How to Write Your Dissertation / Thesis FAST! | Everything I Wish I Knew 📝

So... you want to write a dissertation? guys, we've got this.
I swear, writing your thesis is like birthing a baby. From choosing a topic, to roping a good supervisor, to writing THOUSANDS of words and iterating it again and again, the process is long and arduous :') Here's everything I wish I knew before writing my diss -- I hope it helps you out. You've got this 🦋
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction: My thesis!!
2:10 Stage 1: Choosing a Topic
2:21 Choose Something You're Interested In (basic but IMPORTANT)
3:09 Decide What Your Thesis Means to You (e.g career goals, grades)
4:22 You Don't Have To Change the World
5:10 Stage 2: Planning and Organisation
5:55 Create a System From the Start e.g Notion
6:30 Knowledge Management Systems for References e.g Zotero
7:29 Stage 3: Research
8:52 Stage 4: Writing!
9:29 Use your Supervisor
10:25 Write Little and Often
11:02 Pomodoro Technique
11:29 Accountability Partner
12:34 Chat GPT!!
13:08 Just write!!!
13:27 You've got this.
14:10 My experience
Mentioned in the video: 💌
Zotero: www.zotero.org/
Idenati: idenati.com/
Kroner's capstone template: www.notion.so/Capstone-Templa...
Don't forget to drop Kroner some support here if you use her template: buymeacoff.ee/kroner
Notion: ntn.so/unjadedjadebts
If you're writing your diss, YOU'VE GOT THIS! It's suchhhh a long process but you learn a lot about yourself throughout. Sending so so much love and luck!
📚 Buy my book: unbouncepages.com/the-only-stu...
💐 All my favourite products: kit.co/unjadedjade
🦋 Follow me on Instagram (I post a lot more here!): / unjadedjade
✨ CONTACT ME ✨
Business Enquiries: [e-mail]
Instagram - @unjadedjade
TikTok: @unjadedjade
🌞 MORE 🌞
Casual Magic of the Day: thinking about how much i'd love guava and then turning the corner to a fruit stand selling FRESH GUAVA! i love life sometimes hehe
Song of the Day: river by miley cyrus! what a queen :')
Currently Reading: too many academic readings
What are YOU grateful for today?
FAQ:
How old are you? ~ 23
Where are you from? ~ The UK! Near London.
Where do you go to university? ~ Minerva Schools at KGI
One of the best decisions you ever made? ~ Taking a gap year!
CURRENT FAVOURITES - things I love recently (these are all affiliate links):
Laptop stand: tinyurl.com/y7fvdglm
My beloved ukulele: amzn.to/3niJzht
My vegan Doc Marten boots: amzn.to/2Uf7ySb
Pip and Nut Almond Butter: amzn.to/3eSEOaG
Lifechanging productivity app Notion (free!): www.notion.so
Two of my fave hair products: amzn.to/32ZlLX6 and amzn.to/32ZlLX6
I also love the Chrome extension Momentum!: tinyurl.com/ped7kbq
if no one has told you today, you are enough. 💛

[@Fandoms4Life]

My Master's dissertation supervisor told me that it's just about learning how to do research; it's not about getting groundbreaking results at this stage!!!

[@hannahdigitals]

Crazy that you started out giving A levels advice and now you are talking about college dissertations, so fun to watch the growth!

[@lucutes2936]

She moves to different countries a lot

[@sharks2571]

Some of my top tips for writing dissertations/literature reviews 1. Take good notes as you read- rewrite the information in your own words, specifically for the context you are writing about. This means that when you come to write it up, you can just copy all your notes into your outline, and slightly rephrase things as needed, but you know it's all in your own words and referenced properly. Its then more about pulling your writing together into a cohesive form rather than starting from a blank page. 2. Use a zettle-kasten (second brain) system to connect and store your notes. And store ALL your notes here. I use obsidian because it is easy and future proof. When you take your notes, categorise them and connect them to other notes you've taken. Then when you come to write everything you've ever taken notes on a topic will be searchable and linked, so you can find interesting connections in information. 3. Write things up in a flexible writing software. I always put together my drafts in Scrivener because it is super flexible, I can rearrange my writing super simply to see how the flow works best. It's great, would highly recommend 4. If you use a reference manager (zotero etc), use a referencing system that you will be able to find the paper again if the manager crashes. For my first ever literature review I used IEEE, which just has numbers like [1], to cut down on word count. Welp, the day before my literature review was due, the referencing manager I used glitched and lost all my references, and I was stuck having to find every reference from scratch. So don't do that😅. I'm personally traumatised so have refused to use a reference manager ever since- I use the citation button on Google scholar to get most of my citations- make sure they are right as sometimes there are slight errors you need to correct.

