Are you ready to write your thesis at this point? Here are five tips to help you do it more effectively.
Before starting to write down the contents of your thesis and after writing it down, the following 5 tips to effective thesis writing will help you keep on track and draw out the best in you.
Thesis writing tip #1. Keep your writing simple and direct to the point. Whenever you present your ideas based on the data that you have gathered, always focus on the lead statement. The lead statement is the first statement in your paragraph that must be thoroughly clarified before shifting to another idea for paragraph development. Support your lead statement with facts, that is, those that you gathered during the course of conducting the study. Nobody will question fact-laden statements.
Thesis writing tip #2. Present your results graphically for greater understanding and impact. Since you are not writing for yourself but others, figure out a way to present your data in the form of graphs or pictures if you may. A picture speaks a thousand words.
Decades ago, the convention appears to have been presenting data in the form of tables. Present graphs instead. With current increased capacities to do this with your computer using a spreadsheet application, it is easy to create graphs in any form you want. Choose one which adequately serves your purpose.
In addition to specific information on numbers, graphs can show trends. It highlights the highs and lows in measures of the variables used in the study.
Thesis writing tip #3. Write your statements in chunks of information. You can be more effective in thesis writing if you write brief statements instead of just one- or two-sentence paragraphs. Make frequent use of the period (.) or colon (;) so your reader can pause and digest the ideas that you present.
Thesis writing #4. Avoid too general statements. This is a common mistake I usually encounter among my students. Focus on the specific issue that you want to present. If your topic is about sea level rise as a manifestation of climate change, then, by all means, write about sea level rise! Unless you really need to refer to other evidences of climate change, don’t include them just to make an impression that you know a lot about climate change.
Always ask yourself the question: “Will this statement make clear the issue that I am discussing?”
Thesis writing tip #5. Recognize that you have flaws and invest. Let someone, preferably a colleague in the same area of specialization, read your work and make comments. While you may be quite confident that you have written your thesis in the best way you can, chances are you will miss some important points or glaring errors in your statements. Just make sure that your colleague reads your manuscript as thoroughly as you do.
Invest by paying your capable classmate or colleague to read your work so he will commit to it. Unless of course he also wants you to return the favor by reading his own manuscript. There is no such thing as free lunch (see the concept of opportunity cost for more information on this statement).
You may use the TSPU principle in writing down your thesis to keep you focused on your topic.
© 2013 January 6 P. A. Regoniel
