Overview of Leopardi on PostgraduateForum.com

Overview of Leopardi

Signup date: 10 Jul 2009 at 5:56pm

Last login: 13 Mar 2014 at 5:15pm

Post count: 60

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Contact with Supervisor

Leopardi 60 posts
15 years ago

======= Date Modified 28 Sep 2009 16:18:21 =======
============= Edited by a Moderator =============
======= Date Modified 27 Sep 2009 15:34:42 =======

Quote From phdbug:

======= Date Modified 27 Sep 2009 13:32:32 =======
Leopardi, one word of advice (which I wish someone had given me):

1. You are soon to enter PhD, where distinctions and grades do not exist. It was a rude shock for me when I entered a phase where the 'top' was undefined and being used to aiming for and getting distinctions forever, it took me a good deal of time to settle down. Pl keep that in mind...

2. You write anything less than a distinction will be a total disaster. As a person who has stood and continues to stand in the exact same place, I should tell you, it is better to nip this feeling at the outset. No, a merit is not a disaster, it does not show in/competency and worse, these ideas get in the way of progress by taking up head space.

Both these bullets come from someone who has consistently faield to abide by any of them, and suffers, doubtless. But I am trying and I think anyone should.

Best,

I genuinely appreciate your advice - thanks ever so much for taking the time to reply. I am thankful that this is the last piece of work that will be graded (my sanity might well be preserved!). I would have been fretting anyway, but my supervisor's passivity compounded my problems. Given that another academic read my dissertation prior to submission and commended it (I had specifically asked her if it was in line with my usual standards), I should feel a little more relaxed, but she will not be grading it. Then in that panic-induced rush to have committed those mistakes! Ah, I definitely need to relax!

Contact with Supervisor

Leopardi 60 posts
15 years ago

Quote From pamplemousse:

In a word, no. These are (a) unlikely to be noticed and (b) if they are are unlikely to take up the head space of your marker, so don't let it take up yours.

Thanks for your reassuring reply.

Contact with Supervisor

Leopardi 60 posts
15 years ago

======= Date Modified 27 Sep 2009 00:10:10 =======
Following the submission of this dissertation, I'm left with niggling worries, which have been worsened by a couple of annoying errors. I had some technical problems prior to printing this work and getting it bound. In a state of panic, I hurried to get it completed. I listed the same item twice in my bibliography and I later noticed two paragraphs which were unevenly spaced. Could anyone please tell me if those errors are likely to have much of an impact on my grade?

Contact with Supervisor

Leopardi 60 posts
15 years ago

Quote From fricklesnarp:

Hi Leopardi

Glad to hear that your supervisor finally gave you some feedback - I managed to meet with my supervisor eventually too and she told me basically what yours has told you, that my dissertation was good and that I should be proud of it - there were no major changes to make, and like you, I'd completed most of it without much supervision. My supervisor actually told me that she had been unclear as to what my project was actually about until I finally gave her the first draft of it about a month ago! (This is my fault though - I am very poor at articulating my ideas in person as opposed to on paper).

Also like you, I'm on track for a distinction and my supervisor knows what high expectations I have of myself, so I don't think she would have praised my dissertation as much as she did if she didn't think it was also worthy of a distinction - because of this, I'm feeling fairly confident about getting my final grade in October. Does your supervisor also know that you are aiming for an overall distinction? I think it's reasonable to say this to him and ask on this basis if there is anything you can do to improve the dissertation further - this is what I did with my undergraduate supervisor, as I wanted to make sure that we both knew what standard of work I was aiming for so that she could advise me accordingly.

I'm sure you have nothing to worry about - as long as you know that you've done your best, that's the main thing. Good luck - let us know how it goes!

Hi Fricklesnarp,

I am grateful to you for replying so promptly. Yes, our situations are very similar. I had my final meeting with him last week. He told me that it's ready for submission, even though there's almost two weeks to the deadline. I am officially a Ph.D. student now, so it seem that I have nothing to worry about - that I should just get on with the greater task in hand, but it will be a tortuous few weeks until I get my grade. He certainly knows that I want a distinction; being a perfectionist, I would consider anything less a total disaster. If my work wasn't of that standard, presumably he would tell me and suggest changes to improve it, but I am not taking that for granted. The biggest problem is that I cannot appeal, regardless of my eventual grade. I sincerely hope you will get a distinction.

