Pat Francis' session today was so inspiring, it made me think in different ways, doing things differently and making things easier for myself. Pat touched on how to reflect, refine and consider research differently, through ideas and metaphors which help you remember them. As we are creatives, she showed us 'hands on' ways to narrow down research and describe objects in a detailed manner.
What I will take from todays session:
- Write it down, edit it later (WIDLE)- I find myself getting stuck and giving up easily, once in the flow of writing, Pat said that things will come more naturally and you will be able to explain what you mean after going back to it. "if you cant think of a word-leave a space and go back later"
- Filter idea- start with broad ideas and points, filter it down to important ideas then reflect and dig deeper. (use a coffee filter as a physical example)
- Brick by brick- third year is the brick wall, take things brick by brick, whether it is a sentence per brick or a project per brick.Take one thing at a time!
- Write a blurb if you get stuck. A blurb summarises your ideas which means it will get you back on track and make you realise what you are doing or what you want to be doing. (write this on a postcard as you can only fit a small amount on them)
- Do the same thing, in a different style. Whether practical or written, if you get stuck, Pat said to do that one thing in a different way, whether it is writing it differently, applying it to a different context etc. The shape you see things in different ways.
- Brainstorm/list/break down/do bits/develop bits/join bits/re-order bits/do technical bits/proof read/finish. This handout was particularly handy, Pat stated that you didn't have do things in the order they would finally be in. She said to just write things down and refer to quotations and things will come together. She also finds it easier to the introduction at the end as many people find that daunting- which i do! She said to start off with a quotation and depict and unfold it as much as possible to then get a fully understanding.
I will most definitely use these strategies and ideas in my research report to help me build up some of the content, realising I can jumble this around later in order for it to make sense is a reassuring idea. I will spend the rest of today analysing my research and selecting the most relevant quotations and findings.