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shmooj
Joined: 11 Sep 2003
Posts: 1758
Location: Seoul, ROK
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 Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2004 1:27 pm Post subject: |
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| rayman wrote: |
| I would put forth that purchase of prescribed texts are not an absolute necessity. |
If anyone is in doubt, post the assignment task and books here and those of us who have been down this path will comment on whether they are worth purchasing in our opinions. This will save some disappointment.
| rayman wrote: |
| Also, read the assignment questions extremely carefully. Break it down into it's fragmented parts and in your assignment, refer clearly and specifically to each of these parts. |
This is excellent advice and will really help you to structure your essays well. Those grading your assignments are looking precisely for you to cover the components of each task in this way so it makes a lot of sense to do this. |
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naturegirl321
Joined: 04 May 2003
Posts: 9041
Location: home sweet home
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| Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2004 1:54 am Post subject: |
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| Gordon wrote: |
Well I am planning on starting a Masters this year and judging from your above list, I'm going to be in trouble. Not that I was expecting it. I've been out of university for 10 years, have a wife and child, and have no English library within 4 hours to speak of. At least I am computer literate. |
I'll have no library either. Let us know how it goes. I'm in the processing of gathering materials for applying. Hope it's not as bad as people are making it out to be. |
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Scott in HK
Joined: 11 Jan 2003
Posts: 148
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| Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2004 2:04 am Post subject: |
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If your university has a good distance program, then being near a library is not that important.
My uni has great databases which give me access to most of the lastest papers from a number of good journals. Also, you can have books shipped to you at no cost and the return shipping is reimbursed.
Finally, amazon is a great source for cheap textbooks if you need to buy one...and you can re-sell them on amazon after you are finished...but to be honest... I like keeping the books...I may only use one or two chapters for my papers but the extra reading never hurts even if you leave it for after your assignments are finished....
I have a wife, two kids...and work...but as long as you can get the reading time in...I don't find it that hard to complete my assignments...though when papers are due...I basically shut myself off from my wife and family and just write...
The big difference I think is whether you do your masters through coursework only or do a thesis...
One other interesting thing about aussie unis...is there second semester is during my summer break...lots of extra time to do the work...and now I am taking a independent reading course...which allowed to choose the content...it will start in march...but I am doing the reading now....I nice little trick if your advisor will agree to start advising you early... |
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BenJ
Joined: 11 May 2003
Posts: 209
Location: Nagoya
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| Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2004 8:09 am Post subject: |
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| Gordon wrote: |
BenJ,
Which university in Oz are you going to study with? |
University of Southern Queensland
It's not far from my home, so I know a bit about it. Also a colleague at my job in Australia did his Master's through them and recommended them.
Schmooj,
Thanks for the headsup. I'll try to check those libraries out. |
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shmooj
Joined: 11 Sep 2003
Posts: 1758
Location: Seoul, ROK
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| Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2004 11:34 am Post subject: |
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| Scott in HK wrote: |
My uni has great databases which give me access to most of the lastest papers from a number of good journals. Also, you can have books shipped to you at no cost and the return shipping is reimbursed.
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Care to mention which uni this is? Do they provide bottom-wiping too 
Sounds like a dream to me. The most I got was ten free articles/chapters per module sent to me once I'd ordered them.
They would send books but only within the UK via inter-library loans. Not much good for me. |
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been_there
Joined: 28 Oct 2003
Posts: 284
Location: 127.0.0.1
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Scott in HK
Joined: 11 Jan 2003
Posts: 148
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| Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2004 1:56 pm Post subject: |
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I am taking my masters through deakin university in australia...I am not sure about other schools...but Deakin seems to have really put in an effort for its distance students...with dedicated websites....online chat boards and chat rooms....submissions through the internet....if you live within the right time zone...they have teleconference calls for students to talk to each other and their advisors...
