The Graduate Thesis Writing Process
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The graduate thesis is possibly the most important part of graduate work. So, thesis preparation must be done with care, and, of course, with the proper application of knowledge at each stage of the thesis generation. After all, you are assigned a graduate thesis not just because it is a requirement but also for you to demonstrate what you have learned in graduate school. If you have learned well, you must be able to pose intelligent questions within your field and answer them through your graduate thesis.
Topic approval
If you are able to formulate intelligent questions, you can list possible topics for your graduate thesis. Present your chosen topics to your adviser for approval. Though you may personally believe the topics to be excellent, approval is still required in most cases.
Getting the background
Once you have your topic approved, it is time to research. Research may be done through extensive readings: you can visit libraries, read scholarly publications, and pore through reliable Internet information. Data to be researched can either be quantitative or qualitative. Research for qualitative data may be also done via surveys or interviews: you can get out there to prove or disprove your point through samplings, or find out more about a piece of information through interviews with experts.
Formulating an outline
For organization, create an outline of your thoughts. A graduate thesis can be very long. So, it is important to have a coherent guide to follow while going through the writing process.
Writing the draft
Of course, the writing process can never be skipped. You do have to write drafts of your graduate thesis. If you begin work early, you can create several drafts before starting with your final one. This way, you can better filter your thoughts and remove errors with each draft. As a suggestion, you can ask your colleagues to read your draft so that you can input their valid suggestions and comments on the next draft.
Proofreading for errors
Even if you have written several drafts already, what may be your last draft should still undergo proofreading. Even if your ideas are deep and your research is comprehensive, chaotic writing gives you the wrong image; sometimes a well-researched thesis can come out as something that has been sloppily done because of bad writing. If there are many grammatical lapses and other errors in language in your thesis, you may make people see you as a disorganized and an incompetent candidate for a graduate degree - as someone who has no eye for details.
Putting things together…
Of course, you need to print out your pages on clean sheets of paper. Make sure you follow your adviser’s instructions on binding and overall packaging.
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