[@ol_m3844]

I agree and also want to add another tip: if you constantly get lost in references, you can just use the comment function and write the names/links of papers there

[@gloriamolina4299]

I'd like to share a piece of advice from my own personal experience as an undergraduate writing my own dissertation: make several drafts of each section of your dissertation. Your first draft can be rubbish but it does not matter, because you know that you will rework it several times until you are entirely happy with it. This helped me remove the pressure that I was putting on myself, because I wanted my dissertation to be perfect right from the very beginning, but it doesn't have to be! Just keep writing and editing until you are satisfied with the final result :) Also, maybe this is just personal to me, but I find that when I write on paper (as opposed to on a laptop screen) I find that my ideas are much clearer. I'm not saying to write your whole thesis by hand, especially if it's a big one, but if you're struggling with a specific section, try to handwrite it.

[@trappart9209]

Thank you!

[@321Bliz]

I've been following you since the GCSE days and your youtube channel has provided me with inspiration and motivation in academia and life ever since🌟I'm a year younger than you so your journey has felt very relevant to mine, thank you for everything you've created, true casual magic - gonna go research for that diss!

[@mlc8921]

jade this is perfect timing! my dissertation is due in april and i'm stressed out to the max but this will help me out so much, thank you! xx

[@lacthetomato]

Little and often, such good advice Jade, thank you agaiiiin 🧡🧡🧡 definitely building uo from non-negotiables rather than waiting for inspiration to just kick in. Have a blissful day mwaaah ✨✨

[@kiarabraum341]

It's so nice that it feels like you're going on a journey similar to mine, at the same time. I really appreciate it. I started using Notion a month ago because of you, to organize my honours thesis and it's making me excited to do it! Thanks sweet Jade :)

[@anxen]

Great stuff Jade! I'm sure you will ace it all. One trick I find useful when reading reference materials is to try and remember one unique sentence with either author name and topic or specific phrase which then Google easily pulls up when I'm looking for that article later. Every author has s unique word structure so just pick the most idiosyncratic bit.

[@idah28]

you'll always be my favorite youtuber .....every video of yours serves as an inspiration to me 💌

[@alicetaylorsversion13]

Huge congratulations for finishing your dissertation - sounds like such a fascinating project!! I'm currently in year 12 and have just finished the first draft of my EPQ, which is effectively a 5000 word researched essay! It's been a very exciting process as the first proper researched project I've done and I'm really proud of how it's turned out, but I completely agree with and recommend the need for referencing as you go along as I didn't do that and it took a very long time to go back to find all of my sources! ✨❤

[@orangesnowflake3769]

What's an EPQ

[@alicetaylorsversion13]

@@orangesnowflake3769 it stands for ‘extended project qualification’ and it’s effectively a 5000 word researched essay that sixth form students in England can choose to take! It’s equivalent to half of an A-Level! Hope that helps! ❤️

[@orangesnowflake3769]

@@alicetaylorsversion13 ah cool, good luck 👍

[@alicetaylorsversion13]

@@orangesnowflake3769 thank you so much!! 😊

[@edenpenwright1458]

what did you do your epq on?

[@chiarag612]

Perfect timing, i am procrastinating the start of my thesis A LOT :( u gave me some inspiration

[@lesliegraham8478]

You're living the amazing time of your life really well. Keep it up!

[@anneschaeffer7977]

you figured it all out so well, with every tip you give I already feel like I'm 10 steps behind you...

