Things You Should Know About Writing a Thesis

You may or may not have crossed over into the exciting, yet uncharted territory of becoming All-But-Thesis, otherwise known as ABD-. If you have not yet, you soon will. Finishing the coursework that leads up to this stage is no small accomplishment. You should feel pride at having come this far. The ideas presented here are not especially unique and there are plenty of articles and books that exist on the subject of writing a Thesis. What I have done is used my experience, along with my readings on the subject of degree completion, to come up with suggestions for the writing of a Thesis. This can be a meaningful, satisfying, and enjoyable journey. Pick a topic you are passionate about, but that does not hit too close to home. You will spend a great deal of time reading, researching, thinking, writing, and talking about your Thesis topic. To pick a topic that you are only vaguely interested in is like marrying someone you only kind of like. Additionally, picking a topic too close to home (for example, the impact of language in divorce while you or your parents are going through a divorce) can make it very difficult to maintain a scholarly voice. Do not do it. It is true that your idea may change as you write, but the general area should be one in which you can answer yes to questions like: Are you passionate about this? Do you enjoy talking about your topic area to others? Can you study this area from an objective standpoint? Am I sure that this topic isnt too close to the challenges and difficulties I have faced, or am facing, in my life such that I might get a little over involved in the topic? Read, read, read. Read as much as you can about your general research area before you settle on a topic. Ideas for Thesis research do not materialize out of thin air. Rather, a good idea will come after you have conducted a fair amount of reading in an area and then thought about the next logical step in a sequence of research. When

you read journal articles, listen to the authors; do they suggest ways their research can be expanded? Pay attention to statements like Future research should.... In the end you want to be able to state, in about two sentences, what we know about an area and what we still do not know. You will design your Thesis research to answer, at least in part, what we do not know. Journal/brainstorm about your Thesis. Buy a journal, the kind that is bound so that you are never tempted to tear out a page or if you prefer you can make a type of journal on your computerincluding articles, videos, ideas, pictures etc. Brainstorm, journal, doodle, make to do lists in this special book. It will be very handy to have a living piece of your own personal Thesis history. This method may work well for you, whether it is because you need one place to keep track of all you have done (or need to do) or because you actually come up with decent ideas while brainstorming. During a moment of writers block, you can go back through this book and either find some mundane task you can do while waiting for your creative juices to flow, or read some of your own ideas to get yourself going (you might be amazed to rediscover so many of your own ideas this way). It is a good way to look at the way you work best, at your academic and personal inclinations and the way you meta-cognitively work. As you write, think through questions you may get asked at your oral defense, and keep these in your journal; youll be glad you did. Maintain regular contact with your thesis director. Many graduates claim the best advice they ever got about doing a thesis was to regularly schedule meetings with their thesis director. You will want to communicate with your thesis director about your expectations/desire for contact and agree on something reasonable for your both. One suggestion is to email your thesis director weekly or bi-weekly (pick a day with your director and mark it on your calendar) with a very brief update; this could include what you are working on or have accomplished during the past week, and/or any barriers you are facing. This will force you to write or accomplish something at least once a

week or so. Having regular contact with your thesis director has been shown to impact degree completion, so develop a strategy for contact early on and stick with it. Have realistic expectations about contact. You must have contact with your thesis director, while at the same time respecting the commitments and competing responsibilities that they have. Remember, your thesis director is a resource that will happily guide you, however, do not take up their time in the name of wanting to prove you are working on your Thesis (unless you tell them otherwise, they will assume you are doing just that). For example, do not submit a poorly written paragraph just for the sake of having some interaction. Rather, you can report briefly what you have accomplished and keep them informed of your progress. For example, you could let them know you did more research this week and that you think your first chapter should be ready for review in about two more weeks. You may list in most important points that you have covered or are working on at the moment. Using an outline form is helpful. Or, you can share an exciting study you read and how you think it might fit in with your design that you are still hammering out. There may even be times when you need to tell them you have done nothing for a week and that the word Thesis makes you feel sick! Or you may be completely at a loss when writing the analysis section of your proposal and in need of a phone call or a face-to-face visit. Maintain contact and when you need extensive feedback, be patient and know they will give you what you need as soon as they can. At all times, be honest. Your thesis director wants you to succeed and if you are not honest about your progress or lack thereof, it will be difficult for them to assist you. The lack of faceto-face contact makes it difficult for thesis directors to follow the progress of individual students so try and plan to see your director a couple times during the semester. If you are having serious problems, please let your thesis director

