Notes on a Thesis

Notes on a Thesis

Author: Tiphaine Rivière

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2016-10-06

Total Pages: 181

ISBN-13: 1473524482

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‘This is a book for anyone who has ever laboured under a deadline, battled a stubborn pig of a boss, or half drowned beneath a wave of bureaucracy and paperwork. Put off what you intended to do today and go out and buy it, right now.’ Rachel Cooke, Observer An Observer Book of the Year Shortlisted for the TA First Translation Prize 2017 When Jeanne is accepted on to a PhD course, she is over the moon, brimming with excitement and grand plans – but is the world ready for her masterful analysis of labyrinth motifs in Kafka’s The Trial? At first Jeanne throws herself into research with great enthusiasm, but as time goes by, it becomes clear that things aren’t quite going according to plan. Notes on a Thesis is a reminder of the strangeness of academia, of every awful essay, every disastrous exam, and every insanity-inducing dissertation. If you’ve ever stared gloomily at a blank page, battled with office administrators or driven yourself (and everyone you know) mad by droning on about your work, then Notes on a Thesis will make you laugh (or cry) in recognition.


Writing for Social Scientists

Writing for Social Scientists

Author: Howard S. Becker

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2008-11-15

Total Pages: 424

ISBN-13: 0226041379

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Students and researchers all write under pressure, and those pressures—most lamentably, the desire to impress your audience rather than to communicate with them—often lead to pretentious prose, academic posturing, and, not infrequently, writer’s block. Sociologist Howard S. Becker has written the classic book on how to conquer these pressures and simply write. First published nearly twenty years ago, Writing for Social Scientists has become a lifesaver for writers in all fields, from beginning students to published authors. Becker’s message is clear: in order to learn how to write, take a deep breath and then begin writing. Revise. Repeat. It is not always an easy process, as Becker wryly relates. Decades of teaching, researching, and writing have given him plenty of material, and Becker neatly exposes the foibles of academia and its “publish or perish” atmosphere. Wordiness, the passive voice, inserting a “the way in which” when a simple “how” will do—all these mechanisms are a part of the social structure of academic writing. By shrugging off such impediments—or at the very least, putting them aside for a few hours—we can reform our work habits and start writing lucidly without worrying about grades, peer approval, or the “literature.” In this new edition, Becker takes account of major changes in the computer tools available to writers today, and also substantially expands his analysis of how academic institutions create problems for them. As competition in academia grows increasingly heated, Writing for Social Scientists will provide solace to a new generation of frazzled, would-be writers.


How to Write a Thesis

How to Write a Thesis

Author: Umberto Eco

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2015-02-27

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 0262328763

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The wise and witty guide to researching and writing a thesis, by the bestselling author of The Name of the Rose—now published in English for the first time. Learn the art of the thesis from a giant of Italian literature and philosophy—from choosing a topic to organizing a work schedule to writing the final draft. By the time Umberto Eco published his best-selling novel The Name of the Rose, he was one of Italy’s most celebrated intellectuals, a distinguished academic, and the author of influential works on semiotics. Some years before that, Eco published a little book for his students, in which he offered useful advice on all the steps involved in researching and writing a thesis. Since then, it has been translated into 17 languages—and is now for the first time presented in English. Eco’s approach is anything but dry and academic. He not only offers practical advice but also considers larger questions about the value of the thesis-writing exercise in six different parts: • The Definition and Purpose of a Thesis • Choosing the Topic • Conducting the Research • The Work Plan and the Index Cards • Writing the Thesis • The Final Draft Eco advises students how to avoid “thesis neurosis” and he answers the important question “Must You Read Books?” He reminds students “You are not Proust” and “Write everything that comes into your head, but only in the first draft.” Of course, there was no Internet in 1977, but Eco’s index card research system offers important lessons about critical thinking and information curating for students of today who may be burdened by Big Data. Irreverent and often hilarious, How to Write a Thesis is unlike any other writing manual and belongs on the bookshelves of students, teachers, writers, and Eco fans everywhere.


Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day

Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day

Author: Joan Bolker

Publisher: Holt Paperbacks

Published: 1998-08-15

Total Pages: 206

ISBN-13: 1429968885

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Expert writing advice from the editor of the Boston Globe best-seller, The Writer's Home Companion Dissertation writers need strong, practical advice, as well as someone to assure them that their struggles aren't unique. Joan Bolker, midwife to more than one hundred dissertations and co-founder of the Harvard Writing Center, offers invaluable suggestions for the graduate-student writer. Using positive reinforcement, she begins by reminding thesis writers that being able to devote themselves to a project that truly interests them can be a pleasurable adventure. She encourages them to pay close attention to their writing method in order to discover their individual work strategies that promote productivity; to stop feeling fearful that they may disappoint their advisors or family members; and to tailor their theses to their own writing style and personality needs. Using field-tested strategies she assists the student through the entire thesis-writing process, offering advice on choosing a topic and an advisor, on disciplining one's self to work at least fifteen minutes each day; setting short-term deadlines, on revising and defing the thesis, and on life and publication after the dissertation. Bolker makes writing the dissertation an enjoyable challenge.


From Topic to Thesis

From Topic to Thesis

Author: Michael Kibbe

Publisher: InterVarsity Press

Published: 2015-12-31

Total Pages: 156

ISBN-13: 0830899812

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Every theology student has to write a research paper, but many do not know how to go about doing theological research. In this brief guide, Michael Kibbe introduces students to the basics of academic research, including how to gather and engage different sources, use online databases and bibliography software, and avoid common mistakes.


