My Dissertation Helpful Tips! 3rd year Criminology Student

Hey there! My name is Aimee and I have just finished my degree in Criminology and Criminal Behaviour.

When I heard my dissertation was a 8,000 word literature review, I was very anxious. I had only ever wrote 2,000 word essays in my three years so how would I accomplish this??

First, make sure you are doing a dissertation on a topic which you are really interested in. For me, this made a huge impact as I really enjoyed writing and learning about my chosen subject. I am a firm believer that if you write about something which you do not enjoy, it will seem more like a chore than something you will look forward to!

Second, get in the right frame of mind!! Over three years you will write many 2,000 word essays so when looking at a 8,000 word dissertation broken down into chapters it really is manageable.

My dissertation was wrote in the following style:
1) Introduction 1,000 words.
2) Chapter One 2,000 words,
3) Chapter Two 2,000 words.
4) Chapter Three 2,000 words.
5) Conclusion 1,000 words.
When I divided my dissertation it made it more manageable and I worked through my chapters rather than worrying about an overall word count.

I also made use of my dissertation supervisor and asked plenty of questions and sent a review after each chapter was wrote. This made me finish each chapter and put it into a final document before the submission deadline.

Your dissertation may feel stressful at times, but with preparation about the topic you will write about, a positive attitude and a supportive dissertation supervisor will make your dissertation journey a happy one.

Good luck if you are in the process of thinking or writing a dissertation. I hope this small guide will be useful to some!
All the best,
Aimee xox