So, its
third year. And all of a sudden, you’re
nearly there, the end is in sight. The second year blues are a thing of the
past and you’re ready to start all over.
But you’re nervous, right? How much are you expected to know on
placement? How “ready” are you meant to
feel? And, for most of us, it’s the year
of the dissertation. And, please, rest assured,
it fills all of us with a huge sense of foreboding. How on earth do you even start something like
that? Where do you begin?
Without
sounding like a character from The Sound Of Music – the honest answer is – the
beginning. It is a huge piece of work,
and it can seem daunting, but, as I’ve said before, and will continue to do so.
Think back to the comments I’m sure you heard about second year “oh my god, its
awful” “its so hard” and now, look into any reflective surface…… you did
it. You made it, and it wasn’t AS bad as
you thought, right? Yeah, its hard, it’s
meant to be, if it wasn’t challenging you, how would you grow as a practitioner? You’ve
learned new time management skills you didn’t know you had; you’re more
confident speaking in front of others and I guarantee this shows on placements
now; you’ve bonded more with your cohort, and, hopefully, found your support
networks.
Same goes
for third year – find your people, find your groove, whatever helps you work,
relax, concentrate, and use it.
Don’t think
of the end result -a huge word count looming over you. Break it down into manageable sections. Start thinking about it NOW. This is NOT something you can pull out the
bag in a few weeks. You’ll get a rundown
of what’s expected of you, look at this, look at the marking criteria. Even if you’ve never done this before, do it
now. Look at the outcomes and what it is
you’re being assessed on and make notes on it so you’re clear.
Personally,
I love a mind map and there’s loads of software to help with these. Get your idea and make notes around it,
different areas related to it, and when you find a branch you like – keep
extending it. Then start searching,
CINAHL is a brilliant resource to use.
Get yourself a shiny new pad and make a note of the terms you’re
searching and how many results come up. (Believe
me, this will help later!!)
The
difficult part for me was the reading. I
kept panicking that I felt I wasn’t writing anything. But the reading is such a big part of
it. Because even if you’re reading
things you don’t end up using, your knowledge of them and the topic as a whole
will make the writing a thousand times easier.
Spend a good amount of time reading everything you can find around your
topic area. Any good articles, put them
into a folder.
Make regular
contact with the person who’s marking your work. Ask them what they’re looking for and discuss
your ideas with them. Its so tempting to
ask your friends what they’re doing, where they’re up to etc, but for this,
just pay attention to the person who’s doing the marking. They might want a slightly different
structure, or different content to your friends, and your topic area will
dictate how yours is set out.
As I say this, I realise, of course you speak
to your friends, and this feeds into my next piece of advice. Set up a group, a library club, bring in
snacks and drinks, support each other.
Don’t worry about their word count, their topic area, their way of
structuring it – all of these things are only things for your tutor. But it is hard, and you’ll need your friends.
Set yourself
realistic targets – read so many articles by…….. decide on a topic area by …….
Start introduction by …….. and focus on these. Get yourself some highlighters,
back up your work somewhere safe, and set yourself a good amount of time aside
each week just for this. Then, when
you’re not doing this. Do just
that. Switch off – run, swim, bake,
binge watch a box set – whatever it is that chills your beans – do it.
I’m writing
this, what would I like to have known? And these are all I can come up with –
break it down; start reading early; only worry about where YOU’RE up to and how
yours is set out; make yourself aware of the marking and grading criteria; set
up support / study groups; make regular contact with your tutors / the person
who’s marking your assignment; don’t worry that you’re reading and not writing
for a while; set yourself goals; set aside time to switch off. And don’t beat yourself up over a meltdown,
we’ll all had them – just do your switch off thing, then get back on the boat.
You can do
this!! I guarantee you’ll look back after its done and be amazed at what you’ve
achieved. It is hard, it does take a lot
of work, but you’ve got this far, you can definitely jump this hurdle.
Kayte x
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