thesis writing group

Making a Writing Group that Works

By  Travis Grandy

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Travis Grandy is a PhD student in Composition and Rhetoric at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. You can find him on Twitter @travisgrandy or at his website .

I've had a lot of ups and downs as a writer in grad school. When I was making the transition from coursework to working independently, I started having trouble writing and reading at the same pace as I did for my grad seminars. At times it can be hard to stay motivated, especially when some of those external accountability structures fall away. It can also be helpful to know where you work best (i.e. not at home), and be mindful about your writing process . While it’s easy for guilt to creep up if you're feeling isolated and/or not making a lot of progress toward your goals, finding other people to write with can really turn things around.

Thanks to encouragement from people smarter than me (i.e. my professors and senior grad students), I started seeking out support from writing groups and it's helped me in making progress toward completing my degree (take that, comprehensive exams!). By having regular due dates and lots of feedback, I found my writing has dramatically improved. If you're not sure how to approach other people to start a writing group, remember, they're probably feeling and working-through the same things as you, so it never hurts to ask!

Last year, GradHacker Kelly Hanson did a great piece on the DIY Writing Group . If you’ve never done a writing group before, below are a few examples of how you can format a group, and more importantly, how to keep them going.

(Some) Ways to Structure a Writing Group:

Write-on-site

It can help you be more productive to be around other productive people. You might be less inclined to check Facebook and Twitter when there are other keyboards clicking around you. Try making a recurring date with friends to meet at a public place and write together for a couple hours.

Writing swap

Get a group of people together and take turns sharing writing. For example, every Thursday, I get together with four other people from my program where we drink beer, and discuss works in process from one or two writers per meeting. Let me tell you, it's great to get feedback from four different perspectives!

Working at a distance

If you're working on completing your degree at a distance it might not be possible to find people who can meet up in-person. Don't be discouraged! Set up an online exchange with other writers and establish expectations for reciprocal feedback. You can swap writing entirely by email and send back annotated drafts, or set up a recurring meeting to check-in via a video conference.

Social media cheerleaders

Sometimes you just need a little positive reinforcement--tell your friends when you're planning a writing day, and post your goals on social media. At the end of the day, you can check back in about your productivity ("Hey, I wrote 500 words today!"). Reciprocity is really key here--you can't expect people to encourage you unless you're encouraging them back. If you’re looking for some online encouragement, be sure to check out Shut Up and Write, a Twitter group that holds an online “meeting” every other week for an hour of intense writing productivity. There are groups for Australia , North America , and the UK .

Planning and Accountability:

Check-in on a regular basis

Ever have a day where you had set aside time to write, but then that time ends up getting canceled or scheduled over by things like lesson planning, meetings, or your bus running late? Your writing group doesn't have to be every week, but it's good to have a regular meeting time in your calendar to encourage you to plan ahead and set aside enough time for writing (because you don't want to let your colleagues down, right?). For example, with my weekly writing group, I'm usually submitting writing every three weeks which is actually plenty of time to process feedback and then make revisions on my work. However, I also need to schedule and keep time to actually do the writing, otherwise I won’t show up prepared when it’s my turn to share.

Establish concrete due dates or deliverables

Go into your writing group meetings with a clear plan of what you're going to bring, whether that be written feedback for a peer, or a certain amount of progress on your own project. Don't say, "Oh, I'll make progress for next time," say, "When we meet next week I'll have at least 3 new pages." If you’re doing a write-on-site, have each group member say what they plan to do during your work time, then check back in at the end of the session.

Set due dates in advance

If you're working toward a big due date or project, backwards-plan and set some intermediate deadlines. This can be the number of pages you want to have written, or sections of an article or chapter. Once you establish due dates, put them into a shared calendar. This way your group members will know what you’re working on and where you’re supposed to be based on your plan. Group members don’t need to enforce your due dates (that’s up to you), but they can offer encouragement if you’re struggling, and celebrate when you meet those milestones.

Plan a format for your meetings

While you don’t need to run your writing group like a timed exam, it is good to have some expectations shared among group members about how you will share writing (in advance over email, at the meeting) as well as how you want to spend time during the meeting discussing each person’s project. If you’re using the meeting as a chance to just do some writing in a supportive space, consider using the Pomodoro Method to organize your time. This strategy can also be useful to set aside chunks of time in your workday , and there are some handy apps you can use as a timer.

Allow time to talk and catch-up

Writing is hard! Sometimes it can be really productive to talk about your lives outside of school, the trashy reality TV shows you watch, or that funny Channing Tatum .GIF you saw the other day. Consider the social time you get before and after a productive group meeting to be another way to stay motivated.

Have you had success and recommend additional ways to organize a writing group? What helps you make progress as a writer?

[Image from Flickr user, Drew Coffman , used under Creative Commons license]

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School of Graduate Studies

Thesis writing group.

The School of Graduate Studies and the Writing Centre are pleased to offer a 6 week program (1-2 meetings per week) designed to help graduate students make significant progress on or complete their theses. If you are looking for some distraction-free time to write and can commit to a consistent writing schedule, then this writing group is for you.

The Thesis Writing Group will be dedicated to independent writing for students to produce content in a cowork setting. This event is NOT meant for students who are seeking help learning or developing their academic writing, but rather for those who are currently engaged in substantial writing and are looking for a dedicated space to focus on that work. The Writing Centre continues to offer appointments for students who would like one-on-one help and more information for booking appointments can be found at the following link . 

If you have any questions, please contact the event facilitator directly (Cherise Ragoonath,  [email protected] ) or the Writing Centre ([email protected]).

For this semester, we will be conducting separate in-person and online sessions for the Thesis Writing Group, please make note of the dates and times listed for each session to ensure you are registering for the correct group.

Dates/Time:

The In-Person sessions will run on Tuesdays and Thursdays on the following dates:                                        

• Tuesday June 11th
• Thursday June 13th
• Tuesday June 18th
• Thursday June 20th
• Tuesday June 25th
• Thursday June 27th
• Tuesday July 2nd
• Thursday July 4th
• Tuesday July 9th
• Thursday July 11th
• Tuesday July 16th
• Thursday July 18th

Time: All In-Person sessions will run from 2pm-5pm NDT      Location: Tuesdays - UC 3013 (The Loft), University Centre     Thursdays - UC 2001 (MUNSU Council Chambers), University Centre                                                                                              The Online sessions will run on Fridays for the following dates:

• Friday June 14th
• Friday June 21st
• Friday June 28th
• Friday July 5th
• Friday July 12th
• Friday July 19th

Time: All Online sessions will run from 12pm-3pm NDT           Location: Webex

Students who register for the Writing Group are expected to come to all meetings. However, we will be accommodating students who may face unexpected circumstances that prevent them from attending some of the meetings. Students who will only be able to attend some meetings or a partial number of hours per day should contact the event facilitator before registering. Accommodations will be granted for students who can demonstrate need (e.g., childcare responsibilities, conflicting work schedules).

• In-Person for students in the St. John’s Metro Area.
• Online through Webex for students outside the St. John’s Metro Area.

Expectations:

• The writing group is intended to give students the opportunity to generate text, not perfect it.
• Graduate students are encouraged to meet with their supervisors prior to the writing group to establish goals.
• All participants should measure their achievements at the start and end of each session.

Registration:

In-Person 

If the registration is full, you may use the waitlist link and you will be contacted if we are able to accommodate you. Please do not register using the other link if the registration is full (e.g., online when you would like to come in-person).

Students who submit incomplete forms or inconsistent responses (e.g., indicate you would like to come to the writing group to take writing classes) may be contacted to confirm their intention to attend the event or have their registration removed.

Attendance will be taken at the start of each session followed by a brief introduction and discussion of everyone’s goals for the session. Students who register for the Writing Group are expected to come to all meetings. However, we will be accommodating students who may face unexpected circumstances that prevent them from attending some of the meetings. If you are unable to attend more than one of the listed sessions, please contact the event facilitator (Cherise Ragoonath, [email protected] ) before registering. Students who miss multiple sessions will forfeit their spot in the group to make space for anyone on the waitlist.

In-Person Waitlist

Related Content

How To Write A Dissertation Or Thesis

8 straightforward steps to craft an a-grade dissertation.

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) Expert Reviewed By: Dr Eunice Rautenbach | June 2020

Writing a dissertation or thesis is not a simple task. It takes time, energy and a lot of will power to get you across the finish line. It’s not easy – but it doesn’t necessarily need to be a painful process. If you understand the big-picture process of how to write a dissertation or thesis, your research journey will be a lot smoother.  

In this post, I’m going to outline the big-picture process of how to write a high-quality dissertation or thesis, without losing your mind along the way. If you’re just starting your research, this post is perfect for you. Alternatively, if you’ve already submitted your proposal, this article which covers how to structure a dissertation might be more helpful.

How To Write A Dissertation: 8 Steps

• Clearly understand what a dissertation (or thesis) is
• Find a unique and valuable research topic
• Craft a convincing research proposal
• Write up a strong introduction chapter
• Review the existing literature and compile a literature review
• Design a rigorous research strategy and undertake your own research
• Present the findings of your research
• Draw a conclusion and discuss the implications

Step 1: Understand exactly what a dissertation is

This probably sounds like a no-brainer, but all too often, students come to us for help with their research and the underlying issue is that they don’t fully understand what a dissertation (or thesis) actually is.

So, what is a dissertation?

At its simplest, a dissertation or thesis is a formal piece of research , reflecting the standard research process . But what is the standard research process, you ask? The research process involves 4 key steps:

• Ask a very specific, well-articulated question (s) (your research topic)
• See what other researchers have said about it (if they’ve already answered it)
• If they haven’t answered it adequately, undertake your own data collection and analysis in a scientifically rigorous fashion
• Answer your original question(s), based on your analysis findings

In short, the research process is simply about asking and answering questions in a systematic fashion . This probably sounds pretty obvious, but people often think they’ve done “research”, when in fact what they have done is:

• Started with a vague, poorly articulated question
• Not taken the time to see what research has already been done regarding the question
• Collected data and opinions that support their gut and undertaken a flimsy analysis
• Drawn a shaky conclusion, based on that analysis

If you want to see the perfect example of this in action, look out for the next Facebook post where someone claims they’ve done “research”… All too often, people consider reading a few blog posts to constitute research. Its no surprise then that what they end up with is an opinion piece, not research. Okay, okay – I’ll climb off my soapbox now.

The key takeaway here is that a dissertation (or thesis) is a formal piece of research, reflecting the research process. It’s not an opinion piece , nor a place to push your agenda or try to convince someone of your position. Writing a good dissertation involves asking a question and taking a systematic, rigorous approach to answering it.

If you understand this and are comfortable leaving your opinions or preconceived ideas at the door, you’re already off to a good start!

Step 2: Find a unique, valuable research topic

As we saw, the first step of the research process is to ask a specific, well-articulated question. In other words, you need to find a research topic that asks a specific question or set of questions (these are called research questions ). Sounds easy enough, right? All you’ve got to do is identify a question or two and you’ve got a winning research topic. Well, not quite…

A good dissertation or thesis topic has a few important attributes. Specifically, a solid research topic should be:

Let’s take a closer look at these:

Attribute #1: Clear

Your research topic needs to be crystal clear about what you’re planning to research, what you want to know, and within what context. There shouldn’t be any ambiguity or vagueness about what you’ll research.

Here’s an example of a clearly articulated research topic:

An analysis of consumer-based factors influencing organisational trust in British low-cost online equity brokerage firms.

As you can see in the example, its crystal clear what will be analysed (factors impacting organisational trust), amongst who (consumers) and in what context (British low-cost equity brokerage firms, based online).

Need a helping hand?

Attribute #2:   Unique

Your research should be asking a question(s) that hasn’t been asked before, or that hasn’t been asked in a specific context (for example, in a specific country or industry).

For example, sticking organisational trust topic above, it’s quite likely that organisational trust factors in the UK have been investigated before, but the context (online low-cost equity brokerages) could make this research unique. Therefore, the context makes this research original.

One caveat when using context as the basis for originality – you need to have a good reason to suspect that your findings in this context might be different from the existing research – otherwise, there’s no reason to warrant researching it.

Attribute #3: Important

Simply asking a unique or original question is not enough – the question needs to create value. In other words, successfully answering your research questions should provide some value to the field of research or the industry. You can’t research something just to satisfy your curiosity. It needs to make some form of contribution either to research or industry.

For example, researching the factors influencing consumer trust would create value by enabling businesses to tailor their operations and marketing to leverage factors that promote trust. In other words, it would have a clear benefit to industry.

So, how do you go about finding a unique and valuable research topic? We explain that in detail in this video post – How To Find A Research Topic . Yeah, we’ve got you covered 😊

Step 3: Write a convincing research proposal

Once you’ve pinned down a high-quality research topic, the next step is to convince your university to let you research it. No matter how awesome you think your topic is, it still needs to get the rubber stamp before you can move forward with your research. The research proposal is the tool you’ll use for this job.

So, what’s in a research proposal?

