, there is no mention of 'me' or 'I', instead each essay is written in third person 'he' 'she' 'they' 'one' and 'it'.

Within the text, if a sources name has already been mentioned, quotes are referenced with the date and page number within brackets e.g. (2010, P.4), others do not list the page number, just the date. Otherwise the name is give e.g. (Olins, 2007, P.30). Longer quotes are indented in their own paragraph whereas smaller quotes or words lie within the text. Interestingly, some quotes begin mid-sentence and so the quote begins with an ellipsis (...) . Reference names within the text are italicised.

I was very interested in the method of research which was listed within the appendices - interviews. I feel that this is a source that I had not considered as a form of research for my written work. I plan to use this for future essays if appropriate.