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Organizing and Writing
August 2011
Organization
Within the thesis
Writing style and form
Getting started, keeping going
(personal advice from writers) Resources
General hiloso h :
Hierarchy of importance
Content
the message given
Style
the wa that messa e is resented(structure, language, and illustration)
Form
the appearance of the message (grammar,
punctuation, usage, spelling, and format).
knowledge
A reader will expect that:
you have identified a worthwhile problemor uestion which has not been reviouslanswered
you have solved the problem or answered
the question.
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A thesis is an attempt to persuade
rea er rev ewer w as :
what is the research question?
s t a goo quest on as t eenanswered before? is it a useful question to
did the author convince me that the
has the author made an adequate
Style and structure
Organization
Depth
rans ons e ween sec ons
Organization: the key to persuasion
Start by writing down the single most important concept.
Outline the critical observations and reasoning that
support that concept Test the organization by careful evaluation of the outline
Expand the outline to greater detail, then test it again
Write the body of the text : methods first, observationsnext, interpretations last.
,introduction next, abstract last.
Insert carefully composed transitional sections,paragraphs, and sentences.
Organization of the thesis Abstract
Introduction
Background and Literature review
Problem statement/research uestion
Methods
Data presentation
Interpretation
Discussion
Conclusions
References**Different types of writing might have more/less
emphasis on each of these elements
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Write this LAST!
-be self-contained
Model after a a er in our field
Written to attract readers to your thesis,gives a good initial impression
Summary of the contents of the thesis
Brief but contains sufficient details
motivation for the work (problem statement) project objectives
main results and conclusions
Introduction
Write this second to last!
s s a genera ntro uct on to w atthe thesis is all about -- it is notjust aescr pt on o t e contents o eac
section.
Briefly summarizethe question (you willbe statin the uestion in detail latersome of the reasons why it is aworthwhile uestion and erha s ive abrief overview of your main results.
Introduction Topic?
Defines sco e and limitations of stud
Importance?
Arrangement of thesis?
in your field
reference citations--put your thesis in
Background
A brief section giving background
information ma be necessar .
Your readers may not have any
needed to follow your thesis, so you need.
A more informative title will usually help
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Review of the State of the Art(Literature review)
.
Again, a specific heading is appropriate; e.g.,Previous work on Fabrication of Light Weight
".major ideas in the state of the art right up to, but notincluding, your own personal brilliant ideas. You
,publication.
Some advisors think this section should come after
t e pro em statement next sect on Some advisors do not expect a long lit. review for the
thesis - be sure ou ask our su ervisor!
Literature review
Provides context for and details aboutthe motivation for the project
States w y t e pro em is important
Sets the scene for the work described in
Describes what others have done andhence sets a benchmark for the current
project Justifies the use of specific techniques
or problem solving procedures
Make it a point to keep on top of your
the library and to the electronic journals
When reading a technical paper, jot
the journal or technical publicationwhere the paper was published.
Devise a cataloguing system that willallow ou to retrieve the a er uickl .
Make sure that you have read and understoodc te wor
Organize your content according to ideas.
Do not simply quote or paraphrase thecontents of ublished articles. Weave theinformation into focused views.Demonstrate your deeper understanding
.
Do not be tempted to summarizeever thin ou have read onl includethose relevant to your main points.
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Problem Statement
1. A concise statement of the question thatyour thesis tackles
2. Justification, by direct reference to previouswork, that your question is previously
.information which you presented in thestate of the art section
3. Discussion of why it is worthwhile to answerthis question.
. g g e sec on w a ea ng us ngwords such as problem or question
Data and interpretation
No standard form. But still organized! One or several sections and subsections.
Methods, Data, Interpretation sections areseparate
n y one purpose: o conv nce ereader/reviewer that you answered theuestion or solved the roblem stated in the
previous section.
Data and Interpretation
Present data that is relevantto
answering the question or solving theproblem: if there were blind alleys and dead ends,
o no nc u e ese, un ess spec ca yrelevant to the demonstration that youanswered the thesis uestion.
Note for some theses it may be important
to include these in an appendix
Methods
Depending on your topic this may be
one ara ra h or a lon section
your study, state how this was
.
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Data presentation
Draft your figures first: (A picture is worth athousand words)
Make captions stand alone
Use enough figures to present the data thatjustifies your interpretations and conclusions.No more, no less. (Dont use 1000 words
Write your text around your figures
research AND your writing)
Spreadsheets, analysis tools
Graphics programs
ENDN TE
Writing resources
in each paragraph
Each paragraph needs a topic
Contents of ara ra h should onlrelate to that topic
Interpretation
Keep separate from data, clearly
distinguished by paragraph, section, and/or .
Depending on your topic, it is often useful tosu v e nterpretat on nto a oca or smascale (directly flows from your data) and are ional or bi icture scale that flowsfrom consideration of your data with that of
others. This latter type is usually included ine scuss on sec on.
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Discussion
oo a scuss on sec ons n papers n yourfield. See what they cover.
just your data (relate to previous publishedresults)
Addresses the bigger problems of yourresearch topic and how your study fits into
Is NOT a conclusion section
Conclusions 1. Conclusions
2. Summary of Contributions
3. Future Research
thesis: they are short, concisestatements of theinferences that you have made because of yourwork.
It helps to organize these as short numbered
paragraphs, ordered from most to leastimportant. All conclusions should be directly
References
All references cited, including those in
Tables and Fi ure ca tions. No moreno less.
. .al. OR and others, not both)
, Follow the Grad. School guidelines for a thesis,
journal guidelines for a paper Plan ahead! (e.g. do you really need 50 color
figures?)
Grammar
Usage
Punctuation
Spelling