The CIPR dissertation: make your mark Understanding the marker’s perspective

1. The CIPR dissertation: make your mark Understanding the marker’s perspective Marta Clayton for The PR Academy 27/4/13

2. What we’ll cover • The marker: a fire-breathing dragon? • Why think about the marking process? • The marker’s perspective • Understanding the marker’s psychology • Appreciating how the marker reads your dissertation • Understanding what the marker’s looking for • Holes to avoid falling into • Examples of typical marker feedback: the good, the bad & the ugly • What not to forget

3. The marker: a fire-breathing dragon?

4. Why think about the marking process? • Writing a dissertation = construction • Marking a dissertation = deconstruction • Marker’s aim is to take the dissertation apart to see how it fits together – or doesn’t in some cases • Think like a marker because: • You’ll be more reflective & self-critical about your work • It’s your job to communicate what you want to say, not the marker’s job to decipher it • You’ll have the edge over other students, if you get to grips with marking criteria

5. The marker’s perspective • Understand the marker’s psychology • Appreciate how he/she may set about reading your dissertation • Understand what he/she’s looking for • Identify holes to avoid falling into

6. Understanding the marker’s psychology • The marker wants a quiet, uncomplicated life • Marking mediocre dissertations can be tedious • The marker likes to see dissertations that: • Are clearly written and easy to read • Provide interesting discussion e.g. an under-explored area within a topic • Show good familiarity with a relevant body of literature • Provide a logical premise for the research & methodology • Present well-reasoned findings and conclusions

7. Appreciating how the marker reads your dissertation • Some markers will start at page 1 and read through to the end • Others will do what I do: • Flick through the pages to get a feel for the work • Most experienced markers will be able to make a fairly accurate estimate of the quality of a dissertation – it’s so revealing • Look at the reference list and analyse it • Long, short, old, new? • May check every cited author/source in the body of work against the reference list and vice versa

8. Understanding what the marker’s looking for • Has a lot of dissertations to read and wants to sail through them • First priority is to self-orientate – wants to know immediately what it is about in the first paragraph, not by page 5 or 10 • Second priority is a road map – to be kept informed about where he/she’s going: • Good intro that tells the marker what’s coming next • No ‘mystery tours’ with gaps in the narrative – it’s not a novel where you want to keep the reader guessing! • Third priority is to remind the marker where he/she’s been • Clear summaries and conclusions are important • Familiarise yourself with the diploma marking sheet!

9. Holes to avoid falling into #1 • The title – does it make sense? Or does it include terms that appear nowhere else? • Definitions – failure to define key concepts • Faking references – trying to impress by quoting lots of references which haven’t been used in the work or citing references not found in the reference list • Stating objectives at the start which don’t seem to relate to the literature review (and which are never referred to again)

10. Holes to avoid falling into #2 • Carrying out a survey where questions in the questionnaire don’t obviously relate to research questions stemming from lit review • Gaps in the argument • Missing out steps in arguments which make the marker ask “Why am I reading this? What’s this all about?” • Failure to answer the “So what?” question at the end • Vacuous conclusions which have no implications or don’t seem to relate to objectives

11. Holes to avoid falling into #3 • Unsubstantiated assertions • AVOID - “It is well known that…” • STATE – Who says so? When? Where? Reference? • Obvious, but students do it • Text littered with errors & typos • Can hinder comprehension - & irritate marker! • Proof reading’s your job, not your supervisor’s or marker’s • May draw marker’s attention to more fundamental flaws in the work

12. What do you mean?

13. Holes to avoid falling into #4 • Apart from simple textual errors, watch out for: • Mismatch between contents list & section titles • Appendices not referred to in main body of dissertation • Insertion of diagrams & tables not referred to in the text • Inconsistencies in bullet points & section numbering • Inaccurate referencing

14. Examples of typical feedback: The Good • The student showed an excellent grasp of the relevant theories and provided a thoughtful critique of the literature. • The approach to the research question was very clear and good justification was provided for the chosen research methods, as well as an understanding of the limitations. • Findings were well presented with an understanding of the research limitations and well-argued recommendations.

15. Examples of typical feedback: The Bad • The literature review had a tendency to be descriptive rather than providing a critical perspective of the theory and relating it to the sector under investigation. • Presentation of findings could have been improved by indicating more clearly which results related to which survey questions, which weren’t numbered in the questionnaire provided in the appendix. • Some referencing was inaccurate with authors listed in the references but not cited in the work and vice versa.

16. Examples of typical feedback: The Ugly • There were numerous research objectives, which didn’t link back to the literature review, therefore the research lacked the sense of purpose and direction it needed. • Lengthy transcripts from interviews were well presented but barely discussed. • Appraisal of the qualitative research would have been easier for the marker if transcripts had been provided for the interviews.

17. Order or chaos?

18. What not to forget • The dissertation will not write itself – no substitute for getting seriously knowledgeable about your topic • The marker will be looking for linkages – if elements of dissertation do not relate to each other, he/she will find this out and draw own conclusions • Make sure you allow your supervisor to see a draft before submission (lit review & methodology) • Have a go at deconstructing a dissertation yourself!

19. Any questions? • Call 07714 622337 • Email marta@smartapr.co.uk • Tweet @mostlymarta • Visit www.smartapr.co.uk • Read more CIPR assignment tips on the Smarta PR blog – www.smartapr.co.uk/blog/latest.html