{"id":1571,"date":"2026-05-07T16:37:40","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T15:37:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/?p=1571"},"modified":"2026-05-08T11:31:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T10:31:23","slug":"writing-your-dissertation-choosing-a-topic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/2026\/05\/07\/writing-your-dissertation-choosing-a-topic\/","title":{"rendered":"Writing your dissertation: Choosing a topic"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>One of the biggest challenges when getting started on your dissertation can be choosing a suitable topic. If you're lucky, you may have a clear idea of what you wish to write about. But often, it's a lot more complicated than that and your search may seem daunting and overwhelming.<\/p>\n<p>This brief guide will help you find a suitable topic for your dissertation.<\/p>\n<h2>Think carefully about your own interests<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>What topics during your studies have you found most interesting?<\/li>\n<li>Is there a particular area that is linked directly to your future career aspirations?<\/li>\n<li>Is there a topic you find straightforward and feel confident about?<\/li>\n<li>Is there an area you wish to explore in more depth?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Talk to your classmates<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Find out what topics they're investigating and considering. Does this spark your interest?<\/li>\n<li>Discuss your ideas and choices with them, and find out what they think. Have they encountered any problems?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Their questions and feedback may help you decide if your choice is any good, or help you sharpen your focus.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Check out past dissertations in the library (available online)<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Look at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bath.ac.uk\/guides\/finding-dissertations-and-theses\/\">titles of research papers in your subject<\/a> and read the abstracts of those you find most interesting. This may inspire some ideas for where you could take your research.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Look for controversies and\/or topics that you've been sceptical about<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Is there something in your course that has sparked debate and argument? It's often the case that controversial issues generate significant amounts of research, and so such topics are ripe for investigation with plenty of supporting evidence.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Create a shortlist and generate some provisional research questions<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>These questions can range from simple definition and explanations to more complex critical and evaluative types. Do some initial digging and you may find that one or two of these questions become the actual research questions(s) you use for your dissertation.<\/p>\n<p>For more guidance on research questions, <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/2025\/05\/19\/writing-your-dissertation-research\/\">read this related blog post<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Choose a topic with sufficient, relevant and up-to-date resources<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>It's vital that you're able to fully support your research with evidence - academic papers, data and stats, studies, theories, arguments, positions, and experimental development. If you find it difficult to locate related and relevant sources, then you may be heading down a dead end and you should consider another topic.<\/p>\n<h2>Related blog posts<\/h2>\n<p>We have a number of blog posts about writing your dissertation. Make sure you check these out so that you're ready to get started:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/2025\/05\/21\/writing-your-dissertation-making-an-action-plan-2\/\">Making an action plan<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/2025\/05\/21\/writing-your-dissertation-working-with-your-supervisor-2\/\">Working with your supervisor<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/2025\/05\/21\/writing-your-dissertation-literature-reviews\/\">Literature reviews<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/2025\/05\/19\/writing-your-dissertation-research\/\">Research (developing your research question, creating your working title and developing your research proposal)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/2020\/07\/07\/writing-your-dissertations-structure-and-sections\/\">Structuring your dissertation (including contents, sections, and designing an effective structure)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/2020\/07\/07\/writing-an-abstract-a-six-point-checklist-with-samples\/\">Writing an abstract - a six point checklist<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Further support<\/h2>\n<p>If you'd like some further support on writing your dissertation, we offer 1:1 tutorials both online and in-person. Tutorials are available throughout the summer, and slots become available 14 days in advance. <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/2026\/05\/05\/writing-your-dissertation-tutorials-that-make-sense\/\">Find out more about dissertation tutorials<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of the biggest challenges when getting started on your dissertation can be choosing a suitable topic. If you're lucky, you may have a clear idea of what you wish to write about. But often, it's a lot more complicated...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1962,"featured_media":1580,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[90,50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1571","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-writing","category-dissertations"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2025\/05\/Writing-your-dissertation_Choosing-a-topic-1.png","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1579,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/2026\/05\/01\/writing-your-dissertation-literature-reviews\/","url_meta":{"origin":1571,"position":0},"title":"Writing your dissertation: Literature reviews","author":"Kyra Ings","date":"May 1, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"A literature review is designed to demonstrate your knowledge and\u00a0understanding of the academic literature on a specific topic.\u00a0 A literature review also includes a\u00a0critical evaluation of the material. The three main objectives of a literature review are to: Identify and examine relevant research, theories and evidence Conduct a critical evaluation\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Academic writing&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Academic writing","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/category\/academic-skills\/academic-writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A tree with leaves featuring names of different dissertation topics. A cloud and a squirrel holding a banner that says 'Literature reviews'","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2025\/05\/Writing-your-dissertation_Literature-reviews.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2025\/05\/Writing-your-dissertation_Literature-reviews.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2025\/05\/Writing-your-dissertation_Literature-reviews.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2025\/05\/Writing-your-dissertation_Literature-reviews.