I can't write my Masters dissertation and it's due in 2 weeks, in despair over it

[StupendouslyStupid]

It's due in 2 weeks from Monday, I just can't do it.

I feel as though I know what I want to say, but can't get it down on paper. I have awful brain fog and tiredness from juggling a health condition that they know about, but don't think now that a week's extension would make any difference at all. They don't give more than 1 week.

What should I do? I'm confused because I think if I asked to defer, I couldn't just effectively become a part timer and submit next year in September 2020. I think I'd have to formally take the whole year out, then come back?

I don't know though. I'm torn between psyching myself up to push for deferring or just writing something as best I can and hoping it passes.

But don't think it will pass and my whole Masters will be dragged down by a scraped pass even if it did.

I just don't know what to do, I'm so tired and stressed, just want to sleep and feel well.

Just finished my masters and know exactly this feeling!!!!

Get a dictaphone and a bottle of wine, a quiet space with good background music, have ur first glass then start a mind map..... now turn on the dictaphone... and spill it out, don't stop recording until the bottles finished...
do you use dragon software? Speaking out my work made it so easy

You can smash the bulk of it out in a few days! X

@EarringsandLipstick "with respect" the OP has 2 weeks. Of course it's not just about word count, but with 14 days she needs to focus on getting something on paper.

At this stage I'd guarantee she's in the "paralysis by analysis" phase and she risks perfection being the enemy of good.

If, as she says she does, the OP knows her topic and has done her research then she can structure appropriately and getting something on paper is the best advice anyone can give her at 14 days out.

OP I supervise and mark Uni dissertations. I wanted to respond to this:

Confidence is shot as I did the sitting down and banging out a chapter before and my supervisor made it clear it didn't cut the mustard so I think part of it is I just feel embarrassed by my own ideas and opinions which is really unhelpful.

A lot of Uni lecturers/supervisors are not trained teachers and although we may know our subject and have the best intentions, I think sometimes we aren't great at the psychology of how to support and motivate our students. In particular, I think a lot of us give feedback which is rather too negative (as it's easier to comment on what needs fixing than what is good). We sometimes forget that students also need positive encouragement.

I'd suggest you try to be thick skinned about your supervisor's response, especially as you said it was a draft you wrote quickly.

Just from your posts on here I think you write better than a lot of our students (not being mean here - many are bright but have English as a second language, others know the field well but aren't experienced in writing, etc). Most of them do pass, even if some are not brilliantly written.

I think you need to go with others' advice along the lines of "done is better than perfect". I'll be thinking of you - good luck!!

Firstly you're not an idiot. If you've got to the point of nearly finishing your Masters you're clearly bright enough to do this. I promise.

I wrote my undergrad dissertation in a week and was so cross with myself for not starting earlier (scraped a pass, which brought my overall grade down from a First to a 2:1).

10 years later I found myself 2 weeks away from the masters thesis deadline with only a title on the page. Needless to say I was really pissed off with myself again, but knew I had to just get on with it.

And I did. I gave myself one day to do the plan - starting with main headers and then working out the subheaders. Then I wrote a section a day over 5 days. Not in order, but starting with the one j thought knew the most about.

Then I spent a couple of days editing and re-writing. Then I took a day off, went out with friends, had lunch got fresh air and cleared my mind. And then I spent a day or two going through it all again.

It worked. I had to swallow my pride and accept that some bits would be rubbish. I had to say a silent "sorry" to the panel who would read it because I knew it really wasn't up to the standard it should have been. Most importantly I had to remind myself that it didn't represent me or my worth or intellect. It was just a bloody piece of writing that I could forget about as soon as it was handed in. Of course I wanted it to be amazing, wanted all my ideas to be clearly represented, wanted to write something original and thought provoking... But 4 years on that really doesn't matter. I got my Master's. My family were so bloody proud. And in the end I was too.

Good luck. You've got this.

Independent research means what work you've done outside reading the literature.

For example, your topic should be based on a hypothesis. Having read the literature, you decide what independent research you will do to investigate your proposition.

You might conduct interviews, run focus groups, gather data, do a survey, examine primary sources of information to get a new perspective.

If you haven't done this, or some version of this as approved by your supervisor, then yes, it's too late, being blunt.

But if you have, and you've done your lit review, you have time.

