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How to write a thesis
Thesis statement releases a dissertation

graduation may require learning how to write a thesisThe trick of how to write a thesis for a senior thesis, capstone college project, or graduate school requirement is the same trick eight-graders use for writing their five paragraph essays: start with a thesis statement.

A thesis statement is really a hypothesis, an educated guess about something. That something is your topic. The topic might be aphid coloration, Charlie Chaplin, or employee job satisfaction.

To create a statement that can serve as the main idea of thesis or dissertation add an assertion about the topic to create a single declarative sentence. That's your hypothesis or working thesis. Presumably you've already done some study in the general area of your topic, so your thesis statement is at least a partially educated guess.

For most researchers, the real problem writing a thesis is really a problem of how to sift all the available evidence.

It is simpler to do research about a working thesis than a topic because a working thesis gives you more keywords. Combining keywords restricts the number of hits you get from a search. You are less likely to be paralysed by information overload when you research a working thesis instead of a topic.

As you read material related to your working thesis, you can modify the thesis or scrap it entirely.

An article that may help you think about how to write a thesis is "Fast Tracking a Ph.D." by Judy Beth Morris, which appeared in the June 17, 2009 issue of Inside Higher Ed.

Morris explains how zeroing on what I'd call her working thesis (she calls it her topic) allowed her to complete her degree requirements in 3 years instead of the 6 years that was average for doctoral students in her institution.

I recommend you get the distinction between a topic and a thesis sentence clear before you worry about writing a thesis thousands of sentences long.

Published 28-Nov-2009; updated 15-Jun-2010
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