Dissertation season: how to deal with the stress of writing it
By Waseem Mohamed
“Have you thought about what you would like to write about for your dissertation?” was a question I did not expect to be asked in my Cambridge geography admissions interview. Back then, 18-year-old me was so caught up in the process of trying to get a place at university that I had never really considered what I would find interesting enough to produce a 10,000-word essay that would coincidentally count for a significant portion of my degree.
Several years later, and I find myself confronting the same question from that interview with great anxiety. I have since pivoted the subject of my dissertation from geography to politics, boldly attempting to combine my special interest in trains with the ongoing war in Ukraine (search up Rail Baltica, I promise it makes sense!). And like thousands of finalists across Durham this Epiphany, I am also starting to wonder if my dissertation topic is good enough and whether I will even finish it before the deadline.
On paper, the prospect of being able to write an extended piece of research on a specialist topic should excite any studious undergraduate. It is a unique opportunity to work with a dissertation supervisor – an expert on your niche subject area – to explore your personal interests and create research that fills a gap in the fabled academic literature. It is also a good opportunity to develop independent thinking, writing and organisational skills, all characteristics which are needed to thrive beyond university.
But for many others including myself, producing a dissertation is a daunting task. It is the first time many students will have conducted research on their own, and without enough preparation it is very common to feel lost and overwhelmed. Given how much the dissertation relies on self-driven input with no official contact hours to rely on, knowing how to get started or how to keep going are almost impossible tasks. The pressure of knowing that the dissertation counts for so much of your degree is an extra source of anxiety, since a poor grade here could determine whether you get the classification you deserve.
It is thus incredibly easy to fall into the comparison trap with dissertations. As I write this article I have personally not started writing my dissertation, but I know English students who are close to completion, Geography students who were frantically rushing to submit draft chapters before Christmas, and I have lost count of the number of finalists turning to Overheard to find participants for their dissertation surveys. Even though every department has their own deadlines and submission instructions, I can’t help but feel unsure of myself about whether I have made enough progress so far, and if I am ahead or behind my peers working on their dissertations.
Even though every department has their own deadlines and submission instructions, I can’t help but feel unsure of myself about whether I have made enough progress so far, and if I am ahead or behind my peers working on their dissertations
Clearly the dissertation process is fraught with many emotions, from excitement to dread. But it is easy to forget that the purpose of the dissertation is not to “reinvent the wheel” – it is simply just another essay we need to produce to get our degrees, albeit one that is a bit longer in length than usual. It is easy to forget there is so much academic and pastoral support available to ensure that you succeed, not least the required preparatory modules in previous years which are designed to equip you with the skills needed to write your dissertation. I for one am very grateful for the Research Project module I did in the SGIA department in second year, as without it I would truly be stumped.
The dissertation has also been a wake-up call in understanding how I like to work best. As someone who relies on the pressure of an impending deadline to motivate me to finish my essays, the prospect of having to set my own internal expectations on how much progress I would like to make has been a bit of a shock. Working with my dissertation supervisor has been crucial in this regard, as they have been able to keep me accountable as I head off to research my topic – in fact, I would say my favourite aspect of the dissertation process is having access to a (patient) supervisor who can help guide me at regular intervals.
The dissertation has also been a wake-up call in understanding how I like to work best. As someone who relies on the pressure of an impending deadline to motivate me to finish my essays, the prospect of having to set my own internal expectations on how much progress I would like to make has been a bit of a shock
Ultimately, while the oppression of the dissertation will dominate the rest of my and many others’ final years, I think it is crucial not to put too much pressure on ourselves to produce the most perfect piece of research. In 2023, no less than 44% of dissertations across Durham were marked as 1st-class honours, which indicates that a good number of finalists knew what they were doing with their projects, even if they might have thought they were struggling.
The best piece of advice I can therefore give is just to start somehow and see what happens – arrange that meeting with your supervisor, get your head in the literature, just write something! The deadline will come and go sooner than you think, and with a bit of effort and support we will all hopefully produce a dissertation that we feel proud enough to print off and present in front of the Cathedral, as is the custom when finishing our degrees.
Image credit: Matthew Petroff via Wikimedia commons
