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Starting essays already!?!?

/ Emily Siddall

Introducing me

I’m Emily, I’m 21 years old, and am currently a Masters student studying LLM International Law and International Relations. On this blog I’m going to give you a bit of an insight into what it is like to be a student in the PPR department, and what normal days/weeks look like as a student at Lancaster University. But first, I thought it would be wise to let you know a little bit about me. I studied my undergraduate degree in Politics and International Relations here at Lancaster, and have decided to stay here for my masters as I really enjoyed my time here and didn’t quite want to leave! I’ve played college netball for Bowland throughout at my time at uni, held numerous part time jobs, and also been lucky enough to have three internships during my time here at Lancaster so far. During my spare time, I enjoy going to the  pub with friends, often entailing a few pints and a game of pool, so, this year joining the college pool team was a must (mainly because it’s the perfect excuse for a pub trip).

But now onto the important stuff, a day in the life of a student…

This week I have to say is one of the quieter ones, focusing on starting planning for my essays. For my masters there are no exams, instead 3 x 5,000 word essays are the assignments for my first term. 5,000 sounds a lot right? Well, after a few years of studying your chosen subject, it becomes very easy to reach if not go over a word limit of 5,000, so don’t be put off by that. For my PPR modules, you get to choose my own questions to focus on, which is great as it gives you such flexibility to focus on areas that you have been interested in previously. I have always been interested in social media and its effects on politics, and the Iraq war and the motives behind it have long since been an intrigue of mine. So I have managed to worm these two subjects into each of my essays, the first essay being of the effects of social media on diplomatic practice, and the second being on whether realism can accurately explain the invasion of Iraq. Pretty cool eh? Well, the nerd in me sure thinks so.

Besides essay planning, of course there’s lectures and seminars I have to attend. My current timetable this term I must admit is very quiet, requiring lots of self-study, reading plenty of books and articles, and frequent study trips to the library or computer rooms on campus. Fun right?! Well, 7 hours of lectures/seminars a week isn’t actually all too bad, and I really like this method of study, as it allows me to work at my own pace and use the lectures to clarify my understanding of the weekly readings I have to do. What’s even better, is that I love my subject, so spending time studying for the most part is very rewarding.

Life at Lancaster however, isn’t all about studying, and luckily for Lancaster students there is plenty to do both on and off campus. This week, I have a netball match on Wednesday, a competitive pool game this evening, and plans to go on a night out at the weekend. In between this, I often find myself catching up with friends for coffee (or my preferred drink from costa, a hot chocolate) or watching an episode of two from a good TV show on Netflix to unwind after a long day of studying. Fitting in time to do the things you enjoy in between the time you spend studying is key for providing yourself with a break from your studies, as managing your time effectively is one of the biggest things you’ll learn at university, even though after three years I still haven’t yet mastered this skill!

I hope this provides you with some insight into my life at Lancaster, and please keep your eyes posted on this blog for more updates from myself and other students! If you have any comments or questions, feel free to comment on my post.

 

The Importance of Balance

/ Amy Hobbs

Just over 2 weeks left of this term until we break for Christmas, the time has really flown by!

The workload is definitely in full force now, and it’s evident across the whole uni. The library is busy with people from 9am to 5pm,  study areas are always buzzing with students; all of us working to make our deadlines. I myself have 2 essays to hand in by the beginning of the final week of term and though that may not sound like much, there is still a lot of work that has to go into it.

In Continental Philosophy I am writing my essay on Nietzsche and his ideas about guilt- where it comes from, how our conscience is formed, and making a critique of this account. For Darwinism I am writing about Evolutionary Psychology and how the process of evolution can help us to understand human traits, characteristics and behaviour.

So much planning goes into Philosophy essays, especially at university level and it’s important to have a clear schedule of what you want to get done, and when you need to have it done for. It’s important to understand that everyone works in different ways, and what seems to work for others may not necessarily work for you- so it’s good to try to really understand how you work best and finesse your technique to make it the best that it can be. This is how I personally find to be the best way to work for myself:

  1. Choose my essay questions for each module. I find that doing this as soon as possible really helps. Sometimes that means choosing a question that appeals to me straight away, and other times this means waiting until I’ve had a few more lectures so I can make a more informed decision if I am not too sure. Having my essay questions picked out as early as I can allows me to start collecting my thoughts and making brief notes from the get-go.
  2. Draw up an initial plan and line of argument. I do this by going through lecture and seminar notes that I have taken, as well as re-reading the primary readings set by the lecturer. This way I can form a basic framework to base my essay on.
  3. Read, read, read. After putting together an initial framework, I can then read with direction- making sure that what I am reading is relevant and allowing me to read critically in accordance with my argument, instead of ‘reading into the blue’. Also, doing reading outside the primary reading list really demonstrates your knowledge and passion for the subject to your lecturer, and so makes you essay unique and different from everyone else’s!
  4. After reading for each of my essays and picking out quotes and ideas and making notes on them, I then create a more formal plan. This is where I will detail the structure I want my essay to follow by using subheadings, and write under each one what I will include in the section, in the order I want it to appear in the final draft.
  5. The most important step: I talk to my lecturers. I take my plan with me as a guide to follow for points of discussion and ask about the structure of my essay, and if I am generally going in the right direction to answer the question. Obviously there is only so much that the lecturers can say when helping you, but I always come away from talking to them with new ideas for my essay that I may have missed or not thought of initially. I then add these into my formal plan.

I then sit down to write my final drafts. Typically I do the 5 steps above in weeks 6 and 7 of the term, which leaves me with 2 weeks to write the final versions with everything ready and on-hand. (However, this can change based on how many essays I have to hand in at a given time).

This can seem like an extremely daunting task and this is where the importance of balance comes in. I’m human, I need time to take a break and not think about writing essays for a little while, so I make sure to follow a set schedule throughout the week. During the 2 weeks that I am writing the final drafts of my essays I usually head to campus at 9am, no matter what my timetable is and I work on my essays at the times of the day that I have no scheduled classes.

Of course, I take breaks- grab some food, perhaps meet up with a friend for half an hour, take a short walk etc. but I remain on campus until 6pm. This may seem like an unbearably long day, but there are more hours in the day than you sometimes realise! When I arrive home after 6pm, I know that I have done enough work on my essay for that day and so I can allow myself to do my readings for my seminars, or simply switch off, relax and not think about uni-related work for the evening. I also find that if I put the most effort I can into writing my essays during the week, that I am able to take Saturday evenings and Sunday off completely!

This is why it is important to have a schedule and remain balanced. University wouldn’t be an enjoyable experience if you were working at full speed 24/7. Just this weekend I was able to take Sunday off and spend time with my family at a ‘Winter Wonderland’ park. I was able to see my younger sister and we had all sorts of Christmas-themed fun like: ice skating, a woodland walk, and enjoying an awesome hot chocolate! Everyone needs time to switch off and almost have a ‘reset’, that way you can return to work-mode and get things done more efficiently and effectively when you need to!