I've started the MA

This morning, the portal for my MA came online and I was able to begin studying, although the course itself is not scheduled to begin until October 1. The portal is well set out and provides a study planner that takes me up to December and my first essay, links to resources etc.

The first unit is based around the book Family Fortunes: Men and Women of the English Middle Class 1780-1850 by Davidoff and Hall. I have to read it and three articles reflecting on it and then write 2.5k assessing its most significant contribution to debates in the area. I'm about 70 pages in (out of 450) and am beginning to slowly get my head around it, but I'm guessing that it will make more sense once I've read the commentaries and critiques. I can see myself having to re-read bits of it for the essay.

At the outset I am a tad apprehensive as it is a new challenge and I'm not sure yet what the MA is looking for, the approach required etc. I'm still finding my feet, but this is to be expected at the end of day one! My plan is to try and finish the book itself within a week, then spend the week after reading the commentaries and coming up with an argument for my essay - maybe running my ideas past the tutor, assuming I can and he/she doesn't think that I'm being giddy.

Ironically, I've also just discovered that part of my MA course materials have been written by my A Level tutor for ICS :-)