The dissertation motivator

Emma_N

I'm currently a PhD research student and my main tip for having a good relationship with your supervisor has to be communicate, communicate and then communicate some more!! I see my supervisor at least once a month and am in contact with him on a weekly basis.

If you have problems talk to your supervisor, they are only human (well normally). Being independant with your work is good. However, I was too independant when I was writing up my MSc dissertation and wrote up several chapters without input from my supervisor and ended up having to re-write loads of sections :eek:

My MSc supervisor frequently 'told me off' it's all part of the academic learning process, believe me it's a hundred times worse at PhD level!

You have plenty of time, organise a meeting with your supervisor to put your mind at rest.

Good luck!

Nickynoo1

I should join this thread. I started reading for my dissertation last March/April time, as I had to submit a lit review. However since then Ive not done very much at all in a year. Luckily it has been my year abroad so I still have another year to research and write, but I fear the time will all slip by so quickly. I keep planning, then not sticking to it.

Picnic_2

What works for me, might not work for everyone, but when I was writing my MA dissertation, I made sure I disconnected from the internet while I was actually writing for the day, and planned my screen breaks and mealtimes around programmes I liked on TV so I didn't feel I was missing out on them! Making a plan of action also helped (just made a list of the different sections I wanted, how many days I thought it would take to write them, how many days to do extra reading for the literature review etc.) including some days off and a couple of weeks of contingency for unexpected things. And every day I wrote more than a certain number of words, I rewarded myself by downloading a song from iTunes. Simple motivator, and not that expensive!

Having a good relationship with your supervisor is important. I would say, remember they probably have lots of students to supervise, not just you, and lots of other teaching and marking commitments as well, so if you want meetings with them or want them to check your work over, ask in plenty of time and don't expect them to be able to read half a dissertation and comment on it the same day you send it to them! Oh, and taking a packet of biscuits or something to eat in the meeting while you discuss your work and progress might be appreciated!

Observer

Hi guys,

Hope everyone is ok. I have finished my dissertation and handed it in last week so just gotta wait for results now! It’s amazing that the minute it is finished I suddenly felt as if I had nothing to do- how will I fill my time when I've no writing/researching to do :eek:

Anyways, regarding the supervisor relationship - I have to say I was lucky with mine but just remember when your work is being criticised constantly that this is the person that will be marking it so altering things to how they want it will ultimately help your grade even if it’s not exactly how you would like it.

To the person struggling with information you need to be ruthless. You can never include everything you find within your work as it would be way too complicated, way too long and impossible to come to a conclusion. Try to include information that makes sense to the rest of your argument and don't try too hard to fit in something that you like but that doesn't follow the rest of the work. I know I'm probably stating the obvious but sometimes you need to take a step back and look at your writing critically and think do I really need to say that? You can always add a few lines somewhere to say that although you have concentrated on arguments by certain authors, other arguments such as so and so exist and can be researched by other scholars at a later date if required.

Hope that is vaguely helpful :A

ali-t

Hows everyone getting on? I handed mine in last month and checked my e-mails tonight and got one from the 1st marker saying I have passed. Woop woop, I am overjoyed and hope everyone else who had a dissertation due in, got it subitted in time and gets good news!

bristol_pilot

Divide the day into three sections: morning, afternoon and evening. Treat the write-up like a job - sit at a desk and write up for two out of three of these sessions. During these sessions, do not browse the net etc at all. On the third, do something else like sport, watch TV or go socialising. If working a morning session, start at 9am. Do this for 6 days a week, taking the seventh day off entirely. Before you know it, the dissertation will be done.

It can be helpful to 'commute' to a work-like location for the write-up sessions, like the university library. Certainly don't lounge on the bed at home with the tv/web to hand - nothing will get done.

I would also recommend concentrating on the quality and content of what you are writing rather than word-counting until you have a complete first draft.

PS - since it is now the end of August, I hope all the Masters writers have finished! But the PhDs might still be going.

Nickynoo1

so yes, time slips by so quickly and here I am with only 12 weeks left to do my dissertation with only 2,500 not great words written. Not sure how i am going to pull it off now. its only 10,000 words so hoping 3 weeks per chapter at 3000 ish words each will suffice. Here's hoping anyway
:eek:

ajwolf

Nickynoo1 wrote: »

so yes, time slips by so quickly and here I am with only 12 weeks left to do my dissertation with only 2,500 not great words written. Not sure how i am going to pull it off now. its only 10,000 words so hoping 3 weeks per chapter at 3000 ish words each will suffice. Here's hoping anyway
:eek:

I've managed to almost complete a 4,000 assignment from start to finish in the last two weeks. I'll try and give you a bit of advice but I've had less to do than you (really don't envy you).

I printed off a grid format calendar and stuck it above my desk (or somewhere you'll see it all the time) which goes up to the day your dissertation is due. Then pick the day you would like it finished by (don't pick the due date try for earlier than that) and make yourself a plan working back from there. Pick one day each week which is your deadline and what you want your word count to be by that date. Try to set it out evenly so you're doing about the same number of words per week but also plan in advance if you've got something else on one week e.g. an exam. Along the same lines try to fit more in if you've got a quiet week.

The most important thing here is sticking to the plan!!!! I was even setting myself targets per day so I didn't leave it all to the last minute. Don't let yourself fall even one word short. I know that sounds a bit drastic but one day you let yourself one word less, the next 50 words, 100 words, etc and before you know it you're way behind, got loads to do and no time left.

This makes me sound like such a geek but I spent years at school up till 2am doing homework because I'd left more than one subjects worth till the last night, not fun! I've used this plan on two occasions and it's worked really well. Also being a maths person(and rubbish at english) these kind of assignments aren't something I've done much since starting uni nor something I enjoy.

I find this kind of plan make you feel more in control especially after you've met your first few targets. Then you start to feel it's more manageable. This might not work for everyone but I hope I've been of some help.

Good luck with your dissertation.

eklynne

My dissertation is due on the 12th of March, 10,000 words and I only started writing it up tonight. I'm not worried at all. There is no way my other coursework (3 x 4000 word essays) and a 3 hour exam would have been up to scratch had I also been doing research work, so now that's out the way, the dissertation can begin
Good luck everyone.

pawsies

Mines due in a month, done intro methods and lit review. Got results, discussion and conclusion to go.

Not worried really, I have no motivation to carry on it's slowly sucking my soul away!