know about them. Make lists. Research on the subject of degree completion suggests lists are helpful for time management. You should consider keeping a laundry list of things you need to do related to your Thesis. Keep this list handy in your journal; this way you will have a history of things you have done, and things still yet to do. Getting to cross things off this list is satisfying and getting to see pages of tasks accomplished is a great way to see how much work you have actually done (and there will be times when you need to remind yourself of simple facts like this). Have a plan. Have a plan (it can be as detailed as you wish) for both completing your Thesis, and for how your research will be organized. It is important that you think about a plan, PRIORITIZE what needs to be done, and write it down. The take-home message here is that you must be self-disciplined; this is difficult to do without a plan. Understand that research takes longer than you think and that although you may read it as a Linear piece of discourse, in the making, it is not hardly Linear. Be aware of this fact. Next, work to accept it. Undertaking and completing a Thesis will probably be unlike any other task you have ever completed. Do what you can to ward off disappointing thoughts if things do not move along like you thought they would. You have a plan, but, as John Lennon so succinctly put it, Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans. So, if your results section has gone through 8 revisions (and you only planned for 2), take a deep breath and know you are not alone. One rule of thumb to consider is that once you think your document is perfect, it will go through a minimum of one more revision. Also, just because your committee approves your proposal and/or completed Thesis, you may still be asked to make additional revisions at some other point like after you defend it, for example.

Reduce other responsibilities as much as possible. It is in everyones best interest for you to finish your Thesis in a timely manner, so think of feasible ways that you can contribute to reaching your goal in a timely and hopefully in the most unstressed manner. (Examples: Perhaps cut out some of your social engagements for awhile, or cut them back as much as you can. Try getting-up a couple hours earlier a couple days of the week to work on our Thesis, etc.) Expect good days and bad. The Thesis writing process can be a difficult stage in your academic career. Some days you will feel pride, a sense of accomplishment, and passion for your research. Other days you may feel anxiety, insecurity, or even boredom. Talk to others in your same situation (use email, the messages systems (Skype, Chats, or blogs). You may also want to spend some time on a favorite hobby or take a special exercise or mediation class (all work and no play is not good for you or your thesis!). The bottom line is that these feelings are normal. You need to remember that. Further, because you do not write your Thesis in a bubble (although you may feel like you are alienated from the world around you), other life stresses may exasperate Thesis blues. Things like family problems, (examples: your parents separating or divorcing, you breaking up with your boy or girl friend, losing your computer, a car accident), a health crisis, a death in your family or of someone dear to you; all these and many other such things can have a large impact on your progress. If you find you are overwhelmed, seek professional assistance for managing the stress in your life and keep communication with your course/seminar professor and your thesis advisor

open.
Find a buddy. Social support is important in all aspects of life. This will preferably be someone in your program that you have developed a relationship with while taking a class

