You Are What You Write: Four Tips for Owning Your Thesis

Because you’re reading this blog post, you’re likely taking the first steps to learn more about the O’Neill Honors Thesis process. Congratulations are in order! No matter your current grade level, you are beginning the capstone experience of your undergraduate career. I hope you will find it as meaningful and rewarding as I did; in and out of the classroom, I have learned so much and become a better researcher, writer, and professional!

Your thesis-writing will be unlike any other courses you take, especially because you have so much freedom to shape your experience and own your work! From beginning to end, you get to dictate all the specifics. Several pointers follow to help you choose these specifics and make your experience as beneficial to you as possible. I wish I knew each of these concepts right off the bat, when I first enrolled in V491.

1. Choose a topic you love. You’re going to spend so much time with your topic and within the research of your chosen field, so make sure it’s one you’re truly interested in. And no, it doesn’t have to be within your major; while I’m a Law and Public Policy major, my topic of music education policy ventured more into the arts administration side of O’Neill. I am so glad I followed my passion instead of trying to fit in one box.
2. Find a mentor in your advisor. I was incredibly lucky to have the best advisor ever. She encouraged me as I wrote my thesis, kept me organized, and supported me through my busy junior and senior years. When you’re looking for a thesis advisor of your own, search for a faculty member that you get along with! That way, they’ll be someone you can go to for subject-matter advice but can also be completely real with.
3. Seek out resources. Help is everywhere you could possibly look: in corners of the internet, in your professor’s office, in a book you order off Amazon, in an email to another IU professor, and in your living room as you practice your presentation for your roommates yet again! While your thesis is specific to you, completing it is not something you should do alone. Every professor that fielded my questions and friend who kept me accountable helped me immensely, making the process less stressful.
4. Channel confidence! By the end of your semester in V499, you’ll be an expert on your topic. Be proud of this! In casual conversations and your final presentation alike, confidence is the key to communicating effectively and showing others just how hard you have worked.

Good luck on your thesis journey! You’re going to do great things.

Morgan Browne is a senior studying Law and Public Policy at the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University Bloomington. Her passion for music education policy sparked through Notable Measures and continues through minors in Music Studies and Communication and Public Advocacy. Following graduation, she will pursue a law degree.