How To Write Your Undergraduate Dissertation: A Great Strategy
Writing your undergraduate dissertation can be tough. I know, because I’ve been there! It is so completely different from the other essays you’ve been expected to tackle throughout your undergraduate career that it can be difficult to know exactly where to start. However, with this easy to follow strategy, all the stress of not know where to begin will soon disappear!
- Make sure you love your subject
- Break the subject down
- Edit as you go
You are going to be doing this dissertation for a long time - some last for a year, some for half a year, both of which are long periods to be writing about one particular subject. So, you should make sure you love it! Your advisor will help with your selection, but make sure you let them know exactly what you are passionate about, no matter how crazy it sounds. In fact, in most cases, the crazier, the better! Try to remember that there needs to be enough of the subject to cover in the word count, but don’t try to bite off more than you can chew!
Breaking your subject down into about three or so sections does two things. First, it makes formatting easier by breaking things up into easy chapters. Second, it breaks things up for you. That way, you can complete the first chapter and then leave it rather than having to go back and forth for the entire time you are writing. Be sure, though, that the three sections flow and that they also do not overlap. Otherwise, it is going to be too difficult for you to distinguish them and, therefore, separate them into chapters. In addition, you must remember to reference the other chapters throughout so that a sense of unity is maintained. It also makes your writing sound very professional.
It sounds obvious, perhaps, but this can really help with the creation process. Not only does it get rid of the need to go back over the entire dissertation right at the end and edit everything, but also it reminds you of things you have previously written and keeps repetition to a minimum. Writing the bibliography as you go, too, means that you don’t have to go back through the entire dissertation and find every reference you have made in order to complete the bibliography. It saves time, and it is a lot less stressful.