I know you will not listen to the sensible arguments that teachers bring you. So is the order of things. We never take the advice of those who claim to have more experience. Youth knows better. "The Child is Father to the Man", right?

Then what about listening to some people who are (almost) as young as you are. Take a look at what our last years' undergraduates had to say about the Lucrarea de licenta

P.F. 2007	SCOATE-TI DIN CAP ca ultimele saptamani dinainte de licenta vei dormi mai mult de 4 ore. Oricum te sfatuiesc sa te apuci de lucrare din timp pentru ca daca o vei face pe ultima suta de metri o vei considera superficiala si vei crede ca nu te reprezinta pe tine sau cei 3, 4 ani pe care i-ai petrecut in faculta. In vocabularul tau NU VOR EXISTA cuvintele: “Nu gasesc bibliografie” pentru ca exista atatea solutii de a gasi carti. Daca ti-ai ales un subiect despre care iti va placea sa scrii, nimic altceva nu mai conteaza. Eu mi-am ales un subiect din cultura si civilizatia africanilor americani desi nu vazusem niciodata un negru. Am fost apoi in America cu un program pentru studenti si am intervievat americani, plus ca mi-am cumparat carti. Daca nu ai posibilitatea aceasta, poti apela la schimb interbibliotecar. Fara sa scoti un ban din buzunar, poti citi carti aduse de la cele mai mari biblioteci din tara. Daca ai gasit ceva de care esti interesat pe net, iar autorul articolului si-a lasat adresa de e-mail cere-i ajutorul, scrie-i! De cele mai multe ori ei raspund. Intra pe diferite forumuri englezesti sau americane si pune in discutie tema ta. Iti vor da idei sau iti vor veni idei . FOARTE IMPORTANT: Inainte sa citesti orice articol de pe net verifica daca apar autorul si data in care a fost scris articolul. E important sa copiezi toate datele cand ai gasit articolul pentru ca e posibil ca peste doua zile sa nu le mai gasesti. P. F.
M.L. - absolventa iulie 2005. 9 iunie 2005.	În atentia studentilor anului III Bafta la examene si la lucrarea de licenta. Sfatul meu, fiindca am trecut prin aceasta situatie, este ca sa alegeti tema de licenta si sa va fie foarte clar ceea ce vreti sa scrieti. Pe parcurs au sa va mai vina idei, dar în mare, trebuie sa aveti un plan bine pus la punct. Cel mai important este sa explicati clar coordonatorului cum v-ati gandit sa faceti lucrarea. Fiecare capitol ar trebui sa aiba cate un plan pe care sa-l inmanati profesorului inainte ca sa va apucati sa scrieti lucrarea. Aveti grija si la timpul ramas, care se scurge prea repede in ultimul semestru. Pâna acum ar fi trebuit sa aveti planurile(detaliate) ale capitolelor gata corectate. Tineti permanent legatura cu profesorul si fiti atenti la punctul sau de vedere, nu de alta, dar a vazut si facut mai multe lucrari decat banuim noi, studentii. Stie care sunt cerintele comisiei de evaluare. Daca veti urama aceste sfaturi, dar mai ales cele ale profesorului coordonator nu veti fi stresati de numarul de pagini sau de lipsa timpului ramas pana la predarea licentii. Incercati sa nu va puneti intr-o situatie neplacuta, sau, mai rau, sa fie profesorul pus într-o situatie delicata. Credeti-ma, va vrea doar binele. Acestea sunt vorbele (gândurile) unei studente care nu a urmat aproape nici un sfat mai sus mentionate. In conditiile aceasta nu va pot spune cum sa actionati, ci cum sa nu actionati. Asa ca, mare atentie la ceea ce veti face si doar la sfarsit va veti da seama de adevarul sau neadevarul acestor cuvinte.	M.L. flies airplanes; yes she is piloting them for sport.
