Approaching the Finish Line
My thesis defense/presentation will be one week from now on Dec. 4th.
All I need to do now is tie up the discussion (still confused about how my adviser wanted me to organize it), write a one paragraph conclusion, and check to make sure all my citations are in my bibliography. It would have been nice to have finished this a week ago so that I would have had time to edit it nicely and prepare for my defense, but oh well. I feel kinda bad that I just barely gave my reader a copy of the thesis. I just felt overwhelmed with all the stuff on my plate and I knew if I had her read it and suggest corrections, I wouldn't have gotten around to it anyway.
This month I was distracted by my hair falling out and then my computer started showing signs of imminent doom. I started working on it at an extra computer at my workplace (my boss offered), but it was not a good writing environment for me. Too many people, and the lighting in the room killed my eyes. I took my laptop to a repair center, but then realized I was getting ripped off ($75 diagnosing fee) so I took it back and kept working on my thesis at home because I need this sucker NOW and if it has some remaining moments of life left, I intend on taking full advantage of them now. Some days are noiser than others. Today, I heard a tinny "clink" sound and then some high-pitched electronic beeps in addition to the usual scratchy metal and tongue-click type sounds.
Excuses, I know, but they're legitimate.
And I guess since everyone's asking me how many pages I have written, the literature review and methodology make 27 pages (double-spaced) and the results/analysis is 23 pages (single-spaced, because it was easier to scroll and edit, but it will be double-spaced in the end). The discussion so far is two pages (single-spaced) and probably won't be more than a paragraph longer. The conclusion is only supposed to be one paragraph. And the introduction section is two pages long. So I guess 1 + 27 + 23(2) + 4 + 1 = 79? That's an estimate. I might be cutting some quotes out of the analysis; my adviser said using them too much could weaken my argument but I am kind of waiting to see what the committee will say come defense day. I don't take too much credit for that length because a lot of that section is quotes due to the nature of the study (focus-group, qualitative data). You can't sum that stuff up in neat little percentages.
Ya know, after taking this Women's Studies class on Women's Body and Sexuality and writing a thesis on adolescents and reproductive health, I think I may want to become a sex educator. Not a sex advice columnist for disappointed married couples, but someone who educates young people and women who are sheltered in their societies and villages and sets the record straight from the beginning. Reproductive health is a great field to work in for helping girls and women.
All I need to do now is tie up the discussion (still confused about how my adviser wanted me to organize it), write a one paragraph conclusion, and check to make sure all my citations are in my bibliography. It would have been nice to have finished this a week ago so that I would have had time to edit it nicely and prepare for my defense, but oh well. I feel kinda bad that I just barely gave my reader a copy of the thesis. I just felt overwhelmed with all the stuff on my plate and I knew if I had her read it and suggest corrections, I wouldn't have gotten around to it anyway.
This month I was distracted by my hair falling out and then my computer started showing signs of imminent doom. I started working on it at an extra computer at my workplace (my boss offered), but it was not a good writing environment for me. Too many people, and the lighting in the room killed my eyes. I took my laptop to a repair center, but then realized I was getting ripped off ($75 diagnosing fee) so I took it back and kept working on my thesis at home because I need this sucker NOW and if it has some remaining moments of life left, I intend on taking full advantage of them now. Some days are noiser than others. Today, I heard a tinny "clink" sound and then some high-pitched electronic beeps in addition to the usual scratchy metal and tongue-click type sounds.
Excuses, I know, but they're legitimate.
And I guess since everyone's asking me how many pages I have written, the literature review and methodology make 27 pages (double-spaced) and the results/analysis is 23 pages (single-spaced, because it was easier to scroll and edit, but it will be double-spaced in the end). The discussion so far is two pages (single-spaced) and probably won't be more than a paragraph longer. The conclusion is only supposed to be one paragraph. And the introduction section is two pages long. So I guess 1 + 27 + 23(2) + 4 + 1 = 79? That's an estimate. I might be cutting some quotes out of the analysis; my adviser said using them too much could weaken my argument but I am kind of waiting to see what the committee will say come defense day. I don't take too much credit for that length because a lot of that section is quotes due to the nature of the study (focus-group, qualitative data). You can't sum that stuff up in neat little percentages.
Ya know, after taking this Women's Studies class on Women's Body and Sexuality and writing a thesis on adolescents and reproductive health, I think I may want to become a sex educator. Not a sex advice columnist for disappointed married couples, but someone who educates young people and women who are sheltered in their societies and villages and sets the record straight from the beginning. Reproductive health is a great field to work in for helping girls and women.