The main “job” of a research proposal is to convince your university, advisor or committee that your research topic is worthy of approval. But convince them of what? Well, this varies from university to university, but generally, they want to see that:

• You have a clearly articulated, unique and important topic (this might sound familiar…)
• You’ve done some initial reading of the existing literature relevant to your topic (i.e. a literature review)
• You have a provisional plan in terms of how you will collect data and analyse it (i.e. a methodology)

At the proposal stage, it’s (generally) not expected that you’ve extensively reviewed the existing literature , but you will need to show that you’ve done enough reading to identify a clear gap for original (unique) research. Similarly, they generally don’t expect that you have a rock-solid research methodology mapped out, but you should have an idea of whether you’ll be undertaking qualitative or quantitative analysis , and how you’ll collect your data (we’ll discuss this in more detail later).

Long story short – don’t stress about having every detail of your research meticulously thought out at the proposal stage – this will develop as you progress through your research. However, you do need to show that you’ve “done your homework” and that your research is worthy of approval .

So, how do you go about crafting a high-quality, convincing proposal? We cover that in detail in this video post – How To Write A Top-Class Research Proposal . We’ve also got a video walkthrough of two proposal examples here .

Step 4: Craft a strong introduction chapter

Once your proposal’s been approved, its time to get writing your actual dissertation or thesis! The good news is that if you put the time into crafting a high-quality proposal, you’ve already got a head start on your first three chapters – introduction, literature review and methodology – as you can use your proposal as the basis for these.

Handy sidenote – our free dissertation & thesis template is a great way to speed up your dissertation writing journey.

What’s the introduction chapter all about?

The purpose of the introduction chapter is to set the scene for your research (dare I say, to introduce it…) so that the reader understands what you’ll be researching and why it’s important. In other words, it covers the same ground as the research proposal in that it justifies your research topic.

What goes into the introduction chapter?

This can vary slightly between universities and degrees, but generally, the introduction chapter will include the following:

• A brief background to the study, explaining the overall area of research
• A problem statement , explaining what the problem is with the current state of research (in other words, where the knowledge gap exists)
• Your research questions – in other words, the specific questions your study will seek to answer (based on the knowledge gap)
• The significance of your study – in other words, why it’s important and how its findings will be useful in the world

As you can see, this all about explaining the “what” and the “why” of your research (as opposed to the “how”). So, your introduction chapter is basically the salesman of your study, “selling” your research to the first-time reader and (hopefully) getting them interested to read more.

How do I write the introduction chapter, you ask? We cover that in detail in this post .

Step 5: Undertake an in-depth literature review

As I mentioned earlier, you’ll need to do some initial review of the literature in Steps 2 and 3 to find your research gap and craft a convincing research proposal – but that’s just scratching the surface. Once you reach the literature review stage of your dissertation or thesis, you need to dig a lot deeper into the existing research and write up a comprehensive literature review chapter.

What’s the literature review all about?

There are two main stages in the literature review process:

Literature Review Step 1: Reading up

The first stage is for you to deep dive into the existing literature (journal articles, textbook chapters, industry reports, etc) to gain an in-depth understanding of the current state of research regarding your topic. While you don’t need to read every single article, you do need to ensure that you cover all literature that is related to your core research questions, and create a comprehensive catalogue of that literature , which you’ll use in the next step.

Reading and digesting all the relevant literature is a time consuming and intellectually demanding process. Many students underestimate just how much work goes into this step, so make sure that you allocate a good amount of time for this when planning out your research. Thankfully, there are ways to fast track the process – be sure to check out this article covering how to read journal articles quickly .

Literature Review Step 2: Writing up

Once you’ve worked through the literature and digested it all, you’ll need to write up your literature review chapter. Many students make the mistake of thinking that the literature review chapter is simply a summary of what other researchers have said. While this is partly true, a literature review is much more than just a summary. To pull off a good literature review chapter, you’ll need to achieve at least 3 things:

• You need to synthesise the existing research , not just summarise it. In other words, you need to show how different pieces of theory fit together, what’s agreed on by researchers, what’s not.
• You need to highlight a research gap that your research is going to fill. In other words, you’ve got to outline the problem so that your research topic can provide a solution.
• You need to use the existing research to inform your methodology and approach to your own research design. For example, you might use questions or Likert scales from previous studies in your your own survey design .

As you can see, a good literature review is more than just a summary of the published research. It’s the foundation on which your own research is built, so it deserves a lot of love and attention. Take the time to craft a comprehensive literature review with a suitable structure .

But, how do I actually write the literature review chapter, you ask? We cover that in detail in this video post .

Step 6: Carry out your own research

Once you’ve completed your literature review and have a sound understanding of the existing research, its time to develop your own research (finally!). You’ll design this research specifically so that you can find the answers to your unique research question.

There are two steps here – designing your research strategy and executing on it:

1 – Design your research strategy

The first step is to design your research strategy and craft a methodology chapter . I won’t get into the technicalities of the methodology chapter here, but in simple terms, this chapter is about explaining the “how” of your research. If you recall, the introduction and literature review chapters discussed the “what” and the “why”, so it makes sense that the next point to cover is the “how” –that’s what the methodology chapter is all about.

In this section, you’ll need to make firm decisions about your research design. This includes things like:

• Your research philosophy (e.g. positivism or interpretivism )
• Your overall methodology (e.g. qualitative , quantitative or mixed methods)
• Your data collection strategy (e.g. interviews , focus groups, surveys)
• Your data analysis strategy (e.g. content analysis , correlation analysis, regression)

If these words have got your head spinning, don’t worry! We’ll explain these in plain language in other posts. It’s not essential that you understand the intricacies of research design (yet!). The key takeaway here is that you’ll need to make decisions about how you’ll design your own research, and you’ll need to describe (and justify) your decisions in your methodology chapter.

2 – Execute: Collect and analyse your data

Once you’ve worked out your research design, you’ll put it into action and start collecting your data. This might mean undertaking interviews, hosting an online survey or any other data collection method. Data collection can take quite a bit of time (especially if you host in-person interviews), so be sure to factor sufficient time into your project plan for this. Oftentimes, things don’t go 100% to plan (for example, you don’t get as many survey responses as you hoped for), so bake a little extra time into your budget here.

Once you’ve collected your data, you’ll need to do some data preparation before you can sink your teeth into the analysis. For example:

• If you carry out interviews or focus groups, you’ll need to transcribe your audio data to text (i.e. a Word document).
• If you collect quantitative survey data, you’ll need to clean up your data and get it into the right format for whichever analysis software you use (for example, SPSS, R or STATA).

Once you’ve completed your data prep, you’ll undertake your analysis, using the techniques that you described in your methodology. Depending on what you find in your analysis, you might also do some additional forms of analysis that you hadn’t planned for. For example, you might see something in the data that raises new questions or that requires clarification with further analysis.

The type(s) of analysis that you’ll use depend entirely on the nature of your research and your research questions. For example:

• If your research if exploratory in nature, you’ll often use qualitative analysis techniques .
• If your research is confirmatory in nature, you’ll often use quantitative analysis techniques
• If your research involves a mix of both, you might use a mixed methods approach

Again, if these words have got your head spinning, don’t worry! We’ll explain these concepts and techniques in other posts. The key takeaway is simply that there’s no “one size fits all” for research design and methodology – it all depends on your topic, your research questions and your data. So, don’t be surprised if your study colleagues take a completely different approach to yours.

Step 7: Present your findings

Once you’ve completed your analysis, it’s time to present your findings (finally!). In a dissertation or thesis, you’ll typically present your findings in two chapters – the results chapter and the discussion chapter .

What’s the difference between the results chapter and the discussion chapter?

While these two chapters are similar, the results chapter generally just presents the processed data neatly and clearly without interpretation, while the discussion chapter explains the story the data are telling  – in other words, it provides your interpretation of the results.

For example, if you were researching the factors that influence consumer trust, you might have used a quantitative approach to identify the relationship between potential factors (e.g. perceived integrity and competence of the organisation) and consumer trust. In this case:

• Your results chapter would just present the results of the statistical tests. For example, correlation results or differences between groups. In other words, the processed numbers.
• Your discussion chapter would explain what the numbers mean in relation to your research question(s). For example, Factor 1 has a weak relationship with consumer trust, while Factor 2 has a strong relationship.

Depending on the university and degree, these two chapters (results and discussion) are sometimes merged into one , so be sure to check with your institution what their preference is. Regardless of the chapter structure, this section is about presenting the findings of your research in a clear, easy to understand fashion.

Importantly, your discussion here needs to link back to your research questions (which you outlined in the introduction or literature review chapter). In other words, it needs to answer the key questions you asked (or at least attempt to answer them).

For example, if we look at the sample research topic:

In this case, the discussion section would clearly outline which factors seem to have a noteworthy influence on organisational trust. By doing so, they are answering the overarching question and fulfilling the purpose of the research .

For more information about the results chapter , check out this post for qualitative studies and this post for quantitative studies .

Step 8: The Final Step Draw a conclusion and discuss the implications

Last but not least, you’ll need to wrap up your research with the conclusion chapter . In this chapter, you’ll bring your research full circle by highlighting the key findings of your study and explaining what the implications of these findings are.

What exactly are key findings? The key findings are those findings which directly relate to your original research questions and overall research objectives (which you discussed in your introduction chapter). The implications, on the other hand, explain what your findings mean for industry, or for research in your area.

Sticking with the consumer trust topic example, the conclusion might look something like this:

Key findings

This study set out to identify which factors influence consumer-based trust in British low-cost online equity brokerage firms. The results suggest that the following factors have a large impact on consumer trust:

While the following factors have a very limited impact on consumer trust:

Notably, within the 25-30 age groups, Factors E had a noticeably larger impact, which may be explained by…

Implications

The findings having noteworthy implications for British low-cost online equity brokers. Specifically:

The large impact of Factors X and Y implies that brokers need to consider….

The limited impact of Factor E implies that brokers need to…

As you can see, the conclusion chapter is basically explaining the “what” (what your study found) and the “so what?” (what the findings mean for the industry or research). This brings the study full circle and closes off the document.

Let’s recap – how to write a dissertation or thesis

You’re still with me? Impressive! I know that this post was a long one, but hopefully you’ve learnt a thing or two about how to write a dissertation or thesis, and are now better equipped to start your own research.

To recap, the 8 steps to writing a quality dissertation (or thesis) are as follows:

• Understand what a dissertation (or thesis) is – a research project that follows the research process.
• Find a unique (original) and important research topic
• Craft a convincing dissertation or thesis research proposal
• Write a clear, compelling introduction chapter
• Undertake a thorough review of the existing research and write up a literature review
• Undertake your own research
• Present and interpret your findings

Once you’ve wrapped up the core chapters, all that’s typically left is the abstract , reference list and appendices. As always, be sure to check with your university if they have any additional requirements in terms of structure or content.  

Psst... there’s more!

This post was based on one of our popular Research Bootcamps . If you're working on a research project, you'll definitely want to check this out ...

20 Comments

thankfull >>>this is very useful

Thank you, it was really helpful

unquestionably, this amazing simplified way of teaching. Really , I couldn’t find in the literature words that fully explicit my great thanks to you. However, I could only say thanks a-lot.

Great to hear that – thanks for the feedback. Good luck writing your dissertation/thesis.

This is the most comprehensive explanation of how to write a dissertation. Many thanks for sharing it free of charge.

Very rich presentation. Thank you

Thanks Derek Jansen|GRADCOACH, I find it very useful guide to arrange my activities and proceed to research!

Thank you so much for such a marvelous teaching .I am so convinced that am going to write a comprehensive and a distinct masters dissertation

It is an amazing comprehensive explanation

This was straightforward. Thank you!

I can say that your explanations are simple and enlightening – understanding what you have done here is easy for me. Could you write more about the different types of research methods specific to the three methodologies: quan, qual and MM. I look forward to interacting with this website more in the future.

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions 🙂

Hello, your write ups is quite educative. However, l have challenges in going about my research questions which is below; *Building the enablers of organisational growth through effective governance and purposeful leadership.*

Very educating.

Just listening to the name of the dissertation makes the student nervous. As writing a top-quality dissertation is a difficult task as it is a lengthy topic, requires a lot of research and understanding and is usually around 10,000 to 15000 words. Sometimes due to studies, unbalanced workload or lack of research and writing skill students look for dissertation submission from professional writers.

Thank you 💕😊 very much. I was confused but your comprehensive explanation has cleared my doubts of ever presenting a good thesis. Thank you.

thank you so much, that was so useful

Hi. Where is the excel spread sheet ark?

could you please help me look at your thesis paper to enable me to do the portion that has to do with the specification

my topic is “the impact of domestic revenue mobilization.

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Another Word

From the writing center at the university of wisconsin-madison.

Using Peer Writing Groups For the Senior Thesis and Beyond

By rebecca steffy –.

This year, I have the privilege of coordinating the UW-Madison Writing Center’s Senior Thesis Writing Groups, small peer-led writing groups that meet weekly or bi-weekly throughout the daunting semester- or year-long process of writing a senior thesis. I help spread the word that senior thesis writing groups are forming at the beginning of each term, lead orientation meetings to better inform interested students about how the groups work, and facilitate the first meeting of each group to guide them in establishing a set of shared expectations for working together. Then I keep in touch throughout the semester by email or a shared check-in document, and by dropping by another meeting later in the semester. Our model aims at maximizing the rich benefits of writing groups for senior thesis writers with a minimum of direct instructional hours from our staff.

