Layout Your Evidence

Having a ton of evidence is never an assurance that you will ace your thesis. You should know which evidence is necessary and which is expendable. More so, you should also know how to properly explain the gathered data to readers. Use the following guidelines and your evidences will make your thesis standout from the rest.

• Use evidences taken from primary sources. These could be journal articles or entire books devoted to the topic of your thesis. Secondary sources are also necessary, for they can help clarify your position and define the direction of your work. You, however, should remember that secondary evidences have to be scholarly as well. In gathering sources, check which ones are too broad, and which ones are too narrow.

• Of course, it is not enough to present your evidences; you also have to explain them. Readers will not simply believe your argument just because it is backed up by a slew of data, imagery, statistics, tables and selected quotes. Try explaining your evidences by using narration. Readers will understand your evidences more if you present them with a literary flair.

• You should never, except on rare instances, quote a secondary source. The purpose of your thesis is to convince people using your own words and not the words of other authors or historians. Better if you paraphrase the quote, and just cite its source.

• Quote only primary sources only if you need to provide specific evidence for your point of view, to add lively words to the narration, and to challenge or criticize the words of a famous person. Even then, quote only parts of the passage that are necessary and rephrase the rest.

• Repeating your assertions will not persuade anybody. Analyze your evidence and show readers how it supports your argument. There are also evidences that will contradict your point of view. Don’t ignore them. Use these objecting evidences to build your thesis; prove to professors that despite opposition, your argument is still more powerful.

Matters to be Discussed in the Preliminary Meeting

Your initial meeting with your thesis supervisor is a critical part of your project that it has to be done right before you could even begin researching. Here are some of the important topics that are usually tacked during the first meeting; these will help you meet the specific requirements of your thesis.

• Established laws on how to produce a good thesis
• Rules your university has on thesis writing.
• Guidelines on how to get your thesis topic approved.
• Planning and forming a thesis committee.
• Timeline for the writing and completion of the thesis
• Rules your university has on the use of its equipment or labs.
• Formulating the topic of your project
• Information gathering and analysis
• The frequency and purpose of your student-supervisor meetings
• If required, courses you need to take
• Trainings, workshops or seminars you need to attend
• Acknowledgement or publishing opportunities for your work
• Research ethics and plagiarism
• Presentation of the final work
• Where to get financial support

These are just some of the issues you can discuss with your supervisor during your initial meeting. More will arise as you move forward in your project.

Standards to Consider in Preparing a Manuscript

Your thesis, more than just having a compelling argument, needs to abide by the following format and technical standards in order to win the approval of professors.

Paper - Use a standard white 8 ½ x 11-inch paper.

Margin - The margin of the top, bottom and right side of the page should be 2.5 cm. Leave a 3.25 margin on the left side of the page for the binding.

Font - Use a font that is reader-friendly or commonly used by theses, like Times New Roman or Arial.

Spacing - Choose the double-spacing or 1.5 spacing between lines because they are easy on the eyes. To be sure, ask your professor if he has a specific preference.

Page Numbering - Before submitting your final copy, make sure the pages are properly numbered. Do not place a number on the title page, but consider it as a page on the table of contents. Pages after the title page until the page before the first chapter should be marked with Roman numerals (ii, iii, iv, v…). Then, the rest of the pages have to be marked with Arabic numbers.

Illustrations – Make sure your illustrations, tables, graphs and images follow the specific layout of your discipline. To be sure, ask your professor or check the theses done by other students in your field of study about this layout. Your work will most likely be photocopied, so do not put graphs that are colored-dependent.

Printing - To have a clean and legible manuscript, use laser or high-quality printers. These printers will also make all the graphics, photographs and illustrations in your thesis clear and alive in color.

Avoid using the following materials as they can make your thesis look sloppy and photocopying difficult: adhesive tapes or rubber cements, colored papers (unless necessary in your discipline), and excessively large illustrations.

General and Practical Thesis Writing Tips

Below are tips relevant to those who are busy preparing their postgraduate project.

1. A thesis is a formal academic work; it should not contain informal languages or colloquial terms.

2. Sentences, paragraphs and chapters should support each other, meaning the thesis should have a flow. A reader must always know what he or she is reading.

3. Since a thesis is about expressing one’s opinion, using quotes should be minimal or, better yet, avoided completely.

4. The introduction must quickly capture the interest of readers. It should provide a clear idea what the thesis is trying to discuss or prove. The introduction serves as an outline of what the writer was able to contribute to the study.

5. The conclusion should be as gripping as the introduction. It is in this section of the thesis where the writer re-states his objectives and shows his findings.

6. Each chapter should start with a paragraph that will link it with the previous chapter, and tell the purpose of the new chapter. This will allow a smooth and clear transition.

7. Each chapter should have a conclusion section, where the writer summarizes the objectives of the chapter and shows his findings.

8. Everything is in the present tense, except the conclusion.

9. Make sure the references are up-to-date. A thesis that uses outdated resources will most likely fail to convince readers.

10. A writer should refrain from using long, convoluted sentences.

11. Do not fail to use a spell checker.

12. A Masters thesis is approximately 130-200 pages, and a PhD thesis is 200-300 pages. A student, however, can use more or less pages; what is important is that he was able to write everything he needed to say.

13. All tables, graphs and figures need to be discussed.

The Committee is There to Help

The idea of a thesis committee may seem intimidating, but the truth is having a committee will increase a student’s chance of acing his thesis. A committee is a resource, a guide to help a student produce a properly researched, planned and written thesis. Furthermore, a committee is the thesis advisor’s indispensable partner. A thesis advisor may be knowledgeable in one area of the thesis, but can be completely oblivious in one. By having a thesis committee, both the thesis advisor and student can have access to a bigger pool of intellectual expertise.

