Writing a dissertation is beyond stressful. It’s the most difficult thing you’ll have to do at University. It’s even harder if you’re an unorganised person. Your blood sweat and tears go into writing those 10,000 words and the process is unbearable. Here are the stages of completing a dissertation. Warning: only those who are messy and unsystematic will relate.
1. Meeting with your supervisor
All is well with the world. The endless possibilities of what to write about have been narrowed down. Your supervisor has given you many ideas and theories to look at. And you have a good idea where to begin. It’s the most optimism you’ll experience in this process.
2. Realise you have to do work
The idea of writing is much better than actually writing. And as you’re staring at your computer screen, with 0 words written. You start to like the idea of not writing at all. You begin to doubt your capabilities. What have you actually learnt in the past two years? Do you even know how to reference? Did you take the wrong course?
3. Ignore your work
The thought of starting your dissertation is too overwhelming; so you decide to do nothing for a while. The panic comes in waves but you figure you’ll get it done eventually.
4. Lie to your supervisor about how much work you’ve done
You’ve been dodging your supervisor’s emails for weeks but they finally manage to arrange a meeting with you. So you try your best to convince them you’ve been doing a lot of work. And, even though you haven’t sent them anything yet, you’re still on track. You spend the entire meeting avoiding eye contact and ignoring the expression of doubt on their face.
5. Realise there’s a month until the deadline
Somehow an entire year has passed and you only have a month left to finish your dissertation. You go to the library and make a start. You spend days defeated by outdated readings and theories, which you don’t know how to relate to your topic anyway. You’re finally putting in the effort but it doesn’t seem to show.
6. Have a meltdown and apply for mitigating circumstances
On your second consecutive all-nighter you put together the little work you’ve gathered. And it’s nowhere near enough. You find yourself typing a desperate plea at 4am asking your academic advisor for mitigating circumstances.
7. Get serious
You’re lucky you got the extension because the initial deadline is in two days. You read and re-read until you’re sick of it. In your burnt-out state the words seem so unfamiliar. You begin to doubt every part of it. But it’s too late to change it now.
8. Submit and sleep
You press submit and feel the weight of the world leave your shoulders. Then you go back to bed guilt-free and sleep for the first time, in what seems like years. You will never have to think about writing a dissertation again!
