Why
a detailed outline is important?
Ø A
detailed outline sets out the detailed contents of your dissertation, i.e. it
must go well beyond just chapter headings and include sub-headings if not a
sense of what every single paragraph will be about.
Ø Preparing
a detailed outline early on (and sending it to your supervisor for comments)
has a number of advantages:
·
It will help you spot gaps where you need to do
more reading/research/data gathering;
·
It will be your roadmap for the remainder of the
year – it will help you plan your time and avoid overlaps between chapters (and
the ensuing waste of time);
·
It will act as a reminder for your supervisor
who needs to have a sense of the general structure of your work in order to
comment on the details;
·
It will help you plan your dissertation
word-count (if any) as your project is obviously more challenging than managing
an essay-length piece of work.
How
to work with (and manage) your supervisor?
Ø Work
with them according to his/her specialist field/area
Ø No
guarantee that you will be allocated the supervisor you want to work with, just
ask. There is no harm in trying you just might be lucky.
Ø Your
supervisor is there to guide and accompany you, not to take you by the hand. So
you are the one who should request a meeting and prepare for it.
Ø Keep in
mind that your supervisor is also constantly working against tight deadlines
and is allocated a specified time per dissertation project – avoid last minute
requests, e-mail/call in advance to request a meeting and/or feedback and make
an efficient use of your time with your supervisor.
Ø If you
feel you are not getting the supervision you need, discuss this with your
supervisor first before making any other move.
What
skills are you going to need (to develop)?
Planning: your
time and your dissertation (through a detailed outline, in particular).
Organisation: you
are going to have to juggle the dissertation, your other courses,
non-university professional and leisure activities, but also MA and job
applications…
Research
skills: Use the summer/holidays to become completely familiar with
academic search engines, relevant journals and websites, etc. and to spot
relevant key-words for your research.
Reading
skills: you are going to need to read more than ever, and more
efficiently than ever. Now is the time to think about skim-reading, scanning
and note-taking skills.
Analytical
skills: the dissertation is about putting together a complex
argument in what I will call limited words/pages.
Writing
and editing skills: the general quality of your writing style and
the presentation of your dissertation will have an impact on your grade – now
is the time to get this right!
Please remember that, beyond
your lecturers, friends, always ask professionals in the field for help as it
will help you develop many of these skills. Do not wait until you are
frustrated and confused to tackle these issues!!!!! Start NOW!.
Remember…
·
Your dissertation is your very own project and
your chance of writing about something you are interested in – seize the chance
and make the most of it!!!!
·
It is not just an academic exercise – look at
the list of skills it relies on and you will get a good sense of how it
prepares you for professional life.
·
Dissertation-writing is much more about planning
ahead and finding the space to think than about being academically brilliant!!!
·
Google is your friend (go to google scholar for
relevant books, academic articles and journals).
·
Wikipedia I NOT an academic site. However, you
can get general knowledge from it. DO NOT reference/site Wikipedia.
·
Avoid plagiarism. It is criminal and an academic
offence.
·
DON’T forget to reference and provide relevant
documents.
·
Save your work at every point. In a bid not to
lose your work as a result of human error and damage, save them in more than
one device. Email them to yourself and friends.
I went through these processes
and more and did great!!!…… I always emailed and got replies from Dr. Marie. I
will also advice group reading with friends as it helps during the brainstorming
stage. I hope this helps ….. Feel free to ask me questions.
Sorry this came a bit late…
I wish you the very best of
luck in this new adventure and very much hope you enjoy it!
Sharon…xxx.
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