Irina Pop LRE IV (Hopefully a graduate student soon!) 7 June 2007	Dear colleagues, Well! This should have been a long story, but I will try to make it short! First of all, think of a topic, theme, author you could like to do your paper on! (the sooner, the better – one year in advance would be just great) Second of all, don’t start writing before you make sure you know how to use word and if you haven’t written an essay (longer than 5 pages) before, I think this would be a perfect time to learn! Take this task one step at a time! Write a chapter, give it to the teacher for proofreading, reviewing. Then you can move on. Another thing: use as many dictionaries as you can, including the one with the literary terms. Read as much as you can before every book can be a link to other sources and as you read do not forget to put down all the bibliographical details (use MLA style – for me it was easier because I did my notes along the way). Don’t forget! Paraphrase, don’t copy and quote! The teacher does not like it! (You know plagiarism is a serious deal!) Try to be coherent, don’t write two pages when you can sum up or rephrase it in two paragraphs. Cohesion is a key word, too! The ideas should flow in a nice way, not chaotic! Always save on a CD, or better put it all on your e-mail, because accidents can happen! (My computer died and all my paper was gone in a flash! This was not a joke!) The coordinator will give you an idea, but it is up to you to search for the rest. You will see that one idea leads to another field and so on! Don’t forget to express yourself in a formal language, slang is not admitted! I guess this was about it! I wish you the best of luck! And remember: If you want to do an original paper, your work, your ideas, go for it because you will not regret it! I am proud of my work because I can proudly say I didn’t just do “copy – paste”. Be original, write a “real paper" ! Be different, not indifferent ! Good luck !
Melinda Kupas-Deak June 2007	Dear Comrades-in-Arms, You are about to start to write your paper. Your head aches even before you get to the starting point. You think of this hard labour that awaits for you as of a sentence to death. By now, I'm quite sure that you have started to buy coffeeeeeeeeeeee in unusually great amounts and store it in your cupboard. There are hard times yet to come, my friend! So just sit down to your computer and hold on tight. This is my first advice to you. My second advice is to ignore ALL that I wrote above. It is not as bad as it seems. I can tell you now that writing this paper was challenging and interesting to me. I'm sure that if you try to exclude the stress and freaking out out of this equation, you might actually enjoy the whole process. Now, if you have calmed down, I will give you some tips. Firstly, you have to choose a topic that really interests you, one that you know you will work on with pleasure. This is a crucial task. Secondly, start working at it as early as you can. If you start for example, in October, then you will have plenty of time to write it, to sleep and to do other activities. Just organise your time! I guess I ran out of advice. If you take into account my tips and if you establish your own writing style, rhythm, and you organize your ideas, it will turn out just fine. I wish you good luck and take all the right decisions!
Melinda Tindela 2007	Daca va trece cumva prin cap neghiobia de a va scrie lucrarea de licenta pe ultima suta de metri (cum am facut eu…), aveti toate sansele sa primiti urmatorul mesaj de la profesorul dvs indrumator: Date: Mon, 14 May 2007 10:37:31 +0300 “Buna ziua, Doar acum va apucati de lucrarea de licenta !? Si o scrieti int-o saptamana ?! Eu nu spun ca nu se poate --daca aveti intuitii clare si o putere de munca nemapomenita-- insa va fi o lucrare care, din pacate, nu va parcurge etapele normale pe care le-au parcurs colegele dvs... Discutarea temei, stabilirea unui plan al lucrarii, schitarea unei biografii, redactare de capitole urmate de feedback-ul profesorului, de sfaturile legate de optimizarea abordarii, apoi o a doua forma a lucrarii, si aceasta recitita de prof, corectata, verificata... Vreau sa spun doar ca, incepand lucrul atat de tarziu la lucrare, va asumati niste riscuri. Sa nu va asteptati ca eu sa fac nopti albe ca sa va corectez textul de pe o zi pe alta. Iar eventualul feedback pe care vi-l pot da (extinderea bibliografiei, titluri aditionale), evident nu va prea avea sanse sa poata fi pusa in practica. Nici macar nu stiu ce tema aveti. Cred insa ca ideal ar fi --in caz ca nu v-ati fixat pe o tema anume-- sa va alegeti o tema unde ati citit cartile si bibliografia e relativ redusa... Asta-i tot ce va pot spune in acest punct. Toate bune, totusi, Adrian Otoiu” Daca totusi, nu va descurajati si va straduiti (chinuiti) sa scrieti lucrarea (ceea ce va recomand), si reusiti sa o si duceti la capat, veti avea probabil ocazia sa lecturati un comentariu in genul: Date: Thu, 07 Jun 2007 09:33:37 +0300 “Raman destule imperfectiuni, dar asta tine de maniera in care ati ales sa lucrati aceasta teza, in ultima saptamana, breathless... Adrian Otoiu “ Daca dupa toate acestea nu v-a pierit curajul, si hotarati sa ajungeti sa si sustineti lucrarea de licenta, veti lua probabil nota…dar asta ramane sa descoperiti singuri! Ce am reusitsa descopar eu in urma acestei experiente este ca lucrarea de licenta este doar o lucrare ca oricare alta, asa ca nu-mi urmati exemplul si…puneti-va pe treaba din vreme! Cu stima, Tindela.	Melinda has not lost her sharp sense of humour.
