How to Write a Profitable eBook

Once you've found a profitable niche market, one of the easiest ways to make money in it is to write an eBook. This is not as hard as it sounds if you take it step by step. These eBook creation tips will have you well on your way to your very own product.

If you are overwhelmed at the thought of writing an eBook, just take a deep breath and stop looking at the project as a whole. Ebook creation is much easier if you break it up into small, manageable pieces. The very first step you should take is to come up with a title. When you develop the title first, it will help you focus on the direction that you want to take with your eBook.

If you had to do research for your eBook, go through all of your research and highlight the important points. Learn everything you can about your niche. When you really know the niche product you are writing about, the writing will come almost effortlessly.

The next step in eBook creation is to write down a thesis statement. This is a brief description of the problem that your eBook is addressing and how it will solve this problem. The purpose of this thesis statement is to keep you focused on exactly what the eBook is supposed to be about.

The next step is to outline your eBook. Write down the title of each chapter and underneath the title, list points that you will cover in that chapter. Make sure that each chapter will reinforce your thesis statement. Once you have finished your outline, you're ready to start writing the eBook.

As you are writing your eBook, think about your target market. You want to make sure that you are connecting with them on their level. For example, if you are writing an eBook where the target market is the average health conscious consumer, you are not going to write an eBook that reads like a medical journal. You want to have a nice, conversational, but authoritative tone. This will take some practice. Just pretend that you are sitting with a friend and talking to them about your product. What would you say? How would you say it? Now let's examine the layout of your eBook.

The first section of your eBook should be the introduction. This is a paragraph or two that introduces what your eBook is about. Keep your thesis statement in mind and tell your audience what you are going to tell them in the body of the eBook. Don't make this section all about you or your accomplishments. Make it about what your eBook is going to do for the reader.

After the introduction, just follow the outline and expand on the points that you have listed under each chapter title. Be as thorough as you can without being boring. Break your paragraphs up into small, readable sections.

Once you have finished the body of your eBook, it's time for the conclusion. This is basically a summary of the important points of your eBook. Keep this as brief as possible. Once you are done creating your eBook, don't forget to run a spell check. Nothing will diminish your credibility faster than an eBook that is full of errors. You should also proofread it at least two times and then have a friend or family member read through it. It's a good idea to read it out loud so that you can hear how the book flows.

So now you can see that eBook creation is really not as difficult as it sounds. Just take it one step at time. If you can break it into manageable pieces you will not be overwhelmed and before you know it you'll have a product of your own. Good luck!

Writing A Thesis

Medical Writing Is An Easy Task Now

After so much of trouble and inconvenience to the doctors, scientists and medical organizations to do medical writing at various point of time, certain service companies have hit the market. Now you can fulfill any of your medical writing demand by just availing a service from these service providers.

Writing on various medical disciplines is always a problem for the scientists, doctors and various medical organizations. A scientist's job is to do research work. He finds the work of report writing and thesis submission, time consuming activities. Sometimes there is no time left for him to prepare the reports of his research work. At the same time the reports generated by him should excel in quality, presentation and matter. Thus a scientist is bound to take a service from a medical writing company and he finds really useful for him. These service providers provide these services with an objective in mind to offer the best quality services to their clients.

Medical Writing Online is a service based company that has come up with a variety of writing services for scientists, doctors and other people related to the medical field. These services are designed by professionals who have the zeal to write and are experts in this field. These professionals know exactly how to fulfill the demands of their clients through their services.

Below are some of the services which are provided by Medical Writing Online:

* Clinical Report Writing: Such reports generated by the professionals are developed in accordance with the regulatory framework and as per the clinical guidelines.

* SOP Writing: This is actually Standard Operating Procedure writing service. SOP is an integral part of a research process and a foundation for security based on certain standards. You can avail this service to assure stability and consistency in your intended policies.

* Protocol Writing: This service can help you define the various aspects of your projects like its objectives, methodology, plans, drafts and statistical consideration. In other words this service helps you to define protocols for your project.

* Abstract and Excerpt Writing: This service is required for clinical reports and medical cases. This form of writing is a crucial part of a medical or clinical study.

* Medical writing for web: Now you can avail a service from Medical Writing Online for creating content for your medical Websites, Review and Edit services for content on the web, e-learning web portal for online education.

* E-learning web portals for online education: Such content rich online education web portals service is designed for the convenience of those students who are engaged in other type of courses or job and want to take some course as a part time online course. Thus the student has the convenience to access these courses at any time or day whenever they get time.

Writing A Thesis

Writing an Ebook From Scratch

The most difficult part of writing an ebook is beginning. At first it seems like an impossible task. You have to break it down into convenient tasks.

There is only one way to tackle the job - step by step.

The first thing you have to do, is to get organized. You must organize your thoughts. There are some steps you should take before you begin. Once you've gone through the list below , you will be ready to begin writing your ebook.

First, work out a working title. Jot down a few different titles, and eventually, you'll find that one that will can live with. Titles help you to focus your writing on your topic; they guide you in predicting what readers will want to know.

Secondly, write out a thesis statement which is a sentence or two stating exactly what problem you are addressing and how your book will solve that problem. All chapters should follow from here. Once you've got your statement fine-tuned, you've built your basis. From that foundation, your book will grow, one chapter at a time.

Your statement will keep you focused while you write your ebook. Remember: all chapters must support your thesis statement. If they don't, they don't belong in your book. For example, your thesis statement could read: We've all experienced writers block at times in our lives, but there are twenty proven techniques and methods to give you that push in the right direction.

Before you start to write, make sure there is a good reason to write your book.Ask yourself some questions:

* Will you be presenting useful information and is that information currently relevant?

* Will your book positively affect the lives of your readers?

* Will it keep the reader's attention?

* Will your book answer questions that are meaningful and significant?

If you can answer yes to these questions, you can feel confident about the potential of your ebook.

Another vital step is to figure out who your target audience is. It is this group of people you will be writing for, and this group will dictate many essentials of your book, such as style, tone, diction, and even length.

Next, make a list of the reasons you are writing your ebook. Do you want to promote your business? Do you want to bring traffic to your website? Do you want to improve your reputation?

Do you want to sell it as a product on your website, or do you want to offer it as a free gift for filling out a survey or for ordering a product? Do you want to use the chapters to create an e-course, or use your ebook to attract affiliates? The more you know upfront, the easier the writing will be.

How to make your ebook "user friendly"

You need to work out how to keep your writing engaging. Often anecdotes, testimonials, little stories, photos, graphs, advice, and tips will keep the reader turning the pages. Sidebars are useful for quick, accessible information, and they break up the bulk of the page.

Write with a casual, conversational tone rather than a formal tone such as textbook diction. Reader's respond to the feeling that you are having a conversation with them. Break up the length and structure of your sentences so you don't bore your readers into sleep. Sentences that are all the same length and structure tend to be a good sleep inducer!

