#Masters Student

[archaeostudies]

17.10.2024

i'm so happy i made friends in my department :) academia is really lonely so i tried to socialize more and... apparently, if you accept invitations to lunch and/or beers, you end up having friends.

my lectures and seminars are almost done and soon i'll start writing my dissertation. i'm so scared/excited!!

[discountscholar]

life has been so hectic and overwhelming lately but jelly-based sweets help :)

Sunday, 13th October to do’s:

- finish off DAP practical

- get significant progress on size constancy practical

- study for midsems

- internship work

- see off brother to college (he starts his MBBS tomorrow i’m not okay he’s so little [he’s a foot taller than me])

- catch up with frens

- watch a show (probably Heartstopper)

even though i struggle with a lot of self-doubt and overwhelm these days, i remind myself that any pace is okay. any progress is progress. being present and mindful is key!

[graduateblues]

week 1 ✨

no lectures today, so im writing my typed lecture notes from yesterday out. it’s much easier for me to type everything in lectures, and it is often faster as well. however, i feel like i remember more when things are written out and a bit more visual, so i try and write all my notes out as well.

[phantom-of-the-memes]

Palestine solidarity encampment win for Trinity College Dublin!!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Trinity News (@trinitynews)

Here’s a link to my post explaining some of the background of the past week with Trinity’s union busting and refusal to cut ties with Israel:

[the-amethyst-artist]

How to memorize taxonomy fast no borax no glue

[etherealacademia]

once the school year starts i'll be posting a lot of study/academic content again :)

[gryffindorpsychologyandcoffee]

Writing a case study this afternoon. One more case formulation after this to finish the semester. How are you staying motivated?

[myceliumsage]

tell me why i want to write a masters-level thesis on The Franklin Expedition, just for funsies.

with the detail i want to go into on that topic, it could EASILY be 80-120 pages long. easily.

[adhdarcheologist]

friends watching me researching or trying to write a paper:

" wow... academia involves allot of swearing."

[sunscreenstudies]

🎓 Simple Tips for Writing a Thesis 🎓

I'm nearing the end of my own Master's thesis and it's being an Absolute Trip tbh, so I decided to write a list of seven basic tips to hopefully prevent anyone else from going insane 🙃

1️⃣ 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐚 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐓𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜: Pick a thesis topic that genuinely excites you! Choose something you're passionate about because you'll be spending a lot of time with it. Researching and writing about a subject that sparks your curiosity will keep you motivated throughout the journey.

2️⃣ 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐏𝐫𝐨: Outline, outline, outline! Break down your thesis into manageable chunks and create a detailed plan. In general, the format for most dissertations is introduction, state of the state, methodology, results, discussion, and conclusion. This will be your roadmap, keeping you organized and focused during the writing process.

3️⃣ 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐈𝐧 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭: As much as you want to (or don't want to, as the case may be) tart with the body paragraphs first! It might seem counterintuitive, but fleshing out your main arguments will help you define a clear direction for your introduction and conclusion. If you're doing a STEM subject like me, then this will also help you define your null hypothesis in a way that makes the most sense when compared to the rest of the paper.

4️⃣ 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡: Don't shy away from revising your work. Embrace the process of refining your ideas, polishing your language, and strengthening your arguments. Remember, writing is rewriting and you don't always have to accept your own hypothesis! If your results tell you that your theory was wrong, embrace it! Those are still valid results.

5️⃣ 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐈𝐭 𝐃𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: Set realistic milestones and take breaks to avoid burnout. Your mental and physical well-being is vital to producing quality work. Reward yourself for each accomplishment, no matter how small! Personally, I prefer working on a single section for three hours, taking an hour's break, and then moving on to a different section for another three hours, no matter how incomplete the first section is. This stopped me from getting frustrated and burnt out when things just weren't going my way (and I guarantee you, things will not always go your way!)

6️⃣ 𝐄𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜: Your introduction should be engaging and captivating. Hook your readers and clearly state the purpose and significance of your thesis. Make it compelling and please please please remember the immortal words of Ernest Hemingway: the first draft of everything is shit. So be brutal with yourself, kill your darlings, and cut out every single sentence that does not provide the reader with new information.

7️⃣ 𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐁𝐨𝐬𝐬: Craft a powerful conclusion that ties everything together. Summarize your key findings, reflect on the broader implications of your work, and leave your readers with a lasting impression. Always remember that the final sentence in everything you write, thesis included, should be a drop mic moment. If you can't envision yourself walking off stage after your last line, then something's got to change.