Stop talking about failing! Even if you don't do a brilliant thesis - you have taken other modules worth more than the thesis so I am sure are in a position to pass!

It looks like I work in the area you are writing about, and I've worked with many MA students. Drop me a line if you want more specific help.

I completely feel your pain. I was trying to write my dissertation with a 2 week old (& 3 other children) Then had a family bereavement and couldn’t complete it. Due to funding (leaving job) I couldn’t delay it further.

Initially, I was sad, but quality of life was more important. I did gain a Post Graduate Diploma for the work I’d completed and was happy with this.

I’ve since gone on to complete a masters and was able to transfer some credits towards it. Life has a funny way of working itself out. Strangely, my PGDip has been more useful to me in my career.

Good luck, trust your intuition.

I agree with ronde, just get writing, anything everything all the words in your head. Then cut/paste/add/chop. This is what I did with the help of some vino just as riot suggested. It helped me de-stress and got my creative juices flowing! 🍀

Yeah Pegasus but starting with the focus on writing x amount in y days is no use.

You need a clear plan, and a structure around grounded research.

She could spend 2 weeks writing 10,000 words and it might be in no state for submission.

You are right, she needs to write - but not in that way. A focused treatment of one core argument for example would be more productive.

Fair play @kateyjane

That must have been incredibly tough; really glad it all worked out eventually.

Yeah Pegasus but starting with the focus on writing x amount in y days is no use

Worked well for me with my prof quals and my MBA 🤷‍♀️

I would definitely ask for an extension. When I started writing mine I fired up word and wrote key sentences in bold for everything I wanted to include and then went through them (not particularly in order) and gradually expanded on them until I had my first draft.

I actually had the opposite problem in that I had written mine before the deadline but kept chopping and changing and fannying about with it to the point I was convinced it was utter crap, fretting that it was badly written and got in a right a state over it. Once I got it back bound from the printers I had to will myself not to look at it.

Good luck, you can do it OP!

I got myself into very similar situation. I’d researched and done my practical element (sort of) but getting it down on paper... it’s hard. I agree with the others just start writing. So write what you have in your head. It doesn’t need to flow at the moment. As you start writing you’ll be able to logically create sections and put the relevant research in the relevant section. Just try getting everything down. It’ll get easier as you start writing and you’ll find yourself naturally filtering stuff out and refining as you go. However, it’s a process. You’re also too close to this, so you’re always going to feel hyper-critical of it, it’ll be better than you realise.

You’re at the end of your masters - you’re not meant to feel confident. It’s natural to feel scared and stressed. You e invested a lot of time and money in this so it’s natural that it all comes to a head but you wouldn’t have made it this far if you didn’t know your stuff. The last month of finishing my masters was the worst I’ve ever felt. I was so paralysed with the prospect of writing. I would cry most evenings and not be able to write anything, which just cut into my writing time and made me even more stressed. My husband (boyfriend at the time) would force me to bed because I was so tired and I hated him a little bit for making me go when I needed to write it. In bed, I’d then have a panic attack and then pass out from exhaustion. He was right though to stop me writing and make me go to bed. So make sure you take a break and sleep every night. You’ll feel you don’t have the time but you’ll be so much more productive if you sleep, stretch, go for a walk and take time to eat properly.

You’re so very nearly done. Don’t give in now. Everyone wants to cave at the final hurdle but you can do it. Just a little bit more and before you know it you’ll be at your graduation and as you get your degree you’ll know how hard you’ve worked for this. You’ve got this.

I am panicking a bit about mine too so you aren't alone. Our submission date is September the 16th.

I've done the research and started writing, but have come to the conclusion that analysing qualitative data is harder than quantitative. Coming up with the themes is a disaster!

You can do it OP. There are a few of us here trying to do the same, we can all spur each other on.

I haven't read the whole thread but...

I'm doing my masters as I speak ( like, just closed my laptop on today's work). Mine is 20,000 words, and holy jesus did it intimidate me. I love research, not keen on writing. I find it torturous.

My top tips:

• break it down into small chunks. You can integrate better later. This has been a lifesaver for me- I think if I hadn't done this, I'd still be looking at a blank screen.

• each day I make a list of what " chunks" I want to write, and cross them off as I go.