Readers of this blog may remember this 2013 post about the senior thesis writing group’s inaugural year, written by my colleagues Stephanie White and Elisabeth Miller and recently revised and published in The Writing Lab Newsletter . They use the memorable phrase “Putting Students in the Driver’s Seat” to capture the idea that the Writing Center’s role is to be a catalyst, to make these groups possible and then allow the writers themselves to coach and support one another through the thesis process. And for good reason: as White and Miller emphasize, the theoretical foundations for writing groups within composition studies suggest that peer-led groups offer “generative opportunities for collaboration” and “[develop] students’ autonomy and ownership over the writing” (1). Empowering these students—next year’s newest cohort of working professionals—gives them an opportunity to further develop their intellectual and social skills in engaging deeply and fruitfully with others about work in progress.

My goal in this post is to follow White and Miller’s metaphor to a new question: now that students are in the driver’s seat of their writing group, where do they go? In other words, to what different uses do students put their writing group and why? Are these uses that we have anticipated when we promise “encouragement, feedback, and support from your peers” in our publicity ? Or are they redefining and inventing other uses that perhaps we didn’t expect? And what might these uses, both for the thesis and beyond the thesis, imply for how we continue to facilitate and critically evaluate these groups in the future?

By the Numbers

First, a few numbers. This year, 26 senior thesis writers expressed interest in a writing group, either by completing an online survey to RSVP for an orientation meeting or by contacting me directly by email. Of those, 17 students participated regularly for one or two semesters. Five students began working with a group but did not continue, three students decided around the time of the orientation meeting not to pursue participation after all, and one student was unable to join a group because they expressed interest too late in the process.

I, along with my spring co-coordinator Stephanie Larson, took care to organize participating students into groups that took their timeline to graduation and their division within the university into account. In the end, four different writing groups worked together for at least one semester this year.

For the Thesis: Accountability, Peer Support, and Strong, Effective Writing

So how do students want to use their writing group for their thesis? In the survey students complete to RSVP for an orientation meeting, we ask, “What are you particularly hoping this group can help with?” This year, students responded with a wide range of desires for the groups, from “how to write it” to “smiles and laughs.” The single-most repeated hope had to do with accountability and motivation; phrases like “I hope this group can help me stay on track” and “timely progress” reflect a consistent theme. But students also expressed hopes that specifically had to do with writing—with developing their knowledge of the structure and genre conventions of a thesis (or effective writing within their field more generally), improving clarity for non-specialist readers, evaluating significance, and practicing revision. Taken together, these writing-centered hopes outnumbered those having to do with accountability and peer support two to one.

Based on my conversations with participating students and my observations of group meetings, I believe these are expectations that the senior thesis writing groups can meet and even exceed. As White and Miller show, peer-led senior thesis groups produce empathy, lead to deep learning, and generate accountability (3). This year, two groups have maintained a Google doc shared among members and with me; they use it to record plans for each meeting, next steps for drafting or revision, or their most important take-aways from discussion. After a recent meeting, Calla Buttke, a triple major in German, Chinese, and East Asian Studies, wrote, “[Everyone] gave me useful feedback, especially in terms of organization. I am going to move a few paragraphs [of my introduction] around as well as embellish on why this project is important. Also, I’m going to work on ‘showing instead of telling’ as my groupmates always say!”

Benefiting from Interdisciplinary Readers

Another significant pay-off for participants in these groups is learning from interdisciplinary perspectives. Elizabeth Bigelow, an Art History major who graduated in December 2015, valued this aspect of her writing group experience in particular: “One thing I loved about my group was that we (pretty much) came from different disciplines. In the end, we had a Chemistry major, a Psychology/Human Development and Family Studies major, and two Art History majors. For me particularly, I benefited from this diverse range of opinions because everyone was reading my work from a completely different perspective. Even within our Art History department, the two of us wrote in such different styles and had vastly different ideas that we were able to contribute valued opinions to one another.” Her fellow group member, Diane Hsieh (the Psychology/Human Development and Family Studies major), reinforced the benefits of an interdisciplinary group as well: “Knowing that people outside of my major will be reading my writing also makes me re-think about the flow and diction of my writing.”

Of course, feedback from readers with discipline-specific knowledge can be really useful, too. This year, we had enough interest from students in Psychology and closely allied disciplines on track to graduate in May that we organized them into one group. When I dropped by one of their group meetings last November, I noticed how seamlessly their conversation moved between their research projects, issues of methodology, and discussion of shared coursework.

Beyond the Thesis

Last semester, I also began to notice ways that participants were using their writing groups to address other exigencies beyond the thesis, most notably to get feedback on other writing projects or thesis-related presentations. While still collecting data or reading literature, some students solicited feedback on personal statements that they were writing for graduate school applications. Students have given mock talks to their groups to practice for the oral presentation of their thesis to faculty in their department. And one group has made an open invitation to its members to submit symposia materials for feedback. Expanding the kinds of writing being shared and examined helps to further build trust and rapport among group members, and it keeps the writing group relevant during the long research process, when students may not feel ready to dig into drafting.

Writing groups also afford an opportunity to gain institutional knowledge, like information about departmental advising norms and university resources. At a pizza party that I hosted in January for returning writing group participants, students talked, for example, about how they manage relationships with advisors. Frequency of meetings and the initiative required by students vary widely in these relationships. Some students meet weekly or bi-weekly with their advisors. For others, it’s more common to meet with a graduate student mentor in their lab than with faculty. Students also shared information about presenting opportunities, such as the Undergraduate Research Symposium and the Senior Honors Thesis Symposium coming up later this spring. In other words, while students share knowledge and ideas about writing with one another in these groups, they also have the opportunity to exchange information about related resources that can help students connect their projects to a broader audience and navigate the process they are all going through.

Senior Thesis Writing Groups and the World After College

In this final section, I want to share with you some of the research findings by my colleague Mike Passint, an English and History double major and an undergraduate Writing Fellow here at UW-Madison. Last semester, Mike completed an independent research project that he called “Cap or Bridge: The Senior Thesis and The Senior Year Experience.” To guide his research, he asked two central questions: “What is the connection between senior thesis writing and the transition to the world after college? How can students who are writing senior thesis papers, or students who are considering writing a senior thesis, understand the larger role that a thesis plays in the senior year experience?”

Sensitive to the many pressures that attend the threshold of college graduation—not least the economic burden of student debt, competitive job markets, and general anxiety about next steps and the value of their college degree— Mike felt “compelled to study the transition from college to whatever is after it.” Given this interest, it made a lot of sense to turn to the senior thesis as a window into that transition. It’s uniquely positioned, as Mike writes, “right in the middle of the change from being a student to a professional – or in other words, it is in the center of what some scholars call the ‘senior year experience.’ This is the experience of living in a transition out of college and having to figure out what your education actually means for you.”

I found out about Mike’s project because I helped connect him to folks he could interview for his research—participants in the senior thesis writing groups. And here’s what Mike found based on his interviews. First, the role of the senior thesis varies from person to person: for some it worked more like a cap, offering students a sense of closure and like they had “something to show for the degree”; for others, it worked more like a bridge, helping to prepare them for their next steps and build graduate school applications. Mike adapted his names for these two approaches to the senior thesis, the “cap-emphasis” and “bridge-emphasis,” from the two main streams of thought regarding the role of capstone courses. Second, Mike discovered that no matter the role of the senior thesis in the student’s transition away from college, the student is really in control of their thesis process: “They decide their topic, how they want to write it, what it’s for. Whether a student wants a sense of accomplishment from their degree, or a leg up on their grad school application, they can use their thesis in a way that lets them pursue their own ends.”

It’s this second finding that I want to pause on because – as Mike has pointed out to me – it has important implications for how we structure our senior thesis writing groups model. With these writing groups, we have an opportunity to foster discussion that would help students reflect on and become more conscious about why they are pursuing a senior thesis and how they want to put it to use. As Mike notes, “Once students are aware of what their thesis is doing for them in the short and long term, then anxiety about graduation will decrease.”

Oh The Places Senior Thesis Writing Groups Will Go!

On the whole, I like our current working model for senior thesis writing groups and the balance it strikes between writing group autonomy and support from the Writing Center. It’s not perfect—we could do more to reach out to potential participants, for one thing—but I think it works well, for the students who commit and for the coordinators. Lest we rest on our laurels, however, I’m going to hazard two tentative suggestions for ways that we could further augment this structure.

1) At least two students originally hoped their writing group would provide time and space to write, perhaps akin to what the Writing Center offers in the graduate student writing groups and our Writer’s Retreats . Would it be possible to add a monthly “Senior Thesis Writing Jam” to our calendar, inviting all senior thesis writing group participants to come as a core group of attendees and further opening it up to any other interested thesis writers? This way, the writing sessions don’t replace a discussion session in which writers can give one another feedback and updates on their projects, but participants also get to benefit from the structure and energy of a focused group of writers working alongside one another.

2) How can we foster thoughtful reflection on students’ short and long term goals for what they would like to get out of doing a senior thesis? Here, I lean again on Mike’s recommendations. In one reflection session, perhaps we could use a short series of prompts for writing and discussion, alongside a brief introduction to the cap and bridge theories of the senior year experience. Prompts could address purpose, connections to personal values, and connections to career aspirations. In a follow-up professionalization workshop, we could discuss with students how they can represent their thesis accomplishments to others. Or perhaps, the coordinator could work with each group to dedicate one of their meetings to addressing both of these concerns, and this could be the second meeting that the coordinator attends as they stay in touch with the groups throughout the semester.

I’d love to hear from readers of this blog other ideas, comments, or questions you have about ways to use senior thesis writing groups to maximum effect—for the thesis and beyond the thesis.

Thanks so much for reading, and props to all our senior thesis writers! You’re doing super smart and fascinating work and we’re lucky to have you as part of our university community!

Bigelow, Elizabeth. “Re: Seeking your follow-up thoughts on senior thesis writing group.” Message to the author. 4 March 2016. Email.

Buttke, Calla. “Senior Thesis Writing Group.” Shared Google Doc Entry. 31 January 2016.

Hsieh, Diane. “Re: Seeking your follow-up thoughts on senior thesis writing group.” Message to the author. 1 March 2016. Email.

Passint, Mike. “Re: Cancelling our meeting this afternoon.” Message to the author. 2 March 2016. Email.

9 Replies to “Using Peer Writing Groups For the Senior Thesis and Beyond”

Thanks for sharing an update about the work around the senior thesis writing groups, Rebecca. I really appreciate learning what students get out of these groups as well as how to use digital tools to foster group cohesion and collaboration!

Thanks so much for your post, Rebecca! I’ve learned so much from you about a programmatic perspective to writing center work beyond the actual writing center space itself, and I’ve loved working closely with both you and such a motivated group of writers.

Your post brings up something I’ve thought a lot about this semester—balancing the roles of autonomy and support when facilitating student writers. In the beginning of the semester, I worried that I didn’t model enough how to offer feedback for these writers. However, when I bumped into a writer who came into the writing center and she told me the conversation she and her peers had about her thesis introduction at their last session, I realized that the level of dedication and commitment this unique group of writers has must inform (and simultaneously put us at ease) when considering how to facilitate these groups.

In particular, I like your call to include more space for reflection about the purpose of a senior thesis. One writer in the group I facilitate has reached out for advice on a personal statement for graduate school, and he reminded me of the kinds of professional demands these writers face given where they are in their undergraduate trajectory. It’s hard enough trying to complete a senior thesis let alone considering what the future holds and how that thesis connects these moments. I love the idea of offering prompts to probe how to translate the work of a thesis to their next prospective audience, and when asked if my group would want help with professional documents, all looked wide-eyed while nodding their heads, “YES!” As you mention, because thesis writers have varying levels of communication with their advisors, this seems like an area where we as writing instructors and thesis group facilitators can step in and help students with the kind of bridge work Mike highlights.

Thanks again for your post!

Thanks for your great post, Rebecca! I think these writing groups are a great way to help people working on longer projects. I was in one of these groups for graduate students over the summer, and ever since, I’ve been recommending them to everyone I know who’s working on a longer project. I even think these kinds of regular writing groups can be helpful for people not necessarily working on longer projects but just managing many writing tasks during a semester, and I have find myself recommending writer’s retreats to even more students recently.

From another angle, I really enjoyed reading about how seniors conceptualize the senior theses. I remember fondly writing my own senior thesis. However, for me, I don’t think I saw it as either a cap or a bridge. I remember it as a time when I said, “Hey, there’s some pretty big questions I still want to try to answer before I’m done being a college student.” Although I didn’t plan to go to grad school when I was a senior, perhaps that’s why I ultimately decided to do so – to keep investigating those still-unanswered questions.

I’m glad to learn more about these peer writing groups and the Writing Center’s sponsorship. I especially enjoyed hearing about Mike Passint’s Writing Fellow research project into goals and uses of the senior thesis project. Thanks, Rebecca, for this post about a less visible area of the Writing Center’s work!

Thanks for this wonderful post on senior thesis writing groups! The way you’ve integrated Mike Passint’s Writing Fellow research project into your thinking about and recommendations for senior thesis writing groups shows (not tells) how undergraduate researchers can offer useful, vital, and fresh perspectives.

