The dissertation motivator

Sam3c

Hi,

Ironically looking for motivation to do my dissertation from this and have ended up posting. I have precisely 11 days left to write my 15,000words paper currently on about 6,000 and a few thousand scrappy words here and there. Whats currently motivating me is the £3,300 i'll lose out on if I fail this last part. If you have a whole year left then that sounds fantastic, just USE it. Having worked throughout that became my priority but even just a morning set aside would have helped me dramatically. My tutors were the best thing however, a mine of information and ideas, at the end of the day it would look bad on them if i failed, they've been there and done it before plus are excellent sounding boards for ideas and conclusions as you start to see them.

Wiggynut - i beg you, dont try and conquer the world with your 4/5,000words, depth to a subject is far greater than having a huge range of information, discuss with your supervisor some ideas and be ruthless with the parts that go off on a tangent.

Good luck to us all, we're all crazy for doing these things anyway but worth it in the end!!!!!!

Helen_T

I have a 10,000 word disertation which is due in February and I have done very little towards it yet. I have this awful habit of leaving things right to the last minute which I dont want to do with this! I will also have a 3000 word assignment, a presentation and a practical exam to complete by December. The joys of being a final year student nurse!

I'm hoping that reading other peoples experiences will motivate me to get cracking with mine! I've had my summer holidays, it is now September. Time to set the timetable and stick to it!

Good luck everyone!

Nit_Picker

Happy to proof read if it helps...

Rosie75

7mag wrote: »

I appreciate any comments on the following. I'm a distance learning student doing an MA. I submitted my 20K word thesis following lengthy feedback and amendments sought by my tutor. It was at the point where he stated it was a 'clear pass'. On submitting it, the work was then failed!
This is an extremely summarised version of the events, which are now the subject of the complaints process. The point of the post is, I would welcome comments as to what the situation is at other universities on this matter. Do they typically state, in the 'small print', that they will not be obliged to take any responsibility for the advice given by the tutor? It hardly seems very fair to me!!

The get-out clause, as far as the university is concerned, is that all marks are subject to approval / change by the external examiner. Usually when marks are given to students, these are provisional - subject to confirmation by the external examiner. There are various reasons why the marks may change - eg. university marking criteria not seen as consistent with other institutions nationally; evidence of plagiarism (even if not exactly plagiarism, second / external markers may be aware of sources that make the work less original than it may have initially appeared). This isn't quite the position you've found yourself in, but comments will be considered in the same light as actual marks - ie. not definitive. However, the university may allow you to resubmit the dissertation - have you asked about this or checked the regulations?

fluffybrush

Hey, I'm just coming to the final week before my MA hand in, and although its been tough I've really enjoyed it. Luckily, I've had an excellent tutor who's been really supportive, but I also have a very positive outlook (which I think is more important than anything) on it, thanks to the author Paulo Coelho, which I see as sort of a mantra to live by!

I also think that knowing when to stop is important too - you need time to switch off, because you can wake up thinking about it, work on it all day, and then go to bed thinking about it. I start at 9am and I stop at 5pm, and I never go over that - the evenings are for me. Obviously, this last week or so this has gone by the wayside a little as I've trying to finish and make sure its all right, but as far as the long slog goes, don't over do it!

Coelho's mantra is called 'How to Climb Mountains', and I think it is so beautiful and relevant. Think of your dissertation as a journey to the top of a mountain, and I don't think you can go wrong

Check it out at Paulo Coelho's blog (unfortuntaely I can't link because I'm a new user! )

Hope that helps - good luck! xxx

luckycat99

I'm starting my dissertation in next few weeks. I have the idea and a rough proposal. I need to do it and write 20000 words in next year, plus its a part time distance learning MSc and I work full time - so I would definitely benefit from motivation (and stress relief). I am a procrastinator and the internet is a welcome distraction!

Good luck to everyone else on here!

clodagh_trubble

Waiting for the results of my 15,000 word dissertation (+ the allowed 10% as I'm always too wordy), I found that although I wanted to get it all done early there were delays due to the way the course was set out so the proposal wasted nearly two months - especially as it was too broad so a lot of the work done at that point was not used, it did all come together once that was sorted though. Good luck with them everyone, and fingers crossed for the 10th when my results are out

Observer

Hi

I am planning to write a 10.000 word project by next May. Currently have done a basic proposal and am waiting to meet with my tutor and to be able to actually enrol on the course. Its part time as I work full time, and I've had a year out so I'm hoping my motivation is still there!

Kazby

Wow what an amazing response! I honestly wasn't expecting more than a couple of replies - looks like there are more of us locked in with the books than I anticipated. I'm going to do a proper reply to everyone at the weekend (too dog tired from work to do much now) but just thought I'd say a big hi to everyone who has commented - definately feeling more motivated just from knowing that there are lots of people in a similar situation or who have been through it all recently (and survived to tell the tale).

oliveroliver

As someone who left school over twenty years ago with one O level returning to studies in the form of a degree was a real shock to the system! As a single parent of four kids (and a dog), holding down an almost full time job and also taking Math GCSE (want to eventually do a PGCE)I could not afford to fail.
I graduated this summer and this is my advice to any one studying and having to submit lengthy pieces of work. Always start the work as soon as you get it (you don't know what's round the corner to stop you doing it). Don't look at the work you have to do as a whole, break it down into doable chunks. If it's a dissertation set yourself achievable goals, even if it's only 300 words a night, it adds up and you feel great when you've done it.:j