Dissertation/Thesis Writing

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Dissertation/Thesis Writing

• Dr Íde OSullivan, Lawrence Cleary
• Shannon Consortium Regional Writing Centre

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Workshop outline

• The writing process
• Planning and outlining
• Writing strategies
• Getting going
• Keeping going
• Getting unstuck
• Finishing on time
• Peer review

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Where am I?

• What writing have you done for the
  dissertation/thesis, and what writing do you need
  to do in order to complete the dissertation/thesis
  on time?
• Keep writing non-stop for 5 minutes.
• Write in sentences.
• Do not edit or censor your writing.
• Private writing no one will read it.
• Discuss what you have written in pairs.

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Reflection and discussion

• Reflection
• What impact did the previous exercise have on
  you?
• How might this type of writing activity be
  useful?
• Discussion
• What do you worry about or struggle with when
  faced with a writing task?

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Good writers engage in a writing process that
works

• Prewriting, Drafting, Revising, Editing and
  Proofreading
• Assessing the context into which you write
• Assessing your own writing strategies, what
  works, and what is not working

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The writing process

• Pre-writing
• Drafting
• Revising
• Editing and Proofreading
• Talking about writing
• Getting feedback on writing

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Prewriting

• Planning
• Evaluating the rhetorical situation, or context,
  into which you write
• Choosing and focusing your topic
• Establishing an organising principle
• Gathering information
• Entering the discourse on your topic
• Taking notes as a strategy to avoid charges of
  plagiarism
• Evaluating sources

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Planning Assessing the Rhetorical Situation

• The Occasion
• The Audience
• The Topic
• The Purpose
• The Writer

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Drafting

• Try to visualise your dissertation or thesis.
  Work toward that vision.
• Begin to structure itestablish your section
  headings give them titles. These do not have to
  be permanent.
• Examine the logical order of ideas reflected in
  those titles.
• Do not get hung up on details elements of the
  draft are subject to change in the revision
  stage.
• Start to write the sections that you are ready to
  write. Dont try to write the Introduction merely
  because it comes first.

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Structure

• Chapter 1- Introduction
• Chapter 2 - Background and literature review
• Chapter 3 Research design and methodology
• Chapter 4 - Data analysis / results and
  discussion
• Chapter 5 Conclusions and recommendations

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Outlining (Murray, 2006)

• Title and summary
• Level 1 outlining
• Main headings
• Level 2 outlining
• Sub-headings
• Level 3 outlining
• Sub-sub headings

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Writing goals
Outline Words/Timeframe
Title Chapter 1 (title) Section 1 (title) Section 2 (title) Section 3 (title) Chapter 2 (title) Section 1 (title) Section 2 (title) Section 3 (title) Chapter 3
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Drafting

• Continue to reassess your rhetorical situation.
• Does what you have written so far contribute to
  the achievement of your purpose?
• Experiment with organisation and methods of
  development.
• Dont get bogged-down in details focus on the
  big issues organisation and logical flow.

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Revising

• Is your report logically organised?
• A good way to check the logical flow of your
  ideas is to outline your report AFTER youve
  completed your draft.
• What organises your text? Questions/Hypothesis/Cla
  ims
• Does each section contribute to your readers
  understanding of your topic? Does your report
  service your purpose, aims, and objectives?

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Revising

• Outline each section. How does each paragraph
  contribute to our understanding of the topic of
  that section?
• Take a close look at paragraphs Does each
  paragraph have a central idea? Does it have
  unity? Is it coherent and well developed?
• Is there a correspondence between the title of
  your report, your section headings and
  sub-headings and the central ideas in your
  paragraphs?

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Flow

• Logical method of development
• Effective transition signals
• Good signposting
• Consistent point of view
• Conciseness (careful word choice)
• Clarity of expression
• Paragraph structure
• Unity
• Coherence

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Paragraph structure

• Chapters or sections are divided into paragraphs
  in a meaningful way.
• Like chapter and section headings, paragraphs
  also signal the logically organised progression
  of ideas.
• Just as an essay is guided by a thesis statement,
  a paragraph is organised around its topic
  sentence.
• A topic sentence informs the reader of the topic
  to be discussed. It contains controlling ideas
  which limit the scope of the discussion to ideas
  that are manageable in a paragraph.