together or someone at a similar stage of the Thesis writing process. Find someone that you enjoy conversing with and set a time to do somaybe take a walk together - and take turns talking and listening. The value of this cannot be underestimated. Sometimes all you need is another set of eyes and/or ears to validate your work before sending it off to your thesis director, or you may want to bounce what you think may be a semi-crazy idea off someone before approaching your thesis director with it. A peer is an excellent resource in these types of situations. Learn to accept criticism of your work. Lets face it - you are getting your degree so you may be more than likely have a touch of the trait called perfectionism. Dont be surprised when the close-toperfect draft you submit comes back with lots of scribbles, lines, red marks and comments. Your teachers, thesis director, committee members, knows what they are doing. Have faith that their comments will make your Thesis the best it can be. There may be times you disagree about something you think is critical to your Thesis. If this happens, think about the suggestion/concern, do some more reading/reasoning and if you still feel strongly about your original plan, then respectfully present your reason(s) for not wanting to make the suggested changes. If you go through this process you will likely find that either your thesis director/committee persons/departmental reviewer/professor was right, or you simply did not explain your reasoning well enough the first time for them to understand what you wanted to do (or what you meant). Your Thesis will go through many changes (say this out loud, five times, right now). It is imperative that you do not resist this change, or the process might become unbearable. Talk about your Thesis to anyone who will listen. Whether it is your best friend, the person you eat lunch with, your exercise buddy, or a classmate: talk about your Thesis. You do not need to do this incessantly, because you will quickly find your circle of family and friends diminishing. However, there are parts of your Thesis that will make for great

conversation with just about anyone. Be able to explain your Thesis in 3-5 sentences that anyone would understand. Be able to answer simply questions like So what upon giving your 3-5 sentence spiel. Meeting a friend or classmate at the next party? Consider talking about some of your methodological or theoretical issues (for example) and get their opinion. The point is not to try to solve problems or issues you are having with the Thesis. The point is to become eloquent in your area, and to let others educate you, as well. Learn to talk about your theme on different levels and with different people. You may be surprised at how some people will view your research, and other opinions will give you a more comprehensive understanding of your area and maybe even give you some good ideas to make it better, more precise. One last word on this tip: Never become defensive about your Thesis. Soon, you will become attached to your Thesis as if it was your ----- (insert your dearest possession here: first born child, childhood dog, new Car, special friend). This will make it very difficult to hear criticism (see Learn to accept criticism above). Listen to what others have to say; you may learn a thing or two BUT dont get lost or hung up in their opinions. Adopt a motivational technique that works for you. It could be a quote, song, a photograph or a drawing, or some object that is special and reinforcing for you! For example of a quote, The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. Paste it next to your computer, and look at/repeat often, especially if you ever feel like you are never going to finish. Other quotes you might find worth repeating frequently are: Rome was not built in a day.the idea is to find something that will help inspire you, especially on those days when inspiration seems to have disappeared! Other examples of motivational techniques may be visualizing how things will be different once you have your degree (a new job?, move to a new place, study more at a new level), or visualizing what it will feel like at graduation.

Attend professional conferences. Having the opportunity to hear people speak on topics of interest to you does a lot for fueling your desire to finish the degree (especially if some of these topics are in your Thesis area as they may give you renewed passion for your research theme and/or in the field in general). Conferences give you an opportunity to hear hot off the press research, as well as the opportunity to talk to others in your area of research. Presenting and/or talking about your proposal or preliminary results of your Thesis is a great way to get feedback and ideas from other students and professionals. Have a list of the top conferences you would like to attend and do what you can to attend at least one. When you are there talk to people, take notes, ask questions; show interest. Talk to others about their oral defense experience and go to several if you can. This is a no-brainer. It will take the mystery (and fear) out of the final defense and help you psychologically prepare for the big day. Get enough sleep, exercise regularly, and eat well. Although this is common knowledge it is worth mentioning here, simply because most of us do not do this even on a normal basis. When you find yourself having a difficult week (or month), make an effort to especially attend to sleep, exercise, and diet for one week. You may be surprised at how much this helps get you through the slump. Practicing a sport, or an activity like Yoga, Tai Chai, Qigong, Meditation, even must walking and/or some kind of hobby etc. are also VERY helpful and are good habits to form because they will help you through some of your darkest most difficult moments (in life) and make you feel better all around! Keep a positive attitude; you are almost there! Attitude is critical, do what you can to make and KEEP yours positive.