As a big musical theatre nerd, the day I turned in this thesis was the day I would finally reached the rainbow’s end. Writing takes a lot of time and the light at the end of the tunnel can be hard to believe in when you are in the thick of it. Here are four tips I can offer on this side of the metaphorical rainbow that I hope encourages you and sets you on a path for success!
Time is your friend
I don’t know about you, but when it comes to completing assignments, I want to take the fastest route possible to get it completed and turned in. I am not one to proactively take time to work on something little by little, each day, to ensure its timely completion on the due date. However, this thesis assignment will be one of the biggest assignments some of you may ever encounter in your time in college.
Time is your best friend when it comes to writing the thesis. Create a writing schedule so that you are completing the thesis little by little, each day. You can set aside recurring blocks of time each day to get work on the thesis, or not schedule specific, set hours, and just work on it each day when you can. This may feel very unnatural and I know it did for me! But if you can use time to your advantage, it will lower your stress levels significantly as the due date draws near.
Use all your resources
Prior to the undergraduate thesis, if I ever needed to write an essay, the three typical resources I would use were 1) class texts/notes, 2) Google, 3) the assignment rubric. However, what I quickly realized after spending long hours reading Google Scholar articles was that I needed more help than what a computer could offer me. I needed help not only on the content of my thesis, but also help in formatting an academic paper, how to conduct data analysis, and incorporating components found in a good thesis.
Use every resource you have at your disposal to make your thesis something you can look back on and be proud of! Use your senior thesis advisor, professors, external readers, friends, family, your writing group, a PHD student, and other experts in the field of your study to help you throughout the writing process. Since I did a case study between the U.S. and Germany, I reached out to German students I met during my study abroad program and just asked them questions related to my topic. All’s to say, if you know of someone who can help better your understanding of your thesis’ subject matter, don’t be afraid to reach out.
Own your topic
When it comes to choosing a research topic, many students start looking into areas that they may already have experience in or areas that they are interested in and passionate about. For me, this looked like conducting a study that incorporated the U.S. and Germany. In the beginning of this process, I was advised to change my topic due to my study’s complexity. However, despite this challenge, I believed in the research I wanted to conduct and stuck with it.
When you solidify your topic, my advice for you is to own it. There will be changes throughout the process of writing your thesis that may alter the ways in which you conduct your data analysis, find your research, and the methods you take in carrying out your research. However, change is inevitable when writing a thesis paper, so I would encourage you to choose a topic that you believe in and to own it every step of the way!
Reward Yourself
I confess that this was not a practice I began to incorporate until the final stages of my thesis journey, which is the very reason why I am offering you this advice as you start the process. Reward yourself. Doesn’t matter how you do it but if you meet a goal, let’s say, your literature review is complete, take time to shut your computer off and reward yourself. That could look like watching tv, going on a walk, hanging out with friends, reading a book, buying yourself a coffee or an iced cookie from the union (highly recommend by the way).
Celebrating the small victories throughout this entire process of writing the thesis will increase your motivation and relieve a lot of stress that naturally comes with taking on a project of this magnitude. You are a hard and diligent worker, which is evident in the fact that you are in this program. Remember too that you are also a valued and beloved human being that deserves a treat every now and then! Reward yourself, be gracious towards yourself, work hard, and soon enough, you’ll open your eyes and be on the other side of the rainbow.
Lillian Clarke is a senior studying Human Resource Management with minors in Theatre and Law and Public Policy. She enjoys reading, playing solitaire, and watching old sitcoms. She also believes you can do this.
Leave a Reply