As someone who struggled to keep the Writing Center’s senior thesis writing group program going after Stephanie White and Elisabeth Miller’s awesome inaugural year, I know how hard it is put groups together given students’ very busy schedules and to keep them going without intervening too much or taking over. Clearly you’ve done a fantastic job! Your January pizza party is an especially good idea — I found that some groups that met during the first semester crumbled in the second, after UW’s long winter break, and a pizza party for all the groups sounds like a great way to check in and re-launch. Writing retreats linked to the senior thesis writing groups could function the same way, I think.

I’m glad to hear that the senior thesis groups are alive, well, and growing!

[…] Steffy, R. (2016, March 8). Using Peer Writing Groups for the Senior Thesis and Beyond. Retrieved April 06, 2016, from http://writing.wisc.edu/blog/?p=6526 ​ […]

Just finally had a chance to read this! So glad to hear that the Senior-Thesis Writing Groups are alive and thriving. Working with such smart, engaged, motivated, and fun undergrads was one of the highlights of my time at Wisconsin. It sounds like the program is continuing to reshape itself in small ways to best serve these students–and to help them better serve themselves. Kudos!

Stephanie White (Instructional Developer, TA Training and Writing Support, Centre for Teaching Excellence, University of Waterloo)

[…] The value of these groups is apparent in the words of the graduate writers themselves. And, although we’re very proud to offer this kind of programming in our Writing Center, they mark just one of many possible models. We are always experimenting with new elements, fine-tuning existing practices and aiming to reach and support more graduate and undergraduate writers. If you’re interested in other models we use for writing groups, see a description of our dissertation writing camps in a recent post on this blog by Rick Ness. And for a description of our senior-thesis writing workshops, see a recent post by Rebecca Steffy. […]

[…] and helping to manage day-to-day operations of the Center as part of team. My blog post, “Using Peer Writing Groups for the Senior Thesis and Beyond” reflects on one aspect of my coordinator […]

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Dissertation and Thesis Support: Writing Groups and Resources

General Workshops

Marilyn Gray, UCLA Graduate Writing Center Director

This workshop covers strategies and best practices for organizing writing groups for thesis and dissertation writing. The presentation focuses on independent writing groups organized by graduate students and offers tips on establishing meeting rules and structures for running meetings effectively. The workshop also addresses other campus resources available to support dissertation and thesis writers. (Approx. 20 mins.) This workshop was recorded in 2020.

Click here for the presentation slides: Dissertation Writing Groups Resources slides.pdf

This presentation work by the UCLA Graduate Writing Center is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License .

Thesis Writing Groups

Last week, the Hook and Eye blog had a great post on finding community in graduate school. In particular, Melissa Dalgleish talked about the value of her writing group. In her words, here’s what they talk about:

Structure. Application of theory. Voice. Organization. Negotiating our committees. Publication. Productivity tools. Grammar. Turning conference papers into articles into chapters. Syntax. Analysis.

I’ve mentioned thesis writing groups in the broader context of finding autonomous sources of support for thesis writing , but I haven’t talked about them in any detail. While I was working on this post, @ AnkeBrock sent me this link to Kerry Ann Rockquemore’s very helpful round-up of possible writing group configurations . I see no need to create a duplicate taxonomy, so I will instead provide a few potential questions that can be used to identify your own optimal type of writing group:

• Accountability or support? Do you just need some form of structure to make sure you write or do you actually need the support of writing in a disciplinary context?
• Friends or colleagues? Would your ideal support group be a warm and friendly place or do you like a more formal environment?
• Connected or independent? Do you want this support in the context of your own department or do you need to go further afield for your support (within your broader university community or in an online space)?
• Easily distracted?   Could a writing group be a distraction for you? For some—especially if they find themselves in a group that involves extensive peer review—a writing group can become an obstacle to their own writing, rather than a source of support.
• Role of the supervisor?   While most groups that I see are completely independent of the supervisor, some groups do have some supervisor involvement. Some function with the supervisor present; others are composed of writers who share a supervisor without the supervisor being there. If the supervisory relationship is challenging, the latter can be particularly useful; the group can help to decipher unclear advice and can try to compensate for insufficient support.

I think the benefits of a good writing group are obvious: community, accountability, provisional feedback, broadening expertise, developing a range of useful collegial skills. But any thesis writer should also be alert to the potential disadvantages: a drain on time, a locus for competition, another source of anxiety. Overall, I think the benefits will outweigh the costs for most writers, but it is useful to be armed with a little insight before entering into any situation that may affect your life as a writer.

Explorations of Style  has been busy lately due to the reblogging of my post on  understanding incoherence in academic writing  on LSE’s  Impact of Social Sciences  blog. Welcome to all the new readers! If you would like to follow the blog, you can do so by email, RSS feed,  Twitter , and  Facebook —all the options can be found in the left-hand column.

Recent links from @ explorstyle  on Twitter

From Mark Carrigan in the @ LSEImpactBlog ,  blogging  as ‘a distinctive space between academic research and journalism’.

From @ korystamper , a must-read for National Grammar Day . Don’t be the ‘Batman of apostrophes’–nobody likes that guy!

From @ KJDellAntonia , some questions regarding the lack of policy about parental leave during graduate study .

From @ thesiswhisperer , her always-helpful monthly newsletter  for February.

From @ docwritingSIG , practical advice to think about formatting issues throughout the thesis writing process .

From @ RohanMaitzen , a discussion of sharing our own blog archives .  The old stuff can be just as good as the new!

From David Perlmutter in @ Chronicle , a great essay on dealing with advice : the good, the conflicting, the malicious.

From @ seburnt , a helpful blogroll on language teaching .

From @ dratarrant  in @ PhD2Published , a great reflective post on online academic knowledge production .

From @ readywriting  in the @ academiccoaches  blog, creating better work-life balance through greater awareness of time.

From @ RohanMaitzen , an interesting, honest account of intellectual engagement and traditions of academic discourse.

From @ Chronicle , an essay by Laurie Essig on manners and multitasking .

From @ ProfHacker , some questions about sharing your teaching materials with students online.

From @ PhD2Published , a step-by-step description of turning a conference panel into a special issue of a journal .

From Inside Higher Ed , some thoughts on being strategic in deciding what literature to cite in your academic writing.

In case you missed this lovely little video from a Toronto book store the first time it made the rounds.

Once you understand the genre of the research article, you can use it for anything, even romance .

From Inside Higher Ed , a follow-up to @ thesiswhisperer ‘s post on niceness in academia .

From @ CShearson , a helpful explanation of the difference between ‘intensively’ and ‘extensively’ in academic writing.

From @ fishhookopeneye , the life-cycle of writing an article .  I’m relieved to learn that others also ‘procrasti-bake’!

From @ thesiswhisperer  in @ PhD2Published  blog, valuable reflections on blogging, identity, and sharing expertise .

From @ qui_oui , balancing thesis writing, professional development, and paid work , while still finding time to think.

From @ MacDictionary , a post on International Mother Language Day and the rise of English as a lingua franca .

Have you ever felt that our existing punctuation marks just weren’t enough ? Have you ever needed the ‘andorpersand’? 

From @ readywriting  in the @ academiccoaches  blog, a post on the link between enthusiasm and voice in academic writing .

From The Monkey Cage blog, an interesting reply to David Brooks’s ‘data’ column.

From Ruth Starkman in Inside Higher Ed , a great collection of questions on the role of digital scholarship in professional advancement .

From @ ProfHacker , using Facebook as a way to bring primary historical sources to life .

From Geoffrey Pullum in the Lingua Franca blog, a defence of adverbs and a call for careful, nuanced writing advice.

From @ Chronicle , an example of thoughtful word-by-word editing of academic writing.

From @ drdjwalker , introducing the Journal of Perspectives in Applied Academic Practice , a collaborative, open access e-journal .

From @ kyliebudge  in @ thesiswhisperer  blog, an argument for an exciting thesis writing retreat . Would it work for you?

From the New APPS blog, a discussion of tacit knowledge in academia : how do graduate students learn what they need to know?

From @ cplong , interesting thoughts about the value of adding an internship to doctoral education in the humanities .

From @ DocwritingSIG , interesting account of the types of writing support available to doctoral students .

From @ GradHacker , thoughts on increasing productivity within the time that you already have.

From @ ThomsonPat , distinguishing your method from your methodology .

From @ scholarlykitchn , a taxonomy of confusion .  Can’t decide if this sort of detailed diagnosis would help or confuse!

This Phillip Lopate piece in the New York Times made me wonder about the similarities between academic blogging and essay writing.

From Stephen M. Walt, a call for better academic writing . I don’t fully agree, but I like the way he frames ‘discovery versus presentation’.

From Barbara Fister in Inside Higher Ed , why suing librarians isn’t the answer .

From @ LSEReviewBooks , some advice to help you decide if you should be podcasting . But I still can’t decide!

From @ scholarlykitchn , a short survey on privatizing peer review . And here are the  results .

From @ LSEReviewBooks , @ PJDunleavy  gives a helpful account of the decline in the status of books in social sciences .

From @ charlottefrost , interesting reflections on @ PhD2Published : how it works, what it takes to run, where it is going .

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Three key principles.

1. Using writing to clarify your own thinking 2. Committing to extensive revision 3. Understanding the needs of your reader

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• Library Catalogue

Thesis Writing Group [Online]

 About Thesis Writing Group

Join Thesis Writing Group to make some serious progress on your thesis (or other academic writing projects) and to develop a sustainable writing practice. Thesis Writing Group runs for ten weeks each term and is modelled after other successful online writing groups that use scheduled time to work on writing with the (quiet) presence and support of other writers. Thesis Writing Group also makes many aspects of our in-person Thesis Writing Retreats available online throughout each term. 

What you can expect

Thesis Writing Group is held via Zoom. It is facilitated by members of the Graduate Writing Services team and the Research Commons Librarian, who are available for writing and research support during the weekly sessions. An Assistant for Theses will also be available for some of the sessions for any questions about using the thesis template, formatting, and the thesis submission process. Optional mini workshops on topics such as library research techniques, copyright, and academic publishing may be offered some weeks. For Fall 2024, sessions will be held on Fridays, 9:30 am - 12:30pm for 10 weeks, starting Friday, September 27, 2024 and concluding Friday, November 29, 2024.

The online writing group format

Some of you may already be familiar with or have participated in online writing groups. For both those with and without experience, we encourage you to join us for this unique experience! The group will begin each session by briefly checking in and setting goals before turning to dedicated writing time. Participants can request support from our team through the chat feature, and consultations/discussions will take place in breakout rooms. The 3-hour sessions conclude with the group coming together and discussing any reflections or areas of interest/concern.

Writers will be asked to keep their microphones muted while writing, and the use of webcams is welcome but entirely optional for each participant. 

 Registration is for ten weeks

Registration is available for all 10 weeks of sessions combined. We ask that registered participants commit to attending each session to the extent that their schedules allow.

Please register by Thursday, September 26, 2024 before 6:00am in order to receive the Zoom link to join.

If you have any questions about Thesis Writing Group, please contact Julie Jones, Research Commons Librarian, at [email protected] . 

Upcoming workshops

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• Thesis Writing Groups - Three Months to Advance Your Thesis
• Winter 2024 1-Day Writing Retreat - February 6, 2024
• Winter 2024 1-Day Writing Retreat - March 5, 2024
• Winter 2024 1-Day Writing Retreat - April 2, 2024

Thesis Writing Groups: Three Months to Advance Your Thesis

Do you feel like there’s never enough time to make any progress on your thesis? Is your next chapter deadline looming? Want to find time to write and set attainable goals within a motivating and lively writing community that cares about your well-being?

Three Months to Advance Your Thesis (3MAYT) , presented by Graphos and Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, is here to offer you structure, space, and support as you write. 

What is it?

A 3-month program with an established schedule that’s set for the duration of your session.

Group Fall  2024  runs from Monday, September 9 to Friday, November 29, 2024 .

Here is the schedule:

Mondays: 9:00-9:55 OR 10:00-10:55 OR 11:00 to 11:55 : attend your small group meeting with your facilitator (required) *11:00-11:55:  possible in-person  small group meeting on downtown campus, depending on interest and commitment to regular in-person attendance 13:00-15:30 :attend a 3MAYT Online Write Together Session, OR 13:30-16:00 : attend In-Person   Graphos Meet & Write Mondays , in the Cyberthèque, McLennan Library basement (OR commit to writing for ~2.5 hours on your own)

Tuesdays: 9:30-12:00 : attend Graphos Rise & Write  (OR commit to writing for ~2.5 hours on your own)

Wednesdays : 12:45-13:00 : Guided mindfulness practice (optional) 13:00-15:30: attend a 3MAYT Online Write Together Session (OR commit to writing for ~2.5 hours on your own) Thursdays : 9:30-10:50 : attend  Graphos 60 Minutes online (OR commit to writing for ~1 hour on your own) 13:30-16:00 : attend Graphos 120 Minutes  (OR commit to writing for ~2.5 hours on your own)

Fridays: 9:00-9:55 OR 10:00-10:55 OR 11:00 to 11:55 : attend your small group meeting with your facilitator (required) Afternoon free to schedule and complete your writing week and enjoy the great feeling of having advanced your thesis this week!

