…I decided to add more.
I can’t seem to put the beast down. I have a week left now until hand-in date. I was happy with it before the weekend. Then I decided to give it ‘one more read through’. Famous last words. I have since spent the last 48 hours revising and adding to the beast. I keep thinking of things I want to say that I haven’t said yet. Then some internet browsing leads to a new thought, a new idea and a new angle that could really help make the beast a bit better. At least, that is how my thought processes have been going.
I’m in the red bit still…
There are probably books out there, and websites, about how to write a thesis. I’m sure they don’t say ‘Start writing on your first day, add to it every week, re-write it at least four times, spent New Years Day rewriting it all again, then just when you think you have finished, re-write it again’. I think if I read that in a book I’d run away.
I suspect that different people write such long essays, thesis, dissertations, whatever you want to call them, in different ways. In fact, I’ve just googled ‘How to write a thesis’ and the best sentence I have seen is: ‘Be prepared to answer “So what?” about your thesis statement.’ (As an aside, I don’t know what a ‘thesis statement’ is, should I? I think I’m not going to worry about that seven days before the end.)
That is sound advice. I like that. And, indeed, I think that might be part of my conclusion. Or, at least, part of my conclusion is: I haven’t found a definitive answer. That’s not quite ‘so what’ but its my honest conclusion. It is almost like saying ‘I’ve had a blast for two years but I am none the wiser!’ I don’t think I can say that.
Anyway, I do feel wiser, but I also feel fired up to ask more questions and I think that is a good thing. So my conclusion should be: ‘I’ve had blast for two years, I am wiser, and I have more questions now than I had at the start.’