Good writing takes practice. The art of writing is a lifetime process; the more you write (and read), the better your writing will become.

Finally, decide on an easy-to-read font that's easy to read, and stick to that font family. Using multiple fonts will only tire your readers out before they've gotten past your introduction.

Make sure you run a spell and grammar check. You are judged by something as minor as correct punctuation, so don't mess up a great book by tossing out random errors.

Last of all, create an index. That's it! You've written a book! Now all you have todo is publish online, and wait for downloads from your website visitors.

Writing A Thesis

Teaching College Students How to Write Research Papers

Writing a good research depends on how well college students can formulate a good working research question. Knowing how to write a research question is not only reflective of good writing skills but how students can think in research terms.

By displaying the right research skills, college students can grow into becoming better writers and thinkers. Writing a research paper provides students the opportunity to research a topic they have curiosity and interest in while applying the skills they have been taught in previous writing courses. Ideally, they should also have the chance to creatively experiment with ideas of their own. Unfortunately, not every research paper goes smoothly, and some students simply summarize information and explaining terms and ideas that have been repeated dozens of times before.

College instructors can make their teaching more rewarding and productive by using the professional approach described in the following guidelines.

Choosing a Topic or Issue

Model Writing a Research Question

Most college students do not have experience writing a research question and it is absolutely critical that they understand the difference between writing a too broad or too narrow research question. A broad research questions is focused enough to research in some depth. Clarify to students that narrow research questions can be answered with a simple statistic or factual report.

Model Writing a Thesis Question

Once students formulate three-four research questions they are genuinely interested in, they can then begin to answer them by writing research questions.Again, thesis questions should be neither too broad nor too narrow and provide enough information that addresses the research paper. Too many times students try to write overly ambitious thesis statements with wordy language .

The success of writing a research paper depends largely on what the college brings to his understanding of the research and writing process, not only in terms of knowledge and writing skill, but willingness to experiment with different theses and research questions.

The choice of a research topic provides a focus for the writing. Students should choose topics based on what they care enough on to develop their own opinions. Students should remember to stick with just one major topic if they want to write coherently.

Writing A Thesis

Writing A Short Article Can Be As Easy As 1-2-3

One of the greatest obstacles many writers face when attempting to start a new project is how to format the article. I know I used to spend a great deal of my preparation and brainstorming time trying to sort out the answer to that very question. Similarly many of the writers that I work with as a writing instructor and consultant were struggling with the same issue. If you are reading this article then probably you have as well.

Writing a short article can be even more challenging because you need to stay focused and organized, however writing a short article really can be very easy if you work with a simple structure. In fact it only involves three steps:

Step One: Write a thesis statement

I know you just had an ugly flashback to freshman composition class and I apologize for springing it on you like that, but really your English teacher did know what he or she was talking about when they insisted you have a thesis sentence for your essays. A thesis is key to all successful essays and articles because it is the heart of your paper. It is simply the main point you are trying to make with your article. As the central or controlling idea, your thesis statement holds the article together. Your thesis statement is a promise to your reader — “I am going to say this”. If you do not have a strong thesis you run the risk of confusing your reader or even losing the reader entirely.

In addition, your thesis also helps you as a writer because your thesis introduces your subject and what you have to say about it. Simply brainstorming a thesis can get you rolling and for short essays and articles that momentum can often be enough to carry you through.

However if you take your thesis statement to the next level it can be an even greater asset. A simple thesis is short and to the point, for example: Writing an article using the three-step process is easy. However, an expanded thesis includes not only the position statement but also some supporting reasons (I recommend using at least three) to shore up that position. So an expanded thesis becomes:

Writing an article using the three-step process is easy because it offers a format and organization that is flexible and simple, it can be adapted to a wide variety of situations and topics, and it is a proven formula.

This step is the most important of the three and key to your success. Don't forget a good thesis defines the purpose of the article and outlines/introduces the message the writer wants to send about the subject; makes a clear point that is supported by the body of the article; and uses specific, concrete language.

Step Two: Frame Your Article

When builders "frame" a house they build a structure that will give it support, shape and a framework for outer coverings. This is essentially what you will do during this step. You have begun the process by shaping your thesis statement but now you need to add some notes on how you will expand the three supporting points you outlined in the second part of your thesis. This step does not need to take very long although time spent here may well save you time on step three.

Step Three: Write Your Article

You have now laid the foundation to quickly and easily write a short article following the keyhole strategy:

Your goal is to write a simple five-paragraph article following this structure:

~ 1st paragraph—Introduction including thesis

~ 2nd paragraph—Body-Topic/supporting point 1

~ 3rd paragraph—Body-Topic/supporting point 2

~ 4th paragraph—Body-Topic/supporting point 3

~ 5th paragraph—Conclusion

Each of the three body paragraphs should expand on the points you identify in your thesis using the ideas and examples you brainstormed during step two.

This simple strategy won't be likely to win you any writing prizes but it should enable you to quickly write a short focused informational article that you can use for many of your business needs. The optimal length for many internet articles is 450 words and this structure should help you achieve that with ease.

Writing A Thesis

Secret of Writing a Niche Ebook that People Want to Read

The hardest part of writing is the first sentence.
When you look at the whole project, it seems like an
impossible task. That's why you have to break it down
into manageable tasks.

Think of climbing a mountain.
You are standing at the foot of it and looking up at
its summit vanishing into the clouds. How can you
possibly scale such an immense and dangerous mountain?

There is only one way to climb a mountain ? step by
step.

Now think of writing your ebook in the same light. You
must create it step by step, and one day, you will
take that last step and find yourself standing on the
summit with your head in the clouds.

The first thing you have to do, as if you actually
were a mountain climber, is to get organized. Instead
of climbing gear, however, you must organize your
thoughts. There are some steps you should take before
you begin. Once you've gone through the following
list, you will be ready to actually begin writing your
ebook.

Beginning Steps to Writing an ebook

First, figure out your ebook's working title. Jot down
a few different titles, and eventually, you'll find
that one that will grow on you. Titles help you to
focus your writing on your topic; they guide you in
anticipating and answering your reader's queries. Many
non-fiction books also have subtitles. Aim for clarity
in your titles, but cleverness always helps to sell
books ? as long as it's not too cute. For example,
Remedies for Insomnia: twenty different ways to count
sheep. Or: Get off that couch: fifteen exercise plans
to whip you into shape.

Next, write out a thesis statement. Your thesis is a
sentence or two stating exactly what problem you are
addressing and how your book will solve that problem.
All chapters spring forth from your thesis statement.
Once you've got your thesis statement fine-tuned,
you've built your foundation. From that foundation,
your book will grow, chapter by chapter.