• like you, there were some aspects that I didn't know well enough to write. It actually was hugely helpful to just close my laptop, move to another room with a general book/ article on the troublesome area, and just read as if I was doing it for fun. This actually saved me time that I would have spent staring at the screen and being frustrated.

• do you use the Word dictate function? I can't use it to write, but it was very useful for note taking. I wish I would have discovered it earlier!

• can you explain your intervention to someone? Sometimes explaining it organises your thoughts.

• I did my bibliography as I researched. I f'ing hate doing bibliographies, so I'm stupidly pleased at doing something that actually makes obvious sense. I blame it on the fact that when I was first a student, I was handwriting everything!

• I made daily targets- big numbers on A4- hole punched it, and hung them up. Every time I reach a target I can rip off a sheet. Very satisfying.

• for me, I am a visual person, so making charts, timelines etc was very helpful, and meant I always have a visual aid.

• when I find a word I want to use, or a phrase, i put it on a post it and stick them around my workstation.

• ( this isn't my idea- I stole it from another site) if I am stuck on a word, I put one nonsense word in its place, so I don't lose the flow. I use redcabbage .... then I can do a search for that word, and use a better one. I have the ability to stare into space for a very long time, so this did help!

• finally.... if I am moving on to a different topic, i tidy my workstation. It just feels like its clearing the decks so I can start fresh.

You can do it!

PS- do you like your topic?

( as in, if I can't think of a word, I use " redcabbage" so that I don't lose my flow)

Great tips @IamtheOA

Well done on completing your thesis 🤚

Your department/school whatever may only be able to offer a week, but why can't you spooky for exercising circumstances? I did, in my master's and so far in my doctorate, annoyingly, for the same reasons as you. GP, as it's an established condition should be able to verify it as a flare, and you can apply online for extenuating circumstances. What's to stop you doing this? (Not a dig, a genuine question). X

Another thing I did was use the highlight feature in word for anything I was stuck on or needed to check my research more in-depth for a particular point.

Ok Pegasus I'm glad for you!

Yeah Pegasus but starting with the focus on writing x amount in y days is no use

Worked well for me with my prof quals and my MBA

It sounds like your prof quals (don't know enough to comment obviously) were more practical / professional focused, and an MBA often is very much so and much less driven by independent research eg qualitative / quantitative methodology

Still it's not the most recommended way to approach a research project but great it worked for you!

Do it do it
No faffing
No delays
No extensions

Been there sadly and I totally hear you

Get the words down
Take a break
Read over

Change
Add sections
Get family to read over if necessary

Just do it
Will feel amazing to be done

I do not recommend this but I pretty much wrote mine over one weekend

Not a good idea
But it was fine

I love my topic. I'm worried I'll do it a disservice and that basically I'm saying goodbye to any further study by screwing this up so badly.

Really worried now that I don't have the right sort of independent research though?

It's library based so I'm working with literature that exists to examine my topic, drawing from several fields. My supervisor thought this was a good approach.

The originality comes from the interdisciplinary nature of the project. But now I feel this is shit and like I got the wrong end of the stick?
Am I just wasting my time?

( has anyone else got the ' thesis writing service' ad pop up?)

EarringsandLipstick sadly I haven't finished. Just completed my first draft, but about 4000 of those words are fairly polished. Mine is due the end of Sept.
😊

@EarringsandLipstick you're conflating the research element with the getting it down on paper element.

The OP has suggested she has completed the research. She's struggling with the write up and I felt she needed some positive encouragement.

Alternatively OP get drunk. I've never written whilst drunk but I play a mean game of pool - I'm sure it's to do with not giving toss channel that position OP!

I feel for you! My masters by research thesis is 25,000 words of a library based research project on literature. Obviously doesn’t require any focus groups or interviews just me and my books. I also have health problems with joint pain and brain fog and have been having a flare up.

My deadline is two weeks today and up until this week I only had my intro and literature review done. I’ve written 10,000 words over the last three days by breaking it down section by section. Writing notes in another colour of ‘this topic goes here’ it ‘use Xyz quote and expand on this concept’ and that has really helped!

You can do this, I promise. It’s just a bit by bit job. Not an all in one go thing.

Sorry @IamtheOA 😊

Sounds like you are on the right path & doing great.