You say you want a Revolution....

I really hate that I can't post here more regularly because I'm always up to my neck in it. Sorry. Still, at least this update is only 2 weeks or so since the last one.

Firstly, the news that I kept secret last time can now be revealed. As you know I was struggling with Marwick's tortuous attempts at explaining the French Revolution and I panicked at the fact that I had a long way to go yet before I could even attempt TMA4. I was almost certain that I was not going to be able to get the work done on time and entertained the possibility it would be over a week late. I e-mailed my tutor for help and I got it. She gave me a real shot in the arm and told me I got another yet another B for my last effort. I hadn't even got my essay back yet so it was a surprise that I hadn't asked for. I was genuinely shocked (again) at how well I had done.

When I did get it, I was a tad disappointed that the weakness in TMA3's score was the Colosseum question. I'd got some great help from the A103 forum and the tutorials on what to look at before writing it. But in my heart of hearts I knew that I was doing a so-so piece as the architecture unit was something I didn't really enjoy. Although if I have one criticism of our tutor's remarks overall, it is this: as the second question did not ask us to look at all the writers quoted and we have X number of words to write, why criticise me for selecting a handful to look at in the essay? The last thing I wanted to do was to do was to examine each writer and what they said in just a few lines. I thought by looking at a few contrasting writers and writing about them in detail, it would suit the word count and not overburden the reader with numerous references. I might ask her about this tonight at the tutorial.

So, on to TMA4. I was mightily annoyed when, after spending a week or so ploughing through Rousseau, I finally got round to actually reading the question. The damn thing had nothing to do with it - that was TMA5! D'oh! In saying that, it was a joy to study his work as it was fascinating yet flawed. It is a noble idea of everyone contributing to the idea of a 'general good' but forcing people who disagree with any key decision is a backdoor to totalitarianism. That is just as relevant now as it was then. I'm surprised that many in last week's tutorial didn't get it. I mean, you don't have to agree with it to understand what he was trying to get at.

The TMA itself was tough. Marwick, as I've said before, is a boring writer so picking out the relevant bits from the Resource Book for the question was like pulling mussels from a shell. Dreadful. I did something for the first time in the preparation of this essay -I did some external research at the local library. Sadly, they had only one out of the three books recommended by Marwick but I managed to find two secondary books there on "The Terror" that helped. They're not well known books but they were recent studies of the period and they did help explain a few terms not explained elsewhere (e.g. certificats de civisme). But it was bugger was getting it all down to between 800 and 880 words - in its first draft the TMA was at 1200 words (I kid you not). I'm almost certain that in pruning it so, I've lost key points and I also know that one key part of the unwitting testimony I left out will bounce back on me (the dates of the older legislation in the context of the then current government). Hey ho. It reads well but I think it's a pile of poo. Mind you I said that about the last 3 TMAs. You will be glad to know that despite all the panic earlier in the month about how late this one would be, I sent it to the tutor the day after the deadline. Phew.

(Funnily enough, our tutor handed out details of a free half-day training course on essay writing last week. There was a session last Saturday but, given the last minute panic of TMA4, I obviously couldn't go. Luckily they have sessions running in June and I think I'll go then. I do need to learn how to write more efficiently as this bad habit can't go on...especially with TMA9 being a timed assignment).

My lovely partner Alison is suggesting I should give some serious thought about what I'd like to do after A103. She's so certain that I will pass it that she's already planning ahead (I wish I had that positivity)!! I wanted to eventually to do the MA in Popular Culture but the other week I found out that the course can only be done if I had passed two now-defunct courses. Bugger. It now looks like I'll be aiming to do something like a BA in the Arts with a media studies flavour to it in the end. The one lucky thing (which I haven't mentioned until now) is that the credits I got at Queens in the 90s are good enough to bypass some parts of an entire academic year. This means when I finish one module in one 'year', I can then start the next year's module immediately after within the same academic year. I could theoretically finish the degree in less than 2 years time. But nothing's been arranged just yet as I'm still looking at my options. Watch this space.

As I've done Rousseau already, I'm on David & Friedrich this week which harks back to the art history block of earlier in the year. It's quite tough going this combination of historical analysis and 'looking'. I may have the study work done by the weekend which is great as the TMA isn't due until the 26th. This means I'll have a helluva lot more time to complete the TMA. I may need it as it looks tough.