Dissertation Advice The Tutors Don't Tell You

Dissertations always feel like a scary piece of work that near enough most university students will have to do in their final year. Some of you are probably starting to plan your dissertations now, writing proposals for next term, starting to write it or even finished. I thought now was the perfect time to do a blog post on some of my own personal advice and tips that I learnt when I wrote my own dissertation last semester. Some of these you may already know but they could be that reassurance or comfort that you need to keep you motivated as believe me I've been there and I wish at times there was a post like this to reassure me at the time. I hope these help and good luck to you all!

1. Set your goals: Setting yourself daily goals on what you want to write about or how many words you want to achieve is definitely something to consider. Dissertations can get overwhelming at times especially if like me you constantly changed your topic so you were always trying to settle on something new to write about. The night before I was going to write some of my dissertations I would bullet point all the things I wanted to write about for the next day and it wasn't hundreds of bullet points either. The earlier you start it the longer you have which automatically means you won't need to be writing 2000 words a day essentially. I was setting myself 500 words a day that to me felt like enough to be able to handle. Of course some days I wrote under and some I wrote more but it just depended on how far I got. But given yourself goals every-time you write your dissertation is essential as it keeps you organised and you shouldn't feel like you need to tackle 8000 words in one go like a lot of students end up doing surprisingly.

2. Breaks are allowed: It is so easy to be sitting at your computer with square eyes, your fourth cup of coffee in your hand and bum prints in your chair to even consider breaks. But breaks are allowed and sometimes I struggled with this too, I would get so stuck into my dissertation that I'd be sat at my desk for a solid 4 or 5 hours and start to think words like 'distinctive' looked wrong, this was a clear sign I needed a break. I don't mean wonder onto Twitter for half an hour I mean actually getting off your bum and get some air or meet up with friends, do something that will stop you getting stressed as easy. Your dissertation is an important piece of work but it isn't that important to overrule your whole life. A lot of the time I would write some of my dissertation during the day then see my boyfriend then go back to it if I hadn't finished what needed wrote and that always helped me keep focused for longer.

3. It is do-able: This one is cliche really but we all think about it. The number of times I found myself almost in tears with worry over not having enough to write about or not being able to finish it in time was ridiculous. If you choose a thorough topic that your tutor has agreed with then you shouldn't worry about not having enough to write about. I was picking up a lot of my next paragraph topics from the previous paragraph I wrote and that is how my dissertation started to get a better structure. If you feel like you are stuck in a rut or repeating yourself then try and do number 2 and come back to it later.

4. Have a positive attitude: Get passionate about what you write about really sink your teeth into it you chose the topic for a reason so that should reflect on your attitude. I really enjoyed writing my dissertation because of the topic I chose I made it into what I wanted it to be. Even just writing my actual dissertation I had a positive mind (once I started writing) I was instead of thinking 'ugh I have 5000 words left to write' I was mostly thinking 'ooh 5000 more to go!' have that attitude and you won't get bored or constantly obsessed over counting down how many words you've written. 

5. Plan as you go: Some people prefer structuring or planning their dissertation right at the beginning and sticking to that (and that's fine) but I planned as I wrote. Like I wrote in No.2 I was writing bullet points every evening beforehand so I had goals to achieve the next day. I don't think my dissertation would have been as interesting if I planned it all and stuck to that plan from the beginning. I plan as I go this is how I work, it isn't for everyone but it kept my brain fresh. My plan at the beginning wasn't how my dissertation ended up as a lot of the things I wanted to write about didn't happen because I found other significant bits along the way. I think a lot of tutors expect you to stick to your proposal and work from that but having that bit of paper to work from didn't work for me.

6. It's your work nobody else's: It's true it is your work and you should be able to write and do it when you want to. I know this may come across like I have a lazy attitude but what I am trying to say is if your friend is 3000 more words ahead of you don't let that push you into thinking 'Crap I have to catch up' write it in your own time. It took me ages to get into my dissertation as I was changing my topic so many times and I only started writing it in November (got set in October) and by that time everyone had near enough got there first paragraphs wrote. A lot of students in second year write a dissertation proposal which I felt as though I was being pushed to pick something a lot quicker than I planned. I ended up writing something completely different to my proposal so don't think you have to stick to that just because your tutor says you wrote it in your proposal as numerous amounts of students end up changing it and feel happier about it.  

Those are my top tips and advice on tackling your dissertation I hope they helped in someway! These are things I did myself and I ended up starting mine mid November and completing it over the Christmas holidays and came out with a 2:1 so it is do-able and you should always remember you are supposed to some how enjoy it (as difficult as it can be!) and not treat it as a question you'd get set at school that you'll complete the night before.

Good luck!

Do you have any tips/advice for anyone reading this post??