At the beginning I found it slightly difficult in knowing where to begin and how to decide what my chapters would be. My first draft is quite different from what my dissertation became. I changed my chapters after my feedback to fit my research better. I changed the first chapter from being solely about Parson’s theory and merged it with the second chapter as Parson’s theory is quite dated and did not need a whole chapter as it meant Icould add more current research. As I was writing my dissertation my subject became quite topical in papers as Harry Styles became the first solo male cover on Vogue US in its 108 year history, which stirred up some controversy on social media. I created a chapter on this issue as it is very current. It was very interesting to see what the public’s view is on men wearing skirts in today’s time. I found that the chapters fit together nicely once I had decided what each would be about and they also flowed in a natural order.
Research
Personally I found the dissertation proposal to help me greatly while writing the diss as I had already accumulated a lot of the reading that was relevant. I did still have to read more in order to fill in gaps of chapters, that I had changed or added since writing my proposal. However, it gave me a good foundation to start from. To gather my research I would note all the pages from the index of a certain book that I thought sounded interesting and whilst reading them I would make notes of certain quotes that would be useful and add it to a categorised page stating where the quote was from and which page it came from so it was easier to find and reference when it came to writing my points. I found many authors helpful including Tim Edwards, Jay McCauley Bowstead, Adam Geczy, Vicki Karaminas, Ben Barry and Raewyn Connell, of course.
Finding authors that wrote about gender or fashion helped however the slight differences in the points the authors helped me build solid points for my arguments.. For some chapters I found it harder to find quotes more than the others however after explaining my point and doing further research I would usually find one or two that fit in. I gathered my books online as it was easier for me to do so given the circumstances, however there were some books I would have liked to have read that I could not come across anywhere online. This was the only downfall but to compensate I would either find a similar book or look at more writing by that certain author. I still managed to discuss my topics without those certain books so it was not too much of an issue however, I believe it could have helped with my research.
Timing
My planning and timing for my dissertation was not too bad as I structured it out months in advance to make sure I had time to do everything. My plans and aims changed as I continued writing e.g. I realised I had to do more research or fit in a topic that was relevant. BecauseI had planned ahead I was able to fit in these adjustments easily and still have time to make sure I had finished everything. Some chapters took longer than I had anticipated, which meant I could do less than I had planned on certain days, however I would make sure I worked for longer to keep on track. My time keeping for this assignment was much better than other assignments in the past, as I had learnt from my mistakes of not spreading out the work early on and ending up with a huge amount of an essay at the end.
Writing
I wrote each chapter on a separate document so I was able to concentrate solely on that section and make sure it was how I wanted it to be before adding them together. This meant that I kept redrafting each chapter, altering everytime. Some sections I found harder to write than others as I had less knowledge on them and did not want to write false information, the uncertainty then meant I had to do more research into that topic which then took longer. As I wanted to stay on task with writing a certain amount each day I made sure to add a note of where I needed to reference as I did not want to lose time writing for referencing. This then meant I had to go back after writing and find and replace the notes to the references I needed to add which took some time. I personally do not think I would use this way of working again as it took more time than necessary and added more working and editing time towards the end of the deadline which could have been avoided. I initially thought I would not reach the word count and would struggle finding points to add however I passed the word count and the additional 10% and so I had to cut down on my writing in certain areas. This was a struggle but I did find it easier than having to add words on. Towards the end of writing I kept thinking of additional points that I could have discussed or added however it was too late and I was already over the word count, but besides that I am pretty happy with what I have written about and the topics I covered.
I am happy with how my dissertation went as a whole, however there are some aspects I would like to change or do differently if I did it again, however it mostly went to plan. Although having the deadline in January meant I had to work hard and copiously at the beginning of the year I am glad to be able to get it out the way and an earlier deadline meant that I could focus solely on my dissertation for a good amount of time and over the Summer and Christmas break without having to divide my time between multiple projects that will arise later in the year.
Catherine's learning journal 