Your thesis will keep you focused while you write your
ebook. Remember: all chapters must support your thesis
statement. If they don't, they don't belong in your
book. For example, your thesis statement could read:
We've all experienced insomnia at times in our lives,
but there are twenty proven techniques and methods to
give you back a good night's sleep.

Once you have your thesis, before you start to write,
make sure there is a good reason to write your book.
Ask yourself some questions:

* Does your book present useful information and is
that information currently relevant?

* Will you book positively affect the lives of your
readers?

* Is your book dynamic and will it keep the reader's
attention?

* Does you book answer questions that are meaningful
and significant?

If you can answer yes to these questions, you can feel
confident about the potential of your ebook.

Another important step is to figure out who your
target audience is. It is this group of people you
will be writing to, and this group will dictate many
elements of your book, such as style, tone, diction,
and even length. Figure out the age range of your
readers, their general gender, what they are most
interested in, and even the socio-economic group they
primarily come from. Are they people who read fashion
magazines or book reviews? Do they write letters in
longhand or spend hours every day online. The more you
can pin down your target audience, the easier it will
be to write your book for them.

Next, make a list of the reasons you are writing your
ebook. Do you want to promote your business? Do you
want to bring quality traffic to your website? Do you
want to enhance your reputation?

Then write down your goals in terms of publishing. Do
you want to sell it as a product on your website, or
do you want to offer it as a free gift for filling out
a survey or for ordering a product? Do you want to use
the chapters to create an e-course, or use your ebook
to attract affiliates around the world? The more you
know upfront, the easier the actual writing will be.

Decide on the format of your chapters. In non-fiction,
keep the format from chapter to chapter fairly
consistent. Perhaps you plan to use an introduction to
your chapter topic, and then divide it into four
subhead topics. Or you may plan to divide it into five
parts, each one beginning with a relevant anecdote.

How to make your ebook "user friendly"

You must figure out how to keep your writing engaging.
Often anecdotes, testimonials, little stories, photos,
graphs, advice, and tips will keep the reader turning
the pages. Sidebars are useful for quick, accessible
information, and they break up the density of the
page.

Write with a casual, conversational tone rather than a
formal tone such as textbook diction. Reader's respond
to the feeling that you are having a conversation with
them. Break up the length and structure of your
sentences so you don?t hypnotize your readers into
sleep. Sentences that are all the same length and
structure tend to be a good aid for insomnia!

Good writing takes practice. It takes lots and lots of
practice. Make a schedule to write at least a page a
day. Read books and magazines about the process of
writing, and jot down tips that jump out at you. The
art of writing is a lifetime process; the more you
write (and read), the better your writing will become.
The better your writing becomes, the bigger your sales
figures.

In an ebook that is read on the screen, be aware that
you must give your reader's eye a break. You can do
this by utilizing white space. In art classes, white
space is usually referred to as "negative space."
Reader's eyes need to rest in the cool white oasises
you create on your page. If your page is too dense,
your reader will quit out of it as soon as their eyes
begin to tear.

Make use of lists, both bulleted and numbered. This
makes your information easy to absorb, and gives the
reader a mental break from dissecting your paragraphs
one after the other.

Finally, decide on an easy-to-read design. Find a font
that's easy on the eyes, and stick to that font
family. Using dozens of fonts will only tire your
readers out before they've gotten past your
introduction. Use at least one and a half line
spacing, and text large enough to be read easily on
the screen, but small enough so that the whole page
can be seen on a computer screen. You will have to
experiment with this to find the right combination.

Of course, don't forget to run a spell and grammar
check. You are judged by something as minor as correct
punctuation, so don?t mess up a great book by tossing
out semicolons randomly, or stringing sentences
together with commas. (By the way, that's called a
"comma splice.")

Last of all, create an index and a bibliography.
That's it! You've written a book! Now all you have to
do is publish your ebook online, and wait for download
request from your website visitors.

Thank you.

Writing A Thesis

Writing Help

Whether you are working for a small business, large corporation, or are a student, there are numerous sources that you can turn to for help with writing. Businesses need to be able to effectively communicate with their customers, their employees and their potential customers. Effective verbal communication is equally important, but nonverbal communication in the form of copy writing, article writing, press release writing, and more requires a certain level of expertise and experience.

The typical small business wants to focus their efforts on their core business activities without spending too much time on projects that can easily be outsourced to consultants or freelance professionals. Many small businesses turn to freelancers to help them save time and money. For example, a certified public accountant opened his own accounting practice after working in another accounting firm for the last ten years. One of the ways he decided to search for new clients was to embark on an advertising and promotional campaign.

Although some of his previous clients followed him to his new practice, he wanted to increase the number of accounts he currently handled. These accounts included various individuals and small businesses from around the town.

Rather than hire new employees or handle the projects himself, he decided to hire a consultant through a freelance web site to work on copy writing for a local newspaper ad campaign as well as to help with press releases and company news distribution.

By outsourcing these non-core business activities to an independent consultant, he is able to save himself time and money and also gets the expertise of an established professional who specializes in the types of writing that he needs assistance with. He decides to list his writing projects in a freelance marketplace and receives bids from independent consultants and freelance writers.

He was able to choose a service provider based on factors related to cost, the service provider’s experience, references, and previous feedback from clients. All small businesses have a decision to make about whether to outsource certain projects or to complete the work in house. Using economics as a deciding factor, it makes sense economically for businesses to outsource writing projects when the projects are non-core business activities that do not contribute to the company’s bottom line.

Small businesses also need to be able to effectively communicate with their current customers. Some of the more effective ways to get help writing effective communication for current customers involve using tools such as newsletters, email lists, and articles written by outsourced consultants. Newsletters are very effective ways to keep customers informed of current events and happenings within the company. They also offer you the opportunity to gain new clients as the newsletter gets passed around and is often seen by more than one person during its life cycle. It makes sense and is a smart move to outsource corporate communications instead of keeping it in-house. Hiring a separate professional will save your business money and time.

For less than the cost of hiring a full time employee, and because it will contribute to allowing more concentration on the activities that will earn your business money, contracting with a consultant or freelancer for your corporate communications (writing of press releases to distribute company news, getting publicity through pieces in newspapers and magazines, and getting help writing newsletters or articles) simply makes sense. An expert in the field who has amassed many years of experience with business writing, persuasive writing, and copy writing in addition to having experience writing press releases, articles, essays, and possibly academic or technical research and term papers will have a lot to offer you and your business.

Large corporations use writing to effectively communicate on all levels of business. Business writing and corporate communications are essential elements that keep the public informed and give companies their corporate image. A company’s image, or its publicly perceived notion of credibility and reliability is extremely important to its bottom line. For example, upon its introduction many years ago an American car company introduced a car known as the “Nova”.

