Saturday, August 05, 2006

Writing /Academic -- Nice try... but try again...

I got feedback on both my Metaphysics & Epistemology paper and my ethics paper in the last 24 hours. Great timing, no??

I see their reasoning to reject both papers and understand why they want me to do more work before I'll be ABD -- but I don't really like it.

In some ways I feel as if they passed me along in classes, then when I turn in a paper from that class for advancement purposes it is a piece of crap... I really wish they'd have told me these things when I turned in the paper the first f-ing time. That would have saved a lot of hassle and at least one cycle of readings.

I have a goal set for myself -- a new version of both papers in by late September, so they can be read and I can be advanced by November.

Frankly, with the M & E paper, I'm going to say whatever the f- they want me too... all I need is the pass. With the ethics paper, I'm actually making progress of a sort on my dissertation when I write/re-write or whatever the next version of this... so it isn't that bad. Both of the people I've had reading my stuff have been understanding and surprisingly responsive over the summer and I do know that they want me to produce a good product, it just seems to me that I'm being remediated or something...

and, of course, their timing could have been better -- oh well, it will give me something to do this week while hubby is setting up office etc... and I thought I'd have to pass the time with a face wax, pedicure and haircut/color... now I'll push them into one day and work on papers for the rest of them.

2 comments:

Kate said...

In some ways I feel as if they passed me along in classes, then when I turn in a paper from that class for advancement purposes it is a piece of crap

Actually, I have no doubt at all that you're an excellent scholar. But it's frustrating how many grad students, including myself, have gone through EXACTLY what you are describing. I understand that profs are overburdened -- I feel overburdened just thinking of what life will be like as one -- but just passing us along without providing the tools to improve ourselves is irresponsible. Even more irresponsible is then smacking said student down with a rejection. If you haven't given the proper tools, where do you think we're going to get them from? The tooth fairy?

Anyhow, best of luck in your revisions...

timna said...

oh darn. that will be quite a bit to do in those first 6 weeks of teaching. still, I see what you mean about revising the paper that you will continue to get something out of.