Hi all - I started my MA in September and at the moment I'm really struggling with the workload. I've been spending most days working, and I try really hard to work for at least 6-8 hours a day, although obviously over Christmas and New Year this has been difficult with family commitments etc. Over the holidays I had planned to write one 8000 word essay and create a detailed argument for my dissertation - however, the essay has taken an immense amount of time, much more than I expected.

I spent 3 solid weeks researching it, and I've only been able to average about 1000 words a day writing it - so far I am up to 4,500 words of a very first draft which is going to need substantial revision, but I've had to put it to one side to try and create *some* kind of argument for my dissertation to show my supervisor next week, as I haven't yet started this and am worried my supervisor is going to think I'm slacking off, when really I'm working as hard as I can - but I don't seem to be getting the work done fast enough! Is anyone else experiencing this problem? I am worried I am going to get seriously behind on my dissertation at this rate, because all my other essays are going to take so much time.

Hey, sounds to me like you are doing as much as you can, breath and relax! 1000 words/day is good going (as long as they are not crap words!!) getting stressed and panicy can only stump your progress, take it one step at a time and get some feed back on what you have written already (friends, supervisor- anyone)
best of luck.

Hi,

U say you are producing 1000 a day. Are you sure all of it is good material (potentially usable?) Because or else, I would tone it down, and check if I am writing good stuff. Of course free writing is a strategy for some, and writing never hurts unless theres something seriously wrong with it

Also, Christmas week is supposed to be hectic and technically when you leave al of that out, the Xmas vacation isnt really one of the longest vacations. So, in all, aiming for an overdrive over Summer is one thing, but over xmas, i dont know.

I dont know what you mean by some kind of argument, in my opinion arguments emerge once u r ahead in the work, or at least have done a lit review. In the sciences u need some hypothesis i guess, even in social sciences at times. Do you have a research question thats not too broad, thats crisp and precise enough to let you do a it review without driving yourself crazy?

If youve done that you ve done a good bit :)

I think that what I am producing is okay for a first draft - the majority of my free-writing takes place while I'm doing my research, so the actual writing is more a question of organising, rewording, sorting etc, which I'm finding quite difficult since this is a much longer essay than I'm used to. I need to get the whole thing written once though before I can then go back and make sure it all fits together and makes sense - I'm not letting myself be finicky about every little sentence at this stage.

I know Xmas week is hectic, but I feel that this is the pace which I need to be working at in order not to get snowed under. That's why I'm worried - I feel like that there isn't much extra that I can physically give to this, and yet it still doesn't feel like I'm doing enough. One of the other students told me before Christmas that he'd nearly completed the first draft of his 8000 word essay already - to be fair, he's like an uber-student, since he's already completed two degrees and this is his second Masters, but even so, I feel I'm being left behind.

An argument for my dissertation is what my supervisor asked me to produce - she wanted me to read my key text, and then work out the basic argument that I'm going to make. I have read the key text before, but it was ages ago, so I'm reading it again. I'm also trying to structure my chapters and my argument for each one, so that I can focus my research and not be ranging around too broadly. I haven't been told how, or when, to produce a literature review and I haven't done one before, but I have gathered a bunch of chapters from various books which might be useful, though I haven't had time to read them. I've basically been told that I ought to be ready to physically start the official writing by the start of next semester, which is tomorrow. I think that this is impossible, since with all my other MA work I haven't chance to do *any* research for my dissertation yet, and am still not even sure if my research question is going to work!

I just feel like the amount expected of me right now is too much... but maybe I am just too slow :(

Hi, relax!!!! They seriously suggest you should be starting to write your diss this week? I didn't start mine until after the final essay submission (around Easter) I submitted on time and got a distinction, so please don't try to worry too much, it sounds as though you're doing just fine. The argument is a good thing to do just to think things through, but remember that your diss can change direction radically once you get going with it - mine went in completely the opposite direction to that expected once I did the first analysis of my data and my oh so carefully thought out proposal had to change to be an argument against, rather than an argument for the thesis with all of the explanations and reasons needing sorting out - dissertations take on a life of their own!
At your stage I was focussing on the essays because they needed to be good, giving a bit of thought, but not much to the dissertation with the plan to go for it through the summer and i did - I had the complete 20K word first draft through by mid August and had a month then to revise it all and do all the extra stuff for submission
Also, don't compare yourself or your working speed to others, some write fast, some work fast, some don't - so long as at the end of the day you come out of this with an MA and get to wear the gown and mortar and do the walk that is ALL that matters. It won't matter whether you went like a train and got done fast or whether you took your time - its the destination as much as the journey and enjoy the journey - its intense, very intense, made the Phd look like a walk in the park in comparison (in some ways lol) but its enjoyable and you'll get to spend the summer researching and giving your full attention to something that fascinates you - we are actually very lucky - enjoy it, chill out, work hard and get submitted on time, but don't stress or your productivity will drop and your quality deteriorate too :-)
Here endeth the lesson lol

Thanks for the advice - am feeling a little less stressed now, although this may partially be due to getting the flu, complete with blurry head/mild euphoria. I found out that the student who has already completed his first draft actually doesn't celebrate Christmas at all, so I don't feel as bad - I'd have finished my essay too by now if I hadn't had Christmas! I'm meeting my supervisor on Thursday, so still frantically trying to get to the end of my text and produce something for her - hopefully she will be sympathetic, as I shall probably be flu-ridden and limping like Igor by the time I see her, as I also whacked my little toe off the side of the bath this morning and now I can't move it or walk properly - but right now I'm happy in my flu-euphoria so it's okay lol ;)