How to Write a Thesis
by Murray, RowenaEdition: 3rd
Format: Paperback
Pub. Date: 2011-03-01
Publisher(s): Open University Press
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Summary
Providing down-to-earth guidance to help students shape their theses, Rowena Murray offers valuable advice and practical tips and techniques. Useful summaries and checklists help students to stay on track or regain their way. Moving beyond the basics of thesis writing, the book introduces practical writing techniques such as freewriting, generative writing and binge writing. Issues such as working out the criteria for your thesis, writer's block, writing a literature review and making notes into a draft are also covered. New to this edition: New introduction by students - 'How I used this book' Update on doctoral skills set and Training Needs Analysis Extended treatment of plagiarism - and how to avoid it Expanded section on students' well-being Learning outcomes for each chapter
Author Biography
Rowena Murray is Reader in the School of Applied Social Sciences at Strathclyde University, UK, Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and the Higher Education Academy and Adjunct Professor at Swinburne University in Melbourne, Australia.
Table of Contents
| Preface to the third edition | p. xiii |
| Acknowledgements | p. xv |
| Overview | p. xvii |
| Introduction: How to write 1,000 words an hour | p. 1 |
| The need for this book | p. 1 |
| What the students say: 'How I used this book' | p. 3 |
| What the students want | p. 14 |
| A writer's 'toolbox' | p. 16 |
| The 'quality question' | p. 17 |
| Principles of academic writing | p. 22 |
| The literature on writing | p. 22 |
| Disciplinary differences | p. 24 |
| Thinking about structure | p. 29 |
| Prompts | p. 29 |
| Supervisors enabling student writing | p. 31 |
| Writing in a second language | p. 32 |
| Grammar, punctuation, spelling | p. 34 |
| Goal setting | p. 35 |
| Lifelong learning | p. 39 |
| Audience and purpose | p. 40 |
| Timetable for writing | p. 41 |
| Checklist: defining the writing task | p. 42 |
| Learning outcomes | p. 42 |
| Thinking about writing a thesis | p. 43 |
| Doctorate or masters? | p. 43 |
| What is a doctorate? | p. 44 |
| New routes to the PhD | p. 47 |
| Why are you doing a doctorate? | p. 48 |
| Internal and external drivers | p. 49 |
| PhD or professional doctorate? | p. 50 |
| Full-time or part-time? | p. 53 |
| What will you use writing for? | p. 54 |
| Regulations | p. 55 |
| How will it look on the page? | p. 58 |
| Demystification: codes and guides | p. 59 |
| How will my thesis be assessed? | p. 65 |
| What are the criteria? | p. 65 |
| Defining 'originality' | p. 70 |
| What is the reader looking for? | p. 72 |
| IT processes and needs | p. 75 |
| Reasons for not writing | p. 78 |
| Peer discussion and support | p. 79 |
| Your first meeting with your supervisor | p. 79 |
| Training needs analysis | p. 81 |
| Questions for reflection | p. 83 |
| Prompts for discussion | p. 83 |
| Writing timetable | p. 83 |
| Checklist: pre-planning | p. 84 |
| Learning outcomes | p. 85 |
| Starting to write | p. 86 |
| Can't it wait till later? | p. 87 |
| Audiences and purposes | p. 87 |
| Primary audience | p. 88 |
| Secondary audience | p. 89 |
| Immediate audience | p. 90 |
| The role of the supervisor | p. 91 |
| A common language for talking about writing | p. 96 |
| Writing to prompts | p. 100 |
| Freewriting | p. 101 |
| Generative writing | p. 112 |
| Checklist: starting to write | p. 116 |
| Learning outcomes | p. 116 |
| Seeking structure | p. 117 |
| Revising your proposal | p. 118 |
| Outlining | p. 119 |
| Finding a thesis | p. 121 |
| Writing a literature review | p. 122 |
| Plagiarism | p. 135 |
| Designing a thesis | p. 144 |
| 'Writing in layers' | p. 146 |
| Writing locations | p. 148 |
