thesis writing guidelines

WRITING YOUR DISSERTATION:

SOME GUIDELINES

Getting started (Planning)

Selecting a Supervisor Choosing a Topic

Putting it all together (Research) Find Information Draft a Thesis Statement Make a tentative dissertation outline

Writing it out (Writing) Writing the First Draft of the Thesis Revise the first draft: Organizing the Thesis Typing the final draft

Three Stages in Writing a Dissertation

conform to accepted methodologies, university

policies, and style of presentation

submit typed/printed manuscripts only

have regular meetings

be honest when reporting on progress follow advice given and incorporate suggestions for

improvement

Supervisor ‘s Expectations

Choice of topic likely to be influenced by factors such

as:

RelevanceSupervision InterestCompetenceScale

Choosing a Topic

Some tips Keep the following guidelines:

Narrow down your topic into a specific title

Be Concise Avoid waste words

Do not indicate dates in the title Avoid jargons, symbols, formulas, acronyms, initials, and

abbreviations

Choosing a Topic

Do not put the titles in sentence forms.

Change

“How Virginia Woolf Influenced Jeanette Winterson”to

“The Influence of Virginia Woolf on Jeanette Winterson”

Topic does not need to be totally new

Avoid controversial topics

Must be brief and grammatically correct

Must be accurate and complete enough to stand alone.

Choosing a Topic

A two- or three-word title may be too vague. A 14- or 15-word title is unnecessarily long.

“Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, June Jordan, Maya Angelou, and Rita Dove: A Critical Study of Black Consciousness, Negritude, Black Feminism, Cultural Divide, and Crafted Art”

“A Study of Immigrants’ Journey Towards Self/Space in the Selected Fictional Writings of M G Vaasanji, Neil Bissoondath, Shyam Selvadurai, and Sky Lee”

Short and Long Titles

Women’s Detective Fiction The Poetry of Richard Crashaw Tennyson and after South-Asian Diaspora Writing in Britain and America Shakespeare's Domestic Tragedies Middle English lyric poetry Creative Writing The English Epyllion Time and Space in H. G. Wells Psychology and the Modern Novel

Some vague titles

A Reappraisal of the Short Stories of Mary Lavin Ted Hughes and Seamus Heaney: A Study of Similarity and Contrast The British Boy Detective: Origins, Forms, Functions, 1860-1930 Hospitality in Shakespeare's Problem Plays 1597-1603 Domestic Iconography: Representations of Family Life in the Mid to Late Victorian

Period “Such Genius as Hers”: Music in New Women ‘s Fiction Roland Barthes and English-language Avant-garde Poetry, 1970-1987 The Forging of Identity and Community in India and Welsh Writing from a Postcolonial

Perspective Medievalism in Virginia Woolf and Lynette Roberts: Ritualism, Spirituality, and

Community Representations of Women's Rage and Violence in Five Contemporary American Films

Acceptable Topics

You can choose to write about literature belonging to

different countries American literature

African-American literature Indian writing in English Commonwealth Literature You can write about the literature types of a particular

age. The most prominent forms, styles, and kinds

of poetry that make up that era.

Some Areas of Research in English Literature

You can write only about one author.

You may have to research on the life of the author

his typical styles his famous literary works all his achievements etc.


You can research on the different characters in a particular novel.

You may study the different themes in a novel.

You can write about the different literary devices used in a work of literature.

You can discuss the same literary term used differently in different novels.

Whichever topic you choose to write on, you are bound to face some limitations.


Find Information

Check out print and other materials

Books Periodicals (for articles, critical essays, reviews, abstracts) Readers’ guide to periodical literature Computer-based materials and on-line resources Published and unpublished papers Dissertations and thesis Contemporary and classic works Edited collections and literature reviews

Research

The Broader Survey

Typically includes more general works. Should help you in several ways:

to decide on the issues you will address to become aware of appropriate research methodologies to see how research on your topic fits into a broader framework to help you not to “reinvent the wheel” to help you avoid any well-known theoretical and methodological

pitfalls to prepare you for approaching the critical review

Research

Look at bibliographies of established scholars

Look at recent research, constantly updating your notes

Use electronic sources

Research

Jot down full bibliographical information:

For books--author, full title including subtitle, place of publication, publisher, date of publication, volume number, edition, and page numbers.

