Thesis Writing - A No Joke Set of Guidelines

Since I'm on my way to my third year in college, I have been anxious on thinking up on a good thesis topic. I have been very thankful to those who have just graduated recently as AB Mass Communication degree holders. Some of them had passed great thesis topics like the popularity of the Harry Potter saga in both film and books, an idea on reviving the Theater Arts department of the college, and so on.

So as not to ask classmates and annoy them, I have to put in here some helpful tips from a Mass Comm graduate on how to start writing a thesis paper (I am very thankful for him on these tips).

First:

You have to come up with a list of topics for research and determine the type of approach you'll be using. It can be qualitative, quantitative, or a combination of the two.

Select topics which you are interested in. The research process is going to be difficult, so don't make it even more difficult by forcing yourself to work on something you're really not interested in.

Then eventually, once your final topic has been approved, you'll begin writing chapters.

If your draft is completely acceptable, you can have it on a ring-binder or any kind of paper bounding type you prefer.

Second:

You'll be defending the first four chapters of your study. It's really nerve-wracking especially if you're working alone, which is why you need companions. All of you should work as a group and each has to contribute.

On Professor's Comments: The professor's comments/suggestions are not to be worried about. They are to be looked upon as concepts for a better idea on the thesis. There's no such thing as a "flawless thesis". But still, it brings out your perfectionist tendencies.

Once the proposal defense is finished, you'll be working on the last three chapters of your study: Results / Findings; Summary and Conclusions; Implications and Recommendations.

Third:

The hard parts of the job (but you'll get the hang of it eventually): part by part submissions, revise, revise, more revisions (you have to be a near-perfectionist) and until you get to the point of saying, "I think it's fine now".

Fourth:

Once you're done with all the important revisions, you will be asked to submit a hardbound copy of your paper. Also, you have to put intense scrutiny on the papers if they are in the correct formats needed and to include the other important pages, such as the title pages and acknowledgements page. You need that acknowledgements page because if it wasn't to those folks who helped you, you haven't done that paper.

Lastly, according to the graduate: "And once you've handed over the final copy, you'll feel that every effort you exerted was well worth it".

I hope his guidelines will help.

I can only imagine how those grads felt after they have passed their final papers.