To think I can write a 2000 word assignment before Monday?

[Littlefluffyclouds81]

Me and the dc have been plagued with illness, and now I have 4 days to get this done.

Don't know much about the subject area so will involve a fair bit of reading.

Please tell me your stories of how you started an 8000 word assignment the night before and got a first, or suchlike.

Although, to be fair, a 40% pass would be fine. First year of my degree so it's not the end of the world.

I may be procrastinating by writing this thread.

[ragged]

lol
I could do it. Presuming somebody else minded the sprogs (mostly).
Wanna tell us what the topic or question is?

[Trills]

Of course you can.

Make sure you plan it - don't just start writing.

[DisappointedOne]

My 1500-2500 word essays have taken me around 2-2.5 days to read up on and write and I've been getting between 80 and 100% on most.

[defineme]

2000 words is only about 6 handwritten sides of A4. I expect the students I tutor to produce that in an hour under exam conditions!

[watchingthedetectives]

Just get started - don't go to bed until you have made a plan of contents and written the introduction. Will then get easier - 2000 isn't too bad

Good luck and get off Mumsnet till Monday!

[TheoriginalLEM]

I wrote my PhD thesis in ten weeks, whilst rocking my DD in a baby chair, much like one of those sewing machine pedals!

This was however, long before i discovered mumsnet!!!!

2000 words isn't THAT many words, your problem is not being familiar with the subject area. What is it, roughly?

I would start with course texts, then reviews, don't bother with primary research papers. you can of course cheat and reference them via the review ;)

[ProfessorPickles]

I think you could pull it off!
Go go go!

Stop wasting time haha.
I know the feeling though, I am the master of procrastination so I can't talk!

[ProfessorPickles]

I think you could pull it off!
Go go go!

Stop wasting time haha.
I know the feeling though, I am the master of procrastination so I can't talk!

[QuiteLikely5]

2000 words is nothing! You'll be done in no time. Can you also do ten percent under? Taking it to 1800?

What's the topic?

[NameChange30]

YABU to start this thread when you have the assignment to do!
How many words do you have to write? 2000 or 8000?

1. Get off MN
   
2. Write 500/2000 words a day for the next 4 days
   

Done!

I do sympathise, because I'm a terrible procrastinator, so I may not be able to follow my own advice, but I do know it's what you have to do!

[NickiFury]

I have written every one of my 2000 word essays in no more than 7 hours. Every single one. It's how I work best, just sit down and write it in one go. It's really stressful but feels GREAT when it's done.

[QuiteLikely5]

I have done that the night before it was due. I wouldn't recommend it though!

[JuniDD]

That's loads of time! I can only write in one go with a deadline so only start the day essays are due.

[Wishful80smontage]

I've done this a few times- I've pretty much wrote an entire 2000 word essay in a day before although I did had a good idea where I was going with it.
What's the question?
Have you got a plan together I always had to break my words up so i could just get each section done 300 words intro, 400 for conclusion, point 1 etc.
You have more than enough time to churn it out/ get words on paper you can fuddle around with it at the end if you have time .

[JeanneDeMontbaston]

You can definitely do it! And stop aiming for a 40% pass - you'll do better (you got on the course, so you're qualified).

A lot of it is not being scared. Imagine you're explaining what's important about the question, and your answer, to someone else - that really helps me to get over the initial 'blank page panic'.

I used to really hate writing at length, but I'm nearly a decade out of my degree and I've written around 300,000 words in the last ten months, usually with 3 hours to write a 5000 word piece. A lot of it is just having confidence to get the words onto the page.

[ginzillas]

Yes, you can do it! Just get started. That's the hardest part.

Have you got someone who can look after the DC while you concentrate? That's essential.

I write for a living and generally power through 1000 to 2000 words in a day when I'm on deadline. It isn't as hard as you think.

Ways to get through it:

• plan a treat for when you've finished (facial, night out)
  
• reward yourself, as you go along, with copious cups of tea and biccies.
  
• stay positive..... you can do this!!
  
• oh, and log out of mumsnet. Immediately.

[NameChange30]

PS actually just read properly and realised you have reading to do first. So:
Thursday: essential reading (start making notes for your plan or even drafting your plan as you go)
Friday: write detailed plan and introduction
Saturday: write as much as you can (try and finish it apart from conclusion)
Sunday: edit, write conclusion, proofread

Do try and factor in some

[NameChange30]

Whoops rogue last sentence, sorry

Good advice from ginzillas

[chandelierswinger]

How accommodating is your place of study? I work in Higher Ed; people get ill, extensions can be given. That said, 2000 words in a couple of days can be done easily; it's the reading that takes the time! Good luck.

[HarrietVane99]

Formulate your argument and write an outline first, then you can tailor your reading to it and not waste time on reading that turns out not to be relevant.

[PenguinBollards]

You can definitely do it. I've skimmed the very arse off deadlines my entire academic and professional life, and I always seem to do better with things I've produced on a very tight turnaround ~ nothing focuses the mind like a looming, seemingly impossible deadline (at least, once the blind panic has subsided!)

Good luck

[Littlefluffyclouds81]

This is all MOST reassuring! I knew I had loads of time really.

It's sociology. It's split into two bits and I have to make my own essay titles up. Choose a contemporary issue in sociology and use a theory and a metaphor to analyse it. The pic explains it better than me!

The topics for the second half are class or death.

[User100]

Seriously? Where I went to uni two essays a week was the standard (no limits but around 2000-3000 words). Depending on what else was on I would sometimes write them in 24hrs (but don't do that, it's horrible). If you don't know much about the topic spend the next 2 or 3 days reading and making notes then one day to write the essay. (I assume someone else can take DCs, if not it might be harder)

[Mrsmorton]

You could do that in a few hours if you put your mind to it tbh.

2000 words is really not very much; I found the easiest way to do an 8000 worder was to roughly write an intro then decide on my sections and write a line for each. That's your foot hold and then it's easy to expand.

Good luck.

[Pumpkinpositive]

By the end of my degree, I'd mentally checked out and left everything until the last minute. Essays were written overnight the day before they were due. I got 75-80% for those ones. The essays I slaved over for weeks earlier in the course, I struggled to scrape a 2:1 for.