Dissertation PDP

Over the summer, I didn’t manage to get as much work done as I would like, but I began by reading various books about advertising techniques and recording relevant notes. I was quite worried about the dissertation, and didn’t feel as if I really knew how to construct or order the notes I had made into a literature review.

On returning to university, I had a tutorial with Cath Davies. She explained to me that I should categorize my notes into subheadings regarding all the different types of, and methods used in, advertising. This focused my attention and clarified my concerns on how to relate all the information together; as I had previously considered trying to categorize my notes based on the author rather than the techniques. This would have proved very confusing when trying to relate back to the literature review. Cath suggested I finish the review by the next tutorial and begin analyzing the animal welfare campaign images relating to my dissertation.

My second tutorial with Cath began with discussion of my literature review. I had almost completed the ‘advertising techniques’ section of my review, and needed to continue doing the same thing with the ‘animal ethics’ section; compiling my notes under relevant headings and grouping together similar academic opinions.

I had also begun analyzing, from an advertising techniques perspective, my chosen animal welfare campaign images using the ‘table’ strategy taught by Cath in the first year. First you describe the image, then analyse the image (justifying the descriptions from the first section) before finally supporting the analysis with academic perspectives. This approach has been incredibly helpful; clarifying and consolidating my findings into a simple table from which to compile the main prose of my dissertation.

I found that I really started to enjoy the independent learning aspect of writing this dissertation. I have always been interested in and a supporter of animal rights, but never thought I would have any interest in advertising. Now, even outside of university, I find myself analyzing adverts, considering what techniques have been used, and if the resulting advert is effective.

Also, reading many academically reviewed books has given me a much better understanding of how I should approach my own dissertation. I was struggling with the concept of explaining a quote or someone else’s ideas, especially if said quote appeared very self-explanatory. I believe this is where I fell down in previous essays; I was simply stating what others had said rather than going on to expand and explain. It also made me understand the style of academic writing I needed to employ whilst writing this thesis.

Having completed my literature review and started writing-up my analysed images into prose, I handed in my work to receive feedback from Cath. She said that I had an excellent level of academic research in chapter one, which I was very pleased with, as I wasn’t sure if I was writing in a concise manner. Knowing I was heading in the right direction gave me a boost of confidence, and helped me to feel less stressed about the whole process.

Cath’s other comments were to continue with the images, and finish writing those up before the next tutorial (which would be the last before Christmas), as well as summarizing the conclusion to my dissertation with bullet points so would be able to see my plan of action over Christmas. Furthermore, I must remember to reference and cite properly. I decided to go back over my work at a later date to rectify this, and just focus on trying to get the body of work done so Cath would be able to view it. I was a bit behind where I would have liked to be at this stage, but felt confident that I knew the direction I was heading in.

During the following tutorial with Cath, we discussed the approach to take regarding formulating my introduction and conclusion, and what elements and structure were needed for each section. I had initially been confused as to what the introduction needed to include. This was resolved quickly by Cath, who explained I should summarise the content of each chapter. I made a bullet-point list for both sections, and talked about what crucial findings would be necessary in a conclusion.

Over Christmas, I finished all of the main elements of my dissertation, and proceeded to begin the correct formatting and structuring of the dissertation, as this is often a deceptively time consuming aspect. Once the format was acceptable, I began reading and re-reading my dissertation from beginning to end in order to ensure coherence between chapters and sections, proper citation, and correct spelling and grammar.

Research I have been conducting for my dissertation has definitely informed my own art work. I am creating Subject work based on the same theme – animal rights/welfare. This has allowed me to put the research and techniques I have been reading about into action within my own work. It has proved to be incredibly helpful and insightful to have this knowledge – especially regarding advertising techniques- whilst trying to create work that is, essentially, advertising for animal rights/welfare. It has also allowed me to analyse my own work as I am going, and change or explore certain elements based on successful or effective advertising methods. I have also been able to analyse what would make an effective animal welfare campaign by relating these general advertising techniques to my ’cause’ and discussing what techniques would be most effective for this sensitive topic.