| Writing times | p. 149 |
| Checklist: seeking structure | p. 150 |
| Learning outcomes | p. 150 |
| The first milestone | p. 151 |
| First writing milestone | p. 152 |
| The first-year report | p. 152 |
| From notes to draft | p. 153 |
| Dialogue | p. 156 |
| Monitoring | p. 158 |
| Pressure | p. 159 |
| What is progress? | p. 160 |
| Looking for topics | p. 162 |
| Work-in-progress writing | p. 163 |
| A writers' group | p. 170 |
| Checklist: the first milestone | p. 177 |
| Learning outcomes | p. 177 |
| Becoming a serial writer | p. 178 |
| What is a serial writer? | p. 179 |
| Scaffolding for an argument | p. 180 |
| Paragraph structure | p. 180 |
| Introductory paragraphs | p. 184 |
| Writing about the method(s) | p. 186 |
| Study buddy | p. 188 |
| Regular writing | p. 189 |
| Problems with writing | p. 190 |
| Writer's block | p. 191 |
| Incremental writing | p. 198 |
| Writing binges | p. 199 |
| Developing a writing strategy | p. 200 |
| Checklist: becoming a serial writer | p. 201 |
| Learning outcomes | p. 201 |
| Creating closure | p. 202 |
| What is closure? | p. 202 |
| Interim closure | p. 204 |
| Don't put it off any longer | p. 205 |
| Research journal | p. 206 |
| Writing habits | p. 212 |
| Halfway point | p. 214 |
| Brown's eight questions | p. 216 |
| Pulling it all together | p. 218 |
| A design for writing | p. 219 |
| Frustration | p. 219 |
| Writing conclusions | p. 220 |
| Checklist: creating closure | p. 225 |
| Learning outcomes | p. 225 |
| Fear and loathing: revising | p. 226 |
| Why 'fear and loathing?' | p. 227 |
| Repetition | p. 227 |
| Forecasting | p. 229 |
| Signalling | p. 230 |
| Signposting | p. 230 |
| Conceptualizing and reconceptualizing | p. 231 |
| Managing your editor | p. 233 |
| End of the second phase | p. 236 |
| Look back to the proposal | p. 236 |
| Checklist: revising | p. 237 |
| Learning outcomes | p. 237 |
| It is never too late to start | p. 238 |
| Take stock | p. 242 |
| Start writing | p. 243 |
| Outline your thesis | p. 245 |
| Make up a programme of writing | p. 248 |
| Communicate with your supervisor(s) | p. 251 |
| Outline each chapter | p. 252 |
| Write regularly | p. 253 |
| Revise | p. 254 |
| Pull it all together | p. 255 |
| Do final tasks | p. 255 |
| Does the fast-track mode work? | p. 256 |
| Learning outcomes | p. 257 |
| The last 385 yards | p. 258 |
| The marathon | p. 259 |
| 'Done-ness is all' | p. 260 |
| Concentrated writing phase | p. 260 |
| Well-being | p. 261 |
| Peer support | p. 263 |
| Discussion chapter | p. 264 |
| New goal | p. 265 |
| Style tips | p. 266 |
| Finishing | p. 267 |
| Enough is enough | p. 268 |
| It is good enough | p. 269 |
| You have made a contribution | p. 270 |
| Convince your reader | p. 270 |
| 'Polish' the text | p. 271 |
| Motivation | p. 272 |
| Presentation of final copy | p. 273 |
| Timetable for writing | p. 274 |
| Checklist: polishing | p. 275 |
| Learning outcomes | p. 276 |
| After the thesis examination: more writing? | p. 277 |
| More writing? | p. 279 |
| What is a viva? | p. 279 |
| Pre-viva | p. 283 |
| Defining tasks | p. 285 |
| Talking about your writing | p. 287 |
| Practice | p. 289 |
| Anticipate the questions | p. 291 |
| Mock viva | p. 295 |
| Fear | p. 296 |
| The external examiner | p. 298 |
| During the viva | p. 299 |
| Post-viva | p. 304 |
| Endurance | p. 304 |
| Revisions and corrections | p. 304 |
| Anti-climax | p. 305 |
| Is there life after a thesis? | p. 306 |
| Was it really worth it? | p. 306 |
| Recovering | p. 306 |
| Thesis into book | p. 307 |
| The end | p. 311 |
| Checklist: before and after the examination | p. 311 |
| Learning outcomes | p. 312 |
| Bibliography | p. 313 |
| Index | p. 323 |
| Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved. |
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