edited once...just because i am bothered by the bum-wiping comment...somehow meant or not...i take offence...my uni actually support its students and you allude to perhaps its students being coddle...rather it sounds more like you were shafted by your school...left to do your work without all the support that you needed... |
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shmooj
Joined: 11 Sep 2003
Posts: 1758
Location: Seoul, ROK
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| Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2004 3:23 pm Post subject: |
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| Scott in HK wrote: |
| edited once...just because i am bothered by the bum-wiping comment...somehow meant or not...i take offence...my uni actually support its students and you allude to perhaps its students being coddle...rather it sounds more like you were shafted by your school...left to do your work without all the support that you needed... |
No offence intended hence the
I'm not the kind of person who alludes normally...
It would be easy for me to take offence to your assumption that I was "shafted" - a repugnant word. I don't believe that you are serious though. Perhaps just reeling from the prior blow.
I received the support necessary to complete an MA by distance learning. Sure, it would have been more convenient to access journals online and print them out etc or have books sent to me directly. I was praising your course for this. However, I liked the fact on my course that I had no online work to go through and that I had no access to stuff like chatrooms etc. That's just me. My course worked for me and I can only recommend it that far.
FWIW, I started my course in late 1999. In Internet terms, this was decades ago and so distance learing has come a long way since then via the net. I'm willing to bet they have better online support at Leicester now than back then. |
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Scott in HK
Joined: 11 Jan 2003
Posts: 148
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| Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2004 3:30 am Post subject: |
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When I read the initial post I thought you had an agenda to push...your first post was crafted in such a way to make readers believe that any course that was not so rigorous was in some way lacking and the people who took such course were 'not up to snuff'....but then I thought I was reading to much into it and perhaps you just thought a little too highly of yourself...
You continued to state that you had a job to do....you wanted to keep a certain kind of person from persuing a MA...this made me think that you thought the reputation of the MA was beginning to suffer due to the number of people taking them...and taking them from institutions that you felt were not as good as yours...and I decided it was just me projecting as I had met a number of people in the teaching field who felt their MA's put them above others....
Next you went on to mention how you cite 30-40 sources in your 3000 word papers...again putting yourself on a pedestal....again the implication that if someone didn't....they just weren't on the same level...I've read papers by the leading authority figures in my field that don't cite this many sources...but once again...I decided that you were just a hard worker who wanted to 'show' your hard work to the board....
Finally you 'praise my course....first by using a condescending question..."Care to ....which implies both that you don't believe me and that that you think less of me....and then the most praiseworthy phrase....the 'bottom' quote....I don't see how you see praise in any part of that post....
and just to end...I used shafted meaning...treating unfairly or harshly...straight from the dictionary....any repugnant qualities or connotations to the word you brought yourself...they certainly weren't intended on my part....
and I am in no way 'reeling' from a 'blow' which would mean that I took your snide remark to heart...I just believe that you start this thread with an underlying motive...and an agenda... |
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shmooj
Joined: 11 Sep 2003
Posts: 1758
Location: Seoul, ROK
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| Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2004 6:29 am Post subject: |
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Gee whizz - read what you want to |
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Dr.J
Joined: 09 May 2003
Posts: 304
Location: usually Japan
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| Posted: Fri Jan 23, 2004 8:14 am Post subject: |
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Never did an MA, but I second the 'top down' approach to writing large essays. It conflicts with actual learning somewhat, but you should try to see qualifications as a kind of hoop-jumping exercise.
Even Einstein failed his degree...just didn't 'read the question' I suppose... |
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Jim Bigelow
Joined: 23 Oct 2003
Posts: 175
Location: KSA
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| Posted: Fri Jan 23, 2004 8:08 pm Post subject: |
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Smooj:
For what it's worth I'd like to thank you for your input on the forum and in particular for this thread!
As someone who has been searching for a solution to my 'lack of MA' problem for some time now, you have been a great help. I'm about to get underway with my MA at USQ and feel much more informed as a result of your posts!
Don't be discouraged and keep on passing on your experiences for others to share! |
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