You would think that with the English Honors Exam finally over, I would have more time to relax, but nope- The thesis paper for the honors seminar is due in a little over two weeks so it’s time to drag out my books and articles and begin the painful revision/ expansion process. Unfortunately, I haven’t looked at my paper since last semester and reading it again this week really shocked me when I realized the enormous amount of changes and additions I have to make. But on the bright side, returning to this paper was not as frightening or challenging as I expected because of the amount of time I spent organizing my sources and materials last semester, which is definitely one the keys to approaching any long thesis-length work.
So I decided that for this post I would list a few helpful tips and strategies for any of you who are unlucky enough to be stuck in the same situation as me… Writing a thesis or even a long research paper is a difficult and extremely time-consuming process… Of course everyone should develop his or her own special routine when it comes to research or writing, but hopefully this can provide some initial assistance for those of you who don’t know where to start. (Also, keep in mind that I am coming from an English/ Humanities background so certain points may not apply to other disciplines.)
Come up with a Topic (the narrower the better)
This might seem obvious, but in my experience when trying to develop a topic I tend to have really high aspirations in terms of the scope of my project, i.e. the number of books I want to focus on, etc. (It’s best to resist this tendency- one or two major texts for a 20-25 page paper should be more than adequate).
At the same time, don’t be afraid if your topic changes over time, which will probably happen a lot as you encounter new texts or sources… so definitely be flexible enough to make necessary modifications while trying to retain a narrow enough focus. (Tip courtesy of Boone ^^)
Also, select something that interests you. Since this is a paper that you will have to return to over a semester or even over the course of a year (depending on your class), you need to pick a topic that engages you- one that you won’t mind reading about and discussing with others.
Be Organized
Again, something that seems really simple, but if you’re planning to write a 20-25 page thesis paper, you can get lost in your research notes and drafts very quickly. For my thesis, I have an entire folder on my computer subdivided into smaller folders for the various elements of my paper, i.e. outlines, drafts, annotated bibliography, etc. I think it’s also a good idea to number revisions of outlines or drafts. For example: outline_01.doc, outline_02.doc, to keep track of your progress and of course to identify exactly which document you are working on.
What really helped me in terms of organization was my annotated bibliography. It may feel like a drag to write a brief blurb for each of the important sources you want to cite in your paper, but trust me- it’s definitely worth it. The annotation should provide a short 1-3 sentence summary of the source, but it’s most essential component is a statement regarding how this particular source would be useful in your paper, i.e. does it support, add to, or refute your claims? If your annotated bibliography is well put together, then writing your paper becomes a lot easier because rather than going back to reread each of your sources again (since we all know that research takes time and most of us suffer from short-term memory loss), you can just refer to your notes in the annotated bibliography.
Create a Proposal or Prospectus for your Thesis/ Research Paper
This is perhaps one of the most useful thins you can do before starting the writing process. So, even if you’re not required to write a thesis proposal or prospectus, you should create one for your own benefit.
It should contain a few elements: (1) an introduction or summary of what your paper will explore; (2) a list of potential texts that will be central to the focus of your paper; (3) the implications/ significance of your project, i.e. what you will be contributing to a particular field of study (essentially your answer to that “so what?” question); (4) a calendar of the time you will be dedicating to your paper, the more specific the better; (5) a tentative bibliography of works that you have already researched (this will grow over time); (6) anything else you can think of that will be helpful… maybe the beginnings to an outline, if you’re one of those overachiever types
Write an Abstract for your Thesis/ Research Paper
Think of the abstract as your paper in a nutshell. It should include the major themes you will explore in your paper and maybe even some allusions to theoretical texts that are influential to your study. Of course the abstract differs from one discipline to another, but writing one will definitely help you get your ideas in order. So even though a lot of people hold off on writing the abstract until the end, I think that writing it beforehand is definitely a good practice to get into because constantly referring to the abstract while writing your paper will help you stay on track.
Outline your Thesis/ Research Paper
Many people skip over the outlining process just because they want to start writing as soon as possible, but this is not a good idea. Since a thesis or research paper tends to be longer than one that relies on close-reading, you can get confused really easily. So definitely dedicate time to writing an outline because this will help you establish a logical flow between each of your major themes and/ or ideas. My outlines tend to start out as a bare skeleton that slowly gets fleshed out with more details as I continue my research. For instance, as I find sources that I know would work for one section or another, I add them into the outline as well.
Discuss your Ideas
It is best to bounce your ideas off people who are unfamiliar with your thesis proposal/ prospectus, such as fellow classmates or professors who do not specialize in your area of study so you can tell if you are communicating your ideas well enough. After you get feedback from them, then show your abstract, proposal, outline, and whatever else you might have to your professor or mentor.
Finally, to end this extremely long post, I wish everyone who is working on a thesis/ research paper lots of luck. Hopefully, some of this information was useful and definitely feel free to comment with suggestions of your own… I’m sure that I forgot a few essential points here and there… I was wondering if I should add “get a lot of rest” and “try not to procrastinate” to the list, but I”m sure everyone knows that already haha… ^^