After some time, it was discovered that the car was not selling well in many Spanish speaking countries. Because in Spanish, “No va” translates to “doesn’t go”, the car sales in these countries were dismal. Effective corporate communication can have far reaching effect. Ineffective corporate communication can result in lower sales as shown in the car sales example. Large corporations also need to be effective communicators with their current employees. Internal corporate communications are equally important and keep your employees abreast of company accomplishments, events and human resource issues.

Finally, students also need to be able to write effectively as well. Writing assignments can include writing essays, writing term papers, report writing, and thesis writing not to mention having to demonstrate writing ability in other subjects outside of English class. For example, law students need to be able to write not only persuasive but argumentative writing as well. Foreign language students need to be able to translate into their native language and then back again.

Science and technology students need to be able to demonstrate scientific writing ability. Taking writing tips from college professors that teach correct formatting and usage, including APA style, and improving your proofreading and editing skills will result in quality writing assignments. For the student that is looking for writing help and homework assistance for their assignments, freelance marketplaces that allow you to hire a consultant or tutor could be a productive and time saving solution.

From a freelance or independent consultant’s standpoint, marketing writing skills to potential service buyers is important to keeping any consulting business thriving. Registering with freelance marketplaces will enable you to showcase your writing skills, talents and abilities. Previous experience with all kinds of writing ranging from grant writing, fiction writing and interactive writing to writing short stories, articles and ebooks or even technical pieces, in addition to all forms of business writing will enable you to prove your varied background and skills.

All of which can be showcased in your freelance marketplace profile. Creating and managing a profile is important to make you stand out from the crowd of freelance writers competing for new writing projects. All in all, those looking for writing help can find a vast array of resources in the form of consultants who are more than willing to lend a helping hand.

Writing A Thesis

The Starting Point of Successful Book and Report Writing

Success starts here. It all begins with your thesis. A thesis is nothing more than your proposition or position with respect to a particular topic. It represents the topic of your book and the direction you'll take in writing it.

Refining a broad subject like Dog Training into Basic Training For Labrador Puppies gives you a specific direction and definiteness of purpose. That's the value of starting your writing project with a clearly defined thesis.

Think of the solutions your readers would love to know. Identify the major problems people in your chosen market experience on a regular basis. What is it that frustrates, annoys, or disappoints these people time and time again? Now work towards furnishing solutions to each of these problems. Every market anywhere on the planet is riddled with problems. but you'll have to do some digging to find out what they are. Then focus your book on the best, unique solutions to these same problems that you've discovered actually work.

With a serious problem or multiple problems identified, you know what you need to do: find the ultimate remedy in each case. Define what result your readers want. Get absolutely clear on this and then shape the answers into your book.

Establishing your thesis first makes sense. It gives your actions a purpose and direction and it helps to organize your thoughts. You know what to look for as you conduct your research and can easily bypass irrelevant information. It channels your efforts and focuses your mind.

Your thesis also helps keep your writing tight. it ensures that your words are specifically targeted and on track. Wandering thoughts are kept to a minimum when your focal point is clearly established from the outset.

As off-topic material arises, jot down any significant details in a separate notebook. This allows you to capture random (and sometimes brilliant) thoughts that enter your consciousness as you're busy working on your project. It also ensures that your mind will continue to serve up powerful and effective ideas, even when the timing is less than perfect.

Capturing the essence in writing ensures that your idea is not lost, whether or not you use it down the road. Keeping it separate from your current project makes it easier to re-focus and see it through.

Stick to the plan as defined in your thesis or working title. Stay with it until it is complete. Only then should you move onto your next project. With this approach, you won't be saddled with unfinished and unprofitable projects.

Writing A Thesis

What Exactly is a Thesis?

No doubt you are a student in academia at the moment, or you may even be a parent researching exactly what you son/daughter will be doing for their thesis. An academic thesis is a study that represents individual (or sometimes group) research, which is then concluded and grounded around written evidence, by the individual student; it is submitted in partial fulfillment of a degree at a recognised university. Such a degree can be for an undergraduate course (commonly termed bachelors), or a postgraduate course, such as a masters or PhD. The main idea behind this type of paper, is to provide the reader with an in-depth account and study of a particular project that the student has undertaken.

There are many such topics and subjects that the student can look into and conduct research, whether through an experiment, investigation, or other primary research area. The thesis will be measured for originality, findings and conclusions, as well as whether the paper has been kept within a set word-count that is established by the school, college or university.

The main part of the thesis, the research, will often start a long time before the student is thinking about what hypothesis he/she is trying to prove or disprove. A plan is an ideal position to start the actual research process, planning what they want to achieve and by when - as theses will have a submission deadline.

In general, the research element of a course, both in undergraduate and postgraduate terms, will be an extra part to the course. On an undergraduate course, the thesis is a main part of the final year grade that counts heavily to the final grade of the course, and is often found on degree courses that award honours. On a postgraduate course, such as a masters degree, the thesis part of the course will be a separate module of the course and will be conducted over the summer term of the year; this will count between 5 and 20% of the final grade. Generally, all masters degrees will require the student to complete a thesis.

Therefore, the thesis is an important part of any degree course and should be considered highly valuable to your final degree grade. There are strict guidelines to submission, other than the deadline, and these should be followed, as they are often more stringent than that of an essay.

Production of a thesis may require the student to put up a plausible defense in-front of the awarding panel, at their institution. Generally, only a few people will be chosen, and in some cases none, when they are submitting a thesis on an undergraduate degree or masters degree course. It is usually at this point where a defense is only seen for doctoral theses. However, the student should be aware that they may be called upon to defend their writing and research, as well as opinions, view and conclusions of their paper. Keeping in mind here, that it is often best to provide tangible examples when referring to what you have written in your actual paper.

Writing A Thesis

How To Get Started With Your Master Thesis - A Psychological Checklist II

Much of the difficulty arising from the thesis-writing exercise is psychological rather than technical. To finish your master thesis, you shouldn't only have the right topic, adviser, method, equipment, reading materials, etc. It is much more important to have the right attitude. Think about it; solutions to technical problems can be found in many books, but if you don't have the will, the inclination or the patience to look for them, they won't do you much good. Here are some tips that can help you put yourself in the right frame of mind for thesis writing.

Get Organized

You probably know the old saying, "It's easy to lose sight of the forest for the trees." This applies in thesis writing. You can become so caught up in individual tasks (e.g. reading all the materials you can find on your topic, interviewing subjects for your case studies, drafting and redrafting your proposal, etc) that you might lose sight of the fact that you do have a deadline, and that it's the complete output - not the individual steps or efforts (however superb or impressive) - that will be evaluated and graded. You should really get yourself organized.