Most activities (i.e. small group meetings and structured group writing sessions) will take place online. Work from wherever you are, accompanied by others. Know that you are expected to attend small group meetings and make space in your schedule for your writing.

But we will consider the option of  one in-person group  that will meet at the downtown campus on Mondays 11:00-11:55, depending on applicants' interest and commitment to regular in-person attendance.

** Monday October 14,  no small group meetings or writing sessions.

You will be joining a group of thesis writers like yourself. Your group facilitator will guide you through the peaks and valleys of writing your thesis and your fellow participants will share in celebrating the little victories along the way. You will all be in it together to keep one another accountable and to support each other.

How do I participate?

-Apply: click on the link for the appropriate session in the table below - be sure to check the deadline to submit your application!

-Commit to a structured writing schedule including a small group meeting every Monday and Friday morning AND 2-4 group writing sessions/week.

Three Months to Advance Your Thesis groups will run for three months, once per academic term.

The following table lists the groups, start and end dates, application dates, application links

For any questions, please contact graphos.thesis [at] mcgill.ca

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What is a thesis | A Complete Guide with Examples

Table of Contents

A thesis is a comprehensive academic paper based on your original research that presents new findings, arguments, and ideas of your study. It’s typically submitted at the end of your master’s degree or as a capstone of your bachelor’s degree.

However, writing a thesis can be laborious, especially for beginners. From the initial challenge of pinpointing a compelling research topic to organizing and presenting findings, the process is filled with potential pitfalls.

Therefore, to help you, this guide talks about what is a thesis. Additionally, it offers revelations and methodologies to transform it from an overwhelming task to a manageable and rewarding academic milestone.

What is a thesis?

A thesis is an in-depth research study that identifies a particular topic of inquiry and presents a clear argument or perspective about that topic using evidence and logic.

Writing a thesis showcases your ability of critical thinking, gathering evidence, and making a compelling argument. Integral to these competencies is thorough research, which not only fortifies your propositions but also confers credibility to your entire study.

Furthermore, there's another phenomenon you might often confuse with the thesis: the ' working thesis .' However, they aren't similar and shouldn't be used interchangeably.

A working thesis, often referred to as a preliminary or tentative thesis, is an initial version of your thesis statement. It serves as a draft or a starting point that guides your research in its early stages.

As you research more and gather more evidence, your initial thesis (aka working thesis) might change. It's like a starting point that can be adjusted as you learn more. It's normal for your main topic to change a few times before you finalize it.

While a thesis identifies and provides an overarching argument, the key to clearly communicating the central point of that argument lies in writing a strong thesis statement.

What is a thesis statement?

A strong thesis statement (aka thesis sentence) is a concise summary of the main argument or claim of the paper. It serves as a critical anchor in any academic work, succinctly encapsulating the primary argument or main idea of the entire paper.

Typically found within the introductory section, a strong thesis statement acts as a roadmap of your thesis, directing readers through your arguments and findings. By delineating the core focus of your investigation, it offers readers an immediate understanding of the context and the gravity of your study.

Furthermore, an effectively crafted thesis statement can set forth the boundaries of your research, helping readers anticipate the specific areas of inquiry you are addressing.

Different types of thesis statements

A good thesis statement is clear, specific, and arguable. Therefore, it is necessary for you to choose the right type of thesis statement for your academic papers.

Thesis statements can be classified based on their purpose and structure. Here are the primary types of thesis statements:

Argumentative (or Persuasive) thesis statement

Purpose : To convince the reader of a particular stance or point of view by presenting evidence and formulating a compelling argument.

Example : Reducing plastic use in daily life is essential for environmental health.

Analytical thesis statement

Purpose : To break down an idea or issue into its components and evaluate it.

Example : By examining the long-term effects, social implications, and economic impact of climate change, it becomes evident that immediate global action is necessary.

Expository (or Descriptive) thesis statement

Purpose : To explain a topic or subject to the reader.

Example : The Great Depression, spanning the 1930s, was a severe worldwide economic downturn triggered by a stock market crash, bank failures, and reduced consumer spending.

Cause and effect thesis statement

Purpose : To demonstrate a cause and its resulting effect.

Example : Overuse of smartphones can lead to impaired sleep patterns, reduced face-to-face social interactions, and increased levels of anxiety.

Compare and contrast thesis statement

Purpose : To highlight similarities and differences between two subjects.

Example : "While both novels '1984' and 'Brave New World' delve into dystopian futures, they differ in their portrayal of individual freedom, societal control, and the role of technology."

When you write a thesis statement , it's important to ensure clarity and precision, so the reader immediately understands the central focus of your work.

What is the difference between a thesis and a thesis statement?

While both terms are frequently used interchangeably, they have distinct meanings.

A thesis refers to the entire research document, encompassing all its chapters and sections. In contrast, a thesis statement is a brief assertion that encapsulates the central argument of the research.

Here’s an in-depth differentiation table of a thesis and a thesis statement.

Now, to craft a compelling thesis, it's crucial to adhere to a specific structure. Let’s break down these essential components that make up a thesis structure

15 components of a thesis structure

Navigating a thesis can be daunting. However, understanding its structure can make the process more manageable.

Here are the key components or different sections of a thesis structure:

Your thesis begins with the title page. It's not just a formality but the gateway to your research.

Here, you'll prominently display the necessary information about you (the author) and your institutional details.

• Title of your thesis
• Your full name
• Your department
• Your institution and degree program
• Your submission date
• Your Supervisor's name (in some cases)
• Your Department or faculty (in some cases)
• Your University's logo (in some cases)
• Your Student ID (in some cases)

In a concise manner, you'll have to summarize the critical aspects of your research in typically no more than 200-300 words.

This includes the problem statement, methodology, key findings, and conclusions. For many, the abstract will determine if they delve deeper into your work, so ensure it's clear and compelling.

Acknowledgments

Research is rarely a solitary endeavor. In the acknowledgments section, you have the chance to express gratitude to those who've supported your journey.

This might include advisors, peers, institutions, or even personal sources of inspiration and support. It's a personal touch, reflecting the humanity behind the academic rigor.

Table of contents

A roadmap for your readers, the table of contents lists the chapters, sections, and subsections of your thesis.

By providing page numbers, you allow readers to navigate your work easily, jumping to sections that pique their interest.

List of figures and tables

Research often involves data, and presenting this data visually can enhance understanding. This section provides an organized listing of all figures and tables in your thesis.

It's a visual index, ensuring that readers can quickly locate and reference your graphical data.

Introduction

Here's where you introduce your research topic, articulate the research question or objective, and outline the significance of your study.

• Present the research topic : Clearly articulate the central theme or subject of your research.
• Background information : Ground your research topic, providing any necessary context or background information your readers might need to understand the significance of your study.
• Define the scope : Clearly delineate the boundaries of your research, indicating what will and won't be covered.
• Literature review : Introduce any relevant existing research on your topic, situating your work within the broader academic conversation and highlighting where your research fits in.
• State the research Question(s) or objective(s) : Clearly articulate the primary questions or objectives your research aims to address.
• Outline the study's structure : Give a brief overview of how the subsequent sections of your work will unfold, guiding your readers through the journey ahead.

The introduction should captivate your readers, making them eager to delve deeper into your research journey.

Literature review section

Your study correlates with existing research. Therefore, in the literature review section, you'll engage in a dialogue with existing knowledge, highlighting relevant studies, theories, and findings.

It's here that you identify gaps in the current knowledge, positioning your research as a bridge to new insights.

To streamline this process, consider leveraging AI tools. For example, the SciSpace literature review tool enables you to efficiently explore and delve into research papers, simplifying your literature review journey.

Methodology

In the research methodology section, you’ll detail the tools, techniques, and processes you employed to gather and analyze data. This section will inform the readers about how you approached your research questions and ensures the reproducibility of your study.

Here's a breakdown of what it should encompass:

• Research Design : Describe the overall structure and approach of your research. Are you conducting a qualitative study with in-depth interviews? Or is it a quantitative study using statistical analysis? Perhaps it's a mixed-methods approach?
• Data Collection : Detail the methods you used to gather data. This could include surveys, experiments, observations, interviews, archival research, etc. Mention where you sourced your data, the duration of data collection, and any tools or instruments used.
• Sampling : If applicable, explain how you selected participants or data sources for your study. Discuss the size of your sample and the rationale behind choosing it.
• Data Analysis : Describe the techniques and tools you used to process and analyze the data. This could range from statistical tests in quantitative research to thematic analysis in qualitative research.
• Validity and Reliability : Address the steps you took to ensure the validity and reliability of your findings to ensure that your results are both accurate and consistent.
• Ethical Considerations : Highlight any ethical issues related to your research and the measures you took to address them, including — informed consent, confidentiality, and data storage and protection measures.

Moreover, different research questions necessitate different types of methodologies. For instance:

• Experimental methodology : Often used in sciences, this involves a controlled experiment to discern causality.
• Qualitative methodology : Employed when exploring patterns or phenomena without numerical data. Methods can include interviews, focus groups, or content analysis.
• Quantitative methodology : Concerned with measurable data and often involves statistical analysis. Surveys and structured observations are common tools here.
• Mixed methods : As the name implies, this combines both qualitative and quantitative methodologies.

The Methodology section isn’t just about detailing the methods but also justifying why they were chosen. The appropriateness of the methods in addressing your research question can significantly impact the credibility of your findings.

Results (or Findings)

This section presents the outcomes of your research. It's crucial to note that the nature of your results may vary; they could be quantitative, qualitative, or a mix of both.

Quantitative results often present statistical data, showcasing measurable outcomes, and they benefit from tables, graphs, and figures to depict these data points.

Qualitative results , on the other hand, might delve into patterns, themes, or narratives derived from non-numerical data, such as interviews or observations.

Regardless of the nature of your results, clarity is essential. This section is purely about presenting the data without offering interpretations — that comes later in the discussion.

In the discussion section, the raw data transforms into valuable insights.

Start by revisiting your research question and contrast it with the findings. How do your results expand, constrict, or challenge current academic conversations?

Dive into the intricacies of the data, guiding the reader through its implications. Detail potential limitations transparently, signaling your awareness of the research's boundaries. This is where your academic voice should be resonant and confident.

Practical implications (Recommendation) section

Based on the insights derived from your research, this section provides actionable suggestions or proposed solutions.

Whether aimed at industry professionals or the general public, recommendations translate your academic findings into potential real-world actions. They help readers understand the practical implications of your work and how it can be applied to effect change or improvement in a given field.

When crafting recommendations, it's essential to ensure they're feasible and rooted in the evidence provided by your research. They shouldn't merely be aspirational but should offer a clear path forward, grounded in your findings.

The conclusion provides closure to your research narrative.

It's not merely a recap but a synthesis of your main findings and their broader implications. Reconnect with the research questions or hypotheses posited at the beginning, offering clear answers based on your findings.

Reflect on the broader contributions of your study, considering its impact on the academic community and potential real-world applications.

Lastly, the conclusion should leave your readers with a clear understanding of the value and impact of your study.

References (or Bibliography)

Every theory you've expounded upon, every data point you've cited, and every methodological precedent you've followed finds its acknowledgment here.

In references, it's crucial to ensure meticulous consistency in formatting, mirroring the specific guidelines of the chosen citation style .

Proper referencing helps to avoid plagiarism , gives credit to original ideas, and allows readers to explore topics of interest. Moreover, it situates your work within the continuum of academic knowledge.

To properly cite the sources used in the study, you can rely on online citation generator tools  to generate accurate citations!

Here’s more on how you can cite your sources.

Often, the depth of research produces a wealth of material that, while crucial, can make the core content of the thesis cumbersome. The appendix is where you mention extra information that supports your research but isn't central to the main text.

Whether it's raw datasets, detailed procedural methodologies, extended case studies, or any other ancillary material, the appendices ensure that these elements are archived for reference without breaking the main narrative's flow.

For thorough researchers and readers keen on meticulous details, the appendices provide a treasure trove of insights.

Glossary (optional)

In academics, specialized terminologies, and jargon are inevitable. However, not every reader is versed in every term.

The glossary, while optional, is a critical tool for accessibility. It's a bridge ensuring that even readers from outside the discipline can access, understand, and appreciate your work.

By defining complex terms and providing context, you're inviting a wider audience to engage with your research, enhancing its reach and impact.

Remember, while these components provide a structured framework, the essence of your thesis lies in the originality of your ideas, the rigor of your research, and the clarity of your presentation.

As you craft each section, keep your readers in mind, ensuring that your passion and dedication shine through every page.

Thesis examples

To further elucidate the concept of a thesis, here are illustrative examples from various fields:

Example 1 (History): Abolition, Africans, and Abstraction: the Influence of the ‘Noble Savage’ on British and French Antislavery Thought, 1787-1807 by Suchait Kahlon.

Example 2 (Climate Dynamics): Influence of external forcings on abrupt millennial-scale climate changes: a statistical modelling study by Takahito Mitsui · Michel Crucifix

Checklist for your thesis evaluation

Evaluating your thesis ensures that your research meets the standards of academia. Here's an elaborate checklist to guide you through this critical process.

