Hi everyone,
I am new to gradcafe and am so grateful to read about our shared experiences as grad students. I am currently in a MA program in English Literature. So far I have successfully completed all my coursework, comp exam, and foreign language exam as well as working as an adjunct.
However, I am having *issues* with my Master's thesis. I am interested in Medieval Lit - especially the environment of evil that seems to be part of works such as Beowulf, etc. I have written approx. 15-20 pages during the spring term - writing is going very slowly (probably because of the adjunct workload and also the fact that I have a lot of anxiety about this project).
The last time I met my advisor, he asked to see my draft - I handed it over, only to see him write all over it in black ink pen -- his head was down, shaking with disapproval, and all he did was make line by line comments on grammar. (By the way, it is a DRAFT and secondly, I don't need grammar advice from my thesis mentor - I took 5 classes with him and got As, so it's not my grammar that is the problem.) He also "hated" the line spacing in my document - although it is a draft, far from finished.
He did not let me speak - when I did, he ignored me. He did say, "It is obvious you have NO IDEA what you are doing" - a comment which stung.
So now, I am at the point where I am terrified to meet him. I also have no idea if he will be available to work with me this summer. He had hinted that he does not work in the summer.
Since I don't see his personality improving anytime soon (he seems MAD at me without reason), how can I complete this thesis project of at least 60 pages, placate him and get my Master's?? Any tips? Any similar stories? Thank you for your advice.