Enhance Your Thesis Writing: Structure, Editing, and Finishing Tips
Discover essential tips for structuring, editing, and finishing your thesis. Learn how to review your thesis structure, gain distance from your writing, and apply critical reading techniques. Explore different thesis structures and gain insights into when your thesis is truly finished.
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Editing and Finishing Your Thesis Erika Hawkes University Graduate School
We will cover Reviewing and refining your thesis structure How to gain distance from your writing Ideas for critical readings of your own work Suggestions for editing, copy-editing and proof reading
Getting it out the door Scholars and artists believe that if they wait long enough they may find a more comprehensive and logical way to say what they think Howard S Becker Writing for Social Scientists Uni.Chicago Press 2007
WESTERN UNION 1945 JUN 28 PM 4 37 NBQ209 78=NUJ NEWYORK NY 28 422P PASCAL COVICI.VIKING PRESS= 18 EAST 48 ST= THIS IS INSTEAD OF TELEPHONING BECAUSE I CANT LOOK YOU IN THE VOICE. I SIMPLY CANNOT GET THAT THING DONE YET NEVER HAVE DONE SUCH HARD NIGHT AND DAY WORK NEVER HAVE SO WANTED ANYTHING TO BE GOOD AND ALL I HAVE IS A PILE OF PAPER COVERED WITH WRONG WORDS. CAN ONLY KEEP AT IT AND HOPE TO HEAVEN TO GET IT DONE. DONT KNOW WHY IT IS SO TERRIBLY DIFFICULT OR I SO TERRIBLY INCOMPETANT= DOROTHY. Dorothy Parker to her editor, Pascal Covici (Source Nancy Campbell archives via Letters of Note)
Finishing up It can be difficult to let go of you thesis (Alternatively you might just want to get it done!). There can be tension between the institution, who want people to finish on time, and your own desire to just do a little bit more. Ultimately I can t tell you when your thesis is finished- but I can (hopefully) give you some idea and tools for you to decide for yourself
Common thesis structures IMRAD Overview of PhD Literature review Topic one: Intro; Methods; Results; Discussion Topic two: : Intro; Methods; Results; Discussion etc Conclusion drawing strands together Thematic Overview of PhD Literature review Theory Methods Theme 1 Theme 2 Theme 3 etc Conclusion drawing strands together
Review your thesis structure What structure model does your thesis follow? Is it clear, logical, in line with discipline conventions? Can you summarise the overarching thesis argument in one sentence?
How To Critique Your Own Work It can be hard to get distance from your own work. Our writing is so personal to us that making any changes can be difficult. The playing card exercise gives you a number of different lenses or approaches to critiquing your own work.
Pick a Card 20 You ve been give 3 cards. Look at the text you bought with you and apply each of the cards in turn. Make notes or rewrite the section to reflect the different approaches.
Debrief What was hardest? What was easiest? Did you learn or consider anything new?
Thinking outside the text Charts, tables, images - where are they placed? - check captions - check legends and keys Do they add, distract from, or complement the text? Footnotes and endnotes.
Split it up There s a difference between editing, copyediting and proofreading Editing looks at structure, clarity, how easily the text is understood Copy editing and proofing are more about the presentation of the text- spelling, grammar, word agreement, layout etc
Editing your writing Top tips when editing your own work: Leave time between writing, editing, and proofing If can t leave much time, do something different for a while Remind yourself a) who the text is for b) the purpose of the piece Hear what you have written, sound the words out in your head or read out loud Know what your weaknesses are e.g. a tendency to use over- long rambling sentences When copy editing, read the text backwards to help check each word separately and as it appears on the page (rather than in your head)
Pen and paper- proofing symbols Expand, extend, say more Cut down, cut out, lose the tangent or padding Split up, rearrange, resequence Check, look up, reexamine
