5 Things To Bear In Mind When Doing A Dissertation

So you’ve made it through university – the drunken nights, dizzy mornings and dinners that will never match the quality of Mum’s. Your final year is upon you and its time for the dreaded assignment: the dissertation. Up to 10,000 words of all that stuff you should have listened to in your lectures.

The worst thing? The topic is your choice. You’re the only one to blame if everything goes to pot. However, with a few simple strategies, you can  keep on track and in the know.

The hand-in date

It may sound a bit over the top, but this is one of the most imperative dates of your entire existence.

But seriously, the hand-in date and time, are your ultimate goal and should be plastered in huge letters all over your walls. This is the time frame you’re working to. Aim to be done a week or so in advance to give you time to proofread and bind your work.

You still have other work to do

Despite working toward this project, you will – of course – still have other modules and work to complete.

Aim to prioritise your assignments and put a timetable  in place. Give yourself organised time slots to work on different pieces. Working on your dissertation before completing your essay due next week is not really the right way to go.

P.S. Always allow yourself a break – allow allotted time for the gym, to get a coffee or have lunch with a friend.

Abuse all sources of information

Resources are key when in University and this is no different for your dissertation. Professors love to see that you’ve done some secondary research and further reading to accompany your points and validate your arguments.

Scour the library, look online (never trusting Wikipedia), read journals, watch documentaries, conduct surveys; anything that supplies you with legitimate, extra information will definitely work in your favour.

Start as early as you can

Starting early can do no harm – it can actually be a massive help. If you know by the beginning of the summer leading up to your final year what you want to do, start your research early.

Extra reading, testing hypothesis and asking your tutors for advice is one of the best things to do for preparation. Then, when you start your final year – you’ll already be ahead and have more time for other work, creating more drafts and maybe a night out or two.

It’s the biggest and most important piece of work you will ever do

Do not underestimate the importance and seriousness of this piece of work. Dissertations can help land you a job, be a discussion at interviews and showcase how much you have learnt – and grown – throughout your University career.

It may sound exaggerated but, being lenient and unmotivated when it comes to your dissertation is doing yourself an injustice.

Work hard, stay determined and smash out your dissertation. It’ll be over before you know it.

Good luck!

Nikita studied English with Creative Writing at Brunel University London. Her loves include literature, travelling and writing. She is a spiritual soul and a bit of a wanderer. Stalk her on Twitter and Instagram.

Inspiring Interns is a graduate recruitment agency which specialises in sourcing candidates for marketing internship roles and giving out graduate careers advice. To browse graduate jobs and graduate jobs Manchester, visit their website.