[@marievan3165]

THANKS Jade this video is so helpful ❤❤ I'm stuck between the research and the writing stage of my dissertation and I couldn't find any input to overcome this obstacle, but I guess I've just found something magic here 😇

[@josiegjackson]

YES to the word dump! Currently writing my first draft and it is currently far from perfect, but at least I have my points hiding there somewhere, I just need to bring those out to be stronger and clearer work! I have assigned myself 27 mini sections and I've done 18, really feeling the progress I've done and it motivates me more to just get those final 9 sections done. Last month I was feeling very lost and my dissertation is not my supervisors area of expertise and I needed one - so I used my network and booked to talk to an expert within the university to blurt out my thoughts and she helped me classify my main thoughts and direct me toward that more specific goal. Ask for help if you feel the progress is stagnating and you'll come out accelerating!

[@cinephile1712]

I’ve been out of undergrad for a long time, but am always impressed with your approaches to studying and writing, especially the thesis portion. I wrote mine before there were notes management software programs, etc. It was me, my desktop, a lot of xeroxed journal articles, and many notes. Oh, and loads of post its/other tabs. I worked on at least part of it daily, even if it was just pulling out some quotes I wanted to cite. Fast forward through two grad degrees, where my writing methods didn’t change too much (less time at the copier, though). The one thing that always made life easier were review articles in peer-reviewed journals. They’re such goldmines and a great way to make sure you’re on track with your thesis. Good luck and enjoy the rest of your final year!

[@LittleAsian_]

Awwww ❤ I’ve watched you since I was in high school! Crazy to see how fair you have come.

[@pauli_joy]

The way I'm also watching this the summer before my final year 😭😭 Thank you for this Jade!

[@mattcreed2715]

So useful, thank you for taking the time and making it all a bit easier for everybody in the process.

[@kasungomatenga9376]

This video literally came at the perfect time, thanks Jade❤️ much love from Zambia!

[@TristanSharman]

I'm writing my dissertation now and this was super refreshing! Definitely going to try the 'little and often' strat rather than huge bulky sessions

[@katelynhieber872]

Thank you so much Jade! xx I honestly needed this. I feel so overwhelmed and upset about my dissertation, even tho I'm still in 2nd year of uni and just starting to research for it. I hope I can cheer up and crack on with it. Your video has given me hope!

[@user-rs3ge3dq4s]

Honestly the best video on this topic!

[@eevzke]

I needed exactly this video, Jade! Thank you so so so much!!

[@daniannlewis]

I might be a junior in high school, but I am going to need this. Thank you so much Jade !! I will save this in a playlist. Also I love how people also give pointers in the comment section

[@rosiesmedley7993]

Jade, thank you so much for this video, it was incredibly useful!!! I’m coming to the end of my 2nd year of my psychology undergraduate degree so I have to write my diss next year! I have to use APA referencing too. I already have a good idea of what I want to do and I have scheduled a meeting with one of my lecturers who is an expert in the area to talk about it further.

[@aruzhan2439]

This is such a helpful and wholesome video! Thank you so much

[@lauracardillo4981]

I had my final high school exams an year after you, and now I'm writing my undergraduate thesis and it feels so weird to have literally grown up together. Hope you the best, Jade

[@evansragwa5475]

All the best for your project

[@nataljawells3761]

The timing of this is impeccable

[@sofiebrixen3482]

Thank you, thank you, thank you - this was just what I needed 🤩

[@erikyeghinyan1103]

Thank you for your advice. I was really stressed; I just started my process, and I was feeling perplexed, like literally, like from the title, to understand what I am going to analyze, but once I got through this video, I felt relaxed. Thank you!

[@Voldemorti]

Wrote mine in 5 days, got an A Still my proudest achievement lol

[@lisasjournal]

Thank you Jade❤. This was so helpful. I'm writing my secondary school finals in 2 months and I will be off to university. So I'm glad I can come back to this wonderful video in the future for reference.

[@ishitadeb6361]

Thank you for this. Indeed, this video was very helpful to ensure whether I am on the right path and whether my research process is the right one or not.