For periodical articles—author, full title of the article including

subtitle, full title of the periodical, volume number and issue number (if any), date of issue, inclusive page numbers of the article.

For electronic sources—author, title, print source, URLs, creation or modification dates on Web pages, page numbers and volumes etc., if available and your date of access.

Research

Drafting a Thesis Statement

The Thesis Statement marks the transition from the research process to the writing process.

is the core essence of the dissertation.

can be defined as a statement advancing an original point of view as a result of research—expresses the controlling idea of the dissertation.

states the subject, indicates the purpose, uses specific language, and specifies the scope of the topics and subtopics.

Research

The thesis statement must be adequately limited in scope.

“Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn is a great American novel.”

“In Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain develops a contrast between life on the river and life on the shore.”

“Through its contrasting river and shore scenes, Twain’s

Huckleberry Finn suggests that to find the true expression of American ideals, one must leave ‘civilized’ society and go back to nature.”

Guidelines for Writing a Thesis Statement

A thesis must contain a point or an assertion.


The North and South fought the Civil War for many reasons, some of which were the same and some different.

While both sides fought the Civil War over the issue of slavery, the North fought for moral reasons while the South fought to preserve its own institutions.

While both Northerners and Southerners believed they fought against tyranny and oppression, Northerners focused on the oppression of slaves while Southerners defended their own right to self-government.

A thesis on a controversial subject should not be wishy-washy.

Shakespeare's Hamlet is a play about a young man who seeks revenge.

Hamlet experiences internal conflict because he is in love with his mother.


A thesis should reflect understanding of a

subject based on fairly extensive reading.

Obvious: “There is a lot of symbolism in The Scarlet Letter.”

Better:“Hawthorne’s use of symbolism in The Scarlet Letter falters and ultimately breaks down with the introduction of the character of Pearl.”


The current study investigates the relationship between . . . The focus of this study will be on . . .The objective of this research is to determine . . .The purpose of the present study is . . .This research concentrates on . . .This thesis will deal with . . .My thesis is . . . This study examines . . .This study is an attempt to . . .

Opening words for thesis statements

The present study endeavours to investigate how Gwendolyn Brooks’ inscrutable mind evolves from ego-centricism to ethno-centricism, and how this evolution settled the subject matter of her poetry, especially her perception of race, sex, and aesthetics of art, as delineated in her poetry.

Sample thesis statement

An outline

Helps you achieve a unified, supported, well-organized thesis.

Shows the order of the various topics, the relative importance of each, and the relationship between the various parts or the order in which the points will be arranged.

Outline

Writing the First Draft

Write this draft as quickly as possible

Put down everything you know about your topic

Do not stop to make corrections, check facts or look up words.

Forget about spelling, grammar, and other issues

The Writing Process

Tips

Start with the easiest material first. Write as much as you can initially, then refine it later

If you get stuck at some point, leave a space on the page and continue

Writing the First Draft

Review your rough draft and make any changes or corrections

before writing the final copy. Arrange and rearrange ideas

Get someone else to read over what you have written.

Fresh thoughts on texts are essential.

Quotations, should appear as an integral part of writing

Use good Standard English Final draft should never contain typographical, grammatical, punctuation or spelling errors.

Make several back-ups

Revise Your First Draft: What Makes a Good Thesis

The text of the thesis is divided into chapters

Most theses are five chapters long.

Begin with an introduction stating your thesis statement, develop your argument over a series of chapters, and finish with a conclusion.

Organization of the Thesis

Presents an overview

Includes a rationale

Usually

Serves as the frame within which the reader reads the rest of the thesis

Provides background information

Builds an argument for the research and presents research question(s) and aims, and

May present a theoretical starting point

Introduction

The purpose of the literature review is

• To show that you are familiar with issues and current debates in the field

• To show that there is an area in this field to which you can contribute

• To discuss relevant theory

Reviewing the Literature

The reviews should be integrative (broad summaries) rather than detailed examinations

Don’t simply provide a long list of separate descriptions of weakly related studies.

