Top 5 Writing Tips For Those Who Want To Complete A Thesis Successfully

It’s true there comes a time during one’s thesis journey that you feel the work is a lot more than you ever expected. Being a graduate student and meeting all the academic challenges is no piece of cake. Former graduates who have successfully completed their thesis research and written their papers offer a few pieces of advice to see you through.

1. Start early. Start thinking and planning as early as you can. Start writing down ideas as soon as you realize you are going to go for your master’s or doctorate degree. Start collecting lists of ideas. This notebook should be with you at all times. You never know when or where some creative genius will strike you.
2. Choose wisely when it comes to your advisor. This is someone who you will need to rely on, get along with, get mentored from, get honest feedback from and spend time with. They need to be someone you can engage academically with and who has the time and interest to help you on this journey.
3. Pay equally good attention to your committee. You need people who can work well with each other. Your advisor should have a big hand in helping you choose this committee.
4. Choose your topic with great care. It’s worth taking a little extra time to do this. Remember it needs to be narrow, laser-focused. It needs to be manageable and something you can reasonably complete in the allotted time. You don’t want to still be in graduate school ten or twenty years from now. Your adviser can give you a lot of advice in this area. Make sure your question is interesting enough you won’t lose your energy and interest in finishing your thesis.
5. Schedule regular meetings so you can stay in touch and seek help and advice from your adviser. They have a broad view of your topic and the process you must go through to complete each part of the research and the writing. Have an agenda and keep a schedule and live by it as strictly as possible. This is imperative in staying on track and making sure you don’t get behind schedule for completion. Ask for help if you need to. It’s much better to seek help early while there’s still plenty of time to iron out the wrinkles than wait until the night before it’s due.