…you were done!
Of course you are not done. But if you don’t already have an introduction written, try writing your one as if you were. Just sit and bang out 2-5 pages. Write about the larger problem or issue (what do you know about it? include what you think you know too) and write your way to your purpose.
You are bound to see more clearly what you already know and what you need to find out. You’re also likely to sharpen your focus. Try it! Then share it with your committee.
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Likely, there are a number of related ideas you are capturing in your Div III or using to create your argument, design your project, or create your art. Sometimes we get stuck trying to order these ideas linearly. It helps to look at the ideas in a 2-D way that allows us to see how our ideas relate to one another. Concept maps help us do just that – and there are many online tools that help you create a concept map.
Try to create a concept map of your ideas – telling the story of the map might ultimately help you organize your ideas into a more linear fashion. You might find that there are a number of ideas that you really want to focus on and you can let the more far flung ideas go.
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Congratulations on being officially Div III!!!!!
President Lash cordially invites you to a reception in honor of all
students who will be completing their Division III in either December or
May of this academic year. This event will take place on THURSDAY,
OCTOBER 13TH FROM 4:30PM TO 6:00PM IN THE RED BARN and will provide an
opportunity to explore how he can best support you in your role as
leaders and mentors on campus. Learn about other resources and supports on campus too!
Kindly RSVP via this link.
https://hampshire.co1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_dmy9A2oTD5vXkLb [1]
We hope you can join us!
If you are like most Div III students, your committee is telling you that you have to focus your topic more, that the project is too big as it stands. You might be wondering how a more focused project will allow you to still hold onto the larger issues that brought you to your Div III.
For a written Div III, you often begin with an introduction that lays out the bigger “problem” or issue. This is where you write about the big ideas. It might take a few pages to do that. Since you are dealing with a large problem at first, you’ll note that there is more than one way to approach it (that is why it is a big, unstructured problem). Keep in mind that you can’t solve BIG issues in one project – not in any project, but especially one done in, say, 7 months (we’d be willing to have you stay longer, but you’ll probably want to focus instead).
So, you’ll have to figure out your purpose. This is where you funnel down from the big issue and figure out your research questions or specific goals of the project. You’ll select methods that help you accomplish that goal or answer those questions.
But don’t despair, after you are done you bring what you learned back to bear on the larger issue in your conclusions or generalizations section or chapter. You didn’t fix the whole problem, but you’ll have something important to say about the problem. This is your contribution to the larger understanding.
If you are doing a creative project, you still might be doing so because of a larger issue or unsolved problem (maybe about how to accomplish something). You will still have your methods and your take on the issues with your own creative contribution.
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Facilitated by Profs. Angie Willey, WGSS UMASS Amherst and Lisa Armstrong, SWG Smith College
A student recommends an app called “Habitica.” It helps them to improve their work habits and their self care. Habitica turns your goals and to-do lists into a social media-supported game. See if it would help you.
Earn gold for doing what you need to do anyway!
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