Table Of Content

Open UP Study Skills How to Write a Thesis Third Edition H o w “Thisbookhasbecomeatrustedresourceforstudentsfromawide t rangeofdisciplinarybackgrounds.Notonlydoesittakeyou o throughthestepsandstagesofthesiswriting,butmore W How to Write importantlyitoffersrichadviceandsupportthathelpsbuild confidence,setsupeffectivewritinghabitsandgeneratesa r positiveorientationtowardsthecomplextaskofthesiswriting.” it e ProfessorSarahMoore,AssociateVicePresidentAcademic,University ofLimerick,Ireland a T a Thesis Providingdown-to-earthguidancetohelpstudentsshapetheirtheses, h RowenaMurrayoffersvaluableadviceandpracticaltipsand e techniques.Usefulsummariesandchecklistshelpstudentstostayon s i trackorregaintheirway. s Movingbeyondthebasicsofthesiswriting,thebookintroduces T practicalwritingtechniquessuchasfreewriting,generativewritingand hir 3 r d d bingewriting.Issuessuchasworkingoutthecriteriaforyourthesis, E writerʼsblock,writingaliteraturereviewandmakingnotesintoadraft d arealsocovered. ition e d i t i o n Newtothisedition: (cid:1) Newintroductionbystudents–ʻHowIusedthisbookʼ (cid:1) UpdateondoctoralskillssetandTNA R (cid:1) o Extendedtreatmentofplagiarism–andhowtoavoidit w e (cid:1) Expandedsectiononstudentsʼwell-being n a (cid:1) (cid:1) Learningoutcomesforeachchapter M Develop good writing u rr habits a RowenaMurrayisReaderintheSchoolofAppliedSocialSciencesat y (cid:1) StrathclydeUniversity,UK,FellowoftheRoyalSocietyofArtsandthe Overcome writerʼs block HigherEducationAcademyandAdjunctProfessoratSwinburne (cid:1) UniversityinMelbourne,Australia. Understand the assessment process (cid:1) Get the most from your supervisor Rowena Murray CoverdesignbyNaomiMitchell How to Write a Thesis THIRD EDITION 2222665544__hhooww ttoo wwrriittee aa tthheessiiss..iinnddbb ii 2255//0022//22001111 1144::4444 “This book has become a trusted resource for students from a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds. Not only does it take you through the steps and stages of thesis writing, but more importantly, it offers rich advice and support that helps build confi dence, sets up effective writing habits and generates a positive orientation towards the complex task of thesis writing.” Professor Sarah Moore, Associate Vice President Academic, University of Limerick, Ireland “I’ve found Rowena’s shrewd and insightful suggestions for writing helpful, not only for others but also for me.” Peter Elbow, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA 2222665544__0000__FFMM..iinndddd iiii 2288//0022//22001111 1122::2288 How to Write a Thesis THIRD EDITION Rowena Murray 2222665544__hhooww ttoo wwrriittee aa tthheessiiss..iinnddbb iiiiii 2255//0022//22001111 1144::4444 Open University Press McGraw-Hill Education McGraw-Hill House Shoppenhangers Road Maidenhead Berkshire England SL6 2QL email: [email protected] world wide web: www.openup.co.uk and Two Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10121-2289, USA First published 2002 Second edition published 2006 Reprinted 2007 (twice), 2008, 2010, 2011 First published in this third edition 2011 Copyright © Rowena Murray 2011 All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purposes of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence from the Copyright Licensing Agency Limited. Details of such licences (for reprographic reproduction) may be obtained from the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd of Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London, EC1N 8TS. A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library ISBN-13: 978-0-33-524428-7 ISBN-10: 0-33-524428-9 eISBN: 978-0-33-524429-4 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data CIP data applied for Typeset by Refi neCatch Limited, Bungay, Suffolk Printed in the UK by Bell & Bain Ltd, Glasgow Fictitious names of companies, products, people, characters and/or data that may be used herein (in case studies or in examples) are not intended to represent any real individual, company, product or event. 