5 Things I Learned While Writing My Dissertation

My dissertation is finally done and handed in and I have never been so relieved in my entire life. I worked so hard on it, and I'm really proud of the finished product. But now that I've had the opportunity to think back on the last nine-ish months, there are several things that I would do differently.

1) No matter how early you start, you will still panic about how much time you have
We were advised to start thinking about our dissertation in the summer after second year. This essentially gave us over a year to complete the work, but the majority of people didn't really start thinking about it until the beginning of third year, and didn't start writing it until after Christmas, which leaves very little time for breakdowns and freak-outs.

2) The detailed plan that I had at the beginning of the year is completely different to the piece of work that I actually handed in
The first idea that I had for my dissertation was to write about feminism within the Star Wars saga. I handed in 10 000 words about the gothic tropes of Harry Potter. Chances are, what you plan to write about and what you actually hand in will be two completely different things. And that's okay. It shows progression. If you hand in a piece of work that is identical to the plan you had six months before, chances are you haven't learnt anything from it. And if you haven't learnt anything from it, the person marking it won't either.

3) You need double the amount of research
If you thought researching a 2000 word essay was stressful, think again. Ideally, you should start researching as soon as you've got an idea, especially as that idea will evolve and change and most of your research will probably be irrelevant, as I learnt the hard way. You can't do too much research. The more you have, the better, because it means you can be selective about what goes into your final piece.

4) Ideally, you need to work on it every single day
This sounds ridiculous, but it's true. It doesn't have to be all day every day, but you should do SOMETHING on it every single day. Whether that's read an article or write 500 words, you should spend some time on your dissertation every single day.

5) Trying to edit as you go will cause you to have a mental breakdown
Your dissertation and specific focus will likely change every time you work on it, so trying to edit as you go is just a disaster waiting to happen. Your best bet is to just write and write and write until you have nothing left to say, and THEN edit to create this perfect document. Cutting down 12 000 words to 10 000 words will leave you with a much better product than trying to get up to the word count by adding in 100 words here and there.

Overall, I enjoyed writing my dissertation, but it's not something I would want to do again in a hurry. Ask any third year student and they will tell you the same thing - they are SICK of their topic and never want to look at it ever again. I can't say that's true for me - Harry Potter is and always will be my first love, but it has made me change the way I look at it. Pick a topic that you love and are genuinely interested in, and it will make the entire process so much easier.

6 Things I Learned During My Second Year of University

Having now finished my second year of university, I've had some time to reflect about how it went overall, and I've come up with six things that I've learnt over the last year.

1) Your grades actually matter now
One of the nice things about first year was that ultimately, it didn't matter what grades you got as long as you passed, because your grades in first year don't count towards your overall degree grade. However, in second year your grades count, and therefore there is more pressure to not just pass, but actually do well. You might have gotten away with avoiding the library in your first year, but no longer!

2) Lecturers will be less lenient
You're in second year now, you're not the newbies anymore, and as a result of that, your lecturers will stop letting you off with not prepping for your seminar. There will be no excuses for not doing the reading, and thinking on your feet will become second nature.

3) You learn how to keep yourself busy outside of campus
Chances are, you won't be living on campus anymore, and therefore you have to learn to entertain yourself in the local area. Having only 8 hours of lectures a week means a lot of free time outside of studying, and hence I started volunteering in order to keep myself busy.

4) You learn how to get around town
On a similar note, second year is probably when you'll become very familiar with the town/city that you live in. You'll learn where everything is, what buses to take and which shortcuts are the best. Essentially, you'll become a lot more comfortable in the community.

5) Lecturers care about how well you do
Depending on the size of your university, it's very easy to feel like a face lost in the crowd, that your lecturers wouldn't even notice if you did attend the lecture. But during second year, you learn that they do actually care about how well you do. They will be happy to meet with you to discuss issues, and they want to help you get the best grades possible.

6) Your housemates will become your family
Having chosen your housemates for second year, chances are you'll be having a great time living with them. However, this doesn't always mean that you'll get on with them all the time. You'll be spending more time with them than anyone else, you'll probably fight like siblings, and nag each other like parents.

Personally, I found that second year was more stressful than first year, but also more interesting. I became more comfortable with university life and I have really settled into the university routine.

How did you find the second year of university?

University Essentials

I'm currently one week and two exams away from finishing my second year at university, and over the last two years I've become an expert on what you really need to manage at university.

1) A planner

Some kind of organisational system is essential for life at university. You're gonna have a lot of meetings, particularly in the first few weeks and then of course you have lectures and seminars to attend. Towards the end of the year you'll probably have revision sessions and the like, so some kind of diary is definitely going to help organise your life.

2) Pens

This one goes with the first one really, but having coloured pens will just make organisation a bit more interesting. There's only so many times you can write the same lectures in every week in the same old black pen!

3) Textbooks

To be honest, this is probably a bit more specific to my course, but having all the textbooks we're studying is so important. The only person who's going to suffer if you don't do the reading is you, and you don't want to look like an idiot if you're the only person who hasn't done it.

These things obviously go alongside all the obvious things: pens, paper, etc. I just thought it would be helpful for people who are interested about what actually gets used at university, because I know that in first year I brought a load of stuff that I never used again.

What are your university essentials?