Lest it seem that I'm simply moaning, I'm sharing my experience in the knowledge that others will endure a similar scenario.

Contact with Supervisor

Leopardi 60 posts
15 years ago

My supervisor eventually took an active stance on my work. In the meantime I got an academic from another institution to read it. I received very positive feedback from that individual. My supervisor has also told me that it is work of the highest quality, but would not speculate as to my eventual grade - he insists that I should be proud of it regardless.

While I cannot expect him to tell me what grade he has in mind (given the necessity for collaboration with an external examiner), I am worried about the possibility of falling short of my standards (my overall grade at present is a high first), especially given the total inadequacy of supervision I received for roughly 75% of my research time.

Now that I'm on the verge of submission (he told me that no further changes are required) I am likely to fret over the coming weeks.

I would be interested to hear the opinions of other members on this issue.

Contact with Supervisor

Leopardi 60 posts
15 years ago

======= Date Modified 18 Aug 2009 17:56:45 =======
Since my original post about this issue I received emails from my supervisor. The first expressed enjoyment. I asked him would it be possible for us to meet. He ignored my request. I sent him more material and he offered vague comments about a slight need to improve my focus in certain paragraphs. He has not specified anything about which paragraphs he was referring to. I repeated my desire for us to meet and asked him if he could offer particular suggestions. He then told me we could meet at some point in the future.

:-(:-s:-(:-s:-(:-s

Getting very frustrated with (lack of) MA supervision

Leopardi 60 posts
15 years ago

======= Date Modified 15 Aug 2009 09:44:50 =======

Quote From fricklesnarp:

Hi all,

I just need to vent, really. I'm at the stage where I've written the first complete draft of my MA dissertation and I emailled it to my supervisor two days ago, with an explicit request to email me as soon as she got it, to let me know it'd been received. This is because 1) an email went awol in the past, and 2) because she's not that great about emailling me back.

I received no reply yesterday, so emailled her a very 'sorry about this, but...' email, just to reiterate that I was worried and could she just confirm she'd received my email. Today, end of play, still no reply. I know that she won't get back to me over the weekend, so now I have to wait to see if I get a reply on Monday, and I am very frustrated now, because ideally I need her to have read it and got back to me for a meeting early next week, because I need to get the whole thing bound and finished by August 27th, so I am going to have very little time to make corrections of there are any.

I'm sitting twiddling my thumbs right now when I'd much rather be working, but I literally can't do anything until she gets back to me, and I don't know when that will be because she seems to find it impossible to acknowledge a simple email! I know for a fact that she is at her desk, every day, because she told me she would me - so why no response? Is she doing this deliberately to wind me up, or does she just not *care* that my deadline is in just over a week's time and she's given me no real feedback up to this point, other than to tell me that what I've written is basically fine?

I don't know what else to do if she doesn't get back to me very soon, I'm really fed up with this as I am completely in limbo at the moment, with very little time left on the course. Is MA supervision supposed to be like this??

I can identify with many aspects of your frustration. My deadline is roughly six weeks away, so I can only imagine how you are feeling, given the impending nature of yours. My emails are being ignored too (I haven't even met my supervisor), so I know what you mean by limbo. I can only revise my work so many times without needing an objective opinion. I dread the thought of falling short of my usual standards owing to the passivity of my supervisor, but should I do so, I'll appeal. I hate the thought of having to acknowledge a man who has not contributed in any significant way towards my work. It's the usual hollow sycophancy of academia I suppose.

It's amazing how often a supervisor's academic credentials are inversely proportional to their qualities as a human being.

Contact with Supervisor

Leopardi 60 posts
15 years ago

Quote From Sue2604:

You might be brilliant Leopardi and he might not have any criticisms of your work!...but I find it odd that he hasn't provided any specific feedback. My supervisor drives me mad with all the changes she wants - many of which seem really nit-picky at the time. But inevitably she's right and my work is much better for her comments. I think you need to see him in person to double check that you don't need to make any amendments.

Thanks again Sue. I was expecting a similar approach from him. Given his reputation, I thought I would have many changes to make.

