APRIL 26TH 2016 • stopped by muji and miniso today! I’m a huge fan of miniso brush tip markers and I also decided to give muji gel pens another chance (I never really got into them cos they made my writing look not-so-nice in the past) 🌸
So, recently I handed in my dissertation. This was the biggest piece of work that I have ever done. I wrote 10,000 words on the topic of women’s friendship in the early modern period as presented in letters. And let me tell you, it was tough. Incredibly so. But it was manageable! And it can be for you too! If you plan to go into higher education, writing a dissertation, thesis, or project, is inevitable. So I’m here to tell you how to plan and execute a huge piece of work. As my background is primarily History, this will be more about humanities than sciences. But I hope that I can help you out!
Choosing a topic:
Choose something you like. Because by the end of it, you’re going to be sick of it. And, trust me, it’s better to be sick of something you’re actually interested in.
Look at the stuff you’ve done in the past and think about what you liked about each module. Gender? Politics? Semantics? The great thing about a dissertation is that you can explore which ever topic you feel like.
Research. Read everything you can on the topic. When you think you’ve read enough, read some more. The more you research, the better idea you’ll have as to whether your topic is viable. Google scholar is awesome, use it! And Jstor. And your university library. You have so much material at your fingertips, you just gotta find it.
Look at which sources are available to you. I stupidly chose a question which was very difficult to research. This was okay, as I was passionate about the topic and willing to travel to archives. But if you can’t think of anything to write about, maybe see what primary material is available to you at your university/college.
Originality is key for a huge piece of work like this. This is the most difficult part of choosing a topic, in my opinion. Think of something that hasn’t been done before, or come to a new conclusion. Trust yourself, your opinions are valid!
Primary sources are the most important thing here. Read them before you read too much secondary material. This way, you can find your own opinions on the subject without just appropriating what has been already said.
Talk to people who know what they’re talking about. Your university pays lots of professors whose job it is to advise you. Go and talk to them! They may be able to give you some new perspective.
Planning your essay:
How do you eat an elephant?
One bite at a time.
This is the most important thing I can say to anyone planning a huge piece of work. If you do a little bit every week, then you’ll be fine. You DO NOT want to find yourself a week from the deadline, with still 5,000 words to write. I know some people who did that, and they suffered. Badly. So keep plugging away at it, and you’ll get it done in time. Here are a few tips which I learned the hard way…
Give yourself plenty of time to research. I spent 3 months just reading before I even thought about making a solid plan. Only after doing loads of reading and thinking can you come up with a way to tie together everything you’ve learned.
When making a plan, decide how many words to devote to each “chapter.” This means you won’t go over the word limit. And editing is the worst.
I made quite a long detailed plan in order to structure my thoughts. That plan became my bible. It might not work for you though.
When researching, PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, write down where you found the information. Page numbers, author, publisher, date of publication, editions, chapter titles, chapter page numbers. I spent 4 days after I had written the whole thing just trying to find this one God damn article which I had read nearly a year ago. It was a nightmare.Please. Record the bibliographical information.
Write all the important dates in your diary/phone. I also used “monthly reminders” so I was constantly aware of how long I had left.
Give yourself a week to edit and create your bibliography. It’s nice to edit at your own pace, not at a rush.
Give yourself lots of room for disasters! When I was planning my essay, I had no idea that I was going to break my arm, and be in cast for half of the year. I obviously did not predict that. But I had an adaptable schedule, which really helped me.
And make sure to regularly back everything up! I lost a load of work and it sucked so bad. Don’t let that happen to you.
The Writing:
Give yourself your own deadlines. Say that you need to have written the first chapter three months before the deadline, or something like that. This means that you won’t be rushing at the end, and you might be able to give drafts of chapters to your supervisor to read over.
It’s alright if you don’t write perfectly on the first try. Splurge your ideasall over the paper! Freewrite everything you want to say. And then, after a cup of tea or a nap, come back to it. You’ll feel much better for it.
You don’t have to start at the beginning. Maybe write the chapter that you have the most information for first, to give yourself some confidence. Or, maybe start with the worst first, to make the rest seem less daunting. It’s up to you, both strategies have merit.
Daily word counts are great when you’re reaching the deadline. I knew I had to write 150 words every day in order to hit the deadline - I exceeded this every day, which made me feel awesome about myself and gave myself loads of confidence.
Talk to people about it! I find that talking about my opinions out loud really help me formulate my ideas in my head.
Do loads of proof reading. I discovered two days before the deadline that I had been spelling “amicitia” wrong consistently. It was pretty embarrassing.
Ask your friends/family to read it through. Even if they don’t understand everything, they should be able to help with grammatical errors and such like. When you’re sick of reading your own words (which is very quickly for me) you’ll be thankful for the second opinion.
