Dissertation Talk

I was one of six third years asked to present to the second years regarding the dissertation today. Revisiting that stage in the study reminded me of the anxieties and pressures that signal the beginning of the third year. Now that it has passed for us, it is easy to forget what the dissertation brough to us as students. It encouraged us to engage in thorough research, acknowledge sources and become an expert in a field for a short amount of time.

I remember when I was sitting at the other end of this talk last year. It doesn't feel long ago, yet I remember it well. It seemed that I would recall the advice after I had repeated the mistake they were warning against. I suppose it is only natural that our emphasis on the importance of the Summer break will go begging when it comes to the time. We all told ourselves that we would get it done, but September comes around quickly when you are working full time.

I am sure that they will find the dissertation as worthwhile as I did. It demands a new level of time management that forces you to comply with such weight in the final grading. This lesson is essential for the third year as you rework, design and prepare your portfolio, website and CV alongside the studio brief. This was one of the first lectures about the dissertation that the second years had endured, but soon enough it will be them sitting in my position having completed the assignment and stepping on the brink of graduation. With the grading of the dissertation still a mystery, there may still be a telling contribution from the most dreaded of undergraduate essays...