what to do when you are drowing and have no idea what to do

[OnlyWantsOne]

I have to

Work to do ?

America in the 1950s
Essay
Presentation credits

Postcolonial Theory
Essay 1
Essay 2

Scriptwriting

1. A draft of an original 1-act playscript or short film script in final draft from, between

10-15 minutes playing time. This is for formative assessment only and will not count towards your final grade in this module. Please submit this online by clicking on 'view' below.

1. Write a close critical analysis of a published stage or screenplay, chosen from the reading list in unit 1. The analysis will consider techniques chosen by the writer and the effects achieved by them. This textual analysis should draw on wider critical and theoretical reading. It may contextualise the script and should relate it to other works in the relevant genre and subgenre. This piece will be between 2000 and 2500 words in length. It will constitute 50% of the assessment for the module.

1. An original 1-act playscript or short film playing time;script in final draft from, between 10-15 minutes accompanied by working process materials such as ideas notes, research, drafts, storyboards or story cards, rehearsal notes. It will constitute 50% of the assessment for the module.

Please submit the script online and a folder with your notes and your name on it to Humanities Admin office (R Block, 2nd Floor).

Autobiography
Essay
Portfolio ? a, b, c

Dissertation

When are your deadlines?

Also drowning here, with a chapter due by the end of the month.

Your work sounds really fascinating but i well know the feeling of having so much to do it's impossible to even start.

What's your soonest deadline? If i were you i'd pick something achievable like the 2500 word critical analysis to get stuck into. Try not to overthink, just get some words down on the paper and don't worry if they aren't perfect. Once you've got a few pages you can start to edit and it doesn't seem so insurmountable!

Good luck!

Oh God I hate that feeling.

First thing sit down and break your work down into chunks and give yourself mini deadline for each chunk of work.

What are you studying Literature, History or a bit of both?

I'm considering History in a couple of years but a little nervous looking at your to do list!

all of it has to be in this week, ive done none

have applied for mit circs, as had a baby

I had a horrible time at uni once - the same Friday was the deadline for 6 different essays.

To cope, I broke them all into stages and advanced each essay regularly so :

1. Research for essays 1 - 6
2. Outline for essays 1 - 6
3. Write rough draft for essays 1 - 6
4. Write neat draft for essays 1 - 6
5. Type up essays 1 - 6 (I didn't have a computer at home)

Was stressful, but by doing that I didn't leave any essay further behind than the others. My last week was hell because I had given myself one day per essay to write the final draft and one day I had a total total writers block and broke down in tears. However the next day I managed to catch up on that essay and finish the next one....

Another technique would be do each one as a whole, but I found that my ideas matured better if I tackled the essay over a longer time perdio.

I think Bartimaeus has a good plan. In the past I have always tackled one at a time and it hasn't really worked because at the back of my mind I have had that niggly feeling that I haven't even started on the others and it has made more stressed! Also having to ask for an extension and admit that you haven't even started some of the assignments does not go down well.

problem is, i havent got a clue

Why do you not have a clue? How far are you into your studies? Is it because you are overwhelmed due to the new baby?

How about taking a year out? Only go down this road if you are really sure as my year out has lasted 17 years!

its my 3rd year, baby born between modules is nearly 6 months old

I'm not actually a student anymore, but I still have student-like work, and find this happens to me a lot. Especially if there are no clear bite-sized chunks, and the goal is 'write entire book' or something equally impossible sounding.

I bet that you do have a clue Onlywantsone, it just feels like you don't. You wouldn't have got to the third year otherwise, would you?

So... bite-sized chunks would be my advice. Now, if only I can take my own advice

If it's your 3rd year and you're really struggling, it may be worth asking to defer and take these modules next year instead. Speak to whichever member of staff is responsible for looking after you and find out what they think.

I cant actually aford to defer

its do it now, or never

You may not have to pay another year's fees given the circumstances and what you'd be asking to do. You don't need to repeat the year, just to defer the assessment for these modules. Speak to your personal tutor/director of studies/whatever your university calls it and find out.

Going back to uni with a tiny baby is tough. You must have had very little in the way of 'maternity leave' and it's perfectly understandable that you've found it difficult.

Ooo you sound very knowlegeable.

Tbh im scared and have been scared of asking any one for any help / advice in case they said no.

The worst thing you can do is struggle on and not do your best without talking to someone. You'll almost certainly find that your tutor is sympathetic and can help you in some way. If you don't speak to anyone, they can't help. You have nothing at all to lose in speaking to someone. (I'm a lecturer, btw, and my university would be quite sympathetic).

Also, it's important to speak to someone (or email them) before any deadlines pass. There will be more flexibility if you do this than if you miss a deadline or whatever and then say you've been having problems. It's good that you've already done something in terms of lodging mitigating circumstances, so your lecturer will be able to advise you on what to do now.

God it's terrible I just can't cope :(

I'm too scared to go and see my tutor. I'm still breast feeding DD and feel massively self conscious about going.

Really, honestly don't be scared. It's your tutor's job to help you. Asking for help or admitting that you're not coping is really hard, but they can't help you if you don't tell them what's happening. Your tutor (and the other staff) would probably feel really horrible if you didn't get the support you need because you were too scared to speak to them. They're people too and the vast majority of academics do genuinely want their students to do well -- and to have the chance to do well.

Really, it's not like you've spent the term in the pub and have just realised that you'll have to do some work. You have genuine circumstances which have made it hard for you to perform as well as you would ordinarily be able to.

are you ou, owo?

otherwise uni will have a counselling service as well as personal tutors?

i finished my first degree whilst bfing dd1 after deferring. it will be ok.

deep breath and make a phone call to get an appointment in the morning.