The student usually sets the meeting with the committee that happens every six to twelve months. Meetings, however, can be more frequent when concerns about the project begin to mount. Committee members should always make themselves available in case the student need to discuss serious matters related to the thesis.

A committee is usually composed of at least two other professors whose field of expertise is appropriate for the thesis’ topic. The thesis advisor plays the key role in forming the committee; thus, usually, making him the head. He talks to colleagues who have the required knowledge and invites them to join the committee.

Write a Better Thesis

The though of writing a thesis is terrifying for many students. Not only is it a long and grueling process, it is also the most important assignment a student has to accomplish in his college life. A thesis will evaluate the skills and knowledge of a student and will determines if he is ready to enter his chosen field. With the following tips, you can face the overwhelming task and produce a thesis that is worthy of a high mark.

Start Early
Don’t wait for months before starting your thesis. Once you receive the assignment, hit the library immediately. Normally, professors give students eight months to a year to finish their project; that’s enough time for you to find a good topic and to dig deep with your research. An early start will also give you sufficient time to revise your work if necessary.

Don’t Follow the Norm
Usually a thesis follows a pre-determined order, but this doesn’t mean you have to follow the same order. Just write, arrange the paragraphs later. Be sure though that what you are writing about is focused on one topic.

Know Your Audience
One reason why theses put too much pressure on students is that its readers are far superior than what other written assignments have. Your thesis will be scrutinized by a panel of at least three professors and will be read by people who are involved in your field.

Edit
Editing a thesis often takes as much time as writing the thesis itself, so be prepared. Check if your argument is impressive enough, if the body is coherent and if the conclusion will leave your readers thinking. Check also for misspellings and incorrect punctuations and grammars. There are students who failed to get the grade they deserve because of a few flaw in the spelling.

Ways of finding the right Thesis Advisor… for you

In the preceding post, the importance of a great thesis advisor was covered. To give you a better grasp of this thesis ingredient, here are ways of finding the right thesis advisor — for you.

(1) Interview former thesis students
What better way to pinpoint the best mentor for you than to talk to people who already finished with their respective thesis papers? These people will be able to provide insightful feedbacks on how it was working with their advisors. Was the advisor open to an approach veering away from the traditional? Was the advisor amiable to changes in the work schedule? How is it working with the advisor in the heat of a thesis dilemma? Feed on these feedbacks.

(2) Read up on papers authored by the faculty members
Reading up on the faculty’s literary works can present the research and writing styles that interest you. It may because the styles are similar to yours or that said techniques are the ones you would like to emulate.

(3) Enroll in a short course with the potential advisor
Taking a class under the potential mentor shows you the professor’s social personality, his working style, and his level of knowledge on the area of study. With those factors to observe, it gives you a better idea if you two will be compatible working together. This method actually works best if you have the foresight to research on advisors (way) ahead of the actual thesis project. If not, simply recollect on your past professors and shortlist from there.

(4) Directly interview the potential advisor
Before you get very convinced on a particular advisor, it is recommended to schedule an interview first. The advisor might not have enough time to fit you in his or her calendar, or the advisor can only collaborate with you once or twice a term. It’s best to iron out all such details first before you get too hopeful in acquiring the professor’s thesis guidance.

Learn from these simple guidelines to find the thesis advisor that will enhance and bulletproof your thesis paper.

The Thesis Advisor

For the previous weeks, we have covered the top guidelines on choosing a thesis topic. Now, the next thing you do once you’ve settled on a subject will be to find a thesis advisor.

Do not fall into the trap of underestimating the value of a thesis advisor. A number of students have carelessly acquired the first mentor that came to mind, only to regret it in the end. Why so? More often than not, such cases result with the student and advisor constantly going at each other on the paper’s direction. Their angles are different, their preferred writing techniques are different, their visions are different. In short, they are too unsuited to work harmoniously together.

With that said, it is fair enough to associate the student-advisor connection as a solid relationship you have to go through for a year or so. There must be a high level of compatibility between the two for the thesis to work out well. How else can you collaborate for brilliant ideas when there is too much clashing going on?

Do all of you a favor (by all, this includes you, the advisor, and the thesis paper): Think hard on who your thesis advisor will be. If you choose wisely, you will be given the best insights and supervision necessary for the improvement of your paper.

Selecting a Thesis Topic: Original (part 4)

The fourth vital thesis topic trait is it has to be original.

Try to work on something that’s never been tackled before, or at the very least, stay away from the most used and abused thesis topics already. It will inordinately please your thesis advisor to read up on something fresh and new.

But more than securing your mentor’s interest, an authentic topic is to your advantage, too. An original subject makes full use of your independent thinking ability. You’re not doing justice to your mind if you will only follow the footsteps of thousands of thesis students. Rise above the shadows of your predecessors by thinking different. Moreover, with an authentic topic, you get to contribute on the discovery of a new study, which may evolve to something that’s beneficial to the industry relative to your thesis project.

Selecting a Thesis Topic: Specific (part 3)

The third significant characteristic of a thesis topic pertains to its precision and explicitness.

Do justice with your study. At best, a general topic will tend to spread over too many sections, thus, only tapping the surfaces of your paper. Quite the opposite of that, the thesis project must be able to comprehensively delve with the issues of your topic. And this becomes more easily possible if the subject matter itself is focused and exact enough.

Now, some students acquire the misconception that since the dissertation will last for about a year, it’s safer to pick a subject matter that’s a bit broad. What if you lose steam mid-year of the thesis? What if there’s nothing to write after a few months because you chose a topic that’s too specific? No worries. No matter what topic you settle on, it will always expand over your supposed expectations. So, stop overthinking the topic development and choose something that’s focused and specific.