I struggled in some ways with writing the draft. Mainly due to the fact that I was still reading as I was writing in some cases. I find it hard not to do this, but this draft has given me a cut off point for the research.
I'm not researching any more.
The research that I have up to this point, I believe is strong and pretty extensive. It's informing me well enough to give me a good understanding of the contextual background of my essay. I'm understanding the historical, social and psychological elements that I'm writing about.
I've also read a fair amount to inform my contemporary counterpart in Chapter 3, learning about relevant theories. At this stage I need to stop worrying about finding more and more information.
Even with the information that I have now. I've realised something important. Although I've been more specific with my project, and although at first the idea of writing 9000 words was terrifying, I'm actually struggling to keep the word count down! Elements of my topic are broad, and I'm struggling to stay concise. There's always still so much more I can write.
And even though this is a bit frustrating, I'm seeing it as being a positive thing... That I actually have too much to say as opposed to not having enough.
I had an issue when trying to write chapter 3, I felt like something wasn't clicking. I think what I've been doing is overthinking and overanalysing instead of just getting the information down.
I went through a period when writing it, of constantly questioning myself and second guessing what I'm writing about. Never that I wasn't interested, and never that I was second guessing my subject choice or anything. I just felt like what I want to say is too big for me. I kept side stepping into points that were pulling me in a different direction and so what I've struggled with is staying specific and focused.
I did end up going over the word count in both chapters 2 and 3, by between 400 and 800 words. I think this will be easy enough to rectify after receiving feedback as I'll be more aware of what it is that needs to be omitted. ... Hopefully...!
I'm proud of myself that I've pushed through the parts that I've been struggling with, and am feeling as though it's a bit of a weight off my chest now that I've finished this first draft.
Part of me is a bit apprehensive that I could have to change a looooaddd of it or something. But for now my focus needs to be on the practical side of my project, which as of now is severely lacking!!
Time management has never been my strong point, so it's vital that I organise myself for the final month or so of this module.
I really really want to do well. I've never been the biggest fan of CoP, so would love to be able to look back on this module to see that it finally made sense to me and that I managed to produce something that I can be proud of.
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As an additional note, when it came to moving the information about the Cathars to Chapter 3, I could not get it to fit right. It didn't feel as if it flowed. It appeared to be an irrelevant piece of information. However, due to the way in which witches were treated in the same way as heretics, I felt it was important to keep the information in the essay. So I left it in Chapter 2, but altered and refined it as much as I could in order to get it to flow and contribute, as opposed to seeming like a big block of information in the middle of the chapter.
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