Master's Thesis in English Lit

[englishgrad]

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.

[strokeofmidnight]

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.

I'm really sorry that you had a rough time with your thesis adviser. I can sympathize. My thesis adviser (though the "thesis" requirement for my program is atypical) all but abandoned me...didn't read drafts, and certainly did not provide helpful feedback. My parter (who wrote an actual MA thesis) had a similar experience. In short, both of us wrote our theses without the benefit of feedback from an adviser. I can't speak for him, but while I'm not proud of my thesis (it was obviously an ugly duckling), it was nevertheless an immensely useful learning experience. The many mistakes that I made in my thesis enabled me to avoid making those mistakes a semester later, when I was working on my writing sample for PhD applications. I would go sofaras to say that *because* I didn't have a thesis adviser who was willing to actually offer guidance, I learned a lot more..and ultimately produced much better work because of it.

What I want to suggest is this: although it's frustrating to go at this without your adviser, it *is* possible to do so--and to do quite well. Academia rewards good autodidacts--even if your adviser isn't on board, this might be a good opportunity to learn how to handle the learning process on your own. This isn't to suggest, of course, that you should go at it alone. Recruit your peers and exchange thesis chapters (inafuturelife suggested this on the other thread). Talk to other professors that might be interested in this topic. While it might be politically unsavvy to ask them to take over the reins, you can still pick their brains, ask for reading suggestions, solicit feedback on ideas, etc. Carefully pour over the secondary criticism that you admire (whether or not it's on this topic) to unpack their rhetorical/methodological techniques. What is it about those pieces that makes them so effective...and to what extent can you adopt (and adapt, of course) their approach/methodology/argumentative techniques for your own work?

*

On a purely practical level, when I was pulling my hair out over my thesis adviser, my undergraduate professor gently-but-sternly told me to be extremely circumspect about turning in drafts. At their suggestion, I now only turn in abstracts and "polished" drafts, both of which I edit (for grammar and clarify) to the same extent as I would for any final paper. In other words, I go to great lengths to make sure that even my work-in-progress is as legible as it can possibly be...because the "other" issues (syntax, grammar, organization) are not in the way, my professors can engage with my drafts at the level of the ideas. Now that I'm teaching (aka, reading "drafts" from my undergrads), I completely understand where they're coming from--and I refuse to read anything *but* a polished draft. "Drafty" drafts (those with grammatical/syntactical/organization issues) are extremely difficult to read and follow, for a variety of different reasons (most of which my students don't even realize). Professors are busier than I am. While it is indeed their job to help you (and boo to your prof for neglecting that duty!), you can help them to help you by making sure that whatever you turn in to them is as clean, precise, and well-organized as you can possible manage.

Edited June 4, 2010 by strokeofmidnight

[englishgrad]

Thank you so much for your feedback! I like the part about turning in a polished draft. I am going to be meticulous about the type of drafts I will show my advisor. Since he is allergic to certain line spacing, I will also fix that.

It is good to hear that you and your partner were able to complete your projects (sorry to hear that it was without help from an advisor). I feel more confident now - I will also consider "picking" other professor's brains in regards to my topic. Perhaps that will give me a direction to go in. Otherwise, I will have to forge my own path, but perhaps I will learn more this way as you suggest.

[hopefulJ2010]

Thank you so much for your feedback! I like the part about turning in a polished draft. I am going to be meticulous about the type of drafts I will show my advisor. Since he is allergic to certain line spacing, I will also fix that.

It is good to hear that you and your partner were able to complete your projects (sorry to hear that it was without help from an advisor). I feel more confident now - I will also consider "picking" other professor's brains in regards to my topic. Perhaps that will give me a direction to go in. Otherwise, I will have to forge my own path, but perhaps I will learn more this way as you suggest.

there's always going to be *someone* who says something rude and that causes you to worry about your writing. a professor of mine last semester told me that my writing "worried her"-- i had over a 3.9 gpa and got into 5 grad schools. it just sucks that the person who said that to you was your advisor- not a comfortable situation. however, i think your advisor can be proven wrong just as i proved my professor wrong. good luck!

[wordslinger]

Hey, I'm sorry to hear about that bad experience. In my opinion, you need a strong writing group of trusted English colleagues or other profs who can give you the feedback that you need. And most importantly, DO NOT take his offhand insult to heart. I cannot imagine why he would say that, but it's not something you should worry about... you will be fine! I draft just like you do and didn't do any formatting until the end, and my thesis turned out fine.

Good luck!