The Dissertation: What Sort of Animal Is It and How Might It Be Better Trained?

Abstract

Dissertations and extended essays have become an increasingly significant feature of Higher Education, even at first degree level. Yet they are not always fully understood as a form of assessment and, perhaps, even more so as a form of learning. This article seeks to explore the nature and purpose of the dissertation and, from this, to understand better the process of its supervision and how this process can be more effective and fruitful.