Prepare yourself for writing your dissertation and make the most of the year.
In your final year of university, you’ll have to do some type of dissertation or final year project. For me, it was a large final year project that was worth 40% of the final year mark.
You will usually find out about your topic just before you start back for the final year; often with the opportunity to pick your preferred options or find a lecturer willing to work on your own topic at the end of the year before.
Writing your dissertation will then take the whole year. Remember this is worth around 40% of the overall grade for this final year, so you need to take the whole time to get it right. Don’t leave it to the last minute to complete!
Here are my tips for writing your dissertation and making the most of this final year.
Set Out a Plan of Attack
Always go in with a plan of attack. I spent the first week looking at a calendar and then the work that I would need to do. I gave myself deadlines throughout the year to make sure I got everything completed on time.
It ended up that I would have a week before the official deadline to tidy up loose ends and deal with last minute problems.
Each week/month, I would then set a plan out for working on my dissertation around the other areas of my university studies and my work.
Schedule Regular Meetings
One really important point for writing your dissertation is to schedule regular meetings with your lecturer. You will have one point of contact for advice, to go over your notes and discuss your plan of attack.
I had meetings with my lecturer once a month at first and then once every two weeks. This was enough time to go through all my questions and discuss the work I’d done. It also helped me stick to my deadlines.
Once a month might not be enough for you. Talk to your lecturer and work with him or her to find suitable timeframes for both of you. Remember that your lecturer will have other students to mentor and help too, along with their own work.
Find Someone to Read Through Your Dissertation
Writing your dissertation should be done in stages. Write a draft first and have someone read through it; preferably someone who knows the subject. Your lecturer is the best person but you could also ask an impartial third party, such as another lecturer within your studies.
Others will have different points of view and may see an area that you have missed or not backed up fully. There may be flaws to your argument or it may not make the best sense.
Do a couple of drafts and get the wording right. After writing your dissertation and focusing on the content, it is time to proofread for any spelling and grammar mistakes.
Don’t Forget About the Presentation!
Writing your dissertation takes up so much time and it’s easy to forget about the presentation you may have to do at the end. I had to have a working website and show how it was going to be used. Guess what! It didn’t quite work!
Don’t forget about this presentation but don’t panic too much about it. When the website didn’t work, I discussed where I went wrong and what I would do differently the next time. Remember that this is your work and the lecturer wants to hear about your observations and reasoning.
Are you worried about writing your dissertation or were you worried during it? Maybe you have other tips that you want to share with students starting on this venture. Feel free to share them below.
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