[@nataliajimenez461]

Thank you so much!!!❤ I needed this

[@krishnarajesh6248]

This was very helpful. I've been struggling to start writing my lit. review and I think this really helped. Also thank you for introducing me to the pomodoro technique! Thank you so much, again xx

[@Zoe_EK]

For all of my wet lab besties out there: another tip for making your life a lot easier is to create a labeling and storage system for your samples and data beforehand + plan your experiments carefully always with a clear question in mind. Rather take a day off in the lab or just doing minimal maintenance work to focus on diving into your topic and knowing exactly WHY you are doing something and WHAT you are working towards than just hustling around the lab very stressed out😂

[@thenewyorkbookshelf7047]

I look forward to using all this advice for my masters this year 😍😍

[@jathebest2835]

Enjoyed your video even tho I don't need to write the dissertation since I graduated from my previous university. However, your explanation resonates with the software engineering side. They must first identify and clarify the initial problem, break the problem into sub-problems, and fix the whole piece by dealing with sub-problems. Go from top to bottom, and go from bottom to top, and voila!🌟 Btw, hope your inter-disciplinary study would bring a good impact on your future in general:) I like the fact that the inter-disciplinary aspect is heavily required in our current society since it's changing rapidly, and it's why I chose self-taught programming 👨🏻‍💻

[@sarahspears4468]

This reallyy helped me start my writing process. Thank you so much!

[@janeaodonnell114]

Hi, Jade! My friend and I have been following your journey for several years now and I'm so fascinated by the study of Cognitive Science and your journey around the world! Minerva seems so incredible! ^v^ It's so nice to be living vicariously through your channel, although you inspired me to still make time to travel even as a domestic student : P Next year, I will be completing my undergraduate degree in Fine Arts/Education and I hope that I can read your thesis one day to inform my teaching practice. Congratulations on completing your degree and I will be rooting for you and can't wait to see where your journey takes you next! All the best

[@tigereyewarrior]

Thanks so much for all your amazing and super inspirational videos 🙌🏻🤗

[@eshika6983]

Thank you Jade💛so helpful!!

[@lynnk8243]

You are so sweet, thank you for making this nerve wrecking journey sound a bit less frightening

[@shanjeevkandiah7765]

This is such an amazing video!!

[@sofie_ohlsson]

Congrats finishing your drift! 🎉

[@sabistudiys]

Jade, thank you for always giving me tips and advice pretty well exactly when I need it. Do you happen to have a video about selecting your secondary major?

[@cullynut]

Hi Jade! Sending all my love xx I have been here since you started uni. Honestly, I could not stress more what a role model you are to me; you feel like an amazing big sister who has helped me through it all! ❤❤ I am such a procrastinator 😂😅 and things like 🎉NOTION🎉 and study techniques have helped me SO much. If you wouldn't mind me asking what country would you recommend me travelling to as a solo female traveller 😊😮

[@yuanl9220]

It's really helpful!!!Thanks a lot!!!

[@joellak5860]

This couldn't have come at a better time! I officially start writing my Bachelor's dissertation tomorrow! 😂

[@qmuhammadahmed]

I enjoy your videos so much! It just makes my day ✨! Thanks Jade 🍀! BTW, I have a small script which alerts me when you upload a new video. 😉

[@NoorMohmed-ty6ty]

Have a great day, and thank you very much for your advice it really helps me to look forward, and I hope to complete my Ph.D. thesis soon.♥♥

[@globalfootwork]

I can help you with your thesis. You would get it very soon. It will be 100% plagiarism free. I would give you screenshots before you would pay.

[@vees_reflections]

you’re incredible

[@helenfordyce414]

I'm also writing my undergrad thesis rn, I just presented my lit review today and it was sooooo terrifying but I did it and my prof loved it😭 now I just gotta get through writing the whole thing lmao :D good luck jade!

[@yvyvyvybyvyvyv345]

Chat GPT is an amazing tool that I use daily for my work as well. Thank you Jade for this inspiring session.

[@sophierichardson8910]

Congratulations on finishing your thesis Jade!!!! So happy for you 😍😍

[@UnJadedJade]

Thank you Sophie 😭 honestly the end of an era, i feel like i birthed a baby ahaha

[@leeladurietz6209]

this is great, thank you!!