First, write down your ultimate goal: to finish your master thesis on time. Write down your target defense date so you'll have a definite date to work towards. After that, list down all the things you need to do to achieve your goal (e.g. design research, gather data, look for applicable theories, choose an adviser, meet with adviser, pass the first draft, etc).

Next, arrange the tasks chronologically. The first tasks should be those things that you need to accomplish before you can move on to other tasks; for example, theoretical framework and research design typically come before data gathering. Subsequently, break down the tasks into specific steps. To find an applicable framework, you will have to do some research in the library. Once you have reduced all the tasks into a series of small steps, get your planner then list down all the individual steps according to their proper order.

The result of this exercise is a blueprint of your goal. Since your thesis work has been resolved into very specific and manageable tasks, you will not find the overall task - that of finishing your thesis - particularly overwhelming.

Make it a Daily Habit

The clearest and the most detailed master thesis plan will not help you if you don't have the discipline to stick to it.

One good way to develop discipline is to set a definite "thesis schedule". If you have nothing but your master thesis on your plate right now, treat it like you would a full-time job. Set the hours between 8-12 and 1-5 as thesis-writing periods, for example. Then, force yourself to start working on your thesis every 8 am without fail. Likewise, stop working by 5 pm. Stopping work on time will prevent exhaustion, deprivation, burn out and other negative attitudes and feelings from taking root; these can make you more unwilling to continue working on your thesis.

If, on the other hand, you have other things to do apart from your thesis, you should still set "thesis working days" or "thesis working hours" that will remain inviolate and be devoted entirely to your thesis.

By sticking to a strict schedule, you'll soon acquire the "thesis habit" and treat your thesis as a fundamental part of your day. Once you reach this stage, you won't start out each day by wrestling with the question "Do I or do I not work on my thesis today?" which is almost always followed by the decision, "Not now; I'll start tomorrow." Through organization and discipline, therefore, you're assured of unwavering focus; you'll be able to make a gradual but steady progress towards completing your Master thesis and getting your master's degree.

Writing A Thesis

Top 10 Ways to Stay Out of Trouble When Writing Your Dissertation, Thesis, Or Paper

With increasing frequency, colleges and universities are making use of Web-based plagiarism checking services to scan papers for stolen material. And the consequences can be dire: at one end of the spectrum, a failing grade for the assignment; at the other end, dismissal from an academic program. If you are intentionally plagiarizing in your paper, thesis, or dissertation, this should give you pause. But if you are not intentionally plagiarizing, there could still be reason for concern. Plagiarism checking software catches an ever-growing amount of appropriated material--and sometimes the student has not even meant to do anything wrong! In what follows, I'd like to offer some simple tips for avoiding plagiarism of the unintentional variety.

1. Know what constitutes plagiarism. Simply put, plagiarism is the use of the words or ideas of another person without giving credit to the person from whom they are borrowed. Right off the bat, this tells us something important: you can't simply change a few words of a borrowed text (so that the passage is no longer a direct quotation) and think that you are out of danger. Unless the material is "common knowledge," a citation is needed for any material you borrow--whether it is a direction quotation, a paraphrase, or even just an idea.

2. Know what your professor will look for. Even before the advent of the computer, professors caught students who plagiarized; the Internet has just made it much, much easier. So what might give a clue to a professor that the material you've presented as your own really came from someone else?

• Fluctuations in style
• Vocabulary that isn't typical for you
• Harsh connections between passages
• Deviations in the point of view from which the text is written
• Contradictions in the theories or positions maintained in the paper
• The failure of the paper to address the specific topic assigned (suggesting it may have been borrowed or purchased)
• The unavailability in your university/college library of the sources referenced in the paper
• The use of exclusively Web-based sources
• Recognizing the material (Your professor is probably an expert in this field, after all!)

On its own, nothing on this list is a guarantee that material has been plagiarized. However, the combination of several of these points will certainly raise suspicions and will probably cause your professor to dig deeper.

3. Know how anti-plagiarism programs work. If your college, university, or professor is using a Web-based anti-plagiarism service, it's a good idea to know what the program searches for. If you're intentionally plagiarizing, chances are that you won't outsmart these programs; if you're not intentionally plagiarizing, understanding the programs will help you to avoid plagiarizing inadvertently. Anti-plagiarism programs currently in use do a combination of the following:

• Search the Internet for word strings that may have been lifted. The easiest way to get caught plagiarizing is to take something from a source available on the Internet. You will almost certainly get caught, as even the simplest and cheapest programs do this much.
• Search cached sources. Even if your source is no longer available on the Web, it may still be available to the anti-plagiarism search as long as it was on the Web at one time.
• Search databases of papers, theses, dissertations, articles, and books, usually comparing your paper against millions of archived sources. This means that even print sources that have never been available on the Internet may turn up in the search.
• Compare documents. This allows professors and universities to submit multiple papers (even over a number of years) to compare them for material that they share in common.
• Make internal comparisons. The more sophisticated programs use algorithms to examine sentence structure and synonyms, allowing them to catch even paraphrased material that has not been copied exactly.

4. Don't cut-and-paste. By definition, if you are doing this, you are borrowing material, and you're likely to leave clues (see tip #2, above). NOTE that this rule applies even to borrowing your own material from papers you've written previously. If you ignore this rule, then be sure to cite the source of whatever you've borrowed.

5. Don't paraphrase without citing the source. Yes, it's plagiarism even if you change the words. If it's someone else's idea, a citation is needed. Always.

6. If you use someone else's words, always use quotation marks (or block quote formatting). No exceptions. Period.

7. Know your style sheet. Each academic style sheet (e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago, Turabian), has its own conventions for citing sources. If you don't follow the right conventions, you could inadvertently wind up being accused of stealing the material.

8. Beware of "common knowledge." This is the one big gray area--what really is "common knowledge"? If there's the slightest doubt in your mind, find the source and cite it. If you can't find the source, drop the material from your paper.

9. Get your work edited. Whether you rely on a professional editing service, a professor, someone from your college's writing center, or a really smart friend, a second set of eyes may catch what you missed, saving you a major hassle in the end.

10. When in doubt, CITE!

Writing A Thesis

Academic Thesis Statements Explained

Many people become confused with the numerous terms in academia; the difference between an essay and a report can also confuse many people, not just freshers. In order to fully understand what a thesis statement is, you will need to understand that it concentrates on a generalised topic and opinions.

The central topic of a thesis statement generally means that this paper is concerned around an individual topic and the author won't usually venture far, as can be found in a general essay or report. The key element of this paper will be to provide the reader with examples to prove an overall point.

The thoughts and understanding of the topic should be clearly established in the writing, as you the author, will want to paint a realistic picture of what you want to achieve through accurate analyses and definitive information, which will be reviewed in the research process of the paper.

