It’s pretty emotional actually. Where is the time flying? Anyway, 7,000/7,000 words have been written and I am almost there for January!
After many hours slaving away, and one 10 hour library session (okay, I admit I may have left for an hour to get dinner at the pub…), I finally finished my essays and handed them in on Wednesday. Second year is hard! I think it’s probably the pressure of doing well finally hitting because in first year you only have to, really, get 40% in everything and then it doesn’t count any more.
The titles of my essays are:
1. The historian Nicholas Phillipson has argued that, Addison and Steele taught the public how to live ‘a life of virtue within commercial society.’ Examine the relationship between virtue and commerce in 2 of the following texts: The Tatler and The Spectator (you may count these works as a single text); Mandeville’s Fable of the Bees; Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels.
2. Critically assess how contemporary novels on England/Englishness appear to offer a commentary on political and social concerns such as devolution and surveillance.
3. Critically examine the ways in which narrative techniques are used to accentuate the effects of Gothic writing.
FUN STUFF EH?
There’s nothing like a bit of coursework due in straight after Christmas to suck the joy out of returning to uni, but, let’s be honest, everybody’s in the same boat and it’ll all be worth it in the end when we finally get our degrees!
It’s just a shame I have an exam on Friday afternoon as well…
After that I will be free and I can’t wait to get stuck into semester two!
And to think I’ve been worrying about a 1,500 word essay! You must have some good concentration skills – my mind starts to wander after about half an hour…
But as you say, it’ll all be worth it in the end!
Just make sure you make the most out of first year! Of course you still want to try but in the end you only need 40% to pass everything! Second year is so difficult! I suppose I did choose a course with a lot of reading and writing in it too. I’ll be free after 6.15 today anyway
What Blake said. And I’m irritated when an essay title puts borders around what you can say (what if I don’t see commentaries of political concerns, et cetera). But I guess one must first learn to walk before starting to run.
I have absolutely no idea what you mean Ilin, but essay writing does get easier with time!
I guess I’m just referring to my past experience in school where they gave us topics similar to yours and told us what the author meant. I like to have the freedom to contemplate the work of the author on my own without having to learn by heart what someone else had previously said. But I guess that’s just my case.
I do hope that your last comment is valid
Oh right, I see what you mean. Well, yeah, unfortunately we have to really consider what other people’s opinions are, but normally they’re right! I do interpret things in my own way though, I just use others’ criticisms as help for my own argument.
Well, as long as you take the criticism you’re giving on board you’ll be fine
You’re right Kathryn, I suppose it’s not worth stressing too much in the first year! I get caught up sometimes in the finer details, which probably don’t really add that much value to the work, but somehow I never feel quite satisfied that I’ve finished – in that sense deadlines are quite good, as I have to submit the work and then it’s gone!! (always a feeling of releif handing over the work!).
I suppose if you give your best you’re most likely to pass!
With regard to what Ilin said, I can understand that point. What I’m really enjoying about my studies is that we’re being given inspiration and interpretation from the lecturers but we’re also encouraged in our essays to develop our own ideas and explore them – I suspect your course would be similar. I think that’s what I’m really getting our of the degree, a sense that I can make my own interpretations of the world from the info I’ve researched!
Anyways,enough rambling! (from me), it’s great to hear from you.
Who knew blogging would be so insightful…
Thanks for the post. I will certainly comeback.
How do you find the English course?