speeding up, but not boosting

Since once a week I have a teacher reviewing the text, in order to translate from my english into proper english, I'm advancing in two senses:

- Finishing open chapters, because of the need of having materials for reviewing
- Correcting the texts after reading with a third person, for the first time since I started writing.

I had a check meeting with the Thesis Director, where I received some hints:

- Graphs and tables big enough to be readable
- Standard style for all tables and graphs in terms of organization, colors and structure
- How to title the tables and the graphs
- The need of adding more text in order to avoid short phrases, cable style (the dissertation will not be broadcasted in Twitter !)

So, two tasks:

- Finishing open chapters
- Re-writing the finished ones.

The theoretical approach, word by word

One day, one word; one more day, one more word.

I know this is not the highest performance that I should deliver but, aside from expectations, this are the facts.
Because of the theory, I became a sleeping student.
In two days I will start working with a teacher of English, in order to correct the text, the spelling and the speaking, so my presentation would sound as it is written.
Well start with sessions of 1,5 hours a week. I dont know whether this will be enough. I would like to have an average speed of ten pages per session.

Three impacts are expected:

     1- To force me to go faster in writting
     2- To have a third one reading the document, guaranteeing that it is understandable
     3- To learn some English

I would like to have all ready before the end of April, but I'm proving that my forecasting quality is very low.

Boosting the words

The theoretical approach overcomed. I will have to go back, one of these days, but not now.

I'm going ahead with a new chapter. I have to read the electoral manifestos of the political parties for the 2011 elections, overall and Barcelona.

Just started... to vomit. What a shame !

Stopped

No way

The theoretical approach remains as a schema after 3 weeks.

I have the need of writing some words based on Reniu's and Marquez's texts, but as far as I'm reading it becomes more and more difficult to know how to avoid a pure copy/paste.

One option:

Copy/paste without regrets, and re-writing, re-structuring. The truth is that there is nothing that I can deliver other than describing the exisiting theories

Let's try. I must go ahead

Lazy

I meet Dr Reniu the 18th of September. My document reached the 107 pages.

The advise was to make some changes in the internal organization of the document, on how to display the graphs, on how to use the colours and some basic tips.
I also have to add a chapter about the state of the art about coalitions ( Theoretical approach ).

For one month I have not been able to work again!

How to organize a new structure, keeping the work done in a rational structure ?

Yesterday I started again... so slow...

The document has been structured according to his advise, so I can go ahead again with the writing

80 pages

I was planning to have 75 pages by the end of August.
Today, still 20th of August, I count 82, but.... Is there any added value for a reader?. I mean is it worth for you or for anyone interested in politics to invest a bit of time in reading what I'm writing ?

Fear of SPSS

After more than one month I got a file from the CEO ( centre d'estudis d'opinió ) covering the public enquiry about political behavior dated June 2011

From the first day they told me that the only available format was SPSS, a statistical package that I have never used

Solved !!!

1- download the trial version of SPSS

2- open the file. ( as always : File/Open )

3- Save as...... EXCEL format

4- Remove SPSS from your hard disk

...and keep on working with the usual tools....