For those of us already in the fire--

[Bridget]

Hi All! I'm wondering if anyone else in the forums are preparing for their Masters Exams? Mine are this spring (February) and I was looking for suggestions on websites, advice, thoughts on preparation ect- I've been preparing since the summer and would like to get a 'fresh' perspective/approach. Also- any thoughts from those already through this stage of the "gauntlet"??? Edited January 4, 2011 by Bridget

[rsldonk]

In my program, I just had to prepare a thesis and defend it, if that's what you mean by exams. I was pretty nervous for my defense, but it wasn't so bad. One of my professors had only read maybe half of it (not a bad thing at all). Basically, if your major professor is any good, you don't get to that point unless they feel you are ready. Unless your thesis is not something you researched and wrote yourself, you should be at least as familiar with the subject as your professors. While I've heard horror stories, and I know there is the potential for these to go horribly wrong, if you've been preparing yourself through your program you should be just fine.

[StrangeLight]

i'm working on the third draft of my thesis now. i think most professors would have been fine with version two, but my advisor is very exacting and a little bit of a control freak. i don't mind, because ultimately it makes my work stronger, but i wish i had more time in a given day to work on it. i'll defend the thesis some time at the end of february or very beginning of march and then just work on cutting it down for publication. i'm not too concerned about the defense itself because, like rsidonk said, any advisor worth his or her salt won't let you sit the defense unless your MA will pass. i also don't get too defensive about criticism of my work because i figure that all of it is designed (hopefully) to make the work better.

[Bukharan]

I am to start writing my Master's thesis in April and need to submit it by August.

[sankd]

My thesis is half-finished. Need to submit for defense by April, so not a big deal.

[TMP]

You all can do it! Writing the thesis/preparing for the exams are not that horrible as you'd like to think. If anything, writing the thesis was my favorite part of the MA program. Yeah, I'm a research/writing junkie. Get as much feedback as you can with whatever is it you're preparing for but remember to pause and consider how the given advice fits with your learning/writing style. If you can set up a workshop with other graduate students in your department, it'll be great. You could be in for a surprise if you have a very diverse group but they will certainly help you think about other perspectives and possible counterarguments.

Also, if you have a "soft" adviser, try to find a more critical reader so you can really learn. My adviser was ready to pass me but my second reader said "not yet." My adviser said, fine, you'll learn a lot from him, I'm ready whenever the final copy is. I also had a third reader was even more critical but she was quite busy and went along with whatever my adviser said. But I had a lot of time for revisions...