MA Librarianship student Bethany talks us through her tips and tricks for navigating the daunting task of writing her dissertation. She's also done a short video on the topic, which you can view below.
The thought of writing a dissertation can be quite overwhelming! You may not have written one before and have no idea where to start. Before my master’s degree, I did have some experience in writing a dissertation, but even with this previous experience, I still found it a bit daunting at first!
I am currently nearly halfway through my master’s dissertation,
and I thought I would share a few tips that I have picked up along the way…
I recommend starting to think about your dissertation topic
early. This will give you enough time to choose a topic that you feel confident
about, instead of rushing into one last minute. During Semester 1 it might be
useful to read a few articles that are linked to your area of interest. By
taking these small steps, you will be able to submit a more confident ‘Initial
Idea’ at the end of January. This will also allow you to receive more helpful
feedback, in preparation for the Dissertation Proposal submission.
This leads me onto another, and probably the most important
point… you need to choose a dissertation topic that you are interested in! You
will spend a good part of your master’s degree researching and writing about
your dissertation, so it is good to think of a topic that you know you will not
lose interest in. The topic might be related to a relevant current event or an
idea that had been brought up in a lecture. I found it useful to make a note of
any idea that comes to mind. This means that when it is time to submitting your
‘Initial Idea’, you will be able to select a topic that you feel most confident
about.
When it comes to writing your dissertation over the summer, try
to organise your time by creating a schedule. As mentioned earlier, it can be
quite easy to feel overwhelmed when faced with a large project. I have found,
however, that if you can aim to dedicate a few hours of the day to writing a
bit of your dissertation at a time, it will become a breeze! For me, I enjoy
going to the gym in the morning and then working on my dissertation in the
afternoon. I’m not so much a morning person so fitting in some sort of exercise
(and coffee!) definitely helps to wake me up before writing my dissertation in the
afternoon.
The great thing about the dissertation is that it will be
the last assignment that you will hand in before completing the course. At that point,
it will be nice to leave those intense deadline periods behind and solely focus
on completing your dissertation in the final months of your degree.
Make sure that you make the most out of your meetings with
your dissertation supervisor! I would advise that you come prepared with any
questions that you may have. I have personally found that having a separate
notebook was useful to write down any dissertation notes and questions and have
these all in one place! It is also a good idea to ask for regular feedback from
your dissertation supervisor as this will be particularly useful in the long
run.
A final tip, which may sound a bit cliché, is to try and
enjoy the experience! You will probably only ever write a dissertation once,
and it is an exciting opportunity for you to research an area that you are
particularly interested in. Admittedly, it will be a bit of a challenge, but it
will be so rewarding once you have completed and submitted it. Make sure to go
out and celebrate all of the hard work that you have put in, and for finally
completing your master’s degree!
Bethany Higgins
MA Librarianship student
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