“Smith (2007) did this,” “Jones (2009) did that ...” "Raines (1990) found ...," etc.

Each section should draw on previous ones "Using an older group of students, Brown (1986) found ..." "Walton (1982), however, failed to replicate those results with small classes." "In summary, the above work shows ..."

Grouping studies together by type is better

Should have a logical structure

Reviewing the literature

What should you include in a literature review?

Refer only to research projects which are closely related to your own topic

Focus on the most recent papers.

Include key studies which are widely cited by others

Reviewing the Literature

The remaining chapters should clarify and amplify the thesis with well-

researched statements, documented wherever necessary.

Each stage of the dissertation should focus on an individual aspect of the topic and build an argument leading to a summation and synthesis of thought in the conclusion.

Each chapter should open with a brief discussion of the portion of the problem to which the chapter is devoted and an enumeration of the points to be covered.

The concluding paragraphs of each chapter should summarize the main ideas of the chapter.

The Body of the Thesis

Every point you make must be supplemented by evidentiary support

Using quotations effectively is important

Focus of the thesis must be your argument, based on primary sources.

There should be no gaps in the flow of logic and sense of continuity.

Avoid repeating yourself.

The Body of the Thesis

The Conclusion

Draws all arguments and findings together

Summarizes major findings; does not merely restate the thesis

Provides answers or solutions – to the extent this is possible – to the

questions or problems raised in the introduction

Presents limitations

Presents implications

Suggests directions

Conclusion

The list of sources used in the of the thesis.

Usually, it

is written in alphabetical order

may be annotated, though usually is not

should not include works you found of no use

The “Works Cited”

Implement all the changes to transform your rough draft into a

final copy.

Good writing is hard to define. Bad writing is easy to spot.

A badly-written thesis will have:

Misspelled words Missing words Sentences that don’t make sense Poor use of punctuation

Type the Final Draft

While writing the final draft

Arrange and rearrange ideas to follow your outline.

Correct all errors that you can spot

Know the conventions of thesis layout

Consult MLA Handbook to find the correct forms of use Proofread the final copy carefully

Ensure that the final draft is clean, tidy, neat, and attractive.

Get feedback on them from your supervisor(s).

Finally, be prepared to write and re-write.

Type the Final Draft

Double space the text throughout

Each page should have at least 27 (9 inches) typed lines.

Observe well-balanced margins of one inch at top, bottom, and right side of the paper and one and half inch on the left.

Do not right justify the lines. Do not divide words at the end of a line

Indent the first line of every paragraph five spaces.

Presentation of the Thesis

Short quotes (fewer than four lines) should be located

within the text and enclosed by double quotation marks.

Single quotation marks are for quotes within quotes.

The source of the quote must be written in parentheses immediately after the closing quotation marks, but before the main punctuation that closes the sentence or clause.


Leave one space after all punctuation as follows:

after commas, colons, and semicolons after punctuation marks at the end of sentences after periods that separate parts of a reference citation after the periods of the initials in personal names

Exception: Do not leave a space after internal periods in abbreviations (e.g., a.m. i.e., U.S.)


Commas and periods are placed inside the closing

quotation marks; colons and semicolons are placed outside the closing quotation marks.

Question marks and exclamation marks, not originally in the quotation, go outside the quotation marks; when they are part of the quotation, they go inside the quotation marks.


Hyphens, dashes, and minus signs are each typed differently.

hyphen: use no space before or after (e.g., trial-by-trial analysis)

dash: type as two hyphens with no space before or after (e.g., studies--published and unpublished--are)

minus: type as a hyphen with space on both sides (e.g., a – b)

Page number should be typed half an inch from the top and one inch from the right edge of the paper.

Follow deadlines strictly.


Use appropriate verb tenses.

Keep the verbs you use in the same tense.

eg. Mrs. Mallory sees her returning son and, in her excitement, twisted her ankle rather badly. Her sister calls the doctor immediately.

Switching verb tenses upsets the time sequence of narration.