[@lailahsnothere]

this is golden 🤩🤩🥰

[@Fandoms4Life]

I would've loved to have seen this video when I was doing my undergrad!

[@yassiejanette]

I'm about to start my final year of an illustration degree in September, and though I love writing, mixing illustration and a dissertation has been baffling for me. This video has really helped me understand how to break down my topic, where to look and how to feel more at ease with the subject matter. I'm hoping to enjoy it even at the most frustrating of times. Thank you so much for sharing you tips! And if anyone is in the same position as me and would love to virtually keep each other on track lmk!!! ☺🧡

[@diamonddust9889]

I’m starting an international relations dissertation in September. I royally messed up my first two years and need a 73% to compensate so I can graduate with a 2:1.

[@universenever]

Omg....I am so early this time Love you jade ❤

[@UnJadedJade]

aaaaah hello you!! so much love

[@orangesnowflake3769]

I also definitely agree that studying with someone helps, I did a study session online with a friend and got more done in a few hours than a month. I don't have anyone to study with now though but just online people but we don't have a schedule or anything

[@AdityaJaokar]

Congrats Jade :)

[@user-nx9ic6ld8b]

Thank you for creating this. I've learned a lot from watching.

[@studysage6228]

Girl I watched you for my GCSEs advice now I’m here for my dissertation 😢

[@JuMixBoox]

I agree that the topic choice is a huge task. I think it was probably the hardest part for me. I did, however, luckily feel like my Bachelor's thesis did change the world, even just a little bit. Not that anyone other than me read it, but it had an interesting new result. However, that feeling was gone for my Master's thesis, I was kind of unhappy with that one. Unfortunately, that makes choosing a PhD topic, that is often ahead needed at point of application, way harder than it already is.

[@luise2191]

Thanks a lot for your words…❤

[@maxandmaxful]

Thank you soooo much you Helped allot!!!

[@EllaMitsch123]

aaaahhhh so i'm a theatre major so i don't have a dissertation per seyyyy however, we have to write so much stuff at the end of this year regarding our final performance and do so much dang reading, so in a way, this was hella helpful!

[@roxaskh4350]

I also did my exchange in Taipei at NTU! Hope that you're having an amazing time

[@folasayooketola5818]

You are a very organised person.

[@jordanwest-lq9zi]

Hi Jade! Thank you for the videos you make they really motivate me ❤

[@UnJadedJade]

so so glad 🤍📖 you can achieve whatever you want to!!

[@SarinaMotta]

I love cognitive science! I'm studying linguistics but i'm focusing on PsychoNeuroLinguistics, so fun!

[@padmeasmr]

I should have written my master dissertation last year I was so motivated but got really sick after starting and put everything on hold. Now I have to start almost from scratch and I feel so stuck. 100 pages minimum. I'm just scared of the amount of work, I'm scared it'll be not good enough, and especially I'm scared of the mid-work crisis. When you get around half way there it's so hard to keep going. I enjoyed very much writing my first dissertation which was around 50 pages, it was my favourite part of the bachelor and turned out really good. Why am I so stuck 😢

[@onuwajeoritsemeyiwa-dz6ou]

First time ever seeing your video this early 😂, Hi jade, from 🇳🇬

[@safaimanishams]

I find it insane that I used to watch your gcse videos, to a-level videos and now im watching your disco videos... the growth of us both is insane haha

[@3.14name]

This is gold, I'm struggling with executing disfunction paralysis, one month ahead of my undergrad submit deadline, I panic but I can't do anything, thank you.

[@beatatrzpil-jurgielewicz1395]

Hello, I am almost in the same moment in my life ( with differences in location :P )- I have finished my thesis, and in April I have a final deadline. Thank you for your pieces of advice Good luck..

[@laurafriedrich3815]

Also if you have the opportunity to do field research or work together with a company just do it, it might makes the whole research so much more interesting and fun.

[@Rayowag]

I'm over a year away from even starting a degree and a friend of mine told me to note down ideas for a dissertation already because she said your mind blanks once the project is right in front if you. So now I'll go into it with a couple ideas already.