Twist the motion to favor your side of the argument.
Read the motion in different ways, separating phrases accordingly. For example, in one debate I’ve done, the motion was this house believes that school should teach social injustice, and I was the proposition team. Debaters would usually comprehend this motion as teaching students to disobey the law. However, I managed to twist the motion to be understood as schools should teach students about social injustice (e.g. teaching history = teaching about history).
Construct your argument cohesively
I have witnessed some debates that were just all over the place and the lack of structure was enough to make me skeptical about their argument. A proper structure allows you to build up your argument with a stronger foundation. Your facts may be completely accurate and your argument strong enough, but if you can’t properly connect these points to an audience, much of your speech will be missed.
Anticipate the opposing team’s arguments and rebuttals
If you have extra time in delivering your own argument, you could rebut the opposing team’s points before they have actually been said. This can leave them speechless and vulnerable unless they can rebut your rebuttal well.
Delivery & Speech
Look and sound right, no matter what you’re saying
Confidence can be more convincing than you think, especially when you’re wandering into unfamiliar territory, as it shows that you have comprehensive understanding of the motion and of your argument.
On another note, omit any um’s and er’s and other filler words as they make you sound like you are not fluent and eloquent enough to deliver your own argument. Try replacing your filler sounds with silence. This will give your audience time to stew on your last point, and it will also give you time to generate your stimulus for your next idea.
Know when to employ a more emotional tone and when to have a logical approach
Let’s take the example of a debate about abortion. When you say things about women having a right to choose, or that it’s the women’s body, or something along those lines, you want the audience, the judge, or whoever is in the room to sympathize with people facing the problem of abortion. When you say things like ‘women should bear the consequences of having casual sex’, you want to reprimand them. However, when you state facts which lead to a chain of argumentative statements, you want to be as detached as possible.
Speak slowly and enunciate
Inexperienced debaters tend to fire off facts rapidly without really knowing what they’re aiming for. You don’t win wars by shooting all the enemies, you need a strategy.
When you slow down your speech, you give your audience and your adjudicator more time to process your strong points. It will also be easier for the audience/your fellow debaters to dissect your speech and actually grasp your argument. You can’t expect them to be convinced if they don’t even know what you’re saying.
Use hand gestures and body movements appropriately
This can be a method of appearing predatory, a threat to the opposing team. In another debate I’ve done, the third and last speaker stalked towards our table in her final rebuttal, putting our team in an inferior position. However, remember that you have to use gestures and movements accordingly. If your words aren’t as strong as your actions, your argument will lose all effectiveness.
Final note:
Fake everything if you have to. Pretend that the motion of the debate is your life goal or what your beliefs are based upon or something like that and you’ll be so keen on winning the debate.
girl threads fairy lights through her hair in an attempt to wage peaceful war against the dark thoughts that prowl behind her eyes / polaroid ghosts that forgot the sun still rises with dawn / dusk is temporary / fleeting like love.
girl threads fairy lights and forgets / forgets that wildfires start with the smallest of sparks / forgets that fire is bright but it still burns the world from under your feet / if you look away for too long.
"In another place, not here, a woman might touch
something between beauty and nowhere, back there
and here, might pass a hand over her own
trembling life, but I have tried to imagine a sea not
bleeding, a girl’s glance full as a verse, a woman
growing old and never crying to a radio hissing of a
black boy’s murder. I have tried to keep my throat
gurgling like a bird’s. I have listened to the hard
gossip of race that inhabits this road. Even in this I
have tried to hum mud and feathers and sit peacefully
in this foliage of bones and rain. I have chewed a few
votive leaves her, their taste already disenchanting
my mothers. I have tried to write this calmly
even as its lines burn to a close. I have come to know
something simple. Each sentence realised or
dreamed jumps like a pulse with history and takes a
side. What I say in any language is told in faultless
knowledge of skin, in drunkenness and weeping,
told as a woman without matches and tinder, not in
words and in words and in words learned by heart,
told in secret and not in secret, and listen, does not
burn out or waste and is plenty and pitiless and loves."
![nocturnerd:
“[ 25.04.16 ] last week’s spread ft. my nails, new books, and my friend’s doodles
”](https://64.media.tumblr.com/2383e367cca5e6cbc74baed1a0fa05eb/tumblr_o67t6uf3hz1ugstiyo1_1280.jpg)
![nocturnerd:
“[ 25.04.16 ] last week’s spread ft. my nails, new books, and my friend’s doodles
”](https://64.media.tumblr.com/c5e7eebbb110228353e3e8a472474210/tumblr_o67t6uf3hz1ugstiyo2_1280.jpg)
