Supporting students undertaking dissertations

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When designing a module to support students in designing, undertaking and writing up a dissertation or final project there a number of parts of the activity to consider.

For many students it will be the longest piece of work both in terms of volume (word count) and duration that they will have undertaken during their academic journey. The scale of the activity can be daunting at the beginning and providing guidance and support at different points during their course and in the dissertation / major independent study module will aid the students in achieving their best outcome.

Below are some resources created by Leeds Beckett staff from different subject areas. Staff can adapt these resources to use with their own students. Students can also visit the Skills for Learning website to access support and guidance aimed at them.

A dissertation can take a number of forms such as long reports, annotated bibliographies, extended literature reviews and end of year shows.

Supporting notes from an intense literature review workshop from Carnegie School of Sport
Carnegie School of Sport – Literature review workshop
Interpreting feedback from different staff can be a skill, some students struggle with. Here the Carnegie School of Sport offer an interpretation for students of what some common feedback phrases can mean. It is important to think, will a student understand what I am asking them to do/think about when they read this feedback? Could they misinterpret what I have said?
Interpreting feedback on your writing: feedforward
The School of Humanities and Social Sciences offer a guide of what to include in a dissertation proposal and how to structure it.
Mock dissertation proposal
Slides from Carnegie School of Sport on Critical Thinking and writing better.
Writing better slides
Skills for Learning have a wide range of resources and support for students undertaking dissertations.
Skills for learning – dissertation and literature reviews