Thesis Writing Tips for a Killer Thesis

If you’re in grad school now, thinking about going to grad school, or just want some tips for how to write a really important paper (whatever it may be for), you’ve come to the right place. I just finished my Master’s thesis, and these are the thesis writing tips I learned by trial and error along the way.

1. Computers are great, but nothing beats a pencil.

I’m not advocating writing your entire thesis in pencil, but you should definitely have one handy. Pencils are useful for marking up your sources (because that quote you underlined in pen yesterday may not be as useful tomorrow), editing your rough draft (because we’ve all screwed up when editing, and a cross out of a cross out is a pain in the butt), or snapping in a fit of rage when your draft fails to save. Which brings me to my next point…

2. Save often, and in multiple locations!

I can’t stress this enough. Save a copy on your computer, on your external hard drive, on your flash drive, on your roommate’s computer. Email it to your mom and print it. It may be a pain to update all of these copies regularly, but trust me, it’s worth it if your technology goes rogue and eats something. Hand in hand with this piece of advice is save on top of old drafts. If you have ten different versions saved from ten different points in the editing process, you’re eventually going to confuse yourself and work on the wrong one.

3. Do your homework, even if you’ve already done it.

Chances are, you’re going to do a lot of research initially, and then partway through writing, you’re going to find that most of your sources reference one or two other sources. If all of your articles refer to a particular book, you need to read that book, even if you don’t end up including it in your paper. The more you know, the more confident you’ll feel about your work, and the more knowledgeable and credible you’ll come across.

4. Give yourself a break.

Sometimes, you genuinely need to take a break. When the text blurs in front of your eyes, when you’ve rewritten the same sentence eight times and it still doesn’t sound right, walk away. Leave the house, go for a walk, play a game, spend time with people, take a shower, and return to work feeling refreshed. This is especially good to do after you’ve finished a section and before starting another – make a few quick notes about where you’re going next and then re-energize so you’ll get off to a strong start in the next section.

5. Talk about it.

Get used to explaining your work to others. This is a critical skill in any line of work. Explain it to your peers, your parents, your hairdresser while you’re sitting in the chair. Talking it out may reveal gaps you need to fill or issues you need to address, and a fresh perspective might help you see something you missed. Talk about it enough and these people will become your task masters and your cheerleaders, giving you the support and encouragement you need to see your project through.