Arrrgh-need arse kicking once again-essay due tomorrow!

[winnybella]

Again I've left it til the last minute. Essay is comparison of two plays. Read the plays, watched a couple of dvds, but have no notes, didn't even start putting any ideas together yet.

Last time MNers kicked me into getting on with the thing very effectively- I got a first!

It is doable, right? Doesn't matter that I have no idea what to write about as of now? Essay is huge in scope, and I have to pick certain themes etc, so not just straightforward comparison iyswim.

So I have maybe 30 minutes now before DD wakes up from her nap, then tonight, 1-2 hours tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow night til midnight.

I can do it, right?

Of course you can mate - you know you can - sometimes if assignment is a bit hairy I just go can't do it can't do it until finally have one night left - you have no choice - you have to do it and you will.

Get sat down - get started - GET OFF HERE!!!! Get Word open, new page, give it a file name, save it. Sort your headers and footers, get your title and your name on it and you're half way there!!

I now do most essays directly on PC whizz things around, pop notes on your page as you think of stuff. half way through if stuck have a bath - the warmth and relaxation'll get the brain running again. Rememember all points you thought of in bath and....

GET IT DONE

but b4 you go - what plays??

And what course are you doing?

Stick to the themes you actually have write about - say them here and we will brainstorm (tell us what the 2 plays are obviously).

Do you need a high mark? I'm a lecturer and with lots of my students essays its just pass or fail so I encourage them if they're busy to be happy with a pass and not stretch for something they don't need.

Right, managed to watch a bit of RSC production of Othello.

It's Othello and The Rover.

I don't have themes I have to write about as such, it's up to me what I consider important.

I do need a high mark, as now my average is 2.1 and if I get a first for this essay I'll have a v.high 2.1 for the assessment part. This means that if I'll get a first on the exam, then they might award first for the whole course. If I'll get a low mark now, I'll still end up with 2.1 but not high enough to have a chance for a distinction for the end of the course.Mind you, I think it's v.unlikely I'll manage to get a first on the exam.

Right. Ian McKellan's brilliant as Iago.

Have to take DD for a little walk now, will be back later.

Thank you all.

I can offer nothing more than my support
Lauriefairycake you sound fab - a lecturer with a bit of a clue what pressure students are under and not making them jump through ridiculously unnecessary hoops for nothing.

May I ask what you're teaching?

I'm in the middle of a huge dilema. I am approaching the end of Access to HE course. Originally my plan was to do IT at Uni and have got a place for Sept. Now however having done English Lit for a year I realise how much I love it and am pretty good at it - getting distinctions in most of my work now so wondering if should do Eng lit degreee instead.

However have asked local Uni but not one have a place at but where course sounds like it's for me (way more than IT one does) and yes they have places but to apply I would have to decline my place I already have but they cannot guarantee my an interview or a place.

Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

I don't know what to do :-(

Mspontine, that's a tough one...Could you apply for a Eng.Lit. place and if it doesn't work out, you could perhaps do an OU course either for a year and then transfer to your uni or for the the whole degree?

I'm stuck. I put DD to bed and am sitting here with a glass of wine and playing pacman.

It's a disaster.

Oh winnybella - I hope your arse got into gear eventually!! I'm thinking could maybe do something like that or maybe do the AS to prepare for next year. Spoke to my Access Engligh tutor today and she was so encouraging. Uni has an open day next week ( the one I now want to go to ) so hopefully that'll help me make up my mind about the switch and can maybe get a bit of inside info :-)

Yep, sent it off 7 minutes before the deadline.

Glad you think you can figure it out- I love Eng.Lit (although perhaps it wasn't obvious from this thread )

I'll let u know - so you're doing Eng Lit degree? wHERE ABOUTS ON your COURSE ARE YOU? Ahh caps lock!! Did you do a lot of it before? /is it what you expected? Is the work load manageable? - I have a DC (DS) too.

I'm doing A210 Approaching Literature with OU. It's my first undergraduate course and I decided to skip level 1 and go straight to level 2. We went through the genres this year, so novel, poetry, plays oh and gender. Dickens, M. Shelley, Austen, Turgenev, Romantic poets, feminist writings, Shakespeare...

I didn't find it hard, tbh, but also I'm pathologically lazy and so often would start on the coursebook 2 days before an assignment was due.

I managed a 2.1 average, without much effort at all (except on the deadline days!). I do read a lot though, just not necessarily the textbooks.

They say you should study 16 hrs a week- I think that's not necessary. If you want a first, then probably you do need to study a bit more than me and also read materials outside of the course.

I'm loving it, though and am starting revision tonight, as the exam is in 3 weeks.

Anyway, OU are great, although, as I said, to explore issues properly, you need to do some extra reading- but the info for that is provided in the textbooks.

winnybella - glad you got it done, that was a tough tma - mine went in without even watching the rover dvd as my laptop broke, which is the only dvd player in the house!

good luck with revision, i have just started mine

Are you doing A210, as well then?

Yes, revision...I'm thinking about doing just L&G for poetry, Romantics scare me.

Then ADH, Rover and Henry V for drama, maybe Trifles as well.

Few L&G prose writings, GE, don't know, Frankie seems a better choice than F&S, but I hated it. Know P&P by heart, so no need to revise that.

And you?