The key element that you need to remember with this paper is that you need to have both contrast and control - you should be providing valid arguments and discussion of the topic/area, on the one side, and the paper should be well structured and planned on the other. You should lead your reader along a road to your understanding and scope of the paper.

Also, you should have a central theme to the paper, as well as specific areas that the paper looks into and analyses. You will need to plan and execute the thesis statement well, in order to understand the whole process. If you plan and execute the paper well, then the rest of your thoughts, understanding, and actual writing will fall into line. You should also remember that this type of paper is persuasive in nature and should lead the reader to a specific ending; your writing and conclusions need to look more realistic, but at the same time definitive.

An ideal view of a thesis statement would be to look at it as a paper that needs to be packed full of accurate and reliable data, which is easily verifiable by the reader; you will not want to write this crucial and critical paper placed on some un-found facts and opinions.

Being in full control of what you are writing and presenting to the reader is a must with this type of paper, and you can not afford to 'slip up' or make a mistake. Your professionalism is important here and you do not want to detract the reader from your understanding and ability to deliver on what you set out to do. If your writing looks unfocused and all over the place, then this will provide a haphazard appearance of your work.

You should take advice from lecturers and professors on the content, flow and clarity of your work, and especially if any comments are made on the structure of your work. If your structure isn't positive and linked together, then this can have negative affects on the reader's impression of what your thesis statement is going to achieve.

A thesis statement is also much of your own work and opinions, and you will be more than likely come into contact with people that will disagree categorically with what you have stated or written. You will need to be able to handle this criticism and opinionated argument, and face them with proof and understanding that what you have stated is true and reflective. Most of all, you will need to be able to 'stand your ground' through the writing in your thesis statement and when you are questioned verbally about your paper.

Writing A Thesis

How to Write Your First Ebook

Writing your first ebook may seem like a daunting task. But like many projects, it won’t seem so bad when it’s broken down into manageable chunks. Not all projects are successful, so don’t be too disappointed if your first ebook isn’t a best seller. Whatever the outcome of your first ebook, you can at least say ‘You did it’.

Like many things in life, what often seems impossible can be attained with the right attitude and the right equipment. It could be a marathon run, climbing a mountain or finding parking space at the supermarket.

If you want to play golf, you will need clubs, balls and some practice. There’s no guarantee you will become another Tiger Woods but you will become a golfer.

If you want to write an ebook, you will need a computer, software and some directions. Assuming you have a computer and software or access to them, here are some directions.

Establish Your Reasons

Your reasons for wanting to write an ebook will have a major impact on your success. It may be for financial gain, promoting a business, advancing your career, education, self satisfaction or something entirely different. Whatever your reasons, write them down. It will help to motivate you if the going gets tough.

Choose Your Subject

There are countless subjects that you can write about. It’s wise to choose something you have an interest in or knowledge of. It is worthwhile spending time on this. The more you know about your subject, the easier it will be to write about.

Choose Your Title

After you’ve chosen your subject, you’ll need a title for the ebook. It’s worth writing down a few different ones before deciding on the one you’ll use. This will help to keep your focus and may give you some other ideas. The title should give a clear indication of the content in your book. A catchy title may help to sell it, but remember to balance this with clarity to keep it in context. I’ve written down two examples. Feel free to use them if you have a sense of humor.

A Clubbers Paradise - Golfing in Ibiza

20 Minutes Late – The Future of Trains

Choose Your Audience

The subject and style of your writing will determine your audience. Decide who your desired audience will be. Age, gender, culture, social background and education are factors you may want to consider. What you write should be targeted at your desired audience.

Write Your Thesis Statement

Although it’s possible to write your ebook without a ‘thesis statement’, it is not recommended. If you are unfamiliar with this term, there are many sources available that will provide you with all the details you need. Unfortunately, there are some differences of opinion that may lead to confusion.

The ‘thesis statement’ deserves a separate article of its own but for now I have written a general definition of a thesis statement for ebooks. This may leave the door open for criticism but is a small price to pay if it removes some of the confusion. More importantly, it will give you a base on which to start. Only use it as a guideline. If you want a more specific definition, Google is a good place to start your search.

A thesis statement is a sentence or two written to clearly show the reason(s) for your ebook and what you expect to write about.

Although I have referred to this as a general definition, keep in mind that your actual statement should be as specific as possible.

Think of it as the foundation for your ebook. It should contain the following:

1) Your subject

2) Your opinion on the subject

3) A supporting reason for your opinion

4) The significance of 1), 2) and 3)

Create Your Document

Now that you have the foundation, you can begin writing.
A standard application like MS Word is a good choice.
While you are writing your document you can revise your thesis statement at any time up until it is published. This provides a good degree of flexibility.

Choose the format and layout of your document, including chapters, headings and introductions. Dependent on your subject, you may wish to add photographs, anecdotes or testimonials that keep the reader’s attention.

Since an ebook is generally read from a screen, you may want to break up the text more than in a printed book. Experiment with a few different fonts and look at other ebooks for ideas you can use. Spell check and save your document regularly. MS Word has an auto recovery feature. This is useful if you don’t save the document on a regular basis and later experience a system crash. Always backup your document. As a precaution you should also keep a copy on another media such as CD.

Choose Your Ebook Format

This is a personal choice. You may decide to create an executable (.exe) file or a Portable Document Format (.pdf) file. By no means an exhaustive list, here are some points to consider before you choose.

EXE files are compiled using an ebook compiler

EXE files may offer features that are not available with PDFs

EXE files can only be read on a PC

EXE files don’t require any other software to be read

EXE files are easy to open, easily branded, and good viral marketing tools

EXE files may be susceptible to viruses although some compilers offer virus protection

PDF files can be created using Adobe Acrobat

PDF files can be created with several other 3rd party applications

PDF files are an industry standard

PDF files can be read by both PC and MAC

PDF files require Adobe Reader to be read

PDF files are highly unlikely to become infected

Writing A Thesis

Writing Fast - How to Write 10 Times Faster, Guaranteed

How many times have you stared at a blank page, deadline looming, and felt the trickles of sweat on your forehead? Or cringed at the thought of writing a thesis, term paper, business proposal, or status report? Or dreamt of writing a book, novel or screenplay, but pushed it aside as "too difficult; it would take forever"?
Alright. Enough procrastinating. Let's cut through the waste and nail down the solution, right here, right now.

The reason you struggle with writing is simple: You think writing is an activity. But it's not. Typing is activity. Writing is a process. And the way to write ten times faster than you do right now is this: Find a systematic approach to that process.

My approach is the FAST System. It's got four simple steps:

Step 1: Focus your idea. All writing is communication, and the first thing to do is capture the essence of the idea you're trying to communicate. Brainstorm, map and plan your concept. See the overview. Give yourself a roadmap.

Step 2: Apply your plan. Once you've got your writing plan in place, get the words onto the page as fast as possible. And I mean lightning fast. Don't stop and re-read a word. You know where you're going thanks to the plan, now just get words on the page.