Contact with Supervisor

Leopardi 60 posts
15 years ago

Quote From Sue2604:

Hi Leopardi

Your supervision is, quite frankly, just not good enough. It's great to have a renowned academic, but as you point out, not much use to you if you can never see him. He's agreed to be your supervisor and he should meet his obligations. And personal contact with him has been discouraged? That sounds completely outrageous to me!! What kind of supervisor is that?:-s That's hopeless. Good supervisors don't mind being approached - often! - and give feedback promptly. You obviously don't want to jeopardise your relationship with him, which is completely understandable, but you probably do need to send him another email, requesting an urgent meeting and outlining your concerns.

Easy for me to say don't put up with it - but really, you should be getting better quality supervision. Get some advice from you postgrad association too before you call/email him.

Thanks Sue and Fricklesnarp. I finally got a reply today. My supervisor expressed his "enjoyment" at reading my latest work, offered nothing specific in the way of analysis, and promptly asked me for more. It is tempting to assume all is well, but he has a reputation for being very demanding, so I am not going to take anything for granted. I just hope he is not going to advise me to change anything close to the deadline. I hate the thought of submitting the finalised version and being marked down for elements he could have warned me about in advance.

Contact with Supervisor

Leopardi 60 posts
15 years ago

Quote From Natassia:

Sounds difficult, is this a Masters dissertation you're submitting? Is there any specific reason that contact with him has been discouraged (eg personal problems)? Its the summer holidays so could he have gone away for a few weeks? Its annoying, but if you feel you can carry on for the time being I'd leave it another week then maybe send another email? Is there any other tutor you could see? Something similar happened to me shortly before my undergrad dissertation submission and I sent a quick email to my personal tutor and she asked him to contact me...he'd been away and had so many emails to go through when he got back that he hadn't seen mine. He was very apologetic about it and helpful afterwards, I know that approach wouldn't work for every situation but I'm sure your supervisor doesn't mean to have not replied, do you generally get on well with him?

Hi Natassia,

Thanks for your prompt and helpful reply.

It's a Masters dissertation. I've been told he is "a very busy man" - which I never doubted, having been aware of the extent of his duties for quite a while. He is around campus quite a lot. He told me we could meet when he had some work from me. Two months on, he has over 75% of my first draft and no meeting has occured. I am very much aware of my privilege in having such a renowned supervisor, but I am not benefiting from his expertise in any real way (apart from the couple of approving emails I have received, which briefly expressed general approval).

Contact with Supervisor

Leopardi 60 posts
15 years ago

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I am roughly seven weeks away from a submission deadline. I've had minimal contact with my supervisor (two emails with extremely brief, if encouraging comments). I have sent him three chapter drafts so far, the last of which he has not commented upon, even though he received it over three weeks ago.

Contact with him has been discouraged, so I am waiting in anguished silence and trying to maintain a respectful distance.

This is extremely frustrating. In spite of his encouraging words, I have received no advice so far. By the time that he offers it, my deadline will be, I imagine, significantly closer.

Given his vast wealth of supervisory experience, I am wondering if this is standard practice?

I am tempted to be idealistic and imagine that he has much faith in me, but I dread a situation where I receive a grade that falls short of my standards.

Given his eminence both inside and outside my institution, I feel totally powerless.

Contact with Supervisor

Leopardi 60 posts
15 years ago

PhD Life and ....romantic and sex life....

Leopardi 60 posts
15 years ago

======= Date Modified 25 Jul 2009 21:30:19 =======

Quote From phdbug:

Leopardi, who, unlike his name, suffers from a lack of similar qualities...

Please elaborate!

PhD Life and ....romantic and sex life....

Leopardi 60 posts
15 years ago

======= Date Modified 25 Jul 2009 21:27:26 =======

Quote From sleepyhead:

Bug, is that an offer to help Leopardi out of his emotional rut?

Personally I find it amazing that a man (I presume) is self-absorbed enough to think "I want sex with no commitment" is news worthy of posting on a forum!

The brevity of my reply led to ambivalence. No, it's not necessarily a case of pure lust. Perhaps I implied excessive despair, but above all it's an issue of priorities. At this time my research is more important to me than a relationship, but it's not an easy sacrifice. My heart and head prosper independently or not at all.

Eska - thanks for your empathetic response.

PhD Life and ....romantic and sex life....

Leopardi 60 posts
15 years ago

======= Date Modified 24 Jul 2009 20:19:51 =======
I am unable to achieve a work / life balance. My sex life has not necessarily been affected, but my willingness to involve myself emotionally with a potential partner has.

Help!