Writing is an integral part of school life, and it is, therefore, essential for every student to learn the steps of writing a good thesis. Writing a thesis is divided into various phases, including pre-writing, research (if needed), and drafting, revising, and lastly, editing and proofreading. Pre-writing is an essential part of the writing process as it sets up a foundation for the whole thesis. At this step, the writer ascertains the aim, the audience, the argument, and an outline of the work.
Additionally, preliminary research can be done on the topic during this step. The pre-writing step is essential as it helps the writer avoid confusion and minimize block while writing. The pre-writing process entails determining the purpose and audience of the paper, gathering the preliminary research materials, and formulating the thesis statement and outline ( Stute, M. 2010 ).
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The writer begins researching the paper at this stage. Reading is an essential process of writing, and a writer needs to be aware of as much knowledge as possible. After the assignment of a topic the initial step of every writer is to conduct a reaserch on the given topic. It’s nearly impossible to present factual writing on topics that are not researched. The worthwhile insights and information are gained though sufficient reading of the topic’s contents. You can use both library and internet sources.
Moreover, the writer needs to gather the necessary tools required to write the paper, including physical devices such as paper, pencil, pen, computer, etc. and choose the right environment such as at home, the laboratory, the library, etc. A suitable environment protects the writer from distractions, such as noise from other people, music, or even the distractions of automobiles. To concentrate, a conducive environment for concentration should be set up. What is more, a quiet environment also enhances meditation for the writer if need be. This is important for the peace of mind needed for quality writing.
During the pre-writing step, it is essential to formulate the thesis statement. Before writing the thesis statement, the writer should determine the type of paper they are working on, whether it is analytical expository or argumentative ( Purdue Writing Lab, n.d. ). The thesis statement should be specific, stating what is covered in the paper. The statement is often situated at the end of the introduction. Notably, the thesis statement can change as you write the paper; you should revise the statement to reflect what is discussed in the paper.
The outline of a thesis is vital as it offers the writer a guideline on the next steps to take. The structure of the thesis begins with a title, abstract, table of content, introduction paragraph, body paragraphs, and finally, the concluding paragraph. The title ought to offer the readers an idea of what is in the paper. It ought to be precise and captivating. The table of content gives the reader a sense of organization and logic of the work. The abstract should offer an excellent and clear summary of the thesis because this part will the most widely published and read. The abstract aims to answer questions such as, what did you do? Why did you do it? How did you do it? What did you find out? Why does it matter? ( Writing the Thesis, 2010 )The introduction is the next section that will be most widely read. It includes a hook at the beginning to motivate the reader to read the rest of your thesis.
Paragraphing is another crucial part of essay writing. The paragraph should have three main components, including the topic sentence, supporting sentences entailing various illustrations and examples of what is in the topic sentence and a concluding sentence ( Paragraph Structure, 2011 ). However, there is a slight uniqueness in the introductory and concluding paragraphs since these two do not always follow the same structure. The introduction paragraph should have a general statement to introduce the topic and give a background of the topic and a thesis statement to specify the main idea. The introductory paragraph should be interesting, flow logically, and kept short and to the point. It introduces the topic of the thesis and presents its main idea. An introduction entails a statement of goal, enough background for the audience, focused on the thesis question(s), explain the scope of work, and inform the reader what lies ahead. Conversely, the concluding paragraph has a summary of important concepts of the paper or restatement of the thesis and the personal verdict of the issues using factual evidence cited in the paper. The concluding paragraph should be introduced using a conclusion transition signal including in conclusion, in summary, in short, and indeed.
One of the challenges in writing a thesis or any other academic work is to have a document that flows smoothly and is easy to read ( Lovitts & Wert, 2009) . Before writing your thesis, you should decide the tense to use and be consistent throughout the paper, whether you chose past tense, present tense, and future tense. Most academic writing is written in the present tense, which can be used to refer to current events but not limited to, present moments during the writing process. Another aspect of ensuring a smooth flow of ideas is coherence and cohesion. Cohesion is a sense of flow that indicates the relationship between sentences, while integration is a sense of the whole when all the sentences connect to build a complete image. Coherence and cohesion allow the writer to control the smooth flow of ideas and present in a detailed manner, making the paper easy to read. Linking expressions such as, besides, moreover, meanwhile, finally, therefore, however, for example, in general, consequently, among others, are used to connect sentences and paragraphs.
When writing, the writer should be aware of and avoid different problems of sentence structuring. There are five common structural problems. Firstly is, sentence fragment, characterized by incomplete sentences within a paragraph. Fragments often miss a verb or a subject or may only have a dependent clause. The second problem is a run-on sentence ( Oshima & Hogue, 2007 ). Run-on sentences have several independent clauses written with incorrect or without punctuation. The third mistake is the use of choppy sentences characterized by their extreme shortness. It’s noteworthy that brief sentences can be efficient. However, the repetitive use of short sentences is regarded as a poor style in writing academic papers. The fourth common mistake is the use of sprawl sentences. This sentence is composed of numerous clauses with excessive coordination and subordination. Other errors in sprawl sentences include weak sentence construction and the use of disorderly phrases. The fifth problem is the use of non-parallel structure. These are part of a sentence that is listed as a sequence, but it does not adhere to the same structural or grammatical principle. Parallelism in writing implies that all the items in a comparison or a list ought to adhere to the same grammatical format.
Generally, when writing your thesis, you should ensure you have a clear outline of your work, always keep contact with your supervisor throughout the writing process, revise your paper more than once and ask for constructive feedback from colleagues or your supervisor. You should also ensure originality by avoiding plagiarism and set goals and deadlines for your thesis. A well planned out writing results into a good paper writing. Failure to plan, more often than not, leads to poor paper writing.
References
Purdue Writing Lab. (n.d.). Purdue OWL // Purdue Writing Lab. Retrieved from https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/purdue_owl.html
Oshima, A., & Hogue, A. (2007). Introduction to academic writing (p. 3). Pearson/Longman.
Lovitts, B. E., & Wert, E. L. (2009). Developing quality dissertations in the social sciences: A graduate student's guide to achieving excellence . Stylus Publishing, LLC..
Stute, M. (2010). How to Write Your Thesis. Retrieved January 21, 2020, from http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/~martins/sen_sem/thesis_org.html
Writing the Thesis. (2010, March 4). Retrieved January 21, 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHHtfO-Bu1M&feature=related
Paragraph Structure. (2011, May 29). Retrieved January 21, 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo7SQY2yvOc
