The 5 Stages Of Writing A Dissertation
I've finally reached that stage in my course where I have to write a ridiculous word counted dissertation in order to graduate in July. Okay, well maybe I reached that stage in September, and maybe I haven't really given it any thought until a couple of months ago. But still.
I'm only human, sue me. Procrastination got the better of me.
So, I decided to create a post for those of us writing our dissertations. It's a few months late, but so is my motivation apparently. I've managed to dumb it down to five stages: Stress, stress, cry, stress, cry, cry.
I'm joking, but if you haven't cried yet? You're obviously doing this whole thing wrong. (I'm trying to create humour through my pain).
Stage One:
Pick a subject you'll enjoy speaking about for 8,000-10,000 words. Seriously, if the topic you've chosen bores you? It'll demotivate you to write. Trust me! I changed my idea a week after I had submitted my proposal for my dissertation. Thankfully enough, my supervisor allowed me to change the topic.
Obviously, chose a subject within your course (unless you're allowed to extend the parameter), but stick to something you can write (blag) about and something that'll spark your interest.
Stage Two:
PLAN WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO WRITE. I made the mistake of thinking up a question AFTER I started writing my dissertation. I had ideas I wanted to write about, but they weren't broad enough for the word count which resulted in me changing and re-changing it every week.
This might seem simple to some people, but seriously PLAN. Have your question ready. Research the topic. Find some reasonable references that are long enough to cut down the word count. (I'm joking, stay within the length limit). Think of your chapters and decide what the content of the chapter will be.
You'll thank yourself in the long run.
Stage Three:
Start writing. I always find keeping the introduction till last works well for me, simply because once I get writing I tend to go on tangents. So why not have the body first, and then decide what to include in the introduction?
90% of what I write is probably pure bullshit anyway.
Anyway, hopefully you've heeded my first two stages and went through with the planning. This should help you make a POINT, which you can then back up with a REFERENCE and then finally an EXPLANATION. I'm not sure if anyone else had this in secondary/high school where the English teacher used to shove PEE down their throats? (Not literal pee). Point, Evidence, Explain. Funnily enough, it fits in well with the structure of writing any essay or in our case, a dissertation.
Stage Four:
I thought I would be nice and include at least ONE crying stage. On a serious note though, don't overwork or over stress yourself to the point where you're in bed eating a bag of mini Cadbury Creme Eggs and crying over your workload. (Definitely not talking from experience- insert rolling eye emoji). So I guess stage four is, TAKE A TIME OUT.
Give yourself breaks. Stretch out your workload. If you find you have writers block, take a break. Don't work on it for a couple of days and then get back to it. Sometimes all you need a is a fresh mind to re-read and rethink and recuperate.
Stage Five:
And finally, (This isn't a stage, it's more a cheat advice) don't forget that in every piece of university work, your word count is allowed to go under by 10% . Which means if you have to write 10,000 words you can settle with 9,000.
I guess university has its perks after all.
Also, try and stay on topic whilst writing. Sometimes its easy to find yourself writing about something completely off topic and it's only natural to do so. But try! Try to stay on topic and try your best not to over stress yourself. At the end of the day, you did your best and you should be proud of the outcome. You're allowed a day off from writing, don't let your dissertation consume you. (Yes, that's the pep talk I give myself whenever I decide to have a night out).
One last piece of advice: if you find yourself struggling? Talk to your supervisor or your tutor. They are there to help you. They're not against you, even if some of them may be absolute w*nkers. They want to see you succeed. (I promise I wasn't paid to say that).
Stay lovely x.