Trust in your abilities and stay determined and self-disciplined. Writing a thesis is an incredible opportunity for personal growth and intellectual exploration (and ranting about your favourite niche topic for a few thousand words!) I believe in you! 💕

[culpepers-wife]

My thesis gets submitted this week

Keep me in your thoughts

[archaeostudies]

13.09.2024

this week was wild. i forgot a class (which started last monday - i thought it would start next monday, september 16th lol) and then I needed to prepare a presentation about Karl Polanyi's Great Transformation for my Archaeology of Capitalism class. i don't like economics at all, but my professor complimented my work so i guess i did something right :)

next week i'll start a german class! i know, lots of classes but i could not say no to a free class, could I? i'll spend another day at the campus which always makes me happy and motivated.

i'm so very tired (i made it! its finally friday!!) but happier than i was on monday! and now i have the most common weapon of a studyblr grad student: the logitech pebble pink keyboard

[graduateblues]

i've been trying to use notion more lately.

it's been a bit of a learning curve, but i'm pretty happy with how things are turning out. i like that i can have everything in one app and access it on both my laptop and my ipad.

the workspace i have up is part of a portfolio assignment for my masters where i have to keep a weekly journal of everything i learn and the things i want to look deeper into. it's a nice way to review what i learned and ask questions about the topics as well

[phantom-of-the-memes]

Trinity College Dublin are union busters who support Israel

Just to recap from my last post because MORE shite has gone down.

It’s exam week and while everyone was busy studying the other day, the Provost of the University sent an email to the ENTIRE student body, basically trying to turn us against the student union. Here are some highlights:

This was in response to lobbying by the student union not to increase student fees, namely masters fees. And to instead increase the cost of tickets to the book of Kells only by a few euro. This would solve the university’s “money problems”. Which let’s face it, they don’t have. I mean where is the money from tourism going that they’d need more?

The union had put out the ultimatum in the email, saying that if their demands weren’t considered, they would increase their protests. Throughout this year the union has organised protests that block entrance to the book of Kells, once of the main things tourists come to see. These were to protest the student housing crisis, the masters fee increases, and the university’s ties to Israeli institutions and refusal to make a statement condemning or even acknowledging the genocide. Here’s a link to the student unions post on the most recent protest.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Trinity College Dublin Students' Union 🌈🇵🇸 (@tcdsu)

The student union then replied to the email (and therefore the whole student body) restating their demands and the fact that they were going to proceed with the protest. They also included a video of the provost saying she wouldn’t increase fees.

Then, the next day this story breaks on our universities news (sorry link wouldn’t work but it’s from Instagram @ trinitynews):

WHAT THE FUCK!?!?? They are also calling in prominent members of the union who participated in the protests for disciplinary meetings. I mean this is how you completely alienate your student body. Outrage obviously ensued. They defended their decision by saying they had to “protect the book of Kells”, as if the union wasn’t just silently protesting outside. People made some funny comments about that:

Due to pressure the Provost then made a bullshit ass statement on Palestine:

So in conclusion, trinity is a fucking shit show. We are so tired of tourists being prioritised over us. They have brand new incredible facilities, meanwhile the student sections of campus are run down, broken, and completely inaccessible. It’s just a normal thing for lecture equipment to not work on the daily. And yet the tourists are getting new stuff built for them!

The biggest joke of all is that tcd is supposedly the top university in Ireland, and yet anyone I speak to from other universities have better facilities than us. Which is kind of funny since they don’t get tourism, just government funding. So how are we lacking when we have money from government and tourism?

I’m not telling anyone what to do here. I just want people to be aware what they are funding by either attending or giving tourism to the university. If it makes you change your mind about this, tell them! Specifically state why!

[workingtowardsthatphd]

i've been thinking a lot about what i might do my MA dissertation on and I have a few ideas, but the most annoying thing right now is that I have to wait until september and registration and everything to actually class as a student at my new uni and that means that I have no one!!! to talk to about these ideas

very bad.

[romantichopelessly]

fucks me up that my thesis is actually out there in a repository for people to just download and read. like as an actual resource. like im an actual authority on this thing. i actually did research valuable to people in some way. i get little report emails every month telling me how many times it has been downloaded and like. it’s downloaded by university students. commercial organizations. government agencies! in 3 different countries! someone in korea read my fucking thesis!!!!!