Dissertation Disasters? Just plan it!

So, it seems from hearing from many of my fellow final year university students, dissertations seems to be a massive stress and weight on everyone's shoulders. But to be honest, I really just don't feel the same.

It's time consuming yes, but it doesn't have to be stressful. I admit I believe the majority of my laid back attitude towards this is that I've given it all to God in prayer but for those of you reading this that may not have the same faith here are some practical tips to getting your literature review sorted (though I think prayer is the best cure for anything :p )

So...

1. Get your head around your dissertation. There is no point in trying to put your knowledge onto paper when there’s no structure to it. Using what you have learnt already from lessons and research, think about the arguments you are trying to make and how you can argue this strongly.
2. Once you’ve got your head around it, write it down. Write what kind of areas you want to explore within your main question. Know what you’re looking for before you look for it. For example my dissertation is about Christian journalists and whether Christianity and journalism are compatible, so some of my areas are: conflict of interest, objectivity and freedom of expression.
3. Read through academic sources and find quotes that relate to the sections and questions you have outlined in part two.
4. Using the above quotes, start writing up your different sections. As you go through, jot down what other information you could do with having to make your argument stronger.
5. Go back to the books to find the quotes you said you wanted in part four.
6. Add these to what you’ve got in your essay so far.
7. Put all your sections together so that they flow well.
8. Edit your copy several times to make sure it's the best standard it could be.

This may not work for everyone, but sometime getting yourself organised can go a long way- and this way helped me!

Price of Weddings is outrageous!

It's been such a long time since I've posted anything up here, I would like to say it's because I have such a busy and interesting life. But, right now things seem to be going quite slowly. I've got a lot of work to do but time just drags on. I guess it's like they say time flys when your having fun and drags when you're looking forward to something. Well I'm definately looking forward to something.
I got engaged about five months ago now. My fiance and I are looking to get married in November next year and I can't wait!
We get a lot of comments about being young, and I know how cheesy it sounds but I figures when you've found the person you want to spend your life with, why wait? Well, Jack and I have to wait a little while seeing as we go to university at opposite sides of the counrty but you know what I mean.
Age is only a number afterall. People always say to the older generation that you're only as old as you feel. I feel about 28 I'd say, I don't feel like I'd be loosing out on life by getting married young. In fact I feel that I would be gaining a lot more from it.
However, there is one thing that shocked my young mind about this adult step and that's just how expensive weddings are! Luckily I'm quite good with money and have found some good deals and way around forking out a lot of cash. But it seems that as soon as you add the word 'wedding' to anything it seems to at least treble the price of it.
If I could give any tip to any other young brides out there it's DIY! Afterall, your wedding is just one day of your life, it's the marriage that will last a lifetime. As for me, I'm looking forward to the lifetime bit :)

And That's It For England

I'm not particularly into football myself, I'm far more into playing a sport than watching someone else play it. Unluckily for me I have a boyfriend who is football crazy and I was made to watch the game last night. I'll be honest, I wasn't absolutely bored stiff but I was shocked to see in the news today how upset people were that England are now out of the world cup.
My mum was six years old when we last won the world cup... she now has an 18-year-old daughter (and I'm the youngest) what does that say about our chances?
There are so many arguments as to why the world cup is a good thing. Many people say that it brings the nation together but I don't think it does. If anything it just divides the world further.
Someone in BBC news today said that they were surprised there wasn't an outbreak and that England fans didn't start fights with the Germans. Why should that come as a surprise? Surely people shouldn't want to hurt someone else other something as insignificant in life as a football game.
Other people in this particular article spoke about how they had spend thousands of pounds over the years following the England team play. Two different views come to me about this (1) How can they possibly afford to do that? and (2) If they can afford to do that then why not use the money on something that will have a positive impact on someone else's life (i.e. donate it to a charity)?
Ultimately, football is a game. It's there for enjoyment and although it would be nice for the team to say they won the world cup, what significance does it have in our individual lives?

