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after office hours + one week left

Thanks to everyone who came to office hours today (even those who came on campus instead of online, that’s fine). Your questions were genuinely interesting—several of you are working on things I want to keep thinking about, which is exactly what these conversations should do.

I’m sorry I couldn’t get to everyone. A few sessions ran longer because the problems you were working through deserved the time. If you didn’t get in today, you’re welcome to try again next Wednesday (January 28, 10:30-11:30)—though that’s deadline day, so it’s really for last-minute panic questions, not substantial rethinking. For more substantial questions, write me an email.

One week left.

A few things I noticed in today’s conversations that might help you this week:

If you’re stuck on structure: Stop trying to organize the whole paper. Just make sure each section does ONE clear thing. If you can’t name what a section does, it probably doesn’t belong.

Example: Don’t have a section called “Context” that covers history + current demographics + policy + urban planning. That’s four things. Pick one. If you need them all, they’re four separate sections with four clear purposes.

If you’re worried your argument isn’t “strong enough”: Strong doesn’t mean certain. Strong means honest. If you’re genuinely uncertain about something, say that. Hedging is weak. Acknowledging limits is strong.

Example: Weak: “It could perhaps be argued that maybe this practice reflects a kind of adaptation.” Strong: “I can’t determine whether this is adaptation or resistance. The practice looks like both, which suggests the categories themselves might not work here.”

If you’re trying to include everything: You can’t. Choose. What’s the smallest version of this paper that still makes your point? Cut everything else. You can always add back if you have space.

Example: If you’re writing about informal economies, you don’t need to also cover language politics AND housing policy AND cultural identity. Pick one thread. Follow it through. The other stuff can be one sentence: “This also connects to language and housing, but that’s beyond this paper’s scope.”

If you’re paralyzed by the conclusion: It doesn’t have to wrap everything up. It can open a question. It can acknowledge what you couldn’t resolve. It can point to what you’d need to know next.

Example: Instead of “In conclusion, this paper has shown that informal economies are complex and require more research,” try: “I still don’t know why some of these practices remain informal while others don’t. Answering that would require understanding who benefits from opacity—which I can’t see from where I’m standing.”

If you haven’t started writing yet: Start badly. Write the version you know is wrong. You can’t revise what doesn’t exist.

Example: Write “This paper is about how refugees navigate bureaucracy in Berlin and I think it’s important because…” Yes, that’s a terrible first sentence. Write it anyway. You’ll delete it later. But it gets you moving.

One practical thing: On Sunday or Monday, read your whole draft aloud to yourself. Slowly. Or what I like to do (even with your completed papers): Use text to speech in your text editor or a relevant tool. You’ll hear what doesn’t work. Fix those parts.

You’ll notice: “This sentence is 47 words long and I ran out of breath.” “I used ‘however’ four times in one paragraph.” “I have no idea what this section is actually saying.” “This sounds like I’m trying too hard to sound academic.”

Next Wednesday’s office hours (10:30-11:30) are your last chance for questions. After that, you just have to submit.


Nur der Text ist unter der Lizenz Creative Commons Namensnennung 4.0 International nutzbar. Alle anderen Elemente (Abbildungen, importierte Anhänge) sind „Alle Rechte vorbehalten“, sofern nicht anders angegeben.


OpenEdition schlägt Ihnen vor, diesen Beitrag wie folgt zu zitieren:
Victoria Mummelthei (21. Januar 2026). after office hours + one week left. Keine Disziplin – No Discipline. Abgerufen am 9. März 2026 von https://doi.org/10.58079/15j6t


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