2 Months On… What I learned From Writing My Dissertation

Many people dread the prospect of writing a dissertation. Whenever I remarked that yes, I had chosen to write a 9,000 word dissertation, people's responses always incorporated that same sympathetic wince. I wonder what possibly sparked that reaction?
All jokes aside, 9,000 words can seem mind-blowingly large to those who may not have experienced a larger scale assessment, and if you are entering your third year and ponder how you might possibly summon this abundance of word-vomit, I am here to reassure you that I too felt this way.

The truth is, I actually enjoyed the process and experience of writing my dissertation. Yes, the last few weeks are accompanied by unparalleled stress, but in the grand scheme that is ‘final year’, it is inevitable that dissertation or not the pressure will be on. 

Upon reflection, I sincerely believe that as a newcomer to dissertation-writing, I excelled at delegating and managing my time, and if I had to choose my options again I would gladly write a dissertation. I have compiled my reflective thoughts together and made a list of what I feel aided my dissertation planning and writing process, hoping I can in some way guide or provide relief to those embarking on a project of their own.

Tip 1: Do Not Rush Your Topic.

Whilst it is important to be on the ball and proactive about progressing when it comes to diss writing, it is crucial to remember that deciding you do not want to do a certain topic is just as valid progress as deciding what topic you have settled upon. Each university or even course will vary upon their timescale for when you should choose a topic by, so ensure you incorporate a good month or two of brainstorming time before you have to present your chosen area to investigate. Luckily, my topic proposal wasn’t due until November, so not only did I leisurely explore areas of interest over the summer, I also had the opportunity to speak with my Dissertation Supervisor before my proposal hand-in.

Tip 2: Pick Something You are Interested In!!!!

This second tip is what I strongly believe is the most important piece of advice I can offer. I do not recommend picking a topic to investigate on the basis of “the data collection will be easy” or “it sounds impressive”. These reasons are not what will drive you to keep writing when you have been doing data-collection for hours, or need to expand because you have not reached the word count. 

For those who don’t know, my degree was in English Language and Linguistics, and explored a range of areas such as meaning and persuasiveness in language, forensic linguistics, language acquisition, and language and power in society. In short, my degree was a more traditional academic course. Whilst I enjoyed the more traditional and science-lending topics in my course, the topics that really captivated my interest were those that explored societal constructs imparted through language, and consumer behaviour. Although my peers were choosing more ‘academic sounding’ investigations such as the history of street names (yes, someone really chose that) I stuck firmly to my interest, and explored “What Ideologies Towards Women in the Workplace are Communicated through Fashion Magazines, and What is Their Sociological Effect?”. As a result, I never once lost interest in what I was investigating, and what’s more my personal interest drove me to develop and really explore multiple paths my investigation led.

Tip 3: Brainstorm, Plan, Consolidate.

This tip might be one that’s not necessary for everyone, but as an advocate for planning and list-making, I felt this process grounded my investigation and made sure I didn’t lose track of my aims. As someone with a creative mind, my thoughts tend to get rather cluttered- one thought will lead me to another, which reminds me of something I read last Thursday, and -oh!- my colleague said something about her experience regarding this….and then after you know it I’ve forgotten my core initial thought. Luckily, I recognised how my brain works all the way back in Sixth Form. However, by brainstorming what key points (or hypothesises) my investigation sought to uncover and writing them down clearly, I was able to explore external literature and investigations without my own becoming unclear. As long as I’ve got my list of key points, I can mentally explore all different alleyways, but will always come back and refer to the fundamentals of what my investigation sought to uncover.

My Initial Plan Reminder

Tip 4: Utilise your Utilities.

A point that I hopefully don’t have to preach to strongly about, your dissertation supervisor is allocated to you for a reason, seek their guidance! I am lucky to have had such a passionate and helpful supervisor who was genuinely interested in the results of my investigation, and without my supervisors input I believe my dissertation would have tried to take on more than I could thoroughly investigate. Remember, your supervisor is there to help you and they want you to succeed, but most of all they want you to have an experience with minimal stress and complications, so do not be afraid to reach out for any reason- big or small.

Tip 5: Work Back from Deadline Day.

An important tip my supervisor offered me in the last 6 weeks of dissertation writing, was to write a checklist of all that I had done and that still needed to be done, and then work back through my calendar starting from deadline day, planning when I would finish my remaining work. It’s a simple way of visually determining how much time you have, and prioritising your to do list, as well as reducing the chances of last-minute-stress-binding. I personally don’t have a problem with taking a few days to read over my finished copy and submitting a couple of days before the deadline, but if you know you want to submit a week before deadline day this needs to be taken into account.

Tip 6: Take a Break

The last few weeks building up to submission date, it’s likely you’ll be reading or working on your dissertation every day, but don’t underestimate the importance of taking a few days away from your work, and returning to it with a clearer headspace. Of course, this tip is more aimed towards when you have written your diss and are in the tedious stages of proof-reading. No matter however guilt-ridden you feel, take a day or two off! You’ve written, read, and re-read thousands of words, what you don’t want is to be missing grammatical or editing mistakes as a result of all your hard work.

Well, if you’ve read this far then first of all well done, secondly I hope you aren’t feeling too overwhelmed. A big intimidating bulk of writing might seem like writing a dissertation is the most complicated thing in the world, but it’s really not. Yes, it’s hard- you’re planning and carrying out your own investigation, but it’s also surprisingly fun. I truly enjoyed seeking answers to my questions, and the independence of writing about something that I had chosen. Choose a topic you feel genuine interest for, run with it, and enjoy it!