Humanities Graduate Research Workshop

Writing your Thesis

Having a Story

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• WRITING

• THESIS

• STORY

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• WRITING = LITERATURE

• THESIS = GENRE

• STORY = NARRATIVE

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“WRITING” APPLIES BOTH TO:

• Traditional Masters/PhD Thesis

• Masters/Doctorate Creative Arts Exegesis

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DELIMITING THE FIELD

THAT MOST DREADFUL QUESTION:

What is your thesis about?

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WRITING STYLE 1

• Traditional Academic

• Creative

• Experimental

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WRITING STYLE 2

Traditional Academic Writing

• Linear

• Cause-Effect

• Driven by Argument

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WRITING STYLE 3

• Creative

• Experimental

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WRITING STYLE 4

Academic/Creative Field

Vocabulary

Key debates/concepts

Key voices

Original Contribution

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A STRONG NARRATIVE 1• Research Competence• Academic Rigour/Record Keeping• Clarity of Explanation• Convincing Argument• Awareness of Counter-Arguments• Confident Personal Voice• Originality

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A STRONG NARRATIVE 2

What holds the bits and chunks together?

• Sequence of Contents within Chapter

• Sequence of Chapters

• Themes, symbols, signposts, maps

• A strong authorial voice