Hello,

I have been writing a report over xmas to greater my knowledge of the topic area I have chosen for PhD. This report was somewhat descriptive because most of the issues were new to me. Having grasped some (not all- just a few) of the concepts involved, I felt fairly happy meeting with my supervisor today (because he normally talks and I dont quite understand).
It was brought to my attention that the report should not be descriptive. I should be creating an exposition of the topic with all the original and more recent work compiled into a frameowrk so that the threads, themes and arguements are coherently addressed. Now I am panicking that the work completed thus far is a waste (and it definately will be as it can not be included in the report), but more importantly I need to write ca. 5000 words in 9 days including the finding and reading of all the relevant papers. AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!
Can it be done?

Four days reading, then 1000 words per day for the next five days.
I think you can do, although it might not be fun!

Fun will not be in my vocabulary this week! Thanks DJW

Don't worry. It is possible. You might even find yourself trying to get rid of some of the work on the 9th day because you wrote far too many words. If you take notes and list the references directly onto a computer file while you read the articles, most of the time-consuming work can be done before you start writing. Good luck.

Yes, it can be done! Try to make a basic plan of the structure of your report before you start writing as this will help you to focus. Perhaps plan/read for a couple of days, write intensively for 5 days or so and then you still have a couple of days for proof-reading/editing.

Don't feel that the work you have done already is wasted either. It has helped your understanding of your project and that has to be worthwhile.

Good luck.

bazzab, it sounds like you are writing the first draft of your lit review. I wrote 4000 words in half a day yesterday for one big chunk of mine. Nine days is plenty of time in my opinion, its when I have ages to do it, I will always leave it to the end.

A way of tackling it:
-divide it all up into sections (this will help giving the report structure)
-find papers etc on each section, start with an initial lit search, around 10 papers, they will link to one another and lead you to more info.
-write/make notes as you go along

Hope that helps!

It is possible you just might not be sleeping much. Stock up on the Red Bull and tell all your friends and significant others they won't be seeing you for a little while. Good luck.

Thanks everyone for your comments. I have 7 days left now and not a thing written. I had an emergency meeting with supervisor to clear up what I should include. I think I know the direction now so its a case of working real hard now up to deadline and hoping the work is good enough.
Cheers

thanks for the wickid plan DJWickid. My ten days start today :).