Effective Thesis Writing Strategies for Academic Success

1. Thesis Writing Presenter: Maeve Gallagher Content: Dr. Mark Matthews Student Learning Development http://student-learning.tcd.ie

2. Learning Objectives • Learn about the writing process – • Identify self-management strategies to aid process • Consider the structure of a thesis • Share strategies, experiences & tools

3. R. Murray’s Model (2002) Social • Interactions, discussion • Support Psychological • Motivation, goal setting, self-monitoring Rhetorical = Writing • Regular writing • “Snack” writing + “binge” writing

4. We write theses • A professional thesis writer? • Learn how to write • Learn how to think • Learn how to conduct research • Plus much more

5. Preconceptions • It takes 6 months • You do it at the end • You can cut and paste from papers

6. Where & When do I start? • Immediately – keep a journal • Read theses

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

8. Then develop an abstract A tool to think about your thesis/research

9. Outline / Table of Contents • Planning before you build

10. Drafting, re-drafting, re-drafting

11. 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

12. Habit of Writing

13. Tools? Academic Writing: http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk What do you use?

14. 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

15. 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?

16. 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? What are examiners looking for?

17. Core Strategies • Goal Setting • Writing Strategies – Getting started • Creating Structure

18. Writing Timetable • Deadlines • Hard deadlines • Soft deadlines • Your thoughts and experiences?

19. Getting Started • Topic Issue or Problem • Subject • Context • Variable • Benefit or contribution • Research design

20. Writing Strategies • Book/journal • Write to prompts • Freewriting • Generative writing • Writing Sandwich • Practicalities

21. 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?

22. 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

23. Generative writing • Writing for 5 minutes • Without stopping • In sentences • Focusing on one topic (maybe from your freewriting • To be read by someone else

24. Writing Sandwich • Writing – 10 minutes • Talking – 10 minutes • Writing – 10 minutes

25. 6 / Outline • Before you start writing • Structure • Flow • Logic • Sections meaningful titles • Feedback

26. Outlining – Level 1 Background Objectives Method Findings Conclusions

27. Outlining – Level 2

28. Level 3

29. Structure • Outline • Generic thesis structure • Allocate word count for each section • Design sub-sections • Table of contents feature • Write in layers

30. 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…”

31. 2 / Best Practice • Make a rough plan • One section at a time • Use a word processor • At least 3 drafts • Spend 2/5 hours each week • One quiet place • Set goals and targets • Invite feedback (Hartley and Branthwaite 1989: 449)

32. 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”

33. 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 notes 10 mins

34. 5 / Abstracts • Who are the intended readers? (name 3-5) • What did you do? (50 words) • Why did you do it? (50) • What happened? (50) • What do the results mean in theory? (50) • What do the results mean in practice? (50) • What is the key benefit for readers? (25) • What remains unresolved? (50) (Brown 1994/95)

35. 5 / Abstracts In your handouts, answer Brown’s 8 questions. • Write in full sentences • Stick to the word count 10 minutes

36. 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

37. Balance Where you work When you work What you do

38. 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

39. 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

40. 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

41. Student Learning Development Thank you for your time Visit our website at: http://student-learning.tcd.ie