Computer failure and late enrolment, Master assignment needs starting and finishing today!!

[Muckycat]

Hi all!

Just posting here as I am slightly at sixes and sevens. I've just started a distance learning Masters. I began very late due to a funding issue at the university I intended to enrol at which meant I had to withdraw. Luckily the current one allowed me to squeeze onto this year's intake. I also had a trip abroad which I thought was ok to book as registration to the original uni didn't end until 31 Oct (current uni started much earlier so I was very lucky they let me in).

Anyway, I have this week caught up on all the online lectures and some of the background reading, if not all. There is a deadline for midnight tonight for a 2 page literature review. I've done loads of these as part of my undergrad (completely different subject). I am only starting it now though as my laptop went kaput during an upgrade yesterday and had to be recovered meaning I lost a whole day's work.

I'm just outlining why I started so late (am not always so last minute!) but I would be very grateful for any encouragement that this can be done! My anxiety is through the roof and writing my concerns down has helped, I promise I am making a start on it, not just on here!

Any advice on a good masters level lit review also welcome to consider as I work!

Hi OP, stay calm. Write a plan. Write key points and references for each paragraph. I.e. Smith and Jones (2012) noted that x and y were.....

Once you have this sketched out, fill it in with more detail and further references. How do you find further references? Go to the references at the end of the original article you cited. Alway, always, go to the original source article. Then, to add a Masters level of critical thinking, go to google scholar and find the most recent research that cited your original article and use points from that too.

Make sure there is a logical thread of thought running through your essay. That’s why the original outline sketch will help you formulate a coherent argument.

Finally, and very importantly, format your essay and use the correct style (Harvard or APA etc) and ensure your references are correctly formatted. At Masters level, lecturers get really annoyed if they spot formatting errors or typos.

Good luck.

Thank you very much Anna that's a really helpful plan, and for the pointer towards Google Scholar