Congratulations on getting started on your senior thesis! This semester (or year, whenever you are reading this) will be challenging, fun, and rewarding. There will be times when your thesis is the only thing you can think about and there will be times when you wish you could think about anything else. The thought of writing a thesis can be very daunting but here are some things that I have learned from the process.
You would be surprised at how willing other people are to help you.
I get it. You think you can do everything on your own. Or maybe you are too scared that other people will say no if you ask them for help. Or maybe you are afraid they will think you are asking stupid questions. Wrong, wrong, and wrong. If there is one thing I want to emphasize after writing my thesis, it is that other people, whether it be your professor, your advisor, your classmates, or an expert out in the real world, want to help you. At the very least, it never hurts to ask others to help you with something. If I had not asked people for help throughout the course of my thesis, it would have turned out a lot worse. In fact, one of the most helpful articles I found that led me to my conclusion I received from an expert across the country who agreed to help after I sent a desperation email. If you are hesitant about reaching out to someone for whatever reason, just do it. The worst thing that could happen is they don’t respond and you will be no worse off than you were in the worst place. Trust me, you will not get super far without the help of others.
Your advisor is your best friend
Some advisors are better than others. Professors are very busy people and they cannot all give you all the time and attention you need. Still, advisors want to help you succeed so take advantage of this very important resource and establish regular meeting times (preferably on a weekly basis). Advisors can push you in the right direction while also holding you accountable with deadlines. At the end of the day, it is up to you to decide how big of a role your advisor is going to play throughout the process of your thesis, but I guarantee you will not regret making them an integral part.
Writing your thesis piece by piece
I know that for myself, writing a long research paper is always a very daunting task. I wrote my fair share during college and always found myself procrastinating. Writing so many pages seemed like an impossible task and I continuously pushed it off until I could not push it off any further. That is why it is so important that you do not view your thesis as one big paper but rather as several smaller papers combined into one to create one final product. I still struggled with procrastination on my thesis but my anxiety improved when I forced myself to focus on one section at a time.
Communication is key
Whether it be with your advisor, your professor, your writing group, or your classmates, maintain a steady stream of communication. Writing a thesis can feel alienating at times and there were multiple points in the semester when I feared I was falling behind in the process relative to my fellow classmates. However, talking to others helps you understand that you are not in this alone and you probably are not as far behind as you think you are. Everyone in the class has to write a thesis and a majority are likely struggling with the same problems you are going to encounter. So do not attack them alone. Communicate with others around you and develop solutions together. Tell your advisor when you are struggling. Let the professor know when you need some extra time to complete the upcoming assignment. I guarantee you will feel a wave of relief when you stop keeping everything to yourself and talk to others about what’s going on.
Have fun
Was it stressful writing a thesis during my last year in school when plenty of my friends were taking much easier courses and coasting to the finish line? Absolutely. Were there times during the semester when I wondered whether or not it was worth it to be taking this class? Also, yes. But did I feel a profound sense of accomplishment at the end of the semester? Definitely. And did I have fun throughout the year as my classmates and I struggled through a difficult but rewarding process? You bet. Writing a thesis is hard. But if you just take a deep breath and connect with others, you will have a great time creating a piece of work that is both important and a valuable learning experience.
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