How often you meet your dissertation supervisor depends on your programme and your supervisor, so agree a rhythm at the first meeting instead of guessing. What matters more than frequency is that you arrive with a specific question, a short piece of work and a plan for what you will do next.
Get a second readingThere is no single Irish norm. Some programmes set a minimum number of meetings or a log of them; others leave it to you and your supervisor. Check your project handbook, then agree the details in person: how often you meet, whether online or in person, how you contact each other in between, and how long they need to read a draft.
Students who wait to be called often get less supervision than they could have. If the rhythm you agreed is not working, say so early rather than letting weeks pass.
Send a short agenda a day or two ahead: what you did since last time, where you are stuck, and the two questions you most need answered. If you want comments on writing, send that section in advance with a note on what kind of feedback you are after. A supervisor reading a chapter for the first time during the meeting can only skim it.
Bring decisions, not just updates. A meeting that ends with a choice made, such as which variable to drop or which archive to prioritise, moves the project further than one that ends with general encouragement.
Take notes, and after the meeting send a few lines summarising what you agreed and what you will do next. It takes five minutes, gives you both a record, and catches misunderstandings while they are still small. Those notes also show how your project developed, which is useful if anyone later asks how you reached your choices.
When you get written comments, sort them before you act on them. Our page on working with your supervisor's feedback covers that step.
Slow replies, advice that changes between meetings, or simply falling behind: these happen, and they are easier to fix early. Raise it with your supervisor first. If that does not help, your module or programme coordinator is usually the next person to talk to. Disappearing for a month and hoping to catch up is the one approach that reliably makes things worse.
Meeting time is short. If the obvious problems in a draft are already found, the meeting can go to the questions only your supervisor can answer: scope, fit with the module, what the examiners in your department expect. Esmond can read a draft before you send it and mark where the argument, method or sources are weaker. It does not replace your supervisor, and where the two disagree, your supervisor's view comes first.
Be straight with yourself: Esmond works with language models, so using it is a form of AI use. Rules on AI differ per university, programme, module and assignment. Check your module or programme handbook before you upload, and if it is unclear, ask your supervisor or module coordinator and declare the use if your institution asks you to.
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Go anyway, with a short note of what you tried and where you are stuck. A meeting about a problem is often more useful than one about a finished section.
Usually yes, for short questions. Agree at the start how they prefer to be contacted and how quickly they can normally reply.