Noemi Bartha 2004	Lucrarea de diplomă necesită mult timp pentru a putea fi numită astfel (şi nu notiţe în grabă între două cartoane!) Lăsaţi examenele din anul IV să treacă precum vântu’ prin frunzele stejarului bătrân. Nu „moşiţi” examene care nu necesită mai mult de două zile de învăţat. Timpul e preţios (ca să nu zic “time is money”). Lăsaţi discoteca şi terasele, că tot acolo le găsiţi. Lucrarea daca nu e, nu ai cum să o „fabrici” în două săptămâni. exersaţi-vă meşteşugul în ale scrisului. Staţi sub un tei şi scrieţi un eseu despre cum îşi schimbă norii forma. Mergeţi acasă şi “type it” să vedeţi cum se reduce ceea ce aţi scris de mână. Print. Citiţi. Corectaţi ca şi cum ar fi lucrarea unui elev de clasa a X-a. Fiţi nemiloşi cu voi înşivă/însevă. Severitatea faţă de propria persoana va uşura oarecum munca „profului” îndrumător. exprimaţi-vă coerent, corect, concis. Nu faceţi pe poeţii (cum am făcut eu şi alţii!). Nu aşteptaţi „para mălăiaţă”. Dacă nu există termeni teoretici care să vă susţinea „descoperirea”, atunci inventaţi-i! (vezi cazul Marianei). Corectaţi, recorectaţi. Şlefuiţi-vă exprimarea (nu sunt plăcute lucrările cu „glăsuiri” din peşteră). Dovediţi că facultatea (timpul petrecut aici) nu a trecut ca valul înspumat pe plajă peste voi. Exprimaţi-vă cât de cât în consecinţă. Tema să vă fie clară. Nu bâjbâiţi. Nu vă răzgândiţi. Oricum vor interveni schimbări pe parcurs. Succes!	Noemi has been working at our University as a full-time teacher since 2008.
Manuela Onea 2005	Eseurile de trei-patru pagini scrise în cei patru ani de facultate nu se compară cu elaborarea unei lucrări de diplomă. Să nu vă relaxaţi prea „devreme” dacă găsiţi o multitudine de referinţe critice la tema aleasă. Ele pot să vă servească la: a) NIMIC b) Influenţarea punctului vostru de vedere c) Transformarea voastră în scribi „postmodernişti” animaţi de tehnologia COPY-PASTE Nu credeţi tot ce scriu alţii. Nu vă subestimaţi „propriile voastre înşivă” idei. Dacă le argumentaţi temeinic, aveţi câştig de cauză în faţa tuturor coordonatorilor Structura VECTORIALĂ a discursului vostru să pornească de la idei proprii, susţinute later on de o critică viguroasă, canonică. Feriţi-vă de formulări de genul: Cvasi-augmetările tale Sunt pur şi simplu patibulare, Paralelismul degenerând treptat în sofism, În timp ce deprecaţia emasculată Denotă o aprehensiune cel puţin deplasată. (citat din cântecul „Păcat că nu eşti normală”, albumul Trag un claxon, trupa Taxi)
C.D.M. 2007	The first thing that I would like to transmit to the students would be TO START IN TIME. It is quite difficult to realize a disertation in English, but if you start in time, you will have enough time to finish it. A second thing would be: BE SHORT AND CONCISE, Mr. Otoiu does not want 100 pages. He is interested in the contents, in your ideas, in WHAT you write, not in HOW MANY endless pages you have. Another thing: WORK ON THE TEXT. Express mostly your ideas and less critical comments. BE OBJECTIVE and if you agree with someone else's opinion, explain your choice. Lastly: DO NOT BE PESSIMISTIC (as I was)!!! I never thought that I would finish my disertation , yet I managed to put an end to it on time. I regreted several times for having chosen English for my paper, but now I am satisfied with what I have done. Moreover, I am proud of myself for being one of the few girls (from our thirty person group) who did their disertation in English, with the best teacher possible.
