Thesis Writing

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Thesis Writing

• Definition and Purpose
• thesis writing, that is the writing of a research
  paper.
• A research paper usually deals with an important
• issue, factual or theoretical, and it is usually
  fairly long and well-documented.

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purpose or objectives of thesis writing

• 1. You may learn how to use libraries, how to
  read books critically and efficiently, and how to
  use books wisely and correctly. 2. You may
  familiarize yourself with the knowledge and
  mechanics necessary for writing a research paper.
  3. You may combine the course work of Thesis
  Writing with the actual preparation of your BA
  paper writing. 4. You may also gain some
  experience in writing long papers or reports,
  which most probably will be part of your future
  work.

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Thesis writing consists of three parts 1.
Steps 2. Format 3. A sample

• Steps
• Generally speaking, you go through five steps
  or stages in the process of preparing a research
  paper 1.choosing a topic 2.collecting
  information 3.analyzing the information,
  organizing ideas, and working out an outline
  4.writing the first draft and 5.revising the
  draft and finalizing the paper.

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Unit 1Choosing a Topic

• Goals
• 1. Become aware of the importance of choosing a
  manageable topic in the process of writing of a
  research paper.
• 2.Learn to follow the 4 steps in choosing a
  topic.

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go from the general to the specific in the
following way

• 1) Selecting a general topic 2) Reading and
  thinking 3) Narrowing down the scope of
  your topic to a specific aspect 4) Formulating
  the final topic.

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Sample

• General topic 20th Century American Novelists
• Restricted Hemingway and His Works
• More restricted Hemingway and His Short Stories
• Topic chosen Old People in Hemingway's Short
  Stories

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Unit 2Collecting Information

• Goals
• 1. Learn to use the library.2. Be able to
  read books and other materials in the right
  way.3. Learn to take reading notes.

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Information

• Information here refers to the material you will
  need for your research. It is impossible for you
  to write a paper of some significance without any
  information, and the quality and quantity of the
  information you have for your paper show the
  depth of your research. You should begin
  collecting the necessary information for your
  paper the moment you begin your research and you
  are supposed to keep on doing this till the end
  of your research.

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1. Using the library

• In a library, books are arranged alphabetically
  according to their authors, titles and the
  subjects they belong to. That is to say each book
  has an author card, a title card and one or more
  subject cards in the card catalogue rooms.
  Nowadays, most libraries are computerized and the
  books are arranged in the same way as in the card
  catalogue rooms

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2. Reading

• You should learn to read books quickly and
  critically. It is not always necessary to read an
  article from beginning to end or a book from
  cover to cover.
• it is necessary to know what has been said about
  the book and who has said so.
• try to find the latest edition of the book and
  compare what is said in it with what other books
  say on the same topic.

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3. Taking notes

• Rules for note-taking1) Take notes on cards, or
  on separate pieces of paper.2) Place only one
  note on a card.
• 3) Be selective.

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Information on a note card

• Every note card should contain two kinds of
  information1) the fact, idea or opinion, and
  2) the source. Since you have the complete data
  for the source on your bibliography card, you
  need to give yourselves just enough information
  on the note card to refer to the appropriate
  bibliographical reference. Usually, the author's
  last name and the page number from which you take
  the information will be sufficient.

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Sample
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Kinds of notes

• Basically, there are three major kinds of
  notes the direct quotation, the paraphrase, and
  the summary.
• The direct quotation is a note that takes down
  the exact wording of a particular effective
  statement on a subject.
• The paraphrase is a note that takes down the
  information of a source in your own words.
• The summary is a note that abstracts and
  condenses a large amount of material into a small
  space.
• Whichever method you use, you must
  cite the source of the information.

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Unit 3 Analyzing the Information ,Organizing
Ideas ,Working Out an Outline

• Goals
• Learn to analyze your information and organize
  your ideas to work out a thesis statement for
  your paper.
• Learn to write an outline for your paper

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1. The thesis statement

• The thesis statement is the central idea of your
  research paper. The thesis Statement is usually a
  single sentence that expresses the main point of
  view on your topic.
• In your thesis statement, you should only state
  the central idea of your paper. Words like "I
  intend to", "The purpose of this paper is
  to", or "The method of research I am going to
  adopt is" should not appear in your thesis
  statement.

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Sample

• Topic
• Confucius' Main Teaching Methods and Their
  Applicability to China's Education Today
• Thesis statement 
• Confucius' elicitation method of teaching and
  that of teaching students in accordance with
  their aptitude are still applicable to China's
  education today.

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2. Outlining

• An outline is the framework of a research paper.
  The outline will help you organize your ideas and
  put your material in good order.
• a topic outline, in which all the parts of your
  paper are laid out in short phrases.
• a sentence outline, in which all points of your
  paper are expressed in complete sentences.

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Unit 4 Writing the First Draft

• Goals
• When writing your paper, learn to1. use your own
  words,2. use the proper tenses,3. unite facts
  and views,4. pay attention to logic and
  organization,5. make your tone objective rather
  than personal, and6. choose the right style.

