List the author's name, followed by a period. Their name should be ordered last name, first name and middle initial. For example, if Jed Logan Bently wrote the dissertation in question, then your citation should start out: Bently, Jed L.
Add the title and a period, followed by the word "Diss" and another period. The title should be in italics. If your word processor cannot support italics, then use an underscore sign to indicate that the title should be underlined. For example, if the title is "Leaping before Looking, Othello's Great Mistake," then your citation, thus far, should look like this: Bently, Jed L. _Leaping Before Looking: Othello's Great Mistake_. Diss.
Follow up with the name of the school that granted the degree and the year that the degree was granted. These should be separated by a comma and followed by a period. If the name of the school where the author received his degree is Purdue University and the degree was granted in 2003, then your citation should now read: Bently, Jed L. _Leaping Before Looking: Othello's Great Mistake_. Diss. Purdue University, 2003.
Add the name of the city where the dissertation was published, followed by a colon. This information should be available in the first few pages of the dissertation. For example, if the dissertation was published in West LaFayette, Indiana, then your citation should now read: Bently, Jed L. _Leaping Before Looking: Othello's Great Mistake_. Diss. Purdue University, 2003. West LaFayette:
Finish the citation with the name of the publisher and the year that the dissertation was published. The publisher's name should be followed by a comma, and the year by a period. For example, if the dissertation was published by Purdue Publishing in 2004, then your citation should read: Bently, Jed L. _Leaping Before Looking: Othello's Great Mistake_. Diss. Purdue University, 2003. West LaFayette: Purdue Publishing, 2004.