10 Things I Learned During My First Year of University

1) It's very different to school
Once you get to university, you are in charge of your own education. There will be no one breathing down your neck about deadlines and there will be no one to drag you out of bed for your lectures. This may sound good, but if you've got a 9am after a heavy night, it is completely up to you to make sure you get there on time.

2) Chances are, you won't get on with your flatmates
Not all of them at least. Living in halls is a massive change, and you have no control over who your flatmates are. But this is all part of the university experience. Some of my friends got on really well with all of their flatmates, and some, myself included, did not. But don't worry about it, it's only for a year, and then you can live with whoever you like. Yay! :)

3) You'll either love or hate halls
No doubt you've probably read some horror stories about the state of some halls of residence. But let me tell you, I loved mine. My university has three separate halls of residence, and none of them were as awful as what you read online. I'm currently over halfway through my second year, and I miss halls. I would have stayed there the entire three years if I could, despite not getting on with all of my flatmates.

4) Talking in seminars really isn't a big deal
If you're anything like me and 99% of the rest of the population, the thought of speaking in front of other people terrifies you. But I'm here to tell you that it's really not a big deal. Everyone else is just as scared as you are, and it'll be over before you know it. Volunteering answers in seminar discussions makes a good impression on your lecturers too, and by talking to the people in your seminar groups, it is easier to make friends with them. Don't be that person who refuses to say anything in every seminar, those people get old quickly.

5) 9am's will be the bane of your life
Especially in the winter, when it's dark. Chances are, your halls of residence are on campus so you don't have to walk that far, but when you have to walk for 20 minutes in the dark, it's really not fun.

6) There will always be someone who likes the same things as you
No matter what it is: sports, TV, obscure hobbies, there will be someone who likes it too. I promise. Depending on just how obscure it is, it might take you a little while to find them, but they're there.

7) All-nighters will become a regular thing the day before deadlines
If you're organised and motivated, you can get your assignments done a few days before the deadline. However chances are, at least one assignment will have you up until 3am the night before, downing gallons of coffee and praying that the marker is in a good mood.

8) Unplanned nights are always the best
As someone who doesn't really drink, nights out are always just okay for me, but by far the best ones are the ones that no one plans on happening. Whether it's going out or staying in with a takeaway and having a movie night, unplanned nights are the best.

9) It's nothing like you expected
No matter how you are imagining university to be, it will be completely different. You will have good days, you will have bad days but it will be the best thing you ever do.

10) You'll meet some of the most amazing people ever and make friends for life
I can honestly say that the people I've met at university are the best people ever. One of my flatmates from halls is now one of my best friends, and I couldn't do this without her. The three girls that I'm closest with on my course are amazing, and I'm so glad that I met them. I have my days when I wonder whether I made the right decision in coming to uni, but then I think about the friends I've made and the people I've met and know that I've made the right decision.

Why University Isn't For Everyone

As I write this, I'm sat in my bedroom here at university, bored out of my mind and trying to occupy myself in the long hours between done-with-work-for-the-night and acceptable-time-to-get-into-bed.
I'm currently in my second year of university studying English Literature, and while I know that I made the right decision in coming to uni, I also know that it's not for everyone.

I've gone back and forth about whether I want to be here, and I've considered dropping out more often then I would care to admit. Ultimately, the only one who can decide whether university is the right option, is you. But nevertheless, here's five reasons why university isn't for everyone:

1) It's expensive
No one can deny that university is damn expensive, particularly here in the UK. The current cost of a year's tuition is anywhere between £8500 and £9000. Plus, on top of that, the majority of students apply for a maintenance loan in order to pay for basic living costs: food, rent, bills, etc. All of this money has to be paid back at the end of the degree. Some students used to be able to get 'free' money in terms of a maintenance grant that doesn't have to be paid back, however this scheme has recently been scrapped by the UK government. The result of this is that fewer and fewer students are going to be able to afford to go to university in the first place.

2) Being away from home is hard
This is obviously going to effect some people more than others, but being away from home is really hard. Particularly if university is the first time that you're living away from home, which it probably will be for the majority of people. But remember, everyone will be in the same situation you are, your family is only a phone or Skype call away, and you will not be at university forever. The situation is only temporary, and there are always ways to make yourself feel better.

3) Independent study involves a lot of commitment
Studying at university is very different from being in school. There is no one breathing down your neck to do your work, no one will nag you to take notes in lectures, and there will be no teacher to keep reminding you that your deadlines are coming up. If you forget to set your alarm and oversleep, there's no one to blame for that but you. With a little bit of organisation however, this really won't be too much of an issue.

4) The pressures of student living
Again, this depends on the type of person you are, but as someone who doesn't really drink, the pressure to get completely trashed is extremely high. If this is the type of person you are, then no problem, but if it's not, just remember you don't have to do anything you don't want to do - including downing the dirty pint in the centre of your ring of fire. If nothing else, I promise you this: you will make friends with like-minded people and you'll get on just fine.

5) Sometimes it literally isn't the right choice
Depending on the job you want to do, university might not even be the right answer for you at all. There are many other options besides university, and unless you definitely know what you want to study or that you need the degree for the job you want to do, it's probably not worth the money.

As I said earlier, the only person that can make the decision about whether university is right for you or not is you. If you do decide to go, I promise you'll have a good time. And if you don't, then that's fine too.

What are your experiences at university?