Helping+with+the+Graduate+Thesis

=Helping with the Graduate Thesis=

The thesis is the culmination of a Master's student's degree, so it can be intimidating for everyone involved. Consultants naturally feel a little anxious when they look at a hundred pages of text written at a graduate level. However, the most important thing to remember is that **writing is writing**. While thesis writing is expected to be of a high standard, you are qualified to help graduate students. After all, they came to you.

The Thesis: A Brief Rundown
Many undergraduates (and graduates, for that matter) are unfamiliar with the thesis-writing process. You may find it helpful to know what stage of writing and submission the writer is in.
 * 1) **Finding a Committee.** The writer chooses a committee chair and two readers from the graduate faculty in his or her department. The committee chair often works closely with the writer during all stages of the process; however, it's important to note that some committee chairs are much more hands-off. The role of the readers varies widely. Some readers are very involved and some are not.
 * 2) **Drafting a Proposal.** Sometimes this happens before the writer chooses his or her committee, and sometimes after. The writer must submit a formal proposal (the length varies) to the committee members, who must sign it. The proposal is then submitted to the Graduate Coordinator in the department.
 * 3) **IRB Approval (if needed).** If the writer is working with human subjects, he or she will need approval from the Institutional Review Board. Research with human subjects can only begin once an IRB Approval Certificate has been obtained. (Note that this certificate is often included in the Appendices of the thesis.)
 * 4) **Research.** For some people, this is experimentation and/or data gathering. For others, like English students, this involves other primary sources such as novels or stories.
 * 5) **Drafting the Thesis.** Theses will have chapters or sections. Many writers will submit their thesis chapter-by-chapter to their committee chairs, who will then hand back the marked-up drafts. Often, there is a constant turnaround with drafts. Expect that thesis clients will come to you several times with several different drafts of chapters. The drafting process varies depending on discipline, individuals and committees.
 * 6) **Turning in the "reading copy."** This is a complete, polished draft submitted to the Graduate College for approval. All data, content and formatting should be in place at this point. The thesis will be signed on the signature pages (formatting for these is in the Thesis Guide on the Graduate College's website). The due date for reading copies of Spring 2010 theses is April 26.
 * 7) **Turning in the final copy.** The Graduate College will return the writer's reading copy with approval and revision notes. Typically, if the thesis is approved, these revisions will not be substantive--mostly, they'll be formatting issues. The writer will revise one last time, and then print his or her thesis on 100% cotton, 20lb weight thesis paper. The committee members will sign the signature pages on the final copies (at least one of these copies needs to have original signatures), and then the writer will submit these copies to the Graduate College for binding.

Important Guidelines

 * **Thesis formatting is different.** While //citation method// is determined by the discipline (APA, MLA, AMA, CBE, the whole alphabet soup), the //page formatting// (margins, fonts, headers, etc.) is determined by the Graduate College. Their Thesis Guide is here. Thesis writers //must// follow this guide to the letter.
 * **Consultants are not responsible for doing thesis formatting.** You may help the writer with citation method, but the Thesis Guide is there for a reason. It is the writer's responsibility to format the thesis. We have a few resource links on the main page of this wiki to assist with formatting, but it is not necessary for us to do the formatting for the writer.
 * **Not all theses will be formatted the same.** Writers are allowed to submit what is called "manuscript format," following the conventions of a peer-reviewed journal to which they plan to submit their work. Another reason why we are not responsible for formatting the thesis.
 * **Discipline conventions must be strictly followed.** This mostly applies to citation method. APA citations and conventions for conducting research and experiments, for example, must be adhered to. It would benefit you, as a consultant, to familiarize yourself with what must be included in the different sections of a major APA project, such as Methods, Discussion, etc.
 * **Expect graduate-level work.** The style, eloquence and proficiency of the writing should reflect the writer's level of education.
 * **The Thesis Committee is involved.** Remember that thesis drafts pass first through the writer's committee chair and then through two more readers before revisions are done. Ask the writer if the draft has been reviewed by his or her committee first.
 * **Don't worry about the data.** Looking at a page full of numbers can be mind-boggling. Assume that the writer and his or her committee have worked these out.
 * **If you don't know, ASK QUESTIONS.** It's totally okay if you don't know what the writer is talking about. Ask for a quick rundown of the chapter or section in plain English before you read, and if there are any vocabulary words or concepts you don't understand, ask for definitions or explanations.

Helpful Links
[|How to Write a Master's Thesis] [|Writing a Master's Thesis or Dissertation Proposal] [|How to Organize Your Thesis] [|What Constitutes Graduate Level Writing?] [PDF] [|Writing at the Graduate Level] [Powerpoint 2003]