Wanted: more time

I would like to borrow Bernard's watch!

I can’t quite believe we are in March already.  I’m sure time travels quicker the older I become!  I have been told many times that my final year will go past in a blink of an eye, and I am starting to realise the truth in this cliché.

According to the countdown app on my phone, I have 187 days left of my degree.  This fact terrifies and excites me in equal measure.  I am also reliably informed that there are 84 days until my dissertation deadline.  *Please excuse me for a moment of mad panic.*

I have been considering my dissertation topic since I first put in my UCAS application.  At that time, I was interested in choice of birth place as my nephew had recently been born at home.  Then when I started my course, and especially after being a patient myself, I become fascinated by communication within healthcare, particularly between clinician and service user.  As it turns out, I am doing neither of these topics for my dissertation. 

Everyone has moments which completely change their perspective on life.  For me, one of these was the first time I cared for someone whose baby had died.  I remember feeling completely inadequate and ever since then bereavement care has become a passion of mine.  It seemed only natural therefore for this to be the topic for my (mini) tome.

Grumpy Cat feels my pain

My biggest stumbling block when it comes to writing is that I am a perfectionist.  If something doesn’t flow flawlessly, I delete it. This makes the thought of writing 10,000 words extremely daunting. Consequently, I have spent a lot of time formatting my title page and searching for literature.  Now, I need to put pen, or curser, to paper. 

By no means do I have all the answers when it comes to writing an essay, but 6 years of academic writing has taught me a few lessons;

Read the question thoroughly
Highlight the important words in the question – this will give you focus in your writing.

Dissertation = an excuse for new stationary

Start with a detailed plan
Write down all your ideas and start to put it in an order.  This will probably change as you start writing but it will ensure you don’t forget anything you wanted to say.

Begin early
It is possible to pull an all-nighter and write a 2000 word essay the day before the deadline but it is not advisable.  It will never be your best work.

Leave time for proof reading
There will come a point when you can’t see the mistakes any more.  When this happens, you will need a set of fresh eyes in the form of a friend or family member.

No doubt I will discuss my dissertation in a future blog post.  Hopefully I will have made more of a dent in the word count when I do!  Until then, see you next week.