The advice of your supervisor can make all the difference when you are preparing your final year dissertation.  Here are 5 tips for you and your supervisor to discuss and consider as you begin work on your dissertation writing:

Dissertation Writing – Contact Time

How often does the supervisor expect to see you?  How much time do you want to spend with them?  You may feel quite happy dissertation writing by yourself, or perhaps you know that you won’t get anything done without a regular check-in session.  Discuss the contact time with the supervisor to arrange a schedule that will suit both of you.

Contacting the dissertation supervisor

What is the best way for the two of you to stay in touch? Perhaps you prefer to speak on the phone.  Alternatively, your tutor may prefer to see you face to face to make sure your dissertation is going well.  Email correspondence helps you both have an accurate record of what is agreed in meetings.

Dissertation help – boundaries

Discuss the sorts of areas where you can expect help from your supervisor.  There may be parts of the dissertation writing work where they are unwilling or unable to help you.  Find out where the boundaries lie from the start so that you won’t have any unpleasant surprises later.

Dissertation schedule

Your dissertation supervisor will probably suggest some dates by which they expect certain pieces of work to be completed.  Perhaps they will give you a date to hand in a draft dissertation for their comments.  Take your diary or calendar to any meetings and make sure that the dates offered by the supervisor don’t clash with other events.

Past papers and dissertation examples

If your other tutors haven’t offered you the opportunity to look at past dissertations, then ask your supervisor.  You may have to book a time to spend at the department in order to study the material.  This extra study time can be well worth it.  If your department cannot supply you with relevant dissertation examples, you may like to buy custom dissertations to help you study effectively.  In an earlier article from this blog, you can find advice on how to locate reliable dissertation examples.

Have you made a start to your dissertation writing?  Have you come across any unexpected issues?  Let us know by posting a comment below.