Content and structure

• Is the thesis statement clear, concise, and debatable?
• Does the introduction provide sufficient background and context?
• Is the literature review comprehensive, relevant, and well-organized?
• Does the methodology section clearly describe and justify the research methods?
• Are the results/findings presented clearly and logically?
• Does the discussion interpret the results in light of the research question and existing literature?
• Is the conclusion summarizing the research and suggesting future directions or implications?

Clarity and coherence

• Is the writing clear and free of jargon?
• Are ideas and sections logically connected and flowing?
• Is there a clear narrative or argument throughout the thesis?

Research quality

• Is the research question significant and relevant?
• Are the research methods appropriate for the question?
• Is the sample size (if applicable) adequate?
• Are the data analysis techniques appropriate and correctly applied?
• Are potential biases or limitations addressed?

Originality and significance

• Does the thesis contribute new knowledge or insights to the field?
• Is the research grounded in existing literature while offering fresh perspectives?

Formatting and presentation

• Is the thesis formatted according to institutional guidelines?
• Are figures, tables, and charts clear, labeled, and referenced in the text?
• Is the bibliography or reference list complete and consistently formatted?
• Are appendices relevant and appropriately referenced in the main text?

Grammar and language

• Is the thesis free of grammatical and spelling errors?
• Is the language professional, consistent, and appropriate for an academic audience?
• Are quotations and paraphrased material correctly cited?

Feedback and revision

• Have you sought feedback from peers, advisors, or experts in the field?
• Have you addressed the feedback and made the necessary revisions?

Overall assessment

• Does the thesis as a whole feel cohesive and comprehensive?
• Would the thesis be understandable and valuable to someone in your field?

Ensure to use this checklist to leave no ground for doubt or missed information in your thesis.

After writing your thesis, the next step is to discuss and defend your findings verbally in front of a knowledgeable panel. You’ve to be well prepared as your professors may grade your presentation abilities.

Preparing your thesis defense

A thesis defense, also known as "defending the thesis," is the culmination of a scholar's research journey. It's the final frontier, where you’ll present their findings and face scrutiny from a panel of experts.

Typically, the defense involves a public presentation where you’ll have to outline your study, followed by a question-and-answer session with a committee of experts. This committee assesses the validity, originality, and significance of the research.

The defense serves as a rite of passage for scholars. It's an opportunity to showcase expertise, address criticisms, and refine arguments. A successful defense not only validates the research but also establishes your authority as a researcher in your field.

Here’s how you can effectively prepare for your thesis defense .

Now, having touched upon the process of defending a thesis, it's worth noting that scholarly work can take various forms, depending on academic and regional practices.

One such form, often paralleled with the thesis, is the 'dissertation.' But what differentiates the two?

Dissertation vs. Thesis

Often used interchangeably in casual discourse, they refer to distinct research projects undertaken at different levels of higher education.

To the uninitiated, understanding their meaning might be elusive. So, let's demystify these terms and delve into their core differences.

Here's a table differentiating between the two.

Wrapping up

From understanding the foundational concept of a thesis to navigating its various components, differentiating it from a dissertation, and recognizing the importance of proper citation — this guide covers it all.

As scholars and readers, understanding these nuances not only aids in academic pursuits but also fosters a deeper appreciation for the relentless quest for knowledge that drives academia.

It’s important to remember that every thesis is a testament to curiosity, dedication, and the indomitable spirit of discovery.

Good luck with your thesis writing!

Frequently Asked Questions

A thesis typically ranges between 40-80 pages, but its length can vary based on the research topic, institution guidelines, and level of study.

A PhD thesis usually spans 200-300 pages, though this can vary based on the discipline, complexity of the research, and institutional requirements.

To identify a thesis topic, consider current trends in your field, gaps in existing literature, personal interests, and discussions with advisors or mentors. Additionally, reviewing related journals and conference proceedings can provide insights into potential areas of exploration.

The conceptual framework is often situated in the literature review or theoretical framework section of a thesis. It helps set the stage by providing the context, defining key concepts, and explaining the relationships between variables.

A thesis statement should be concise, clear, and specific. It should state the main argument or point of your research. Start by pinpointing the central question or issue your research addresses, then condense that into a single statement, ensuring it reflects the essence of your paper.

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Thesis and Dissertation Support

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The Grad Center is here to help you get started, make steady progress, and complete your thesis or dissertation on time. 

Workshops and Events 

Writing Programs and Support 

Penn Three Minute Thesis (3MT)

Thesis and Dissertation Resources

We offer workshops and information sessions throughout the year designed to support productive research, writing, and degree completion.  

Popular workshops include: 

Publishing Workshop Series  Curious about publishing but not sure where to start? Join the library staff and the Graduate Student Center for workshops on different aspects of the publishing process!

Reference Management Tools  Reference management software can save researchers considerable time and energy in compiling and formatting references for publications. One-hour workshop demonstrating the most widely-used citation management tools. 

Setting Writing Goals We recognize that depending on where you are in your Masters, PhD, or professional program, it may be challenging to find the motivation to write or to establish a routine that is balanced with your personal tasks and obligations. Join the Weingarten Center and Graduate Student Center for our writing goals workshops to learn effective strategies for setting and keeping clear, achievable writing goals and a balanced schedule. 

See all upcoming events

Whether you need intensive writing time or are looking for ongoing writing motivation and feedback, we work with campus partners to provide range of academic writing support. 

Dissertation Boot Camp   Looking for an environment where you can focus solely on writing your dissertation? The Graduate Student Center's popular Dissertation Boot Camp is your two-week writers' retreat. Dissertation Boot Camp was  created at Penn in 2005  to help students progress through the difficult writing stages of the dissertation process. By offering an environment and support for intense, focused writing time, the Camp provides participants with the structure and motivation to overcome typical roadblocks in the dissertation process.   Boot Camp is a two-week long, bi-annual event.  Drop-in Writing Consultations   Weekly drop-in writing consultations with experts from the  Weingarten Center , held throughout the academic year. Weingarten staff can discuss work at every stage, and help you move past difficult roadblocks in the process. Writing Accountability Groups  Whether you’re working on a dissertation, journal article, or other writing project, forming a group with other students working on writing projects is a great way to help one another make progress and meet deadlines, by providing accountability and encouragement along the way. Check out our resources for existing writing groups or fill out the group matching form below and we will help connect you with a writing group or partner!  Writers Retreats & Graduate Writers Rooms  The Grad Center collaborates with campus partners to provide graduate students with the space, structure, and encouragement to make progress towards completing major research-related writing projects. 

See all Academic Writing Programs

Penn Libraries : Offers a great many  workshops  to help in the research and dissertation process. In addition,  subject librarians  are standing by to support teaching, research, and learning. The  Using Electronic Resources  guide provides information on accessing e-resources, optimal browser settings, as well as common connection problems and solutions. They also maintain lists of free or reduced-price  online journals & ebooks  and  streaming video ! 

Office of Regulatory Affairs : Helps to assure that all research conducted at Penn honors Penn's standards for the treatment of people and animals .

Office of the Vice Provost for Research : Provides information on funding opportunities and links to graduate student resources.

Penn Electronic Research Administration (PennERA) : PennERA is a full life-cycle system for research project development, support, and management.

Weigle Information Commons : Supports study groups and collaborative learning and offers training, equipment, and support for digital media. Several support services are provided for students as they work to improve their effectiveness in writing, speaking, and original inquiry. 

Research Tools and Websites  

Penn Libraries guide to  Statistical Software  

Bibliomania : Provides free online literature with more than 2000 classic texts.

Elements of Style Online book : the classic reference book for all writers.

Library of Congress Online research center : provides free educational materials including access to the Library of Congress archives.

Bibliographic & Reference Management Software

BiblioScape : Free Download

Endnote  works well for the health sciences and for large collections of articles, despite some technical and installation issues. Available for a discount at  Penn Computer Connection

Mendeley  is a cloud-based proprietary system that includes Facebook-style social networking, PDF annotation, a platform for self-promotion and crowd-sourcing of citations and annotations. Mendeley has a wide range of functionality but suffers from performance and accuracy issues.

RefWorks  is a stable, well-established platform, but has limitations in terms of working with PDF files. Provided by and integrated with the  Penn Library

Zotero  is an open-source software program that is notable for its ease of use, its ability to grab screenshots, and its capabilities for archiving website content for local storage.

For more details and a handy comparison chart, check out the Penn Libraries'  Citation Management Tools Guide . 

Print Resources  

Wayne C. Booth, Joseph M. Williams, Gregory G. Colomb,  The Craft of Research, Third Edition  (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing), (Chicago: U of Chicago Press, 2008)

Carol M. Roberts,  The Dissertation Journey: A Practical and Comprehensive Guide to Planning, Writing, and Defending Your Dissertation  (Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 2004) -  Google Books

Kiel Erik Rudestam, Rae R. Newton,  Surviving Your Dissertation: A Comprehensive Guide to Content and Process  (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2007) -  Google Books

Dissertation Process

Writing and revising .

The Weingarten Center provides writing consultations to help you organize and make progress on your writing through their Learning Consultations.

LaTeX Fundamentals Tutorials from Penn Libraries: If you're new to using LaTeX to format your thesis or dissertation, check out these short video tutorials from Penn Libraries that include examples and practice exercises!

Defending your Thesis/Dissertation 

Preparing for the Oral Defense of the Dissertation by Marianne Di Pierro  (PDF, opens in new tab)

CWiC : Provides courses and workshops for students to improve speaking abilities.

Productivity

PhinisheD : Discord server group for people working on their dissertations.

Print Resources 

Joan Bolker,  Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day: A Guide to Starting, Revising, and Finishing Your Doctoral Thesis  (New York: Holt, 1998) -  Google Books

Sonja Foss and William Waters,  Destination Dissertation: A Traveler's Guide to a Done Dissertation (Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2007) -  Google Books

Jane Burka with Lenora M. Yuen,  Procrastination: Why You Do It, What to Do About It Now  (Cambridge, Mass: Da Capo Lifelong Books, 2008)

Guidelines and Policies

Most academic polices and procedures at Penn are school-based. Students should consult with their school or graduate group with questions or for help in understanding academic policies and procedures.

See our complete list of academic policies in our resource guide or search for university policies by topic in the Graduate Catalog .

Academic Rules for Research Programs

• Academic Rules for PhD Programs
• Academic Rules for Research Master's Programs

Academic Integrity All members of the Penn Community are responsible for upholding the highest standards of honesty and complying Code of Academic Integrity  at all times. 

• Guides on how to properly cite materials included in your document

Research Policies and Guidelines

• Fairness of Authorship Credit in Collaborative Faculty-Student Publications for PhD, AM, and MS Students
• Guidelines for Research in the Community
• Guidelines for Student Protection in Sponsored Research Projects
• Patent and Tangible Research Property Policies and Procedures
• Policy Regarding Human Subject Research in the Sociobehavioral Sciences
• Procedures Regarding Misconduct in Research for Nonfaculty members of the Research Community

Leaves of Absence PhD students will be granted a leave of absence for military duty, medical reasons, or  family leave ; any of these may require documentation. Read more in the PhD Student Leave of Absence Policy .

Dissertation Guides The University's requirements for preparing, formatting, and submitting the dissertation are documented on the Provost's Graduate Degrees website . The website also includes helpful resources, a graduation calendar and checklist, and links to external resources. 

Submission and Graduation

Preparing and filing your thesis/dissertation are the key final steps leading to the awarding of your degree. 

Preparation and Formatting 

University Style Guide for Master's Theses

Dissertation Formatting Guide  (DOCX, opens a download window) The University's requirements for preparing, formatting, and submitting the dissertation are documented in the Dissertation Formatting Guide. The manual also includes helpful resources, a graduation calendar and checklist, and links to external resources. 

Graduation Requirements

The  Office of the Provost  oversees the graduation process for all PhD and Research Master's degrees as well as PhD dissertation and research master’s thesis deposits . The University of Pennsylvania confers degrees in May, August, and December. Commencement and diploma ceremonies are held in May.

Degree candidates must apply to graduate by the date listed in the  Graduation Calendar  to be eligible for the conferral of their degree and issuance of their diploma in a given term. The specific deadlines for deposit and graduation for each degree term are listed in the  Graduation Calendar .

Please note  the deadline to complete all degree requirements and sign up for graduation is several weeks in advance of the graduation date.  

Dissertation Submission At the University of Pennsylvania, each doctoral student presents the dissertation publicly, defends it, and, with the approval of the dissertation committee, submits the final manuscript for publication.

To successfully deposit a PhD dissertation, the University's requirements for formatting the dissertation must be followed, per the  Dissertation Formatting Guide (DOCX, opens a download window) . Research Master's students must follow the Master's Thesis Style Guide . Please read the Formatting FAQs for assistance with formatting your work, as proper formatting may take more time than you anticipate. 

Additional Resources

Penn resources and support.

Office of Student Disabilities Services : Provides comprehensive, professional services and programs for students with disabilities.

Weingarten Center : Offers instruction in academic reading, writing, and study strategies.  The Weingarten Center offers access to  academic support resources  and advising. Students can schedule 50-minute virtual or in-person meetings or sign up for 25-minute virtual or in-person drop-in sessions with a learning instructor  via the MyWeingartenCenter portal  to discuss their study strategies and approaches to a variety of academic assignments and assessments.