Berki Antonia LMA 2008	Trips and tricks and warnings for the next generation(s) - first of all you should choose a topic you are interested with. (I`ve talked to people who didn´t do so, and --as they told me-- after a while it was enough for them to look at their paper, or the screen of their computer and get sick). - the first steps are the hardest. If you have no idea how to begin your paper, and tend to postpone things until the last moment, begin with the easiest part. Write a possible structure of your paper, a list of contents, some titles and subtitles that you think your paper might consist, anything that runs through your mind. P.S. In order to write a good dissertation paper, without going nuts, you should start to work on it, about 2 months before the final deadline when students have to hand it. - use brainstorming: think of anything that you have ever learned about your topic - in any domain. Use anything that matches in your picture. Think of films, books, articles, courses, newspapers, interviews, etc. -open many books (those that you are familiar with but also new ones) and use fast reading - follow only the titles and subtitles to see if you can find anything interesting for your paper. In this case read that part or paragraphy thoroughly. - stop writing two days before the final deadline and use this time for corrections, page formatting, etc. This procedure usually takes longer than people think. - personalise your paper as much as possible. It is easy, fast and gives You that pleasent feeling that you have after you had created something. For further questions contact me at:	Hey, Antonia is now studying psychology for 3 years in China!
Alina Bugheşiu LRE 2008	Testimonial written on a beautiful July evening…BEFORE DEFENDING MY DISSERTATION PAPER!!! Dear dudes and dudettes, Writing a dissertation paper can be fun! Scared as I was when it all began, it proved challenging and rewarding. The thing you need to do (and this is no secret) is to choose a subject you would enjoy talking about, a subject about which you would like to know more (discuss with your teacher what you could write about and come with suggestions of your own; you'd be surprised to find out how much your teacher already knows about what might suit your style -- a style you didn't even know you had). Next, you need to find your own rhythm. Don't take other people's word for it; each of us has his/her own tempo of researching and of writing our papers. This doesn't mean, however, that on the 1st of June you choose a theme and only from the 15th onwards begin writing on it. It's usually pretty good to finish your paper a bit earlier (firstly, because that will give your extra-busy teacher enough time to read it, and secondly because it's desirable to give your paper some time să dospească a few days, and then to return to it --who knows what you'll see with a fresh, relaxed eye!). What to say next, what to say next… Whenever you get to a dead-end (either after you dug and dug and still didn't find anything or when you don't know how to dig), ask the teacher! It's ok not to know everything and nobody will make fun of you if you ask questions about what is unclear. And try to have a plan for your paper (though you may change it millions of times); don't count on inspiration (it might just fail you or you might have an emo day, and that just won't do). Try to abandon that academic, high-culture, Victorian attitude (cu nas cârn, perciuni parcă pictaţi şi un "yes" afectat), and have fun, for Pete's sake ! Remember: you're writing about what YOU like ! But, be warned: you'll also find yourself thinking (sometimes, speaking) words you didn't even think you knew (especially when your printer doesn't work, when your PC jams, when there are two more days till your defense and you realize you're the most imbecile person on the surface of the earth because you notice one or two mistakes - misspelling or other things like that nobody would probably notice). But there's no reason to panic ! When this happens, take some time off, go out, get some air, stroll in the park, sit in a swing, go on a playground slide, you name it, just relax. Nobody wants a person going "Halatu'! Cât îi halatu?!" on the day of their defense. Au fond, it's just a dissertation paper (though it seems like the end of the world when you go through it). Pi eS (pentru idei, explicatii, sfaturi): Alina la:	Alina is currently taking two Masters programmes in parallel.
