How to Start Writing Your Thesis
Thesis Writing: Getting Started
Writing of thesis or dissertation requires a lot of time and effort, since you have to develop a complicated work, which will represent your knowledge best. Any student has particular interests, and most students choose their specialization in universities depending on their interests. At the same time, you are somewhat limited in topics for your thesis by supervisors, who are experts in such an area. If you have an opportunity to choose your topic, we suggest you to brainstorm with your supervisor, who would be able to tell you which topics are most relevant, and which issues raise most questions. Use your creativity, and don’t limit yourself at this stage, since you will be limited by many factors during writing.
We suggest you to take into account your career expectations, when you choose a topic. This will help you in future, since you would be able to use this work for professional purposes. Think in which direction you’re going to move after the university, it will help you achieve your goals.
Estimate how much time your paper would take. Most universities have strict rules regarding timelines, so if you think that your topic is too broad, and you won’t be able to describe it during defined time, we suggest you to choose another topic. Don’t forget that dissertation writing requires preparation, you cannot just start writing immediately, so define timeline, taking into account these options. Generally, your work consists of six stages:
- Brainstorm
- Proposal
- Research
- Writing
- Sharing your work with others
- Proofreading
Now look at the second step. You have to prepare the proposal. To do it good, you have to make sure that your supervisor supports you, that you have studied other researches devoted to this topic, and that you have required skills. In other words, make sure that you really are able to cope with such a task. We also suggest you to check out other proposals, you may find many interesting details that can be used in your proposal.
You also have to choose right methodology. Consider the most popular methods of research in this area, and think whetheror not each method is supported by your supervisor, and your program. Check out the most recent researches, and look which methods are most commonly used now. Don’t be afraid to clarify all the details with your supervisor. You have to meet members of your committee, to agree on necessary questions, such as goals of your research, its methods, and procedures. Committee members must be on your side, so make sure that they support your work on all levels.
Writing Process
Many students think that they can just start from the ‘Chapter One’, and move further. We suggest you not to use such a controversial approach. Start writing parts that you are most familiar with. When you will write many parts independently, it will be easier for you to sort them in a proper order. Following this rule, you will be able to easily understand what you have missed, and what is unnecessary.
Keep your text clear and easy to read. It may be the most difficult task for those who write dissertations on some complicated scientific topics, but you must keep in mind that somebody will read your work. And you need your readers to be impressed by your research. It would be impossible if you don’t create an understandable structure. We also suggest you to make a list of keywords, and use it any time, when you want to replace some term with a synonym. Use same words, and same phrases – this will make your text much easier to read.