As of today I have finished one section of my final dissertation - the section on Alexander's status as a military tactician - and I am pleased with the overall outcome. I had lots of trouble getting this bit completed but I think I have learnt a lot which can be applied and used to improve the running of writing and planning my next sections:
For my next sections I have therefore decided to do the following: write down in note form my line of argument just so I am sure I'm clear on it before writing anything, this should help keep me focus and relevant to the question; check over my plan and see if I can see the line of argument and know exactly what I am going to write; write all my topic sentences first and if any aren't simple to write check over the plan and if necessary make the argument clearer - this may mean losing time for my deadline however I would rather do this than write an incoherent piece of my dissertation, this should make writing it all in one block a lot simpler; I shall not listen to any music with lyrics whilst writing, I will rather alternate between silence and listening to a ready made playlist (so I don't get distracted by picking music) of lyric-less music - this should mean I am kept focused because there is research that suggests listening to music helps you study.
Problems I may face when writing the next section are that my line of argument isn't clear and writing it out will begin confused and jumbled as it happened with the last section, however hopefully the above suggestions should stop this before it occurs. College commitments such as my history coursework are also getting more intense and I am still getting over my illness, this may detract from the time spent writing meaning I fail to keep to my deadline however I know how long it roughly takes now I have written one so I think my planning is good. My main worry is that the problems that occurred with the last section will reoccur, however I am taking precautions early on against this so it shouldn't happy but if it does I will just cope with it in exactly the same way. I also need to be careful of keeping this section distant from the last one as they both have a basing in his campaigns, I need to make sure I am not repeating myself as that is a waste of time and may make my dissertation lose clarity.
I will now begin with the writing of my second section and hopefully it will turn out, within the deadline, easier and just as good as the final product of the first one.
- All sources should be gathered prior to beginning to write and the plan should be written using them as it saves time while writing so you don't waste time finding sources which distracts you from what you're writing ruining the flow of the dissertation
- The plan should be complete and detailed, any omissions will just create problems later on. It also needs to have a clear argument running all the way through - all paragraphs should link to that argument
- Before beginning writing you should be 100% clear on your argument and sure that it relates to the question and everything you are writing links to both, don't write if you don't have a clear argument as it will just make the dissertation clunky and not very good
- I found writing all the topic sentences for all of the paragraphs and then writing the paragraphs really useful as it meant I could link everything together so the dissertation flowed, it also helps develop a line of argument as it shows you either know exactly what you are writing or you aren't clear - it is a useful way of flagging up any warning signs early on
- Personally I found listening to music - at least that with lyrics - distracting because I would focus on the words and then go and choose another song, all of this detracted from time and focus used when writing
For my next sections I have therefore decided to do the following: write down in note form my line of argument just so I am sure I'm clear on it before writing anything, this should help keep me focus and relevant to the question; check over my plan and see if I can see the line of argument and know exactly what I am going to write; write all my topic sentences first and if any aren't simple to write check over the plan and if necessary make the argument clearer - this may mean losing time for my deadline however I would rather do this than write an incoherent piece of my dissertation, this should make writing it all in one block a lot simpler; I shall not listen to any music with lyrics whilst writing, I will rather alternate between silence and listening to a ready made playlist (so I don't get distracted by picking music) of lyric-less music - this should mean I am kept focused because there is research that suggests listening to music helps you study.
Problems I may face when writing the next section are that my line of argument isn't clear and writing it out will begin confused and jumbled as it happened with the last section, however hopefully the above suggestions should stop this before it occurs. College commitments such as my history coursework are also getting more intense and I am still getting over my illness, this may detract from the time spent writing meaning I fail to keep to my deadline however I know how long it roughly takes now I have written one so I think my planning is good. My main worry is that the problems that occurred with the last section will reoccur, however I am taking precautions early on against this so it shouldn't happy but if it does I will just cope with it in exactly the same way. I also need to be careful of keeping this section distant from the last one as they both have a basing in his campaigns, I need to make sure I am not repeating myself as that is a waste of time and may make my dissertation lose clarity.
I will now begin with the writing of my second section and hopefully it will turn out, within the deadline, easier and just as good as the final product of the first one.