Codruta Costin LRE-3 2010	Dragi colegi de suferinta, Imi incep confesiunea prin a marturisi greseala ENORMA si parerea de rau de a nu fi urmat sfaturile exprimate pe acest site. Probabil ca daca veti citi aceste "testimonials" undeva in anul II sau la inceputul anului III va veti spune (exact cum mi-am spus si eu) ca nimic din toate acestea nu mi se pot intampla mie pentru ca eu o sa fac si o sa dreg totul din timp si totul o sa fie floare la ureche. Believe me, nimic din toate acestea nu va mai fi valabil inaintea examenului de licenta. Primul meu sfat este sa trimiteti profesorului mici parti/ capitole din lucrarea voastra pe parcursul anului si nu asteptati pana in clipa in care va este lucrarea gata in totalitate (asa cum am facut eu) deoarece, de cele mai multe ori, un profesor coordonator are mai multi "coordonati" si inchipuiti-va ce inseamana pentru dansul/ dansa citirea si corectarea a n lucrari de cate n pagini fiecare in cateva zile. Neurmarea acestei sugestii va face ca totul sa se transforme in stres si nopti albe, atat pentru voi, ca studenti, dar si pentru profesor. Da, intr-adevar sunt de acord cu "predecesoarele" mele care insista pe alegerea unei teme care sa va placa, dar, din punctul meu de vedere acest lucru nu este suficient. In viziunea mea, lucrarea de licenta nu este doar redarea parerilor critice citite in X sau Y carte sau o sinteza a unor pareri critice. Lucrarea de licenta inseamna in primul rand o parere personala despre acel subiect, o abordare proprie a temei respective. (in cazul in care doriti sa aveti o lucrare orginala si sa nu repetati aceleasi teme, aceleasi idei si concepte pe care domnii profesori le aud de ani de zile). Abordati teme noi, chiar daca nu gasiti foarte multa critica despre ceea ce ati vrea sa scrieti. Daca nu gasiti critica, apelati la teorie, explorati "stoarceti" textul si aplicati - teoria. Rezultatul: o lucrare originala. Acestea fiind spuse va doresc sa nu cititi inaintea licentei marturiile si sa aveti acest feeling de "I told you so!" care ma incearca pe mine in aceasta ultima zi de dinaintea marelui "hop"! 7 June 2010
Cristina Coman LRE-3 2010	Dear colleagues (2nd and 3rd year!), First of all, try to think about the subject of your paper at least one year in advance. This is to have time to get a proper idea about what you want to discuss and to gather the material. You can ask the professor to give you some advice whether the theme you chose suits you or to direct you towards another. If you are compatible with the subject then there will be no problem in crafting an original dissertation. Secondly, try to find your bibliography in due time so as not to be in great rush at the end of the term. From my experience, I can tell that the final year (ok: term) passes so quickly and you surely won't be satisfied with a paper of low quality, which actually speaks about your academic quality. I haven't got a perfect recipe for a good dissertation paper. Everybody crops her/his own way of working at it. There may be persons who manage to finish such a work in two weeks but it's better to plan even on the long run. Try to have a good communication with your supervisor and ask for his advice. He always helps you. Also, be aware that everyone makes mistakes and you are the most probable to have plenty in your first draft. Don't give up. It's important to practice your writing skills so it doesn't matter for haw many times you rewrite the paper. Visit in time the Graduation thesis help spot. There's everything you need to start your paper. The final paper should make you proud of what you created. Write the full references on the photocopies or the other materials you use. You will surely need to revise them at the end of your "labour". Don't forget: this is your "child". Be patient with yourself and use every idea in your benefit!

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