Writing this thesis was one of the most challenging – and rewarding – experiences from my time here at Indiana University. Unfortunately, the work itself was often more challenging than rewarding throughout the semester, and there were many mistakes I made in the writing process that made it that way. However, with some needed reflection, I have thought about those mistakes and the ways you guys could possibly avoid them during the writing of your thesis.
Mistake #1: Starting data collection/analysis extremely late
At its current state, the honors thesis class touches on data analysis pretty late into the semester. Although you could reasonably get all of your collection and analysis done during and after that module – which was around the beginning of March for my class, I highly recommend that you discuss with your thesis advisor before then about how you should collect your data and what you should be collecting as soon as possible. I was cleaning and analyzing data up until the week of the presentation, even being so bold as to switch my analysis method a week before the presentation. Don’t do that. Start as soon as possible.
Mistake #2: Keeping an inconsistent writing schedule
Nothing slows down your progress on the thesis like not regularly writing. You will probably read a chapter out of a required book that pushes this lesson already, but I’ll put it here as well for emphasis: put aside time to write and commit to that schedule. Whether you delete a hundred words or write a thousand, commit to your schedule and always do something productive during it; it doesn’t matter what that productive thing is. Don’t be like me who woke up late a few times, said screw it, and watched old cartoons until my writing session was done. Although Batman the Animated Series is an amazing show, it became less amazing when I realized I was behind on my writing (still good though).
Mistake #3: Burning out
Although I told you one of my mistakes was not writing regularly enough, you also have to take into consideration your mental and physical health. After a few missed writing sessions, I vowed to never miss another one again and even filled a few weekend mornings to make up for the morning sessions I lost during the week; that was a mistake. By the time I finally finished my presentation and thesis, I was exhausted, barely able to do anything for my other classes. Just because you should write every day doesn’t mean you have to. If you are sick, tired, or have a particularly stressful assignment or exam coming up, it is okay to take a break from writing that day; just make sure you are extra productive the next time you write.
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