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1079,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/2023\/10\/02\/navigating-the-dissertation-process-my-tips-for-final-years\/","url_meta":{"origin":1571,"position":1},"title":"Navigating the dissertation process: my tips for final years","author":"Vanda Sigel","date":"October 2, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Imagine for a moment... After months of hard work and research on a topic you're passionate about, the time has finally come to click the 'Submit' button on your dissertation. You've just completed your longest project to date as part of your undergraduate degree. The weight of your efforts suddenly\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Academic skills&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Academic skills","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/category\/academic-skills\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Vanda Sigel and another HSS student working on laptops.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2023\/10\/Vanda-Sigel-2-800x450-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2023\/10\/Vanda-Sigel-2-800x450-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2023\/10\/Vanda-Sigel-2-800x450-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2023\/10\/Vanda-Sigel-2-800x450-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1577,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/2026\/04\/30\/writing-your-dissertation-working-with-your-supervisor-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":1571,"position":2},"title":"Writing your dissertation: Working with your supervisor","author":"Kyra Ings","date":"April 30, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Before you begin your dissertation, it's highly likely you'll be assigned a supervisor to oversee your progress from first steps to completion. Your supervisor will help you formulate ideas and give you guidance on how best to develop your research topic and course of action. But you need to always\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Academic writing&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Academic writing","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/category\/academic-skills\/academic-writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A tree with leaves featuring names of different dissertation topics. A cloud and a squirrel holding a banner that says 'Working with your supervisor'","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2025\/05\/Writing-your-dissertation_Working-with-your-supervisor-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2025\/05\/Writing-your-dissertation_Working-with-your-supervisor-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2025\/05\/Writing-your-dissertation_Working-with-your-supervisor-1.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2025\/05\/Writing-your-dissertation_Working-with-your-supervisor-1.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1585,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/2026\/04\/25\/writing-your-dissertation-research\/","url_meta":{"origin":1571,"position":3},"title":"Writing your dissertation: Research","author":"Kyra Ings","date":"April 25, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Developing a research question When you have selected your research topic, the next stage of the process is to sharpen, refine and define your topic, and identify a specific problem that is worthy of investigation. Here you need to set out: The issue that you will investigate and why it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Academic writing&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Academic writing","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/category\/academic-skills\/academic-writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A tree with leaves featuring names of different dissertation topics. A cloud and a squirrel holding a banner that says 'Research'","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2025\/05\/Writing-your-dissertation_Research.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2025\/05\/Writing-your-dissertation_Research.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2025\/05\/Writing-your-dissertation_Research.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2025\/05\/Writing-your-dissertation_Research.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1575,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/2026\/04\/28\/writing-your-dissertation-making-an-action-plan-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":1571,"position":4},"title":"Writing your dissertation: Making an action plan","author":"Kyra Ings","date":"April 28, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Every successfully completed dissertation begins with a practical and workable action plan. An action plan is a vital tool to help you stay focused, on track, and motivated. It's highly likely your supervisor will ask you to make a plan, so that they can advise on time frames, targets, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Academic writing&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Academic writing","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/category\/academic-skills\/academic-writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A tree with leaves featuring names of different dissertation topics. A cloud and a squirrel holding a banner that says 'Making an action plan'","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2025\/05\/Writing-your-dissertation_Making-an-action-plan-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2025\/05\/Writing-your-dissertation_Making-an-action-plan-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2025\/05\/Writing-your-dissertation_Making-an-action-plan-1.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2025\/05\/Writing-your-dissertation_Making-an-action-plan-1.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":462,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/2026\/05\/03\/writing-your-dissertations-structure-and-sections\/","url_meta":{"origin":1571,"position":5},"title":"Writing your dissertation: Structure and sections","author":"Tom Reid","date":"May 3, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"In this post, we look at the structural elements of a typical dissertation. A well-structured dissertation should be enjoyable to read. It should be logical and coherent, and your argument or line of reasoning should be convincing and easy to follow. Of course, this is easier said than done, so\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Academic writing&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Academic writing","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/category\/academic-skills\/academic-writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A tree with leaves featuring names of different dissertation topics. A cloud and a squirrel holding a banner that says 'Structure'","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2020\/07\/Writing-your-dissertation_Structure.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2020\/07\/Writing-your-dissertation_Structure.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2020\/07\/Writing-your-dissertation_Structure.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/84\/2020\/07\/Writing-your-dissertation_Structure.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1571","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1962"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1571"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1571\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/academic-and-employability-skills\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}