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Please help! MA History students who got 80+ in their dissertation

Hey everyone! Bit of a long shot, but I’ve found myself in an impossible situation. I messed upreally badly with my essays after spending 2 months in hospital, I need a Distinction overall and it’sessential for PhD funding (yes I have thought about it, yes I still do want to really do it) and I’vebeen advised against taking out a doctoral loan. But based on my calculations, I need at least 80 orabove in my dissertation which seems impossible😭😭to make matters worse my uni hasn’t beenthe most supportive with taking my extenuating circumstances into account and it’s heartbreakingbecause these circumstances have been completely beyond my control.

Did anyone get 80 or above in their dissertation who would be willing to share theirs with me,please? I would be so so grateful and you would be helping me out so much! Thanks in advance xx

DISCLAIMER: I am not saying I am going to submit it as if it’s my own. I just wanted to see what a80% and above dissertation is like so I can see the level of analysis that is required to achieve agrade like that.

Reply 1

LJMUStudentReps

Official Rep

Hi there,

I completely understand how stressful that situation must feel. I recently finished my MA and received an 80 on my dissertation (mine was in Human Geography rather than History) and also managed to secure a PhD scholarship, so I can definitely share what helped me reach that level.

First, I’d recommend looking closely at your marking criteria. Your lecturers will assess your dissertation against specific categories such as:

•

Argument and structure – Is your main argument clear, logical, and well-developed?

•

Evidence and analysis – Are you engaging critically with sources and developing your own interpretation?

•

Originality – Are you showing independent thought or offering a fresh perspective? Try to find your own voice and don’t be afraid to be bold—as long as your ideas are supported with clear evidence.

It’s worth asking your tutor if there are any past dissertations or sample assignments you can look at—many departments can share anonymised examples.

One thing that really helped me was creating a literature matrix to stay organised during research. It’s essentially a table or spreadsheet with the columns:

•

Reference (Author, Year)

•

Key Concepts or Themes

•

Methods Used

•

Evaluation (e.g. strengths, limitations, gaps)

•

How to Use (e.g. supports your argument, offers a counterpoint)

This made it much easier to identify patterns and keep track of how each source contributed to my argument.

When annotating papers, consider questions such as:

•

Who is the author, and what perspective are they writing from?

•

What is the main argument or conclusion?

•

Are the methods appropriate and trustworthy?

•

Do the conclusions logically follow from the evidence?

•

Are there assumptions, limitations, or biases to be aware of?

•

What’s missing, or what could be explored further?

I also used the University of Manchester Phrasebank for a variety of transitions: https://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/

And I found this Cambridge resource really useful when annotating documents: https://libguides.cam.ac.uk/research-skills/notemaking

It sounds a bit daft, but when reading a paper, go in determined to prove the author wrong. If you can’t, it probably means it’s a strong piece of research — and if you can critique it, be sure to say so in your dissertation!

Hope some of that helps — sending you lots of encouragement! 🙂

Megan (LJMU Rep)

Reply 2

Admit-One

Universities Forum Helper

Just noting that another student or grad can't share their dissertation with you without breaching their own unis rules about academic collusion, (and you'd be guilty of it too by taking receipt).

Which isn't to say that others can't hep. The reply from LJMU is a good starting point.

Reply 3

Dizzyliz

Original post

by LJMUStudentReps

Hi there,
I completely understand how stressful that situation must feel. I recently finished my MA and received an 80 on my dissertation (mine was in Human Geography rather than History) and also managed to secure a PhD scholarship, so I can definitely share what helped me reach that level.
First, I’d recommend looking closely at your marking criteria. Your lecturers will assess your dissertation against specific categories such as:

•

Argument and structure – Is your main argument clear, logical, and well-developed?

•

Evidence and analysis – Are you engaging critically with sources and developing your own interpretation?

•

It’s worth asking your tutor if there are any past dissertations or sample assignments you can look at—many departments can share anonymised examples.
One thing that really helped me was creating a literature matrix to stay organised during research. It’s essentially a table or spreadsheet with the columns:

•

Reference (Author, Year)

•

Key Concepts or Themes

•

Methods Used

•

Evaluation (e.g. strengths, limitations, gaps)

•

How to Use (e.g. supports your argument, offers a counterpoint)

This made it much easier to identify patterns and keep track of how each source contributed to my argument.
When annotating papers, consider questions such as:

•

Who is the author, and what perspective are they writing from?

•

What is the main argument or conclusion?

•

Are the methods appropriate and trustworthy?

•

Do the conclusions logically follow from the evidence?

•

Are there assumptions, limitations, or biases to be aware of?

•

What’s missing, or what could be explored further?

I also used the University of Manchester Phrasebank for a variety of transitions: https://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/
And I found this Cambridge resource really useful when annotating documents: https://libguides.cam.ac.uk/research-skills/notemaking
It sounds a bit daft, but when reading a paper, go in determined to prove the author wrong. If you can’t, it probably means it’s a strong piece of research — and if you can critique it, be sure to say so in your dissertation!
Hope some of that helps — sending you lots of encouragement! 🙂
Megan (LJMU Rep)