Sorry for the lack
of engagement recently, but I have been more distracted than I ever thought
possible. By the BIG D! Now get your mind out of the gutter, and focus.
Dissertations are over for some, and just beginning for others.
Now, don’t get me
wrong, the dissertation will be your worst nightmare. It will haunt your
dreams, you will see words at the bottom of every glass of wine, every shot
glass lifted to your lips will have your supervisors face staring up at you,
every morning after cup of coffee will be laced with academic references
scorning you, as your only thoughts are caffeine and a hopefulness that there
is no photographic evidence from the previous night.
Although a
dissertation is the work of the devil, it is possible to keep up a part time
job, decent grades, a social life, a boyfriend (or girlfriend) and some contact with the
outside world. All of these will be a little bit compromised but it can work I
promise you! Here are my top dissertation tips (that are guaranteed to get you
at least 65%). However, now that I have frightened the bejeebus out of you it
is time to tell you that this will also become your most prized possession, the most important
thing you will have ever done in your life so far (unless you have done
something else that really is the most important thing in your life).
1. This
is by far the most sensible tip, and will really make a difference to the whole
dissertation process - Write a little bit EVERYDAY. Even just a sentence, I
can’t even begin to tell you how much of a difference it will make. Mostly,
because it will keep the guilt of not writing at bay, and it will make the
whole thing seem slightly less arduous.
2. Make a
rough schedule - I made a monthly one of
where I wanted to be in the process per month. Our hand in date was at the end
of May, you will want a week at the end for printing, binding and handing in. My rough plan would be like this (obviously this will depend your university hand in dates):
September - Generate ideas, meet supervisor, format
October - Plan aims and objectives
November - Hand in proposal
December - Draft Lit Review
January - Review literature and write Methodology
February - Data collection
March - Analyse data and write Discussion
April - Write conclusions, proof read, references and appendices in order
May - Print!
June - CELEBRATE!
3.DO NOT underestimate the cost of printing - it cost me £30 roughly to print 65 pages in colour, and I then printed a black and white back up...
4. ... ALWAYS back up!
5. Don't read everything - Read a lot, you will need to read a lot, we were told we would read over 40 books, this doesn't mean you read cover to cover, this means you find relevant bits and put them in. (Common sense I know but you might forget this during the panic).
6. Don't worry about anyone else! - It doesn't matter what topic anyone else is doing, when they finish, what mark they get, what their opinion of their supervisor, or what their supervisors opinion of them is! This is your thing, it is your baby, and it is your mark. Don't let anyone else, friend or foe put you off!
7. Format before you do anything else - if you format at the beginning you will make it so much easier for yourself. Your contents will be self updating, your pages will automatically sort themselves out into a coherent order, and your front matter will be correctly roman numeral-ed.
8. Everyone hates their discussion - so don't panic. When you get to your discussion you will lose the will to live, you may feel completely lost but don't worry, eventually you will get to the conclusion and that is the best part ever!!
So overall, don't panic, enjoy it, and GOOD LUCK! If you have any dissertation top tips please share :)