Step 3: Strengthen your words. If you've created your writing plan and then blasted the words onto the page, you're already halfway home. Now it's time to go through what you've written and strengthen it. How well have you expressed your idea? Mark up your writing. Some of it will have missed the mark completely; other sections will be pretty solid. Edit and adjust, and then repeat steps 1 and 2 if necessary.

Step 4: Tweak your writing. This is what most people do at the start. But that's what slows you down. Forget perfection at the start. Wait until you've created your plan, blasted words onto the page, and then strengthened those words until your idea is expressed clearly. Now tweak and polish your writing to make it a lightning fast read.

Ironically, the more you write fast, the faster you'll write.

Now, writing fast does not mean writing poorly. Quite the contrary. Writing fast means getting your words on the page as quickly and efficiently as possible. If you can talk, you can write -- they're two sides to the same coin.

Both are communication. Think about it. If you know what you're saying, the words come easy. So Focus, Apply, Strengthen and Tweak. You will be writing ten times FASTer in no time.

Guaranteed.

Writing A Thesis

10 Mythbusters to Common Writing "Cop Outs" - No More Excuses

What is it you want to cross off your to-do list this semester instead of rolling over to the new year? Perhaps you are looking forward to making significant progress on your thesis, dissertation, book or journal article before the end of the year. Be specific. How many pages/chapters would you have to finish for you to feel like you have made significant progress? I believe that a good thesis or dissertation is a DONE thesis or dissertation.

How many excuses have you come up to explain why you can't begin to work on your thesis or dissertation today? Most of these excuses are simply "myths." Following are "mythbusters" to common writing "cop outs."

Myth #1: "I know it is time for me to start writing, but I just have not done enough research yet. I will spend one more night at the library or on the internet, and then I will start writing my paper."

Reality: Let us face it: there is no end to the information you could ultimately collect for your thesis or dissertation. At some point, you've got to stop researching and start writing. A good measure is to begin writing when you start seeing the same information over and over again. It is always a good idea to just free write your ideas onto to paper first, without worrying about style or grammar, just to see where the holes are in your argument. Another good strategy is to create an outline for each section or paragraph that includes all author citations. As an expert in your field, your advisor may be able to glance at the outline and determine right away if you are missing a major piece of research.

Myth #2: "I cannot move on to my next chapter until I get back previous chapter from my advisor."

Reality: Your advisor always assumes that you are and adult and able to manage your time and your writing project. As a graduate student your task is to make daily progress; revising the same chapter over and over again does not move you forward in any substantive way. You should not wait until each chapter is fully polished before you move on. You should be giving your advisor a new chapter to read while you revise the one s/he gives back to you.

Your job as a graduate student is to keep your advisor apprised of what you are doing. If you are constantly just giving him or her the same three chapters this does not convince him that you are making progress. As always, you should provide your advisor with an outline and cover sheet with instructions on how to read the document you have submitted for review. Thus you should write another chapter while you are waiting to hear back from your advisor or committee members.

Myth #3: "I do my best work under pressure."

Reality: This is not undergraduate school, where you could get away with pulling an all-nighter to cram for a test the next day. Your thesis or dissertation is a months-long process, and you'll need every bit of that time. If pressure truly is a motivator for you, there are many more productive ways to create it: for example, by challenging yourself to finish a paragraph within a half hour or pretending that the section you are writing is a timed essay or qualifying or preliminary exam. Setting monthly, weekly, daily deadlines for each chapter, outline, and paragraph is a healthy way to create pressure and continue moving your project forward.

Myth #4: "In order to work on my paper, I must have four uninterrupted hours."

Reality: You can -- and should -- work on your thesis or dissertation in 12- to 15-minute task modules. This will help you break down the laborious writing process into smaller pieces, making it far more manageable. In our busy lives, finding four-hour chunks of time is very difficult to do; but you have small chunks of 12- to 15-minutes of time throughout the day. Furthermore, if you know you're only going to have to dedicate a small amount of time when you sit down, the task won't seem so daunting, and you will be less likely to procrastinate. Keep a detailed checklist of all of the items you have to complete, and refer to it often. On days when you have got a little bit more time, choose a larger task. But on most days, when you only have a little bit of time, work down your list until you reach one (or more!) of your tasks that can be completed in 12 minutes or less. No task is too small, and no item is too insignificant. Every action you take will move you closer to getting accomplishing your goal.

Myth #5: "I cannot write anything until I have the perfect thesis statement/introduction" AND/OR "I cannot write any more until what I have already done is perfect."

Reality: To finish a thesis or dissertation you do not have to begin with chapter one followed by chapter two, etc. Begin with the chapter you know best and build from there. Most people write their introduction last.

Your thesis or dissertation does not have to be perfect; it just has to be done! If you are a perfectionist who worries about everything being just right, hire an editor, or find a family friend who is a retired English teacher. Hand off what you've written to an editor and move on to the next chapter. Then you can go about the task of getting your ideas down on paper and worry about making sure everything is perfect later. When it comes back from the editor you know it will not be perfect but you can look at it again from fresh new perspective.

Myth #6: "I cannot function in a messy environment. I can't possibly write until I have cleaned my apartment, my office, my house. And there is simply no time to clean!"

Reality: In order to write, you don't need your entire office, house or apartment to be clean ... just your little writing space! If you really hate to clean, clean while listening to your favorite music and or program your pick ups around your favorite television show. Indulge in watching the stars, and then force yourself to pick up items during the commercials. Start in one area of the space and clean clockwise. By the end of the program, you'll be surprised how much you've accomplished! Voila! You're ready to write.

Myth #7: "I cannot write unless I have someone with whom I can talk through my ideas."

Reality: Being able to verbalize your ideas to a friend is a good start but, in reality, that's not all you want; it's the comfort of company. Get a writing buddy or buddies or get online.

Find a friend who would be willing to work alongside you during specific, planned work times. Your friends don't have to be writing; they can be reading or playing games on the internet, for all you care. The important thing is that you have someone there. Arrange to meet your buddy at the coffee shop (or whatever work space in which you write) at a specific time and stay there for the entire designated amount of time. This creates a sense of accountability, and also gives your friend the rewarding sense that he or she helping you to accomplish this major undertaking.

Another alternative is to try some online challenges or writing groups. By participating in a challenge you are connecting to other graduate students who are working on their qualifying exams, proposals, thesis or dissertation. These types of forums focus on getting words on the page and provide a safe place for you to exchange ideas and strategies with people from across the globe. You are not alone!

Myth #8: "I do not need to practice for my defense, I am a good public speaker. I never practice my presentations."