Counseling Services : Offers counseling and graduate student specific support groups.

Funding your research : Visit our Graduate Funding page 

Graduate Group Review Student Feedback Form Graduate Groups are periodically reviewed by the Graduate Council of the Faculties (GCF) in order to identify strengths and weaknesses within each program, and to recommend any changes that may help to improve the Graduate Group. This feedback form is intended to solicit general information and impressions about your graduate school experiences to share with GCF. If there is a specific incident you would like to report, please use the University’s  Bias Incident Reporting Form .

Global Resources

Penn Global  Before going abroad for academic work, be sure to check out Penn Global's International Travel Guidance page, which provides help during an emergency abroad, research concerns when abroad, travel arrangements, visa information and more. Be sure to register your trip  to stay connected to Penn resources in the event of an emergency and pre-authorize any necessary medical insurance coverage. 

Perry World House  Perry World House at the University of Pennsylvania (PWH) is a global policy research center that aims to advance interdisciplinary, policy-relevant research on the world’s most urgent global affairs challenges. At a time of increasing ideological division and highly politicized of policymaking, PWH draws on the wide range of expertise found across Penn’s 12 Schools, connecting Penn with policymakers, practitioners, and researchers from around the world to develop and advance innovative policy proposals.  

Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement  The Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement at the University of Pennsylvania is founded on the principle that a democratic, open, secure, tolerant, and interconnected world benefits all Americans. Based in Washington, D.C., the Penn Biden Center engages more of our fellow citizens in shaping this world, while ensuring the gains of global engagement are widely shared.  

Penn Abroad Penn Abroad serves as the hub for student global opportunities at the University of Pennsylvania. Each year Penn Abroad sends more than 1,000 Penn students to over 50 countries around the world on semester study abroad, summer internships, and embedded Global Seminars. Explore our website to find information about the many global opportunities available to Penn students. 

International Student and Scholar Services International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) aims to provide immigration assistance as well as a sense of community for the international population at Penn.  In addition to answering your technical questions about immigration, ISSS also offers student programs and leadership opportunities for students, such as Forerunner and the Intercultural Leadership Program (ILP), to foster meaningful engagement throughout their journey with Penn. 

Resources in Print

Robert L. Peters,  Getting What You Came for: The Smart Student's Guide to Earning a Master's or a Ph.D.  (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1997)

Emily Toth,  Ms Mentor's New and Ever More Impeccable Advice for Women and Men in Academia   (Philadelphia, U Penn Press, 2008)

Penn's Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is an annual, university-wide competition for doctoral and research students to develop and showcase their research communication skills through brief, 3-minute presentations. 

Learn more 

Have suggestions for more helpful resources? Let us know !

Graduate Student Center University of Pennsylvania 3615 Locust Walk Philadelphia PA 19104 215-746-6868

[email protected]

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Senior Honors Thesis Writing Groups

Senior honors thesis writing groups offer opportunities for students to develop their individual theses in a supportive community of fellow writers. Facilitated by a faculty member from the Expository Writing Program, these groups complement the work students are undertaking in their own departments in ways that offer support and resources related to the  principles  of thesis writing as well as the  process  of writing.  Groups are generally organized by department and meet in the late fall and spring, becoming especially valuable as the year progresses and thesis writers move further into their independent work.   

NEW THIS YEAR:

Thesis Open House - Thursday, October 26th

Thesis Thursdays - Thesis write-ins open to all thesis writers at any stage of your project - Thurs. Nov. 9th, Nov. 16th, Nov. 30th, Dec. 7th -  bit.ly/thesis-thursdays

Spring 2024 Thesis Writing Groups  - Thesis writing groups organized by department/field -  bit.ly/spring2024-thesis-groups

• Spring 2024 2-Credit Elective Course - Thesis Writing in the Humanities and Social Sciences

Thesis Open House

Writing a thesis? Join us for a THESIS OPEN HOUSE! 

Thursday, October 26th at 4pm

Learn more about writing groups, workshops, the Writing Center & electives

Refreshments available!

Register here

2-Credit Elective Course Spring 2024: EXPOS 12 – Thesis Writing in the Humanities and Social Sciences, taught by Dr. Natasha Zaretsky 

Excited about your thesis but overwhelmed by the writing process? In this 2-credit writing course, you will build on the work in your department-specific thesis courses to hone rhetorical strategies essential to long-form academic writing and research, including enhancing your engagement with primary and empirical sources, marshaling theoretical frameworks and harnessing audience awareness. This class offers an intentionally multidisciplinary space for you to refine your research and scholarship across departmental boundaries.

Senior Thesis Writing Groups

What to expect.

Groups are limited to 4-6 students and are generally arranged by department. 

Most groups begin in the late fall, with 2 sessions, continuing with about 4 sessions in the spring. Students who join a group commit to attending all sessions.

Meetings are scheduled at a time convenient to all group members, usually lasting about 1.5 hours.

Each session focuses on students’ work-in-progress, which is shared beforehand and discussed collaboratively during the session. The EWP faculty member facilitating each session also distills shared principles at the end of each session, offering additional resources to the group as needed.

Thesis writing group students are also invited for additional thesis write-in’s offered in the Spring and may make individual appointments with consultants in the Writing Center as well.

Groups Offer Support Related to the PRINCIPLES OF THESIS WRITING

Support and Resources: feedback, resources and support related to elements of thesis writing (including, developing an interesting research problem, literature review, integrating empirical research with theory)

Scholarly Conversation: learning to identify the intellectual context for one’s thesis and understand the genres into which one is writing and the conversations one is joining through original research and inquiry

Developing Voice and Agency: developing confidence in one’s voice and argument to be able to contribute to the scholarly conversation(s)

Groups Offer Support for the PROCESS OF WRITING

Progress and Accountability: a structure of accountability through group meetings that helps sustain progress in one’s project

Community: community in the groups, providing important support and camaraderie 

Self-Reflection: through group meetings, revision, and critical reading of one’s own work and that of peers, learning how to effectively reflect on one’s own writing and identify areas for further development (structure, problem, work with sources, integration of theory, etc.)

If you are a faculty member interested in learning about a writing group for your department, please contact  Natasha Zaretsky , who can provide more information about the program and schedule a visit to your department or seminar.

If you are a student interested in joining a group, please contact  Natasha Zaretsky  to find out about available groups.

The Senior Honors Thesis Writing Groups Program is supported by the  Writing Center  and  Writing in the Disciplines  at the Expository Writing Program.

Thoughtful Teaching

Humanities for the ne(x)t generation

Thesis writing in groups

When it was first introduced a couple of years ago, the idea to form thesis-writing groups and replace individual tutorials with group sessions struck me as a bad idea. I could not conceive of thesis writing in any other way than as an individual process. It was the final stage of the senior year when, after all the mass lectures and large seminars, students finally had a chance to discuss their ideas thoroughly in one-to-one meetings with the supervisors of their choice. Coaching students with their research and writing and following closely their growth as young scholars has always been the most satisfying part of my job. It seemed that the new system abolished a fundamentally important and precious dimension of our work with students.

I saw it as yet another example of a neoliberal approach to higher education where speed and quantity outweigh profundity and quality. The goal was – according to the official motivation – to increase ‘productivity’ and ‘study success’ and ‘facilitate’ students to write their thesis faster so they could graduate on time. It was presented as a win-win situation for everybody: students could enter the job market or the graduate school earlier, instead of being stuck in a thesis-writing limbo and a study delay period that could last for a year or more, while the university would receive its funding from the government on the basis of every diploma granted. The problem was that none of these official communications ever mentioned quality. It was all management-speak without a single hint at the core business of higher education; refined critical thinking, thorough knowledge of a certain field, enhanced learning abilities, scholarly justification of research, and improved analytic, writing, and presentation skills all seemed to be of secondary importance. All that mattered was efficiency and speed.

During the past few years while experimenting with thesis groups, I tried to develop some ways to use the dynamics of group work for the individual benefit of each student. The challenge was to figure out some method that would explore the potential of the group as a learning unit, instead of just viewing it as a random gathering of individuals with different research interests who had not much in common besides the fact that they were all working on their thesis. I tried to think of strategies that would keep all the students involved all the time during the two-hour-long group sessions. I wanted to avoid a problem I encountered in the beginning, namely that while I moved around to discuss the progress of students or pairs of students individually, the rest of the group tended to chat about other matters than their thesis. Though the usual techniques of peer-review and general feedback on the technicalities of writing worked well enough, they could not sustain their attention for two hours, which made the sessions repetitive and often boring.

This year I had six students in my group. As a first step, I defined each of the five sessions in terms of a theme related to the current stage of writing of my students:

1. “Clarity” – The first session was dedicated to “clarity” and focused on finding a good thesis question or statement and writing a clear proposal. 2. “Solidity” – The second session focused on the “solidity” of their proposal and the relationship between their proposal, the sources, and their case study. 3. “Analysis” – The third session was devoted to “analysis” and discussed their case studies. 4. “Originality” – The fourth session was about “originality” and scrutinized their methodology and the scholarly “frame” of their research. 5. “Coherence” – The fifth and last session focused on “coherence” and compared their introductions with their conclusions to check how the case study was presented and developed for the sake of the research question, and if the research question was answered in their conclusion.

Students were required to come to the first session (“clarity”) with a research question and a thesis proposal. In the first session everybody had to fill in a so-called “ thesis generator form ” which asked some basic questions about the feasibility, originality, and importance of their proposed research. As a model for this form I used a worksheet I found on the website of The Chicago Metro History Education Center . On the thesis generator form students had to complete the following sentences: 1) “I want to learn from this project …” , 2) “I want to prove that …”, 3) “I support my claims with …”, 4) “You should care about my research because …”, 5) “My thesis is …”, 6) “The main arguments/claims of my thesis are …”. After they filled in this form they were divided into groups of two. I asked them to read each other’s proposals and to fill in the thesis generator form again based on their peer’s proposal. Then their task was to compare their own thesis form with the one filled in by their fellow student to see what the differences were and what caused these differences. As a last step they had to reformulate their own thesis proposals in a more convincing way to convey the most important issues they had mentioned in the thesis form with well-structured and clear arguments. For the next session they were asked to write and comment on each other’s first chapter, which was a piece devoted to literature review. I read all the chapters and gave them feedback before the second session.

In the second session (“solidity”) they were first asked to share their experiences about writing the first chapter and then they discussed their papers while I was rotating among the groups and joined their discussions. We did this exercise in every session, just to make sure that students understand the comments and know how to integrate the feedback into the rewritten version of their chapter. As a next step I asked them to write an inverted outline of their chapter to see if it still made sense and if their arguments were logically organized. Finally, as the last task of the second session I tried to prepare them for their case study and make them think of the story they want to tell in their thesis. Their assignment was to imagine their topic as a movie for which they have to write a screenplay . What makes it interesting? What sort of characters do they have? What is the sequence of the plot? It did not have to be long, just a few paragraphs. Then each student read their script out loud and they realized that by letting their imagination run wild about their topic they not only had lots of fun, but also made them aware that they all actually do have an interesting and solid story to tell.

We started the third session (“analysis”) with discussing the feedback on their chapter examining their case study. The following exercise was to experiment and think of another case study which would fit their main statement or question, and see if they could analyze another similar case with the same results. Then I asked them to use “ cubing ” (a method I found on the website of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Writing Center full of useful writing exercises tips and practices) to gain a different perspective on their topics. They had to 1) describe, 2) compare, 3) associate, 4) analyze, 5) apply, and 6) argue for and also against their own thesis statement. This helped them to see their own work from a fresh point of view and hopefully gave them new ideas to take up in their following chapters.

In the fourth session (“originality”), after discussing the feedback on their following chapter, they were asked to talk about the difficulties they had faced so far and the solutions they found for overcoming these obstacles. Then I asked them to find a perfect cover illustration (either by browsing the internet or using their imagination) as if it were to be published. This was great fun and students enjoyed letting their imaginations loose on their research. Afterwards they had to draw a timeline positioning all the secondary literature about their topic and indicate where they would place themselves in this diagram and how they differ from all the other scholars named in the chart. Finally, they drafted a preliminary conclusion which they saved to compare with their final conclusion in the next session.

The fifth and last meeting (“coherence”) started as usual with reviewing the feedback on their last concluding chapter. Next they had to write two letters : the first one was addressed to the editor of a famous journal and was written by somebody who 1) praises their thesis and 2) another person who disagrees and is furious about their research. The second letter was written by themselves to a family member, to whom they had to explain in everyday language what their thesis is about and why it is important. The inspiration for this exercise I found again on the website of the University of North Carolina Writing Center . Then I asked them to come up with five keywords related to their thesis. Finally, they had to finish the following sentence “ The most important advice I received regarding writing was … ” which we discussed together and drew conclusions about the process of writing and the way the group dynamics shaped their writing experiences.

