Thesis Writing

Presenter: Maeve Gallagher

Content: Dr. Mark Matthews

Student Learning Development

http://student-learning.tcd.ie

Learning Objectives

1. Learn about the writing process –

2. Identify self-management strategies to aid process

3. Consider the structure of a thesis

4. Share strategies, experiences & tools

R. Murray’s Model (2002)

Social Interactions, discussion Support

Psychological Motivation, goal setting, self-monitoring

Rhetorical = Writing Regular writing “Snack” writing + “binge” writing

We write theses

• 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

Where & When do I start?

• Immediately – keep a journal

• Read theses

Start with….

A thesis statement• Research Statement (25-30 words)• Get feedback on it• Discuss with supervisor • Reach agreement as early as

possible

Then develop an abstract

A tool to think about your thesis/research

Outline / Table of Contents

• Planning before you build

Drafting, re-drafting, re-drafting

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

Habit of Writing

Tools?

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

What do you use?

Rule of Three• Within each chapter, repeat yourself 3 times

– Intro. We will show ..– Body. Show them ..– Concl. We have shown ..

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

• But don’t bore reader– E.g. in introduction be brief, in conclusions be broader

What are examiners looking for?

• Review of literature– Is the literature

relevant?– Is the review critical

or just descriptive?– Is it comprehensive?– Does it link to the

methodology in the thesis?

– Does it summarize the essential aspects?

• Methodology– Is there a clear

hypothesis?– Are precautions

taken against bias?– Are the limitations

identified?– Is the data collected

appropriately?– Is the methodology

justified?

What are examiners looking for?

• Presentation of results– Have the hypotheses

in fact been tested?– Are the results shown

to support the hypothesis?

– Is the data properly analysed?

– Are the results presented clearly?

– Are patterns identified and summarized?

• Discussion and Conclusions– Are the limits of the

research identified?– Are the main points

to emerge identified?– Are links made to the

literature?– Is there theoretical

development?– Are the speculations

well grounded?

Core Strategies

• Goal Setting

• Writing Strategies – Getting started

• Creating Structure

Writing Timetable

• Deadlines– Hard deadlines

– Soft deadlines

• Your thoughts and experiences?

Getting Started

• Topic Issue or Problem– Subject– Context– Variable

• Benefit or contribution

• Research design

Writing Strategies

• Book/journal

• Write to prompts

• Freewriting

• Generative writing

• Writing Sandwich

• Practicalities

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

Generative writing

• Writing for 5 minutes

• Without stopping

• In sentences

• Focusing on one topic (maybe from your freewriting

• To be read by someone else

Writing Sandwich

• Writing – 10 minutes

• Talking – 10 minutes

• Writing – 10 minutes

6 / Outline

• Before you start writing

• Structure

• Flow

• Logic

• Sections meaningful titles

• Feedback

Outlining – Level 1

Background

Objectives

Method

Findings

Conclusions

Outlining – Level 2

Level 3

Structure

• Outline

• Generic thesis structure

• Allocate word count for each section

• Design sub-sections

• Table of contents

feature

• Write in layers

7 / 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…”

2 / Best Practice

1. Make a rough plan2. One section at a time3. Use a word processor4. At least 3 drafts5. Spend 2/5 hours each week6. One quiet place7. Set goals and targets8. Invite feedback

(Hartley and Branthwaite 1989: 449)

5 / Abstracts

• 100-300 words

• Structure

• Precise, clear & interesting

Avoid generic statements like: “The results we be discussed”

“Methods are presented”

“Future research is discussed”

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?

In pairs, ask each other these questions. Take notes10 mins

5 / Abstracts

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)

5 / Abstracts

In your handouts, answer Brown’s 8 questions.

• Write in full sentences

• Stick to the word count

10 minutes

3 / Warming Up

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

This is important because…. (30 words)

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

5 minutes

Balance

Where you work

When you work

What you do

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

Overcoming blocks?

• Freewriting & Generative writing• Writing with others• Mind-mapping• Verbal rehearsal• Write down all you know about ‘X’• Write down all your ideas on ‘X’• Visualise completed thesis• Combine strategies

Tips for successful writing

• Plan to write regularly• Make a time plan and stick to it• Write up section as soon as it’s ready• Stop writing at a point where you could go on –

makes it easier to start next time!• Decide where and when best for you• Don’t write when exhausted• Seek support

Student Learning Development

Thank you for your time

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