The author of many books, including The True Secret of Winning, Natalie Goldbergencourages her students to follow “The Rules of Writing Practice”, which are a set of golden rules carefully curated by her.
She advises filling notebooks each month by writing each day for a minimum of twenty minutes. The topics can range from “I remember”, to “I don’t remember”, or from what your favorite smell is to something striking that happened to you during the day.
Natalie also encourages people to write by hand instead of typing, and allow the flow of writing to come naturally without any afterthoughts of what someone else might think or feel while reading what you are writing. Know that at the end of the day, you are your own judge!
How to write a thesis
Students looking to apply for graduate courses often have to submit research papers along with their application. And thesis papers and dissertations are pretty much an indispensable part of your graduate curriculum. It is often the longest write-up assignment that they will be required to submit – they often feel very intimidated by this task. Take a look at some of the pointers below to keep in mind while writing dissertations so that at least a few of your concerns can be smoothed over!
How should a thesis or dissertation be organized?
There obviously is not just one particular prescribed method for writing a thesis. The first step, although, often involves browsing through several examples of writeups in your chosen field to understand all the components of a dissertation. You can choose whether or not to incorporate any or all of the components you come across, but at least you are informed of what goes into it!
The best way to do this is by visiting the library at your university, where you can access work done by your seniors.
Planning your thesis and being organized is a crucial step that helps determine the way in which your thesis will ultimately turn out.
You can expect these components in a typical dissertation.
Title page
The first page should contain the title of the project as well as the degree you are submitting it for. The date of submission and your name should be clearly mentioned.
Abstract
In not more than one single page, you need to summarise the contents of your thesis and highlight the objective, sources, background, and other necessary details. Ideally, this is written at the end, once you have completed your project.
Contents
A neat, concise table that lists all the chapters, additionally included information and their respective page numbers.
Chapter 1: Background and context
The first chapter should contain a discussion on the background of the study, the reason for its importance, and why you, as a student display interest in that particular topic of study.
Chapter 2: A literature review
This should be a summarised compilation of all the findings of the literature review.
Chapter 3: Research methodology
A description of the way you have gone about researching and its justification.
Chapters 4–6: Data presentation and analysis
These chapters should present, interpret, and analyze the results that you have arrived at.
Chapter 7: Discussion and conclusions
This is the bigger overview of all your findings and ultimately should answer the question that is the topic of your research.
Bibliography
An annotated bibliography often contains a list of citations to various sources from which information has been taken, such as books, articles, newspapers, etc. Usually, the citations are each followed by a brief of around 150 words – a descriptive and evaluative paragraph as well as the annotation.
The main purpose of this annotation is to let the reader know about the accuracy and the relevance of the source being cited.
The process of creating such an annotated bibliography often requires the application of several skills such as research, exposition, and thorough analysis.
Appendices
This section will contain all the extra information that you might want to include, such as extra details about a certain section of data or some supporting material evidence such as questionnaires.
When should I start thesis writing?
It’s recommended that you begin as soon as you can, primarily because of the fact that this will be the project that will probably demand the most from you in terms of effort and time.
Writing professional essays in 2020 requires you to practice regularly. You may choose to exclude some of your attempts midway – know that it’s alright to do so and that over time the quality of your writing will only increase.
The second thing to keep in mind is to keep a list and/or make note of the things you complete them. For example, the Background/Context chapter should have its first draft underway as soon as you begin with your thesis.
Lastly, being able to put up the first draft also benefits you as a researcher psychologically as you possess something that you can show for all your efforts, and also gives you encouragement about the fact that you have completed a substantial amount of work.
How can I make sure that I avoid plagiarism?
It is of utmost importance that your work is checked once, twice, thrice for plagiarism after each edit that you make. It is deemed as an academic crime and is super embarrassing to be accused of as a researcher. Beware of such errors because they do tend to creep in – and may result in you not getting awarded a degree after all.
You can look for online sources that can assist you with some Proofreading Help that can further polish up your essay.
How should I present my work?
The format which your university will require you to adhere to will vary depending on factors such as your course. You will need to follow the guidelines regarding the presentation as well as submission that will ideally have been provided to you at the very beginning.
Make sure that any discrepancies regarding the layout, size, and type of the font as well as margins are smoothened out so that tiny errors don’t end up making a larger impact on your dissertation.
Make sure to revise once again with the guidelines upon the completion of your final draft before submission.
Mary Jones is the co-founder and editor-in-chief at TopMyGrades, which focuses on career counselling for university students in the US, Canada, UK and Australia. Mary helps students with their marketing reports and assignments. She has extensive content editing experience and has worked with MSNBC, NewsCred and Scripted in the past. She has also authored blogs on Lifehack.org, Wn.com, Medium.com, Minds.com and many more digital publications.
Namaste UI collaborates closely with clients to develop tailored guest posting strategies that align with their unique goals and target audiences. Their commitment to delivering high-quality, niche-specific content ensures that each guest post not only meets but exceeds the expectations of both clients and the hosting platforms. Connect with us on social media for the latest updates on guest posting trends, outreach strategies, and digital marketing tips. For any types of guest posting services, contact us on info[at]namasteui.com.