How to Write a BA Thesis, Second Edition

How to Write a BA Thesis, Second Edition

Author: Charles Lipson

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2018-12-05

Total Pages: 456

ISBN-13: 022643107X

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How to Write a BA Thesis is the only book that directly addresses the needs of undergraduate students writing a major paper. This book offers step-by-step advice on how to move from early ideas to finished paper. It covers choosing a topic, selecting an advisor, writing a proposal, conducting research, developing an argument, writing and editing the thesis, and making through a defense. Lipson also acknowledges the challenges that arise when tackling such a project, and he offers advice for breaking through writer’s block and juggling school-life demands. This is a must-read for anyone writing a BA thesis, or for anyone who advises these students.


Work Your Career

Work Your Career

Author: Loleen Berdahl

Publisher: University of Toronto Press

Published: 2018-01-01

Total Pages: 232

ISBN-13: 1487594267

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"The supposed extinction of the Indigenous Beothuk people of Newfoundland in the early nineteenth century is a foundational moment in Canadian history. Increasingly under scrutiny, non-Indigenous perceptions of the Beothuk have had especially dire and far-reaching ramifications for contemporary Indigenous people in Newfoundland and Labrador. Tracing Ochre reassesses popular beliefs about the Beothuk. Placing the group in global context, Fiona Polack and a diverse collection of contributors juxtapose the history of the Beothuk with the experiences of other Indigenous peoples outside of Canada, including those living in former British colonies as diverse as Tasmania, South Africa, and the islands of the Caribbean. Featuring contributions of Indigenous and non-Indigenous thinkers from a wide range of scholarly and community backgrounds, Tracing Ochre aims to definitively shift established perceptions of a people who were among the first to confront European colonialism in North America."--


How to Write a Thesis

How to Write a Thesis

Author: Rowena Murray

Publisher:

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 9780335207183

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"How to Write a Thesis can be read with profit by anyone who writes professionally, whether proposals, reports, monographs or a thesis. It is oriented to someone writing a PhD thesis, but has a lot to say about writing in general. It deals with the process of writing rather than detailed content, and is applicable regardless of discipline" SRA "This is the book that all PhD supervisors and their students have been waiting for: the first comprehensive overview of the many different writing practices, and processes, involved in the production of a doctoral thesis. Crammed full of explanations, shortcuts and tips, this book demystifies academic writing in one fell swoop. Everyone who reads it will be massively enabled as a writer." Professor Lynne Pearce, Associate Dean for Postgraduate Teaching, University of Lancaster "Rowena Murray's down-to-earth approach both recognises and relieves some of the agony of writing a PhD. The advice in this book is both practical and motivational; sometimes it's 'PhD-saving' too. By using Rowena Murray's techniques of regular snacking, instead of occasional bingeing, I managed to rescue my PhD from near-death at a time of work overload." Christine Sinclair, Part-time PhD student and lecturer in Educational Development, University of Paisley This book evolved from fifteen years' experience of teaching thesis writing. The contents have been tried and tested with postgraduates and academics. Early chapters explore the ambiguities and subtleties of thesis writing in detail. Later chapters are more compact, listing steps in the writing process. All chapters provide examples to illustrate techniques and activities to progress writing.


Writing a Successful Thesis Or Dissertation

Writing a Successful Thesis Or Dissertation

Author: Fred C. Lunenburg

Publisher: Corwin Press

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 353

ISBN-13: 141294225X

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This comprehensive manual offers direction for every step of the thesis or dissertation process, from choosing an appropriate topic to adapting the finished work for publication.


Strategies for Writing a Thesis by Publication in the Social Sciences and Humanities

Strategies for Writing a Thesis by Publication in the Social Sciences and Humanities

Author: Lynn P. Nygaard

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-10-12

Total Pages: 165

ISBN-13: 0429537263

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Responding to the growing popularity of the thesis by publication within doctoral education, this book offers practical advice and critical discussion of some of the central choices and challenges that PhD students considering dissertation options face. Drawing on current research and informed by extensive experience of working with and running workshops for PhD candidates who write article-based dissertations, this book gives readers an idea of what writing a thesis by publication entails – what its purpose is, what the various expectations might be for this emerging genre, and what the challenges might be in writing one. Particular emphasis is put on how to put the individual articles together to create a coherent thesis that clarifies the student’s individual original contribution. Written primarily for students, Strategies for Writing a Thesis by Publication in the Social Sciences and Humanities covers key topics such as: how the genre has developed, with an emphasis on the role of the narrative (introductory text) that accompanies the articles typical rhetorical challenges that writers of such dissertations face strategies for handling the writing process specific challenges of demonstrating doctorateness in the thesis by publication and strategies for addressing them institutional variations that the thesis writer should seek clarification on as early as possible structural elements of the narrative and their main functions the range of choices that can be made throughout the doctoral journey and thesis writing. This book is a must-read for PhD candidates and supervisors new to the genre, as well as those involved in directing PhD programmes who are interested in the pedagogical implications of the move towards article-based dissertations. The 'Insider Guides to Success in Academia' offers support and practical advice to doctoral students and early-career researchers. Covering the topics that really matter, but which often get overlooked, this indispensable series provides practical and realistic guidance to address many of the needs and challenges of trying to operate, and remain, in academia. These neat pocket guides fill specific and significant gaps in current literature. Each book offers insider perspectives on the often implicit rules of the game -- the things you need to know but usually aren't told by institutional postgraduate support, researcher development units, or supervisors -- and will address a practical topic that is key to career progression. They are essential reading for doctoral students, early-career researchers, supervisors, mentors, or anyone looking to launch or maintain their career in academia.