...------------------------------------------------- Thesis Writing: A Guide for Students By Jennifer Swenson The Sparrow’s introduction to thesis writing is a clear-cut and comprehensive tool for those who are about to embark on one of the more difficult projects in all of academia. Thesis writing is not an art; rather, it is the product of many months of research and painstaking hard work. Whether you are writing a master’s thesis, a PhD thesis, or any other form of this venerable genre, I hope this guide will serve you well. Thesis Writing Background What is a thesis? A thesis is essentially a research report. It addresses a very specific issue and describes what is known about that issue, what work the student has done to investigate or resolve it, and how that issue may play out in the future. It is the thesis writer’s responsibility to familiarize her with the history of the issue and the different points of view that exist. The thesis writer works with a mentor who is an expert in the field that the thesis concerns, but not necessarily an expert on that exact topic. Usually thesis topics are so specific that very few people in the world except the thesis writer herself could be considered an expert on them. Your thesis writing will make a contribution to the field about which you are writing, and in a larger sense, to all of human knowledge. A thesis is distinctively different from an undergraduate research report because it is so original. How Specific Should My Thesis Get? When writing a thesis, you should...
Words: 2925 - Pages: 12
...The story under the title “Cat in the Rain” was written by Ernest Hemingway, one of the most favourite American novelists, short-story writer and essayist, whose deceptively simple prose style has influenced wide range of writers. So, the story begins with the description of the hotel where two Americans stopped. It was raining, that’s why the couple stayed in and just a cat in the rain attracted the young woman’s attention. She wanted to get the cat inside but failed and was brought another cat. The problem of the story lies very deeply and we are to uncover it. The story is written in one mood which constantly and directly increases. It starts from the beginning where it’s created by a persistent and repeated use of the “rain” with a number of phrases associating it, such as puddles, deserted square, glistening war monument. Repetition is one of the widely used and favourite stylistic devices of Hemingway. Here he applies it to reveal the relationship of the protagonist to the old hotel owner (she liked ... , she liked...). As the verb “to like” is not used to characterize relations of the wife to her husband, this contrast is full of the concealed but easily read meaning. Though the cases of repetition in the story may seem a bit obtrusive, their modifications enter into the core of the narration very organically. They carry emotional character, however penetrating the story the deep sorrow becomes evident gradually. We realize that little, as if meaningless, capricious...
Words: 536 - Pages: 3
...wrote about my life, the summer vacations or silly, imaginary things. I felt intimidated by the prospect of having to fill a page as much as by the endlessness of those first minutes I needed to find a start over than, “Once upon a time.” I like to write. My first experience as a writer started in elementary, around age 12 when I wrote a story. Every now and then, during English class, we were told to write. As I recall, the assignment mostly was to “write about anything” which was very exciting. My Aunt Carol helped me plans ideas for my story. Then, we sat to write down what we had processed. My story was coming together very well. My story was a great, it was about a haunted house out in the country. This is where my writing took off. When I received my paper back from the teacher, she gave me an A on my story. Everyone in my family was so happy for me. My experience as a writer has been extensive. Currently, one writes extensively for school purposes, personal, and as a hobby. For example, I write for my online English and Math classes, whether its discussion threads, questions or essays. One of my experiences that has been bothering me inside since I was a child, it was the sex abuse I encountered as a child. Like many of us, if sex abuse has not happened to you, sex abuse is an ugly thing for a child to go through. Kids at school found out, and started making fun of me. That to me was the hardest part of my childhood, but so was talking...
Words: 511 - Pages: 3
...The Writing Process COM/150 Shelly Karl The writing process I have read about in class this week most certainly differs from the way I have written in the past. After reading “The Writing Process”, I have realized how many errors I have made and why it has been hard for me to write my thoughts and ideas down clear and concisely. In the past, I have read assignments and written down my thoughts but without a plan of action or a smooth transition. I often get jumbled and jump from one idea to the next. I have had a hard time to make sure I get all my points across and sometimes I even have an issue with contradicting myself. I sometimes have so many ideas and if not written down the correct way, it can confuse the reader. I believe the easiest step for me in “The Writing Process” is the “Pre-writing” step. In that step I can jot down the things I am thinking without having to have a format and correct grammar. These things are sometimes the hardest for me. Even at my age I sometimes struggle with where to put a comma and where to put a semi-colon. I do not believe I was taught properly while in grade school. The simple foundations of writing have clearly escaped me at some point and I have noticed for a long time that I have issues in making a clear point and transition. I believe outlining for me is going to be the hardest part. Being able to take my research, thoughts and ideas and put them in to a correct format is difficult. I mentioned above that I...
