How to Write an Honors Thesis

1. How to Write an Honors Thesis By: Kristin Taylor, Chelsea Bullock, Kindall Scarborough & Lawrence Moore

2. Group Activity Take 3 minutes to create a plan of action for how to write your thesis using the provided topic.

3. Group Activity Select a member from your group to explain your plan in 30 to 60 seconds.

4. How do I Begin? The 3 C’s to Starting an Honors Thesis: 1.) Create a Topic. 2.) Choose an Advisor. 3.) Complete a Thesis Proposal Form & Formal Proposal.

5. Creating a Topic • Brainstorming • Make a list of possible topics that you might want to explore. • You can narrow down these ideas later. • Talk with your faculty advisor.

6. Creating a Topic • Explore topics within your major. • Example: If you are a Literature major, don’t create a hypothesis on why you think the native African elephant is going extinct. • Take courses that will broaden your knowledge base concerning possible thesis topics.

7. Creating a Topic • Pick a topic that interests you. • If you aren’t engaged in your topic, others won’t be either.

8. Creating a Topic • Make sure your thesis is do-able. • Don’t choose a topic that will take more time to finish the thesis than is given. • “A successful thesis poses an interesting question you can actually answer within the time available for the project” (Lipson 72).

9. Creating a Topic • When should I begin thinking about a topic? • Get started early! • “It is recommended that the Honor student enroll in HONS 4001 OR HONS 4002 the first semester of his/her senior year in order to have plenty of time to research, write, and defend the thesis” (Honors Handbook). • Students should also use Honors Contracts as an opportunity to explore possible thesis topics.

10. Choosing an Advisor • Make sure you know your advisor. • You’ll want to choose an advisor who you are comfortable working with (Lipson 17). • It’s a good tip to have taken a class with the professor of whom you want to be your advisor. • As Dr. Hunt noted in her interview, faculty advisors are helping you as a favor!

11. Choosing an Advisor • Make sure your advisor is knowledgeable. • Although your adviser might not be an authority concerning the specific topic you choose for your thesis, he/she should still be “an expert in your area of interest” (Lipson 17). • “A faculty member in the student’s major will serve as advisor of the thesis” (Honors Handbook).

12. Completing a Thesis Proposal Form • What is a thesis proposal form? • A Thesis Proposal Form is a form that you must fill out before beginning your thesis stating what your topic is, and it “must be signed by the student, the thesis advisor, and the Honors Program Coordinator” (Honors Handbook).

13. Completing a Formal Proposal • What is a Formal Proposal? • A Formal Proposal is a 5 to 20 page proposal about your thesis.

14. Completing a Formal Proposal • Your formal proposal should answer questions such as: • What is my topic? • What do I plan to discuss in my thesis? • How is it interesting? • How does it relate to my field of interest? • Do I need to give a brief history of my topic? • Have I included a works consulted? • How does my thesis fit in to the discussion of scholars?

15. Research • Managing Time, Sources, and Scope • START EARLY! • While researching your chosen topic of interest, you may always expand and contract your focus as needed.

16. How Do I Begin? • Your thesis advisor will be able to help you find initial sources and provide guidelines of authors to read and avoid.

17. Scope • Follow the bibliography trail. • Keep notes about each source. • Create citations as you go along. • Saturation Point

18. Sources • Maximize your thesis advisor as a resource. Trust his/her judgment on source credibility. • Google versus Galileo • ILL and GIL

19. Time Commitment • Research is the most time-consuming element of the thesis-writing process. • Make sure you pick a topic that will keep you interested.

20. Writing the Thesis • Key to Success: Do not procrastinate!

21. Organizing Your Ideas • The Dr. Hunt Method • Group information according to major and minor topics. • Use this grouping to form an outline. • Write the easiest section, the next easiest, etc. • More research may be necessary to fill in gaps.

22. Remembering Your Audience • Who is my audience? • People in your discipline • Helpful Hint: Write to your thesis advisor.

23. Beginning to Write Remember that the CSU Writing Center can help you in all stages of your thesis-writing experience.

24. Literature Review • Not all thesis advisors will require you to write a literature review. • Specifics Vary by discipline.

25. Literature Review • What is a literature review? • Informs your reader of what other people have written regarding your topic • Lets your reader know where your idea fits into the existing scholarly conversation • First section you will write

26. Organizing Your Text • May vary from discipline to discipline • Example methods • Continuous, running text • Heading and sub-headings • Consult your thesis advisor.

27. Keeping a Manageable Workload • Be honest with yourself about your work habits. • You may want to set artificial deadlines with your thesis advisor. • Divide the bulk of the writing into “small doable projects” (Lipson 26).

28. Avoiding Plagiarism • When in doubt, cite! • How do I cite? • MLA, APA, Turabian (Chicago), et cetera • Speak with your advisor about which style is appropriate for your discipline. • Why do I cite? • To protect yourself and your ideas • To protect others and their ideas

29. Avoiding Plagiarism • General Guidelines • “If you use an author’s exact words, enclose them in quotation marks and include a citation [. . .]” (Lipson 47). • “If you paraphrase another author, use your own language. Don’t imitate the original. Be sure to include the citation” (47). • “If you rely on or report someone else’s ideas, credit their source, whether you agree with them or not” (47).

30. Avoiding Plagiarism If you still have questions about plagiarism or source citation, check out the “Resources for Writers” section of the CSU Writing Center website.

31. Length Requirements • According to the Honors Handbook, “[t]he length of the thesis will vary according to the nature of the discipline [. . .]” (11). • Sciences: 25 to 35 pages • Humanities, Business, and Social Sciences: 40 to 60 pages

32. The Revision Process • Editing vs. Revision • Editing focuses on lower-order concerns. • Revision focuses on higher-order concerns. • Revision is a cyclical process.

33. The Defense • The Purpose of the Defense • Allows you to present and defend your paper to several faculty members • Preparation for the graduate school thesis process

34. The Defense • Preparing for the Defense • Have your advisor’s approval before the defense. • Anticipate questions that faculty may ask. • Expect to be asked, What is your main argument or main idea? • Prepare responses to possible criticism.

35. One-Semester Thesis • It is possible! • Necessitates a tighter schedule • Condensing a one-year process into one semester • Organize your class load accordingly. • Speak with professors (potential thesis advisors) in the weeks before the semester begins about using work completed in previous classes to jumpstart your thesis.

36. Final Thoughts • Your support network • Your thesis advisor wants to see you succeed. • Connect with other students who are writing their theses. • Maximize your resources. • CSU Writing Center • Libraries

37. Works Cited • Works Cited • Gibson, Danna. Personal interview. 20 March 2007. • Gillespie, Paula, and Neal Learner. The Allyn & Bacon Guide to Peer Tutoring. 2nd ed. • New York: Longman, 2003. • Honors Handbook. CSU Honors Program, June 2004. • Hunt, Barbara. Personal interview. 2 March 2007. • Lipson, Charles. How to Write a BA Thesis: A Practical Guide from Your First Ideas to • Your Finished Paper. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2005. • Young, Shana. Personal interview. 29 January 2007.

38. This PowerPoint presentation was created by Kristin Taylor, Chelsea Bullock, Kindall Scarborough & Lawrence Moore in partial fulfillment of the requirements of ENGL 3256, Columbus State University’s tutor-training course. It is our goal that this presentation arms students with the information and resources they need to fulfill the requirements of the Honors Thesis, while also raising awareness about the valuable services offered to students by the CSU Writing Center.