Raising the Pension Age?

On BBC news today there are articles telling us that the pension age may be raised to 66 as early as 2016 and that there's talk about it even going up to 70.
I for one think that people should be able to take the last years of their life to do what they've always wanted to do without a worry, they shouldn't have to work through it!
Although some may argue that this change may only result in a rise of one year, there is the risk that it could result in an additional four on top of that. And, who's to say that the government will stop there?
Most of us are put into the educational system between the ages of 4-5 and national statistics show that the life expectancy rates of 2006-2008 are 77 for a boy and 81 for a girl.
If the pension age were to be raised to 70 it could result in certain members of the public only having 11 years of their life without having to worry about education or working for a living.
Life is such a precious thing and this world is an amazing one, people should be given the chance and the time to explore it.
Hard work is something that should result (in my opinion) in a long relaxing end where people can feel happy with the work they have accomplished in their lives.
People are arguing that the reason for the raise is because life expectancies are now longer, so I argue why not relish this and enjoy those extra few years rather than work through them?

Student Finances

I think there's a general agreement amongst us students that the government are trying to get as much money out of us as physically possible. Merely the fact that we have to pay so much for an education is infuriating. I mean, it's fair enough that we need to pay for the tutors and the time but over £3,000 a year? I only have a 15 hour week! And I know a lot of students who have less than that. So what are we paying for? Excessive building works to try and attract more students to come, just so they can be doing the exact same thing as us?
I love Uni and I think it's worth that money, but that along with rent and food leaves most of us struggling.
Then on top of that there is talk going on about us having to pay more money out if we're not working while we're learning. Some courses are extremely intense and many students don't have the time to work and learn (which I think is the far more important of the two seeing as we're paying over three grand to be here in the first place). We shouldn't be treated like we're being punished for wanting a degree. How about rather than taking money from us, taking it from some of those people who decide that popping children out one after the other and taking money from the government is the best source of income?
Still they are talking about raising tuition fees! Some of my classmates and I were discussing this just yesterday, and there is talk about raising fees anything from £1,000 to £10,000. Apparently this is in an attempt to get us out of the credit crisis for the future... HELLO!? We are the future. Taking more money from us will just be leaving the next generation of workers in a hole before we even start. This certainly is not the solution for such a problem.
Now I'm not claiming to know the answer but I know that if we have to pay more, this country will no doubt fall into an even deeper hole of financial disaster.

The Greastest Gift

I find it strange how some people need to be in a room full of others whose every spec of attention if placed on them. I find it even stranger that that's when I feel most alone. I need just one person to stop me from feeling alone. One person who I know genuinely cares about me. Actually, I don't even need that. I just need words, words of my own, words of others, words written or words spoken. A picture or a video. Anything that conveys a memory or a meaning, a feeling or builds a foundation. Words are after all the foundation of life.
I'm doing some work experience at a local paper at the moment. I'm in a newsroom and all around me I can hear people talking about their latest piece, phones ringing, fingers typing and all of it forms words. Words that help us communicate, words that give us knowledge. We were given an amazing gift when we were given words. And, for this gift we should be thankful and we should give in return while using it wisely. We should use our words to spread goodness and happiness and to spread the truth as we know it.

Freedom Scares me....

I have finally finished my exams! Now there is nothing to worry about until the day those results come out and I discover what is on offer for the next stage of my life.
Most people would relish the fact they could lay in for hours on end without having to spend hours at a time working to succeed. But, and I will admit, I am a strange teenager at that. I love knowing that my hard work is getting me somewhere in life. At the moment, I have no work to do and therefore I feel like life is at a stand still... and yes it probably is, but the next few years is the fastest it will ever go, and after that my childhood will be completely over, sad; isn't it?
I just wish things didn't have to slow down so much before they become so fast, the contrast is gonna be quite hard-hitting I'm guessing.