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1. Using your own words

• The basic principle is that the paper must be
  yours - your ideas, your organization, and for
  the most part, your own words

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2. Using the proper tenses

• 1) When you are dealing with an event or a
  concept of the past, the past tense should be
  your basic tense.
• Sample 1
• Confucius often encouraged his disciples to
  express their own ideas so that they would form
  the habit of active thinking. When a student was
  too timid to express his ideas, the Master urged
  him on in a most friendly manner, and did not
  command him with the severity of an old-style
  Chinese teacher.

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2) Biographical details of a person's life should
normally be reported in the past tense.Sample
2 Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) was born in 1899
in Oak Park, Illinois. His father was a
successful and well-to-do physician who enjoyed
hunting and fishing in his spare time. He often
took young Hemingway with him while hunting or
fishing and initiated him into the virtues of
sportsman. It is said that Dr. Hemingway left his
son not only a way of life but also a way of
death.
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3) If you mention events in a story in a
chronological order, you should use the simple
present tense for all. But the simple past tense
or the present perfect tense should be used for
an event that happened before one that has been
mentioned.

• Sample 3
• Here is a summary of The Scarlet Letter in The
  Oxford Companion to American Literature. An
  aged English scholar sends his young wife, Hester
  Prynne, to establish their home in Boston. When
  he arrives two years later, he finds Hester in
  the pillory with her illegitimate child in her
  arms. She refuses to name her lover and is
  sentenced to wear a scarlet A, signifying
  Adulteress, as a token of her sin. The husband
  conceals his identity, assumes the name Roger
  Chillingworth, and in the guise of a doctor seeks
  to discover her paramour. Hester, a woman of
  strong, independent nature, in her ostracism
  becomes sympathetic with other unfortunates, and
  her works of mercy gradually win her the respect
  of her neighbors. Chillingworth meanwhile
  discovers that the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, a
  revered, seemingly saintly young minister, is the
  father of Hester's beautiful, mischievous child,
  Pearl. Dimmesdale has struggled for years with
  his burden of hidden guilt, but, though he does
  secret penance, pride prevents him from
  confessing publicly, and he continues to be
  tortured by his conscience. Chillingworth's life
  is ruined by his preoccupation with his cruel
  search, and he becomes a morally degraded
  monomaniac. Hester wishes her lover to flee with
  her to Europe, but he refuses the plan as a
  temptation from the Evil One, and makes a public
  confession on the pillory in which Hester had
  once been placed. He dies there in her arms, a
  man broken by his concealed guilt, but Hester
  lives on, triumphant over her sin because she
  openly confessed it, to devote herself to
  assuring a happy life in Europe for Pearl, and
  helping others in misfortune.

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4) The present tense should also be used for your
comments on the content of a book or the language
and style of an author.

• Sample 4
• Saul Bellow is regarded by many as "probably
  the most important living American novelist".
  Seize the Day is considered to be Bellow's
  greatest achievement, and one of the great short
  novels written by an American.

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5) When you quote from an authority, the
reporting verb can also be in the present tense.

• Sample 5
• Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951), the first American
  Nobel Prize winner for literature says that
  "Dreiser... more than any other man, marching
  alone, usually unappreciated, often hated, has
  cleared the trail from Victorian and Howellsian
  timidity and gentility in the American fiction to
  honesty, boldness and passion of life."

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3. Uniting facts and views

• a good paper is marked by the unity of facts and
  views. Your paper is not good if it just
  expresses a lot of views, even good ones, without
  strong supporting facts.
• Your paper is not good either if the facts, even
  interesting ones, in it do not support your view
  or views.

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4. Paying attention to logic and organization

• Views should be developed logically and facts
  should be used to support your views at the right
  time and in the right place.

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5. Making your tone objective rather than
personal

• our paper is supposed to be an academic research
  paper dealing with an important issue and the
  conclusion you draw should be based only on
  relevant facts and careful analyses of facts, but
  not on personal likes or dislikes. Your arguments
  will be convincing if they are well grounded and
  presented in an objective tone.

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6. Choosing the right style

• The style of a paper is largely determined by
  personal preference and naturally it varies from
  person to person. But for the students who are
  learning to write a research paper, it is
  advisable to use the formal, written style. You
  should do your best to make your paper easy for
  your reader to understand. Your language should
  be simple, clear, straightforward and smooth.
  Florid expressions or unnecessarily complicated
  structures should be avoided. You should remember
  that pompous language and complicated structures
  do not make a good research paper. You should
  also try to put the quotations into your paper as
  naturally as possible to guarantee that the whole
  paper is smooth and the style consistent.

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Unit 5Revising the Draft and Finalizing the
Paper

• unified, coherent and clear.
• a unified point of view
• ideas are logically developed,
• facts and views in your paper are properly
  arranged
• correct all the technical errors
• make a clear copy of your paper and proofread it
  carefully