Thesis Writing

Dr. Tamara O’Connor

Dr. Mark Matthews

Student Learning Development

http://student-learning.tcd.ie

1. Background

2. Ideas

3. Planning

4. Writing

Steps in Thesis Writing

Demystifying Dissertation Writing

Peg Boyle Single

Background why? – preconceptions - starting

Why do we write

• A professional thesis writer?

• Learn how to write

• Learn how to think

• Learn how to conduct research

• Plus much more

Preconceptions

• It takes 6 months

• You do it at the end

• You can cut and paste from papers

• No one will read it

When do I start?

Immediately – keep a journal

Where do I start?

Read theses

Do the groundwork

Ideasmessage – title – abstract

Start with….

A focus statement….

• The essence of your research• 1-4 sentences• Get feedback on it• Discuss with supervisor

Examples

Why do some graduates succeed and others

don’t? Is it due to the student, the department, or

both? Using mixed methods, I examine how

subject variables and departmental variables

influence the adjustment and success of first year

graduate students. The study uses data from

surveys and semi-structured interviews. (PhD in

Social Psychology)

Focus Statement Interview

Play the role of a journalist.

Using the Focus Statement Sheet

Interview the PhD student

Take notes

in pairs

5 mins

The Title

Then develop an abstract

A tool to think about your thesis/research

• 100-300 words

• Structure

• Precise, clear & interesting

SPSE Technique

• Situation: Describe the general background / setting in which your research takes place

• Problem: Describe a problem that the research addresses.

• Solution: What did you do or try to address this problem?

• Evaluation: How did you evaluate the proposed solution and what were the results?

Individually complete5 mins

5 / Brown’s 8 Questions

1. Who are the intended readers? (name 3-5)2. What did you do? (50 words)3. Why did you do it? (50)4. What happened? (50)5. What do the results mean in theory? (50)6. What do the results mean in practice? (50)7. What is the key benefit for readers? (25)8. What remains unresolved? (50)

(Brown 1994/95)

Planningstructure – thinking vs. writing – table of contents

Structure

• Outline• Generic thesis structure• Allocate word count for each

section• Design sub-sections• Table of contents

feature• Write in layers

Outlining – Level 1

Background

Objectives

Method

Findings

Conclusions

Outlining – Level 2

Level 3

Rule of Three

• Within each chapter, repeat 3 times– Intro. We will show ..– Body. Show them ..– Concl. We have shown ..

• Within thesis, repeat contributions 3 times– Intro chapter– Main chapters– Conclusion chapter

Writinga habit – how not to write - strategies

The Habit of Writing

Writing at the end of a long list of tasks – no fixed deadline

“I can’t find the time for writing….”

“I have no energy for writing…”

Balance

Where you work

When you work

What you do

10 ways to not write

1. Open your email at the start of the day and never quit it.2. Keep your writing goals quite general.3. Don’t talk about your writing-in-progress.4. Only seek feedback when you have a full draft.5. Don’t write unless you know exactly what you want to say.6. Wait till you’re ready to write.7. Don’t bother defining sub-goals – you know what you have

to do.8. Don’t bother with the 5-minute warm up for writing -- you

know what to do.9. Always write in large chunks of time.10. Try and find more time for writing.

Rowena Murray

Writing Strategies

1. Book/journal

2. Warming Up

3. Write to prompts

4. Freewriting

5. Writing in Layers

Warming Up Exercise

What I want to write about today is….. (30 words)

This is important because…. (30 words)

Today, I will not write about…… (30 words)

Writing to prompts

• What writing have I done and what would I like to do?

• Where do my ideas come from?

• How does what I read compare with my own views?

• What I want to write about next is…

• What do I want to write about next?

Freewriting

• Writing for 5 minutes

• Without stopping

• In sentences

• Private – no external reader

• No structure needed

• Topic related to your research

• Like brainstorming in sentences

Writing in layers

• Write a list of chapter headings• Write a sentence or two on contents of each

chapter• Write lists of headings for each section in each

chapter• Make notes for each heading on how you will

develop the section• Write an introductory paragraph for each chapter• Write the word count, draft number and date at

top of first page

Tools & Techniquesa habit – how not to write - strategies

Tools?

Academic Writing: http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk

What do you use?

What are examiners looking for?

Look at the checklist in your guide• Review of literature• Methodology• Presentation of Results• Discussion and Conclusions

Tips for successful writing

1. Plan to write regularly

2. Make a time plan and stick to it

3. Write up section as soon as it’s ready

4. Stop writing at a point where you could go on – makes it easier to start next time!

5. Decide where and when best for you

6. Don’t write when exhausted

7. Seek support

1. Background

2. Ideas

3. Planning

4. Writing

Steps in Thesis Writing

Student Learning Development

Thank you for your time

Visit our website at: http://student-learning.tcd.ie