As well as relating to my own subject work, this thesis has made me consider what I would like to do with my life after university. As an animal lover, I have been contemplating trying to involve myself with helping animal charities in order to gain work experience in an area I am passionate about, and hopefully continue on to progress in this field.

Term 1 Dissertation Reflection 3

Having completed my literature review and started writing-up my analysed images into prose, I handed in my work to receive feedback from Cath. She said that I had an excellent level of academic research in chapter one, which I was very pleased with, as I wasn’t sure if I was ‘waffling’ too much. Knowing I am heading in the right direction gave me a boost of confidence, and has helped me to feel less stressed about the whole thing.

Her other comments were to continue with the images, and finish writing those up by the next tutorial (which will be the last before Christmas), as well as summarizing the conclusion to my dissertation with bullet points so she is able to see my plan for work over Christmas. Also, I must remember to reference and cite properly. I will go back over my work and rectify this, but at the moment I have been trying to get the body of work done so Cath is able to view it. I am a bit behind where I would like to be at the moment, but I feel confident that I know the direction I am heading in and where I need to go from here.

Research I have been conducting for my dissertation has definitely informed my own art work. I am creating Subject work based on the same theme – animal rights/welfare – as my dissertation. This has allowed me to put the research and techniques I have been reading about into action within my own work. It has proved to be incredibly helpful and insightful to have this knowledge – especially regarding advertising techniques- whilst trying to create work that is, essentially, advertising for animal rights/welfare. It has also allowed me to analyse my own work as I am going, and change or explore certain elements more based on these successful or effective advertising methods. I have also been able to analyse what would make an effective animal welfare campaign by relating these general advertising techniques to my ’cause’ and discussing what techniques would be most effective for this sensitive topic.

Term 1 Dissertation Reflection 2

My second tutorial with Cath began with discussion of my literary review. I have pretty much completed the advertising technique aspect of my review, and now need to continue doing the same thing with the animal ethics section; compiling my notes under relevant headings and grouping together similar academic opinions.

I had also begun analyzing, from an advertising techniques perspective, my chosen animal welfare campaign images using the ‘table’ strategy taught by Cath in the first year. First you describe the image, then analyse the image (justifying the descriptions from the first section) before finally proving this analysis with academic perspectives. This approach has been incredibly helpful; clarifying and consolidating my findings into a simple table.

I have found that I have really started to enjoy the independent learning aspect of writing this dissertation. I have always been interested in and a supporter of animal rights, but never thought I would have any interest in advertising. Even now, outside of uni, I find myself analyzing adverts and considering what techniques have been used.

Also, reading so many academic reviewed books has given me a much better understanding of how I should go about writing my own dissertation. I was struggling with the concept of explaining a quote or someone else’s ideas, especially if said quote appeared very self explanatory. I believe this is where I fell down in previous essays; I was simply stating what others had said rather than going on to analyse and explain.

By the next tutorial, Cath has suggested I get as much more done as possible so she is able to give me as much feedback as she can after the review of the dissertation thus far.

Term 1 Dissertation Reflection 1

Over the summer, I didn’t manage to get as much work done as I would like, but I began with reading various books on advertising techniques and recording relevant notes. I was quite worried about the dissertation, and didn’t feel as if I really knew how to construct or order the notes I had made into a literary review.

On returning to uni, I had a tutorial with Cath Davies. She explained to me that I should categorize my notes into subheadings regarding all the different types of, and methods used in, advertising. This focused my attention and really clarified my concerns on how to relate all the information together; as I had previously considered trying to categorize my notes based on the person rather than the techniques which would have been very confusing when trying to relate back to the literary review.
Cath suggested I finish the literary review by the next tutorial and begin analyzing the animal welfare campaign images relating to my dissertation.