Little Writing Tips: Some Dos and Don’ts

When you quote directly from a text or allude to the

events in a story (as in a brief plot summary), use "the literary present." Quoting an essay, you would write,

Annie Dillard wrote Pilgrim at Tinker Creek when she lived in Virginia's mountains. In the book's chapter, "Seeing," Annie Dillard contends that "vision . . . is a deliberate gift, the revelation of a dancer who for my eyes only flings away her seven veils" (17).

Writing Tips

When you write about fiction, use the present tense.

At the end of Of Mice and Men, Lennie sees an enormous rabbit that chastises him, making him to think of George.

Mrs. Mallard, in "The Story of an Hour," whispers "'free, free, free!'" after learning of her husband's supposed death.

The above examples are a plot summary and a direct quotation, both of which use the literary present.

Writing Tips

Use the active voice

Poor: The shelter is owned by the town, but the facility is run by members of the humane society and supported, in part, by funds raised by them. Most of the operating expenses, however, are paid by the town.

Better: Although the town owns the shelter and pays most of the operating expenses, members of the humane society run the facility and provide additional support through fund raising.

Writing Tips

Use first person when it helps to keep your meaning

clear and to express a purpose or a decision.

Jones reported xyz, but I (or we) found . . . I (or we) present here a detailed study . . . My (or our) recent work demonstrated . . .

Avoid phrases such as “we believe,” “we feel,” “we concluded,” and “we can see,” as well as personal opinions. (Don’t use the royal “we”)

Writing Tips

Avoid informal wording, don't address the reader

directly, and don't use jargons, slang terms, or superlatives

Be brief

Writing Tips

Omit phrases such as

As already stated

It has been found that

It has long been known that

It is interesting to note that

It is worth mentioning at this point

It may be said that

It was demonstrated that

Writing Tips

Use single words instead of phrases

a number of many, several a small number of a few

are in agreement agree are found to be are at present now if it is assumed that if of great importance important

Writing Tips

Use simple short words. “Use” not “utilize,” “several” not

“diverse.”

Eliminate Redundancies and Repetitions

(already) existing introduced ( a new) (alternative) choicesmix (together) at (the) present (time) never (before) (completely) eliminate period (of time) (continue to) remain(private) industry

Writing Tips

Cliches, slangs, and jargons are to be avoided in writing. Cliches

are hackneyed, worn-out, over-worked words or phrases

quick as a flash (quickly) last but not least (last, finally) as plain as day (clear, obvious) the modern business world (business today) Crack of dawn (early morning) Dead of night (late night) First and foremost (in the beginning) To make a long story short (to summarize)

Writing Tips

Do not try to impress people by using words most people have

never heard of.

Do not use contractions: for example, "don't" must be "do not" and "isn't" must be "is not" etc.

Ensure quotation marks are paired.

Don't say "Section X discusses"; you discuss things, not the section!

Writing Tips

Don't say:

a. "a lot of" b. "absolutely" c. "are going to" d. "in real life" e. "in recent years" f. "in today's world" g. "nowadays" h. "on the other hand" i. "on top of" j. "would like to"

Writing Tips

Avoid numbers starting a line

Avoid starting a paper or section by quoting material

Don't start a sentence with "Also," "And," "But," "Especially," "So," "Specially," "Whereas," "Yet," "Then," ...

When starting a sentence with "Therefore," "However," "Moreover," and "Hence," follow this word with a comma.

Don't use the apostrophe for plurals such as MDs and 1970s.

Don't use the "/" (slash) character, as in "A is better/faster than B."

Don't wax lyrical!

Writing Tips

"et al." needs a full stop after the "al.“

For numbers less than hundred, write the number out in words, especially numbers less than twenty; for example, write "two items" rather than "2 items."

If you're quoting, keep the citation outside the quote, e.g. Bloggs says, "blah blah" (93).

Make large numbers easier to read by inserting a small space after every three digits, for example: 850 123 456. Don't use commas for this.

Substantiate every assertion.

Writing Tips

Do not use another thesis/dissertation as a

model for your work since a particular style or example in a previous year may not meet current guidelines.

Writing Tips

Thank You

Finally,

thesis writing guidelines

Education