Both undergraduate dissertations and masters dissertations are strictly regulated, in most cases meaning that a student is only allowed a limited number of hours with their dissertation supervisor.

It is not just a list of different writers in the field and their opinions, but rather it should give a clear idea of the whole field as it currently stands, describing different bodies of literature providing varying standpoints on the important issues and indicating where general opinions have recently changed or are currently being challenged.

Before you begin dissertation writing, you will be collecting original data for your research or perhaps revisiting someone else’s data and re-analysing it if you believe their conclusions were faulty. Collecting the data correctly takes a great deal of work, but then you need to critically analyse the material in order to draw conclusions and to (hopefully) prove your hypothesis. This is where data analysis comes in.

Buzzwords - Make sure you understand and use vocabulary that is used in your subject. If your lecturer keeps talking about “revisionism” or “diacritics” make sure you understand what these are and use these themes in relevant essays.

The basics – There should be full information about who to contact within your subject department. This will range from email addresses and webpages to check through to “old school” methods of contact – for example, if the department has post trays for each postgraduate student.

In some colleges, perhaps due to concerns over plagiarism, dissertation material is kept in the department. You may have to make an appointment to view the dissertations and you will not be allowed to photocopy them.