Description: Alessandra, our English and dissertation tutor who has a 1st Class Honours PhD in English Literature, shares valuable advice on how to write a dissertation, specifically for an English literature degree but can be applied to various university degrees.
You have been enjoying your English Literature degree when suddenly the term that everyone has been dreading approaches: Dissertation. Panic ensues, bad decisions are made and after sitting in a corner and crying, you hand in an essay that you are not proud of and is riddled with ammeter mistakes.
I’m here to tell you that there is no need to fear your Dissertation module and that you can overcome it and even enjoy the process (yes really!). Think of me as your own personal Dissertation fairy, just without the glittering wings and with more of a metaphorical long, white beard of experience. 
What is an English Literature Dissertation?
To begin with, lets understand what a Dissertation for an English Degree actually is and what most examiners look for when marking your essay. Unlike a Masters’ or PhD Dissertation, an Undergraduate Dissertation does not require you to produce an original contribution to knowledge, meaning you are not expected to create a new hypothesis that has not been discussed before.
However, it must be an original piece of independent writing, based on your own wide reading and giving your own understanding and analysis of your chosen subject.
The word count is relatively limited at approximately 10,000 words so, you will cover a narrower field than what is expected at Postgraduate levels. Regardless of the limited word count, you are still expected to engage the examiner critically and analytically showcasing your knowledge of primary texts and a wide range of literary criticism.
Remember that your Dissertation topic and scope will be different to those of your course friends, this is good!
All Dissertations need to have a clear focus with a sense of originality. When picking out a Dissertation topic it’s very important that you pick a topic that you will enjoy researching for a few months, otherwise you will hate every second of your Dissertation! In a nutshell then, you will need to find a research question, engage with relevant literature and plan a realistic and achievable work schedule.
Easy right?
How to Balance the Dissertation Workload and Managing Expectations:
The most common question I get from Undergraduates is: ‘how do I balance the mammoth task of a Dissertation with the rest of my life?’ When undertaking your first independent research based essay you may feel as though you have to put the rest of your life on hold. This is not true.
I can tell you from experience that you will wreck your mental health by trying to prioritise your Dissertation over everything else, or try to carry out an unbalanced work plan, trust me.
Start off by looking at your schedule, what other modules, deadlines , appointments and clubs do you have to balance alongside your dissertation? Then sort the high priority from the low priority tasks, this way you know how much of your energy you need to allocate to tasks that have a closer deadline.
I have found that the best way to visualise all of this information is to put it into a table or excel sheet, that way you can see exactly when you have do a task and how much time you have allocated to do this task on different days.
For example, if on Monday you have more free time, you may choose to spend three hours research for your Dissertation, whereas on Tuesday you only have time to spend one hour on it due to your lecture and tutorial timings.
Find a balance that works for you, not everyone will have the same schedule. I really want to emphasise how important break days are. You will burn out very quickly unless you give yourself a break; a day where you lay in bed and eat a tub of ice-cream while watching Netflix and NOT think about your research.
I forgot that I was a human being while doing my Dissertation and refused to give myself break days as I felt guilty when I wasn’t working, looking back on my behaviour now as a PhD student, I can safely say this was an unhealthy way to approach my research and my mental health suffered because of it.
You NEED time away from your work and you shouldn’t feel guilty when having a little bit of fun and letting your brain relax.
As with every aspect of university life, you will have high (and probably unrealistic) expectations of your Dissertation. No, you will most probably not be sitting calmly in the university library near a window romantically holding a mug of hot chocolate and indulging in literary criticism, writing your notes in coloured calligraphy pens and uploading these aesthetically pleasing pictures to Pinterest.
Spoiler alert! In reality, you will be frantically writing all the information you deem to be important into a notebook that is filled with random quotes, page numbers and memos. Embrace the research process, it is one of the most rewarding parts of your Dissertation! 
General Advice from The Dissertation Fairy:
Now that we have learnt what an undergraduate English Dissertation actually is and how to manage our time efficiently, let me share with you some tips that I have collect from my time as both an undergraduate and postgraduate research candidate.
- With any research topic there is going to be a huge number of books and articles (both contextual and critical) which could be useful to your research. You can’t read everything! Remember to be self-disciplined and only read what you feel is necessary and know when to stop. Going down a rabbit hole of related articles on JStor is dangerous and I will not send a search party to find you.
- Always make sure you are aware of deadlines for your drafts, the feedback you get from your supervisor is so valuable and it will really give you an insight into what you are doing well and where you need to improve. If you miss draft deadlnes it’s not the end of the world per say, but it will put you at a significant disadvantage. Take full advantage of drafts, please.
- Speaking of your supervisor, they are there to support and guide you. If you’re having an off day, or you’re stuck in a rut and have no idea what to do, go and speak to them! They have been in the same situation as you and understand better than anyone how you’re feeling and will be more than happy to help. Equally, don’t hand in a piece of work and expect to get it back the next day with notes, feedback and comments. Your supervisors are people too and have other students, modules and deadlines to meet.
- During the first part of your Dissertation focus on establishing your topic, reading your primary texts and explore existing criticism on your chosen topic. Using this information you should start to make notes and begin to formulate your argument.
- In the second part of your Dissertation you need to have devised a clear structure for your essay and set yourself deadlines to covering certain areas of the essay. Be realistic with your goals and ask your supervisor if they think they are attainable. Regardless of this, don’t be too harsh on yourself and leave time for ‘spillage’ as it may take your longer to write up a certain section or, you fall ill or an inconvenient happens and you need to stop writing for a short period of time.
- Remember to leave room for your conclusion! I hate writing conclusions too, even at PhD level! But they are an important part of your Dissertation and you should leave a good amount of time to write it properly. You also need to make sure you leave enough time to edit/polish your final draft before submission. Looking for silly spelling mistakes or making sure you have referenced a paper correctly in the footnotes and bibliography. Small mistakes like these cant cost you valuable marks, don’t overlook the power of editing!
Now that I have shared my knowledge of Undergraduate English Literature Dissertation writing with you, I hope that you go forth and approach your Dissertation with excitement and not fear. Remember: it is normal to have days where you hate what your writing, everyone does. Give yourself a break and try again tomorrow. You are amazing at what you do and I wish you the best in your academic journey!
Written by Alessandra P, English language, literature and dissertation tutor. Do you need help with your dissertation? Contact us today.