This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Aberdeen chapter.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been umming and ahing about dissertation titles and ideas since first year, while also ignoring its impending misery. Now I’m in the final semester of my final year, I’m starting to panic ever so slightly. It also doesn’t help that Blackboard has a reminder at the top of the activities page saying it’s due in 3 months. Yelp.
So, I thought before we tackle the beast, I’d ask around for some tips and advice from the warriors before us who have already written and submitted their dissertations. You’re welcome.
- It’s just really a bunch of essays thrown together! When you think of it like this, it really does become more manageable in chunks.
- You can group your tabs on Google Chrome and colour code them! Right-click on the tab and add it to the group.
- Don’t be afraid to change up your ideas/ arguments. It’s YOUR dissertation.
- Split all of your sections up paragraph by paragraph so you don’t get overwhelmed.
- Find a supervisor that connects with your work and gets excited about it because they’re really your lifeline.
- Actively seek out stuff that contradicts your argument.
- Connect with people in your class because it can be quite an isolating process.
- Editing is the longest and most tedious part so don’t leave it all until the last week.
- Take time afterwards to chill out, calm down, and just process it because it can feel pretty overwhelming. Don’t be afraid to hibernate for a few days.
- Start early and be realistic with your workload.