[@shuhanhossean9159]

Hi

[@Fandoms4Life]

I kept noting down ideas throughout my whole undergrad so I had lots of ideas to use when it came to making a decision!

[@sola_a]

Honestly you really don't need to do this! Relax and enjoy your program. It'd say it's fine to start thinking about it a year before you have to write it but anything before that seems to be very unnecessary

[@Rrminn]

hi,,i from bangladesh,and me as a school student Many times ,i recognize your introductions because your recommendation always positive 😅 ,,,, Always inspired Luv uh a lot ☺️❤

[@meganchownvlogs]

I absolutely second getting a citation manager. I use EndNote and I got it free with my university so definitely worth finding out if that’s possible. I would advise when you import referenced to check through then that all the bits like volume, issue etc are there are it’s much easier to add in then than after.

[@angelulegaspi1714]

Early againnnn 💗 Hi Jade 💜 from 🇵🇭

[@UnJadedJade]

She's ON IT!! 😌

[@adaas3126]

love

[@mashadaa4415]

my dissertation deadline is in 3 days 😂 perfect timing! It’s stresssful being a last minute girly

[@UnJadedJade]

aaaaah... NO WAY!!!! you've got this 🥹 so so proud of you!! we do love a last minute girly haha

[@bee-dq2fy]

omg, last minute girlies unite! my deadline is in 4 days, and I have like 10000 words left to write (so about 1/3rd left!). I'll just think about how happy I'll be when it's done!

[@orangesnowflake3769]

Late gang haha... let's get it finished guys

[@evansragwa5475]

​@@bee-dq2fy hello, I wish you all the best

[@yustinussetyoyuniarto4816]

why are you so energetic ?

[@catherine5128]

wow I'm honestly so surprised that Minerva expects you to write 26,000 words just for an undergrad dissertation! Mine is only meant to be 7000💀 I'm sure yours is amazing in any case x

[@Fandoms4Life]

I can't believe it! Even my Masters dissertation is only 15k 😮

[@anonymousindividual0]

I’m doing two dissertations and a 5000 word project and it’s still fewer words than Minerva’s one dissertation, crazy.

[@kindateia]

Are we sure about this? :0 where'd you see that

[@catherine5128]

@@kindateia she said it during the video :)

[@evansragwa5475]

​@@Fandoms4Life all the best.

[@tiborkovacs5317]

Humans have a natural process of asking what? When predicating about something outside of their self it is the most natural thing we do our conscious attention can not help but ask what? Even when we think we are not doing it we are. To learn create make a statement ask a question give a order explain etc the template of who what where when which why how asking & answering these underlines everything we do. I think hahah Godspeed.

[@janhavilonkar6073]

i am doing my masters and the dissertation deadline is due next month and i am far behind than i planned. i have adhd and it makes it worse. this really helped

[@diaz9rox]

have you applied to any grad schools? if so would love to know about that process!

[@KB-bx9ui]

Hey Jade! Congrats on your diss! Will you be publishing it? 🎉

[@UnJadedJade]

Thank you so much!! I'll wait for final feedback and then look to publish it, yes

[@avishnabootun4669]

Thank you ❤

[@shuhanhossean9159]

Hi

[@TheGooseberryGirl]

brb sending this to all my students

[@emmafergusonhribar]

crazy they make u do a thesis in undergrad.

[@bursucantonia-luciana9380]

Yay, I'm early ❤ 🎉

[@UnJadedJade]

eeeeep hello !!!

[@aishah2536]

Great vid-I only wish I'd had this a few months ago. Any advice on someone that's left it last minute? -I have 600 words and the 5k deadline is less than 2 weeks away

[@Fandoms4Life]

Find what the main purpose is of that 5k and get into that focused mindset!!! You can do it!

[@orangesnowflake3769]

My big draft of my thesis is due tommorow and I barley started cos I keep getting stuck

[@kindateia]

What's Jade's dissertation topic?

[@judith4290]

Can someone explain me what is meant by HCs and LOs? Are these deadlines?