• Start early
• Work consistently
• Aim to finish early
• We cannot emphasis enough that leaving your analysis and discussion until the last minute will have an adverse impact on your work

Be realistic!

• Work out how long it will take you to conduct each element. For example, planning to collect data overseas will very rarely be feasible within a one year course.
• Leave plenty of time to reflect on your findings: weak discussions in dissertations are often the result of a hasty write-up.