Words: 495 - Pages: 2
...Writing Samples Sometimes employers request writing samples with the application materials or want them brought to an interview. Writing samples allow employers to evaluate your writing skills, communication style, and ability to express yourself. Any employer whose position requires writing skills may want samples, but writing samples are more common in publishing, public relations, advertising, media, research, and law. Content of the Sample The employer may identify the desired topic. If not, choose a subject that you are interested in and that is related to the job or field to which you are applying. Avoid controversial or politically based topics. You want the employer to focus on your style and skill as a writer, not judge what you write. Appropriate Writing Samples Just like your resume and cover letter, tailor your sample to fit the job if possible. Follow the instructions provided by the employer or in the job description. If the requirements are not specified, use the following guidelines to help you choose an appropriate sample: * Use the job posting to guide your choice and show the employer you possess the required skills. For example, if the position is research-based, provide an example of research work from your college career or for a previous employer. * Newspaper article, story for a newsletter, press release, policy brief, or research report or any other published piece. When submitting a previously published piece to an employer, be sure...
Words: 728 - Pages: 3
...Conference Room. The meeting will begin promptly at 11:00 a.m. EST and is expected to last for approximately two hours. The main purpose of the meeting is to discuss the project initiation plan and its future scope. Please bring any relevant data you have. You may need to make copies prior to the meeting so that all of us have something for reference. I suggest also that you take the time to make a list of any questions or comments you wish to make during the meeting. Such a list will ensure a more efficient and effective discussion. Please make every effort to attend. I look forward to seeing you at our meeting. Regards, John CO2520: Module 3 Developing Effective Human Communication Skills Analysis 3.1 Identifying Written Communication Styles Based on the written examples given, answer the following questions: What issues have you found in the written examples that violate the professional and ethical standards of communication? Communication research takes many forms, but there are ethical principles that apply to a communication researcher, no matter what form of research is utilized. The ethics of social scientific research has received attention from other scholarly societies, because those studies rely most heavily on the interaction between researcher and person being researched. Of...
Words: 503 - Pages: 3
...Cambridge University Press 0521534968 - Study Writing: A Course in Writing Skills for Academic Purposes, Second Edition Liz Hamp-Lyons and Ben Heasley Excerpt More information UNIT The academic writing process This unit aims to improve writing skills by: 1 e introducing the idea that writing is a set of processes r showing how to distinguish between academic and personal styles of writing t looking at the grammar of academic discourse u practising visualising text as a pre-writing step. Introduction You will already be capable of writing in English and so this course is intended to extend that skill to include the different types of written English essential for studying. In this unit, we will show you examples of both personal and formal writing and help you distinguish between them. A number of texts will be used as examples of the writing process, and you will be asked to identify the elements of grammar that indicate formal writing. In later units, we will study the processes of writing in more detail. All the later units will include opportunities to learn and practise at least one of the key grammatical elements identified here. Thinking about writing processes People set about the writing process in many different ways. They require all kinds of different situations in which to feel ‘comfortable’ when writing. Use the following short questionnaire to help you think about your own writing processes. • When you write an important text, do you make more...
Words: 3374 - Pages: 14
...of this course. It all goes by so quickly. Below I describe all of the work you’ll need to complete during this final week. SUNDAY-TUESDAY, JUNE 19-21 • Complete your research. By now, all of you should have finished all research for the upcoming Recommendation Report. If you haven’t done so, be sure to finish it on Sunday in order to leave at least two days to write the report. • Write the first draft of the Recommendation Report. Please do NOT begin writing this report on Tuesday – give yourself at least two days to work on the writing of this lengthy report. I suggest that you keep the assignment in front of you, and do feel free to take a peek, as useful, at the model Recommendation Reports that I posted in Content, Week 4. Seeing the models will give you a good idea about the organization, design, format, visuals, and length that work well for this assignment. Be careful, though, not to copy the style of writing from the samples – instead, use your own natural business writing style for this assignment. Also, keep in mind that the models don’t always adhere to my assignment criteria, so if you ever see that the models are not following the assignment requirements, follow the assignment and ignore the models. • Post a single file containing your first draft of the Recommendation Report in the dropbox by midnight, Tuesday, June 21. No extensions are possible for this first draft. Note that if I notice anyone submitting more than one file for this...
Words: 952 - Pages: 4
...topics. Carol Berkenkotter conducted a study of the writing process of an author named Donald Murray. Mike Rose's analyzed five different students and the various barriers that most contributed to their writer's block. Lucille McCarthy also conducted a study of a college student and how he interpreted the varying requirements of each class that he took. Although each writer's writing process is uniquely their own, some writers have very similar methods for completing written pieces. I found this to be true while reading...
