Feeling free
Well after 6 years I have finally sent in my final essay on my Library and Information Studies course. In the end it only took 4 nights (going to bed between 4am and 6am each time) with a day of recovery in between.
After Easter, I took the rest of the week off work. It was only by Thursday that I actually felt like I was on holiday not recovering from something. By Friday I was staring at my half-written essay without being able to do much. On Saturday I actually started writing again, and looking up more references. At 2500 words, it wasn't a particularly long essay but because it was a literature review it required that virtually every paragraph be referenced to the hilt which meant I was constantly juggling. Not only that but I could not a previous trick of going through a text book and finding useful 'facts' to add. In the end I did a reasonable if not stunning essay. Moreover, it is now in the post. The sad thing is that, although it didn't take that much time in the end, it did require me to burn the candle heavily which is just not possible (or sensible) when I am not in good health.
So the next question is, should I do the dissertation? In many ways it should be easier because I can steal large parts of the literature review, a lot of it will be stats and the rest can be largely unreferenced. My last dissertation at the University of Birmingham was loads of fun, but then it was mostly programming and I did get marked down for being too 'independent' (i.e. not using other peoples' research; in all fairness I didn't find any, but then I didn't know how to find them either; I do now). Considering that it took me 6-7 months to do this lousy essay, is it fair to say yes to a dissertation when I am on this high? My mum is pressuring me to do the dissertation which doesn't help either! (Taking the diploma, the other option, would not be fantastic on my CV.)
After Easter, I took the rest of the week off work. It was only by Thursday that I actually felt like I was on holiday not recovering from something. By Friday I was staring at my half-written essay without being able to do much. On Saturday I actually started writing again, and looking up more references. At 2500 words, it wasn't a particularly long essay but because it was a literature review it required that virtually every paragraph be referenced to the hilt which meant I was constantly juggling. Not only that but I could not a previous trick of going through a text book and finding useful 'facts' to add. In the end I did a reasonable if not stunning essay. Moreover, it is now in the post. The sad thing is that, although it didn't take that much time in the end, it did require me to burn the candle heavily which is just not possible (or sensible) when I am not in good health.
So the next question is, should I do the dissertation? In many ways it should be easier because I can steal large parts of the literature review, a lot of it will be stats and the rest can be largely unreferenced. My last dissertation at the University of Birmingham was loads of fun, but then it was mostly programming and I did get marked down for being too 'independent' (i.e. not using other peoples' research; in all fairness I didn't find any, but then I didn't know how to find them either; I do now). Considering that it took me 6-7 months to do this lousy essay, is it fair to say yes to a dissertation when I am on this high? My mum is pressuring me to do the dissertation which doesn't help either! (Taking the diploma, the other option, would not be fantastic on my CV.)