These activities made the group meetings more fun and created a mindset defined by writing and thinking about writing. I am not suggesting that all these exercises are necessary or that they could help every group throughout every discipline, but they proved to be useful for my group of students who were required to be actively and intensively engaged with their research. It also proved to me that thesis groups could function well if the teacher takes a creative and active approach. I still believe that thesis writing (in the humanities) is not meant to be a group activity, and that students do need the individual attention of the supervisor. Yet I am also convinced that thesis groups could have beneficial effects: they set a pace for structuring the research, improve self-discipline, enhance creativity, and contribute to keeping students engaged with writing. Once they are used to reading critically their own and their peers’ work, they will also become more confident writers. After all, thesis groups could indeed turn a period of writing agony into a win-win situation.

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Writing Studio: Essays

• All Resources

Essay Structure and Writing Quick Guides

• Basic Essay Structure and Reverse Outline Use this mini lesson to review the basics of organizing a formal essay. This is helpful for students who are 'stuck' early in the writing process.
• Basic Paragraph Structure A handout that helps students understand where research fits in with the rest of their essay as well as reviewing basic essay structure.
• Conclusions This handout includes advice about writing an effective essay conclusion.
• Keyhole Structure for Developing an Essay A detailed explanation of essay structure and how to parts of an essay relate to one another.
• Outlining an Essay This handout explains why an outline is beneficial, gives an example outline, and includes a template.
• Parallelism and Parallel Structure Use this handout to explain the dos and don'ts of parallel structure
• Thesis Statement Guide Use this guide to help students understand both how to write a standard thesis statement and how a thesis statement connects to their essay as a whole.
• Tips for Writing Formally This handout reviews 14 tips to help students make their writing more formal.
• Writing in Third Person This detailed guide explains first and second person, and gives tips to help students convert their writing into third person.
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Law and Legal Studies

Your law thesis defense may turn into a nightmare if the defense committee sees even the slightest uncertainty during your performance. To make your defense perfect, your scientific work should be impeccable. Fortunately, it’s something that we are eager to provide you once you decide to buy a thesis paper from us. Your writer will make sure to prepare you with decent legal research, shaped into a good-looking project. Long story short, the decision to order thesis online will give you confidence, as you are already a practicing attorney.

Looking forward to finally going through your defense process and getting right to the graduation ceremony? In this case, you have to pass through the defense before your committee. The good news is that our professional thesis writer will ensure the academic side of the defense. Our company includes finance experts of all academic levels, who have already successfully defended their finance diplomas. All that helps us to make sure that we provide you with decent assistance towards your defense process.

Placing an Order At ThesisGeek

When you type “best thesis writing service online in USA” and open the page of our website, you might get confused, especially if you haven't ordered thesis writing help before. However, we would like to assure you that there is nothing to worry about because you have already passed the hardest part.

The only thing left is to order your thesis and enjoy time stress-free until the day of your defense. We made sure to create a process that would require zero effort and will be quick at the same time. In any case, for your convenience, allow us to present you with an instruction on how to buy thesis on the website:

• Register on the platform. The first essential step to buy thesis from our service is to go through a quick registration on our platform. To order thesis online we will ask you to provide us with your name, a valid email address, and your phone number. The last is optional but not required, still, we ask you to provide it to us because of security reasons;
• Provide the order details. Our thesis writers online community consists of hundreds of people with different majors and academic levels. Therefore, to provide you with a suitable candidate, we require specific requirements for your term paper or dissertation. By that, we mean your subject, topic, volume, formatting style, etc. And of course, the file with the dissertation or term paper itself. It would help us to distinguish the writer who suits your professional and academic expectations;
• Add specific requirements. During the next stage, we will provide you with the opportunity to add other specific requirements to your thesis order. For instance, you will get the opportunity to choose the language level of your thesis writer or purchase an opportunity to get the best specialist in your field to create a thesis for you. In any case, even if you decide to skip these offers, we guarantee the highest level of received document.
• Submit the order and enjoy. The final and the most pleasant part of our cooperation is the ability to completely relax and rely on our experts. During the time our writers will spend preparing your thesis, you will get an opportunity to have a good night's sleep, go out with your classmates, and enjoy your free time as you please.

We believe that these instructions will provide you with a certain understanding of the necessary steps you have to complete to make an order from our service. We understand that a decision to buy thesis papers may be difficult. Therefore, we wanted to make it at least a bit easier for you.

What Determines The Thesis Price?

Do you still think that it’s not possible to combine democratic rates and exceptional quality? Well, we do not blame you, because, with the current level of average thesis writing services, it becomes only harder to believe that such things are not fantasies. Still, we would like to prove that for a company that puts customers’ satisfaction over the profit, there is nothing impossible. As you already have guessed this section will be completely dedicated to the questions of your future thesis cost. We will take a closer look at the factors that form your future thesis price, so by the end of this paragraph, you will know why it’s so beneficial to order thesis online only from “ThesisGeek”.

The Most Democratic Thesis Writing Price on the Market

Understandably, your final decision to order thesis online will be based on your current financial abilities. Since our main credo was to ensure qualitative writing help for all students, our team created a flexible pricing system that contributes to our greater purpose. Hence, you get a chance to buy PhD thesis and not feel any difference to your financial well-being. And of course, this approach applies to all academic levels that we are dealing with. Still can’t believe it? Then read the next section, where we describe in detail the process of price creation.

Thesis Editing Price That Will Suit Anybody

It’s essential to pay close attention toward the preparation of your scientific work. Without the slightest exaggeration, your defense will depend on it. Therefore, we suggest you start seeking assistance with your thesis editing as soon as possible. There are two main reasons for this. Firstly, this decision will save you a lot of nerves, secondly, it will be more profitable financially. The truth is that the sooner you contact us, the lesser price you will pay in the end. This is the way it works at ThesisGeek.

Thesis Proofreading Cost That Doesn’t Bite

So what is the average thesis proofreading cost? The proofreading price will depend on multiple factors, such as your subject, topic, volume, requirements, additional services, and the amount of time you gave us for proofreading. For instance, an average proofreading PhD thesis price with an arranged two-week deadline will cost you only $18. We can also provide you with qualitative proofreading even within the range of twenty-four hours. Still, we suggest you not put off your request for assistance and reach out to us as soon as possible.

Additional Benefits From Best Thesis Writing Company

We hope that we didn’t convince you that our exceptional writing skills are the only reason to order a thesis from our service because it’s not. During our journey, we managed to create a community that consists of thousands of students around the United States. To make your experience even more special, we implement encouraging benefits regularly. Still, some of our benefits became a part of the regular order package. Well, we will not keep the intrigue any longer, so let us present you with our special beneficial list.

• 60-day money-back guarantee. By taking the order into processing, we provide you with a guarantee that either your thesis will be delivered to you according to the settled agreement or the order will be refunded in full. We implemented such an approach to ensure the maximum satisfaction level from the received services. Still, it’s worth mentioning that refund requests are rare because our clients always end up satisfied with the received results;
• Loyalty program. We have created this benefit to ensure that you will come back to us each time when you need any kind of writing help. What is the essence of this program you may ask. The sense of our loyalty program is as easy as pie and lies in the fact that each time when you purchase an order on our platform, you receive some amount of points for your next order. Once you collect the required quantity, you will be able to buy a bachelor thesis or any other writing almost free!
• Free revisions. Another advantage of purchasing your thesis from us is our free revisions, which apply to all orders without the exceptions. That means that you will be able to receive a limitless amount of revisions if you will not be fully satisfied with the final result. Do not worry about asking your writer to revise, because his main goal is to make you satisfied with the final result.

This is not a complete list of our benefits, because our team makes sure to come up with new beneficial solutions. We will not tire of repeating that our main values are our community and our customers. Therefore, ThesisGeek continues to do everything to make you satisfied.

Three Main Reasons to Order a Thesis Online

In the final paragraph of our article, we’d like to gather situations that are practically screaming about the necessity to ensure your thesis preparation into the hands of our professionals. Therefore, if you recognize yourself even in one of the situations described, do not waste another minute and contact us immediately.

• Anxiety before the defense. Anxiety is a common feeling before any public performance, especially if it’s your defense. However, it can be easily dealt with by taking proper action. In your particular case, your best action is to contact us and have a little bit of rest;
• Uncertainty about the outcome. Feeling insecure about the outcome of your defense? In this case, your best choice is to reach out to us immediately. We will check your paper, create a thesis, and make you believe in yourself like never before;
• Aspiration for the highest results. We do not tolerate mediocrity and average results. Therefore, if you are only aiming for exceptional results your only decision is to buy your thesis here.

We do not want you to feel limited by the mentioned reasons, because there are no good or bad reasons to ask for help. Meanwhile, the only right way is to listen to your inner voice and not shoulder yourself beyond one's strength.

Can I buy a thesis on your website?

Of course! You can purchase a thesis on our website. The first step is providing as much information as you can to our writer. The most basic are thesis objectives, word count, format, etc. Any notes, comments from your professors, or your ideas also count. This will give us a full understanding of the task.

The second step when you buy thesis online from us is to expect detailed research from our expert. This is the foundation of any successful scientific work. After gathering qualitative and quantitative data, our writers will form the most innovative ideas for your work. We understand how doubtful it is to leave someone to write such an important paper. The team of in-house editors rigorously review each scientific work before submitting them to customers.

What makes your thesis writing service special?

We believe that our reputation talks for ourselves. You can check dozens of thesis writing service reviews written about ThesisGeek and will not find a single negative word. All because we put your satisfaction and our reputation. Such a simple but rare action, that you will no longer be able to see in any other service, that regularly puts profit over everything.

Another thing that makes us special is our team and the community that we have created. You can no longer name us a regular MBA thesis writing service or master thesis service because our platform already surpassed this level a long time ago. Instead, we would like to be perceived as a service that sincerely values its community and respects the estimated goals. Finally, with the decision to buy master thesis from us, you're not only ensuring your defense but receiving a whole community rooting for your success.

How do I hire a thesis writer? Can I choose one?

We made sure to make the ordering process as simple as possible. We understand the priceless value of each minute of your time, so we do not want you to spend it struggling with complex registrations and long expectations. Instead, we have created our ordering process for nothing except pure convenience. To hire a writer for your thesis, we will ask you to enter your email address, provide the requirements, and move on to the writer selection process.

As for the selection process, we say yes right away, you can choose the writer who will be preparing your thesis. For example, if you want us to prepare you for your MBA defense, we will provide you with a list of MBA thesis writers, who will be experienced enough to handle the thesis, to surprise even the toughest business professor. To choose your writer, you will need to fill in the form and indicate the type of writer you are looking for.

How much does it cost? What exactly forms the final price?

The first thing that will pop up in your mind even before typing “buy a master thesis” in Google is doubt regarding the availability of such a service. If you are worried about the prices we want to mention that there are no more democratic rates rather than on ThesisGeek. The main purpose for the establishment of our platform was to ensure the ability to receive cheap and qualitative writing help. The same approach applies to the creation of theses for your defenses.

As for the factors that influence the final bill for your thesis, they will not include anything special. Of course, we are talking about your academic level, volume, type of formatting, desired writer, and definitely the deadline. All these factors together will contribute to the formation of your final bill. In any case, be assured that the price will pleasantly surprise you in the end.

Is it safe to use your thesis writing company?

We know that you will be double-checking all the information about our company before making your final decision. However, we have nothing to hide, since we have been a transparent and reliable company since our very establishment. And the best proof of our words are thousands of grateful students, to whom we provided our writing services. In any case, to dispel your possible doubts, we would like to make a statement that it’s safe to order your thesis from our service.

It is safe from digital, legal, and even ethical sides to use our service as your thesis provider. We will do everything to prove that you have made the right decision when you decided to order the thesis from us. We also make sure to create simple yet informative policies that ensure the legal part of our activity, so you can see for yourself, that you are dealing with a real professional.

What instructions do I need to provide if I want to buy a thesis?

You can greatly increase the process of your thesis preparation by providing us with detailed and comprehensive instructions. During the ordering of your thesis, we will allow you to upload your file with thesis requirements into the ordering form.

The requirements for your thesis should include the approximate volume, formatting style, title page, and other essential details. It will help the writer to ensure that the thesis will be accepted by the committee, and you will be allowed to defend.

How do I order a thesis online on the website? What is the process?

The ordering process of your thesis will be as easy as shelling pears. Since we wanted to avoid any confusion from our newcomers, we created a simple yet convenient order form on our web platform. There, we will suggest you log into your existing cabinet or sign up if you visit us for the first time. After that, the order form will pop up automatically. You will need to enter the paper details, such as level, major, subject, thesis title, and additional instructions that you have.

After entering the details into the form you will be redirected to the page with the final price. If there are any available discounts or bonuses, they will be added to your order automatically. And that’s it because the last thing that will be necessary from you is to make a purchase with a suitable payment method and wait for the final thesis in your email inbox.

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New online guide for graduate thesis writing

Get tips and strategies to enhance your academic writing and develop your skills.

If you’re a PhD, Masters by research or Honours student, the Library’s new Graduate Research and Thesis Writing Guide is for you.

Whether you’re just starting out, mid-way through your candidature, or in the final stages of writing your thesis, this new resource provides advice, tips and strategies to enhance your academic writing and develop your skills. Learn how to write for publication in academic journals, produce well-structured literature reviews and how to get started on the main chapters of your thesis.

The guide also includes links to workshops and further online resources to assist you.

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