Are you writing a dissertation this summer? Are you confident and sure about what you’re doing, or do you have questions and doubts you would like to find answers for? Are you feeling under confident or overwhelmed? A dissertation tutorial might be exactly what you need.
What is a dissertation tutorial?
Dissertation tutorials are 50 minutes long and you will have one-to-one time with an experienced tutor. Tutorial times are released 14 days in advance and you can book your tutorial up to 24 hours in advance. If you have difficulty finding a slot, keep an eye on the booking page as there are sometimes cancellations and you can book a time that has unexpectedly become free. You can upload any questions and give us a steer on the topic(s) you would like to cover when you book the tutorial.
The first tutorials are running on 1 June, and will be available to book from 18 May. You can have as many tutorials as you need, but you can only have one booked at a time. There are online and in-person options available, so you can book a tutorial even if you're not on campus.
What if you haven’t started writing yet?
If you haven’t started writing yet, you can still have a tutorial. Last year, students asked about how to organise their time and time management, how to get started, and the structure of a dissertation. Other students wanted to understand how to progress and overall guidance on how to write, and there were many other questions too. Another possibility is to send some of your earlier work that’s been marked and work with the feedback in your tutorial to improve your writing. The more information you can give, the better your tutor will be able to help you.
You might still be reading for your dissertation and want to use your tutorial to discuss how to manage your reading, how to take notes, and how to use your reading when you plan. Do you plan before you write? This could be another discussion.
What writing can you upload?
If you do have some writing to upload, bear in mind that you’re still working on your dissertation and it’s fine to upload some writing that isn’t finished yet: a draft of a section or part of a section, notes, even a couple of paragraphs or a plan. The idea of your tutorial is that your work is still in progress and not yet complete, so, something you’re still working on or have got stuck on is fine. Of course, if you have a finished section that you would like to discuss that’s great too. The whole dissertation might be too ambitious for a 50 minute tutorial, but you can have more than one tutorial so there is always the option of tackling different sections in different tutorials (just remember that you can only have one tutorial booked at a time, and all bookings are subject to availability).
What to expect
Questions that students asked last year included writers block and how to get started, how to make writing less descriptive and more critical, referencing, and anonymising interviews, improving writing skills and flow. Every question is different, and every tutorial is different and is specially for the student who booked the tutorial.
When you come to your tutorial, expect the tutor to discuss your work with you and maybe ask you questions to make you think about your writing. It is your writing and must be your own work, so your tutor won’t tell you what to write. Instead, you’ll discuss together how to write and what to do next or how to make changes.
What if you’re not writing a dissertation?
If you are not writing a dissertation this summer, you can still book a dissertation tutorial. You might be a student writing a practicum or resitting an exam, an undergraduate preparing for the next academic year or a PhD student writing an assignment.
Finally…
Your tutorial should help you make the most of writing your dissertation. The aim is for you to write the best dissertation you can, so why don’t you book a dissertation tutorial today?
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