My work in past month and more has had a heavy bias towards my dissertation as I try to get on top of my ideas for this work and at same time attempt to force myself to stay on topic and stop wandering. As this a major element of this unit, I feel it very important to reach a tipping point where I am happy with my overall ideas and rest of work on essay will be an editing process. The coursework at this point asks for a first draft of my dissertation. What I have been working on for the past few months feels well beyond a first draft and has been through many different iterations and revisions. Whatever number I assign to these drafts, I am much happier with my efforts than I was several months back and even though it still isn’t complete, it feels that my argument and flow of this written work is developing. Future drafts will continue my work to edit and refine my argument further as this draft is too long and needs a conclusion and abstract and some illustrations. As I edit this further, I will drill down as I have a sense that I have repeated some of my points. My essay seems to have much more of my own comments and opinions although I am not consciously aware of changing my approach. As suggested by tutor, I have incorporated my footnotes into the body of my text. The most useful advice I received was in writing to help me discover so I have been researching and exploring all at the same time, my efforts being driven by what I write. Interestingly, I been seeing connections between my essay and my creative test pieces. My writing is developing as I been searching for the flow of my essay, trying to make it logical and readable. I am not the most cultured writer so this been time consuming but at the same time, enjoyable and, I hope, depending on my choices for future study, will be a useful skill to develop.

Tutor feedback on the rough draft containing my introduction and the first chapter with ideas for the rest of essay at feedback point 4 were instructive although it took me a while to absorb what had been said and to try and shape my ideas for my dissertation and to take that feedback on board. Major changes in essay are that my original introduction now forms a part of my second chapter where I explore the liminal space surrounding death. It is here I have decided to give my daughter a voice. My revamped first two chapters and a new introduction is where the bulk of my essay has developed. My chapter on death as a taboo is now my final chapter. Having said this, I have thought of this less as chapters, but more as joined up work which lean upon one another.