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Paragraph structure Unity

• Paragraphs should be unified.
• Unity means that only one main idea is discussed
  in a paragraph. The main idea is stated in the
  topic sentence, and then each and every
  supporting sentence develops that idea (Oshima
  and Hogue, 1999 18).

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Paragraph structure Coherence

• Coherence means that your paragraph is easy to
  read and understand because
• your supporting sentences are in some kind of
  logical order
• your ideas are connected by the use of
  appropriate transition signals
• your pronoun references clearly point to the
  intended antecedent and is consistent
• you have repeated or substituted key nouns.
  (Oshima and Hogue, 2006 22)

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Revising

• Do the methods used to illuminate your topic lead
  to logical discovery?
• No truths are self-evident.
• Claims have to be defended with evidence.
• Processes have to be described and explained
• Design features and research methods have to be
  justified
• The justification for generalisations and
  conclusions need to be made explicit
• The criteria used to qualify our results also
  needs to be explicitly put forward and evaluated
  for objectivity
• Underlying assumptions need to be evaluated for
  their objectivity.

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Editing and proofreading

• This is the careful editing of each line and each
  graphic to ensure that the material is expressed
  in simple, clear correct English.
• Once the report is cogent, it must be made to be
  coherent.
• Work methodically, checking one feature at a
  time.
• Do not exclude formatting issues.
• Editing and proofreading is more than just
  grammar and punctuation it is also about voice,
  rhythm, tone, style and clarity.

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Tips for editing

• Set it aside for a few days and come back with a
  fresh eye
• Get someone else to proofread it as well as you
• Use the print preview button to check layout
• Always proofread on hardcopy
• Hold paper below the line you are proofreading
• Use the find button to make changes
• Be consistent!!

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Editing a reference list

• Check that in-text dates and page numbers match
  reference list.
• Only enter names in reference list that you have
  mentioned in your text its not a bibliography.
• Make sure that if a name is mentioned in the
  document that is in included in the reference
  list.
• Do a separate edit of your reference list,
  checking everything matches, everything is
  included and it is consistent.

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Revision Checklist

• Macro Issues
• content and organisation
• logical sequence of ideas
• audience adaptation
• purpose
• Micro Issues
• grammar
• style
• format
• Only edit one thing at a time
• Listen to your voice

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Revision Checklist

• Revising the structure
• Introduction
• A clear logical structure
• Your arguments / evidence
• Conclusion
• Revising the research methodology/design and
  methods
• Revising the content
• Accuracy
• Style
• Use of words

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Revising the structure

• Introduction
• Have you stared what you are doing and why?
• Have you outlined the structure?
• Have you mapped the plan?
• Swales (1990) CARS model
• Create a Research Space

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CARS model

• Establishing a territory
• Claiming centrality
• Reviewing items of previous research
• Establishing a niche
• Counter-claiming
• Identifying a gap
• Question-raising
• Occupying the niche
• Outlining purpose
• Swales (1990141)

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Revising the structure

• A clear logical structure
• Did you lead the reader clearly through the
  dissertation?
• Did you follow the map outlined in the
  introduction?
• Did you give directions to the reader? (Check
  coherence, topic sentences and transition
  signals.)
• Have you delivered on all your promises?

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Revising the structure

• Your arguments / evidence
• Is each argument developed sufficiently?
• Do you give enough evidence to support your
  argument?
• Do you use the appropriate language to reflect
  the evidence?
• Is the content of each paragraph relevant?
• Does irrelevant information get in the way?
• Conclusion

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Revising the research methodology

• Is the methodology appropriate?
• Are the following clear and appropriate?
• Sampling strategy
• Data collection
• Data analysis
• Are the findings presented clearly?
• Are the findings supported by sufficient data?
• How important are the findings?

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Revising the content

• Accuracy
• Facts Is the content accurate?
• Quotations Is it clear which ideas are mine /
  those of others?
• Are all sources and references acknowledged?
• Is everything in the bibliography?