Words: 571 - Pages: 3
...Finale The beginning of this semester I found myself in a skeptical mindset, as I had already taken a class at Hawkeye Community College that sounded quite similar to this one, namely introduction to professional writing in the workplace. To me, it seemed like I would just be paying a lot more to take a class that I had basically already taken. I found myself wondering if I would get anything more out of this class, if I would have any interest in it, and if the information would pertain at all to my hopes for the future. The first project that we worked with was resumes and cover letters which coincidently, we had already done in the class that I listed above. Fortunately, my idea of this class being just a rerun of what I had already taken was quickly thrown out of the window. I realized quite early that I would be able to create a much better piece of work and representation of myself in the...
Words: 1235 - Pages: 5
...Portfolio Reviewers: For my major, I am taking many science classes and for that reason, most of the writing I have done in previous classes has been lab reports. I also have not had an English class since my senior year of high school, so I have not had to write many papers since then. In these previous English classes, most of the writing has been research papers. Comparing this project to previous projects in other English classes, I have had much more flexibility in the topic to write about and I feel that in this class, the project topic is much more applicable to me and my interests, being that it was about my future career. Previously, I did not have much knowledge on different citation systems, how to correctly cite, and for example,...
Words: 1798 - Pages: 8
...Thank you for taking your time to provide feedback on my manuscript. I took the suggestions seriously and carefully and revised the paper accordingly. First, I have revised my abstract to highlight the importance of my study. In doing so, I have highlighted the race aspect of the paper and clearly stated major findings from the study, concluding with my contribution to the scholarship of intersectional identities. Second, I have strengthened my discussion of intersectional identities on page 5. In doing so, I have added the discussion of context-dependent salience of some identities (McCall 2001) and rely on Collins’ (2000) matrix of domination to explain how various systems of oppression affects individuals’ everyday lives as well as how...
Words: 260 - Pages: 2
...writer, I felt a lot more comfortable writing this essay than the first essay; although this was still an analytical paper, it definitely had some argumentative aspects in it. Writing in general is not my strong suit, but I feel that I really improved my sentence flow and my ability to incorporate quote in my essay. One of the parts of my essay that I am particularly happy with is my introductory paragraph. For me, the introductions and conclusions are the hardest parts of an essay; you have to introduce the topic and explain your stance, but you also don’t want to say too much so you won’t end up being repetitive throughout your essay. I feel like my introduction provides just enough information to interest the...
Words: 675 - Pages: 3
...1 Reflection Reflection is an everyday process. We reflect on a range of everyday problems and situations all the time: What went well? What didn’t? Why? How do I feel about it? We don’t usually follow a formula for this, it just happens as feelings, thoughts and emotions about something gradually ‘surface’. We might choose to do something differently, or not, as a result of reflecting, but reflection is essentially a kind of loose processing of thoughts and feelings about an incident, a meeting, a day – any event or experience at all. Reflection can be a more structured way of processing in order to deal with a problem. This type of reflection may take place when we have had time to stand back from something, or talk it through, as in: ‘On reflection, I think you might be right’, or ‘On second thoughts, I realised he was more upset than me.’ Structured reflection If we consciously reflect, maybe as part of our work or family role, there tends to be a rough process of ‘How did it go? What went well? Why? What didn’t? Why? What next?’ Examples might be of a football coach reflecting after a match, a teacher reflecting on a lesson, or simply a parent thinking about how best to deal with a teenager. In this kind of reflection, the aim is to look carefully at what happened, sort out what is really going on and explore in depth, in order to improve, or change something for next time. This brief guide will look at what is meant by reflection, suggest forms of structured...
Words: 2516 - Pages: 11
...most of my writing has been APA style writing. In fact, the three universities that I have attended in the past have all required me to use the APA style of writing. As I recall my high school years, the APA style of writing also seemed to be a favorite amongst my high school teachers. They all required that term papers be written in APA style as well. This type of writing actually does not differ much from the ones included in the text reading. The text mentioned the APA style of writing several times. In my opinion, it appears to be the most popular style of writing, especially amongst college students. Based on the results of the quizzes, my grammar skills were actually a little better than average. I actually had expected to do better, but I guess my grammar skills are not as good as I thought they were. In any event I feel very confident when it comes to spelling, as I have always been a great speller. Even in grade school, I was a good speller. I learned at a very young age to challenge myself when it comes to spelling. Challenging my-self in that area really paid off as I became older, as I’ve never had a problem with spelling. However, I feel that I need more help with run on sentences and with thought patterns. Though I proof read my paper several times, it’s hard for me to see that I have several run on sentences until after I get my grade back. In general, I feel that my writing is just mediocre. However, I also believe that when it comes to writing, I am my...
Words: 751 - Pages: 4