2222665544__hhooww ttoo wwrriittee aa tthheessiiss..iinnddbb iivv 2255//0022//22001111 1144::4444 This book is dedicated to Glennis Tavener Fiona Averill Beth McKay Sheila Hughes Matthew Alexander Marie-Jeanne McNaughton Stella Neil Maura Murphy Akwugo Emejulu Janis McIntyre Annette Coburn Anne Ryan Rosemary Sleith Cherie Woolmer Tatpol Vajarodaya Chapter 8 is for Morag. 2222665544__hhooww ttoo wwrriittee aa tthheessiiss..iinnddbb vv 2255//0022//22001111 1144::4444 2222665544__hhooww ttoo wwrriittee aa tthheessiiss..iinnddbb vvii 2255//0022//22001111 1144::4444 Contents Preface to the third edition xiii Acknowledgements xv Overview xvii Introduction: How to write 1,000 words an hour 1 The need for this book 1 What the students say: ‘How I used this book’ 3 What the students want 14 A writer’s ‘toolbox’ 16 The ‘quality question’ 17 Principles of academic writing 22 The literature on writing 22 Disciplinary differences 24 Thinking about structure 29 Prompts 29 Supervisors enabling student writing 31 Writing in a second language 32 Grammar, punctuation, spelling 34 Goal setting 35 Lifelong learning 39 Audience and purpose 40 Timetable for writing 41 Checklist: defi ning the writing task 42 Learning outcomes 42 1 Thinking about writing a thesis 43 Doctorate or masters? 43 What is a doctorate? 44 New routes to the PhD 47 Why are you doing a doctorate? 48 Internal and external drivers 49 PhD or professional doctorate? 50 Full-time or part-time? 53 What will you use writing for? 54 2222665544__hhooww ttoo wwrriittee aa tthheessiiss..iinnddbb vviiii 2255//0022//22001111 1144::4444 viii CONTENTS Regulations 55 How will it look on the page? 58 Demystifi cation: codes and guides 59 How will my thesis be assessed? 65 What are the criteria? 65 Defi ning ‘originality’ 70 What is the reader looking for? 72 IT processes and needs 75 Reasons for not writing 78 Peer discussion and support 79 Your fi rst meeting with your supervisor 79 Training needs analysis 81 Questions for refl ection 83 Prompts for discussion 83 Writing timetable 83 Checklist: pre-planning 84 Learning outcomes 85 2 Starting to write 86 Can’t it wait till later? 87 Audiences and purposes 87 Primary audience 88 Secondary audience 89 Immediate audience 90 The role of the supervisor 91 A common language for talking about writing 96 Writing to prompts 100 Freewriting 101 Generative writing 112 Checklist: starting to write 116 Learning outcomes 116 3 Seeking structure 117 Revising your proposal 118 Outlining 119 Finding a thesis 121 Writing a literature review 122 Plagiarism 135 Designing a thesis 144 ‘Writing in layers’ 146 Writing locations 148 Writing times 149 2222665544__hhooww ttoo wwrriittee aa tthheessiiss..iinnddbb vviiiiii 2255//0022//22001111 1144::4444 CONTENTS ix Checklist: seeking structure 150 Learning outcomes 150 4 The fi rst milestone 151 First writing milestone 152 The fi rst-year report 152 From notes to draft 153 Dialogue 156 Monitoring 158 Pressure 159 What is progress? 160 Looking for topics 162 Work-in-progress writing 163 A writers’ group 170 Checklist: the fi rst milestone 177 Learning outcomes 177 5 Becoming a serial writer 178 What is a serial writer? 179 Scaffolding for an argument 180 Paragraph structure 180 Introductory paragraphs 184 Writing about the method(s) 186 Study buddy 188 Regular writing 189 Problems with writing 190 Writer’s block 191 Incremental writing 198 Writing binges 199 Developing a writing strategy 200 Checklist: becoming a serial writer 201 Learning outcomes 201 6 Creating closure 202 What is closure? 202 Interim closure 204 Don’t put it off any longer 205 Research journal 206 Writing habits 212 Halfway point 214 Brown’s eight questions 216 2222665544__hhooww ttoo wwrriittee aa tthheessiiss..iinnddbb iixx 2255//0022//22001111 1144::4444