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Revising the content

• Style / use of words
• Are there words, phrases, sentences or paragraphs
  that are unnecessary?
• Will the reader get lost in long sentences?
• Are there any obscure / ambiguous words?
• Is the appropriate voice used?
• Are there unnecessary modifiers?
• Final read
• Does it flow smoothly / read well?
• Is it interesting?
• Is the pace / rhythm appropriate?
• Does it look neat and professional?

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New writers errors(Murray, 20054)

• Writing too much about the problem.
• Overstating the problem and claiming too much
  for their solution.
• Overstating the critique of others work.
• Not saying what they mean, losing focus through
  indirect writing.
• Putting too many ideas in one paper.

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Sample comments

• The main criticism of the thesis is that the
  research was not focused enough in the topic
  under discussion.
• There was a sense of stop start throughout
  the thesis, particularly in the earlier chapters
  making it a challenge to follow the argument.
• A bit unwieldy, lacking clarity and focus. A
  research topic needs to be more than
  interesting.
• Descriptive analysis only and little basis to
  support conclusions.
• The qualitative approach was very subjective -
  this needed additional explanation.

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Writing strategies

• Where and when do you write?
• Why are you not writing?
• Write about why you are having difficulty making
  advances in your paper
• I dont feel ready to write.
• Writers block

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Writing strategies

• Why write about why you are having difficulty?
• It gets the fingers tapping and the cerebral
  juices flowing.
• An awareness of fears and anxieties helps you to
  develop strategies to overcome those emotional
  roadblocks.
• You may discover that the reason that you are
  having difficulty is that there is some chink in
  the logic of your argument that you must either
  fill or that requires a major rethinking of the
  line of reasoning.

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Writing strategies

• Getting unstuck
• Writing to prompts/freewriting (write anything)
• Set writing goals
• Write regularly
• Integrate writing into your thinking
• Break it down into a manageable process
• Be patient
• Be creative
• Taking pleasure in writing
• Be proud of your writing

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Writing strategies

• Dont allow yourself to freeze up. When you are
  feeling overwhelmed
• Satisfy yourself with small advances until you
  feel more confident and unstuck.
• Seek help. Talk to friends. Talk about how you
  feel, but talk about your ideas as well.
• Eat lots of ice cream and candy.

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Writing a page 98 paper

• Early to establish direction/focus
• Associate your project with the literature
• Distinguish your project from the literature
• Build on research question/hypothesis
• Focus reading/thinking
• Manageable writing task 325 words
• To develop thinking about your thesis thesis?
• Late to focus thinking as you draft conclusion
  and revise your introduction
• (Murray, 2006 105)

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Writing a page 98 paper

• My research question is (50 words)
• Researchers who have looked at this subject are
  (50 words)
• They argue that (25 words)
• Debate centres on the issue of (25 words)
• There is work to be done on (25 words)
• My research is closest to that of X in that (50
  words)
• My contribution will be (50 words)
• (Murray, 2006 104)

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Peer support

• Dialogue about writing
• Getting feedback on writing
• Peer-review
• Generative writing
• The writing sandwich (Murray, 200585)
  writing, talking, writing
• Writing buddies (Murray and Moore, 2006102)
• Writers groups
• Writers retreats

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Works cited

• Brown, R. (1994/1995) Write Right First Time,
  Literati Club, Articles on Writing and
  Publishing, Special Issue for Authors and
  Editors.
• Elbow, P. (1973) Writing without Teachers. New
  York Oxford University Press.
• Murray, R. (2005) Writing for Academic Journals.
  UK Open University Press.
• Murray, R. (2006) How to Write a Thesis. UK Open
  University Press.
• Murray, R. and Moore, S. (2006) The Handbook of
  Academic Writing A Fresh Approach. UK Open
  University Press.
• Oshima, A. and Hogue, A. (2006) Writing Academic
  English, 4th ed. New York Pearson Education.
• Swales, J. (1990) Genre Analysis. Cambridge
  Cambridge University Press.