Reality: Your thesis or dissertation defense is not a simple presentation; it is an oral examination. Some refer to it as a "hazing process." As you would prepare for any other exam you should prepare for your defense. You won't become a good public speaker overnight. So, if you are not a good public speaker you should consider joining a local Toastmasters club in your area; find out if there is club on your campus.

A good public speaker gives a presentation that is clear and concise. In sum, a speech or presentation can be broken into three parts; 1. Tell them what you are going to tell them (Beginning), 2. Tell them (Middle) and 3. Summarize what you just told them (End).

The beginning should address the implications of your research question in the real world. Be sure to separate your contribution from what has already been done. The middle should be quite technical for the experts on your committee and you should end by bringing it back to your general audience.

Myth #9: "I am too busy to write a thesis or dissertation."

Reality: The biggest misconception about finishing a thesis or dissertation is the belief that writing is the key component to completion. The real key to finishing is effective time management. This is particularly true given the fact that, for most students, writing the document must be completed in tandem with numerous other important tasks, such as preparing for the job market; moving to or starting a new job; preparing for graduation; or working a full-time job. If time-management is not your forte, let the the are plenty of resources to help you manage, structure, and organize your time to maximize your efforts.

Myth #10: "I need to wait until I am inspired."

Reality:There are many things that you can do even without divine inspiration. Just take a step any step. Create a cover page, Table of Contents, the acknowledgment page, the bibliography, an outline, the list of tables or list of figures, and much much more. Keep a daily journal. Strange as it may sound, sometimes writing about why you can't write helps dissolve anxiety and clears your mind. The physical exercise of writing can actually help you to keep on writing!

Writing A Thesis

How to Write a Great Thesis Statement

The process of writing a thesis statement comes before any actual part or stage when you begin to start writing your thesis, and what is required of you. The thesis statement is a claim about your subject matter and what you intend on proving or disproving. Many academic writers fail to understand the need for such a statement, which is often done unconsciously.

There are many different reasons why you need to provide a statement of what you are going to study: it is important to place your writing inspiration and knowledge and test it by breaking your writing into one or two sentences. You will need this as a good grounding of what you want to achieve and will allow your supervisor to understand what it is you want to research; the statement will allow your reader a direction in your argument. However, it would not be advisable to leave your reader bewildered and unaware of how your project will be progressing.

Whether you came up with your own topic of research or you were heavily steered towards it by your supervisor, will depend on whether or not the direction of your statement will be beneficial to you. You may need to change the title of your statement into a question, and this question will be used as a baseline for a response, when you are conducting your research to the question and thus answers.

You should be writing with at least a basic knowledge in the back of your mind about your chosen subject and you will want to concentrate heavily on why you have chosen such a topic, with the underlining fact that it will be of benefit to the greater good of research and academia for its completion.

There are a few recognised points that mean a thesis statement meets the requirements for submission:

- The statement must be able to reach and conclude a position when read on its own.

- It must be based on a topic that current scholars would want to back and would also want to oppose.

- The content should be specific and to the point, and this will be not only of benefit to the reader, but also help you manage the scope and boundaries of writing your research paper.

- Your statement should emphasize and identify the most important ideas of what you want to establish and be referred to in the body of your writing. Therefore, when you are writing sentences you should always review them, checking that they tie in with the overall argument.

- A common mistake to avoid, which catches many students, is to never bring about a totally new topic within the actual statement that will not be mentioned in the main research - this means more emphasis on specific information and direction, as mentioned earlier.

One key element to remember to writing a great thesis statement is that you need to be specific in your writing, concentrate on one idea and ensure that you are planning for the project.

Writing A Thesis

Even Busy People Can Find Time to Write a Thesis or Dissertation

The biggest misconception about finishing a thesis or dissertation is the belief that writing is the key component to completion. The real key to finishing is effective time management. This is particularly true given the fact that, for most students, writing the document must be completed in tandem with numerous other important tasks, such as preparing for the job market; moving to or starting a new job; preparing for graduation; or working a full-time job. If time-management is not your forte, this newsletter can help you manage, structure, and organize your time to maximize your efforts.

To help better manage your time, enlist your network of friends and family to assist you with completing tasks that don’t require your intellectual capital. Most loved ones are more than willing to be supportive if they only know what they can do to help. In response to my request, for example, my friend flew out to Wisconsin to help me pack up my house while I worked on my dissertation. He also got up at 2:30 a.m. to help me format tables, make copies, and drive me to the Copy Center, because my exhausted brain was simply too numb to be able to complete those simple tasks.

In addition, it is imperative that you give yourself ample time to complete your thesis or dissertation. I can’t emphasize enough that you should NOT wait until your coursework or qualifying/preliminary exams are finished to begin thinking about getting an early start. In fact, you should be thinking about a possible topic on your first day of graduate school. Let your interest guide you regarding what courses to take. Pursue a possible topic in one or two of your graduate seminars; these will force you to adhere to a strict deadline, and will also provide you with insightful feedback from your course instructor.

If you haven’t followed this advice, and have already finished your coursework and exams, all is not lost! Keep in mind that you aren’t actually starting from scratch. Think of this document as an extension of your proposal. Pull out your approved thesis/dissertation proposal and begin by reading, editing, and formatting it based on your university’s required specifications. Be sure to update your literature review by including any new studies that address your research question.

Regardless of what stage you are at in completing your thesis or dissertation, remember the key to finishing is to keep moving the project forward, and it is critical to spend at least 12 minutes EVERY DAY working on your document. Your goal is to make consistent, incremental, daily progress. And, even if you just can't contemplate writing some days, there are still a number of required tasks that you can accomplish. Find something from this list you can do right now!!!

1. Create your Title Page

2. Create your Bibliography

3. Format the document

4. Create your Acknowledgement Page

5. Format your Tables

6. Create your List of Tables

7. Create your List of Figures

8. Create your Table of Contents

9. Create your Signature Page

10. Create your Appendices

Writing A Thesis

Writing a Thesis Or Dissertation Takes a Lot of Practice and Style

Unless you have written many formal documents before, you might be surprised how difficult it can be to write a thesis or dissertation. When writing a thesis or dissertation, your style should be formal and similar to what you find in the scholarly journals of your discipline. Review journal articles in your discipline to get a sense of what is expected in terms of structure, style and language. Thorough reading of current journals will also help give you a sense of the "hot" topics in your field along with the most common key words and phrases.

Keep it Simple. The Literature Review is often the section written in the most formal, academic language. While there is not much scope for rhetoric in a Results section, a Literature Review may allow you to express yourself in a more elegant, academic or literary manner. However, it is important not to get too carried away! Shorter, less complicated sentences and paragraphs are always better - and more readable - than complicated prose. Don't worry about trying to sound "smart"; it is better to be clear.

Remain Objective. One of the fundamental qualities of academic language is that it attempts to be objective, and it is important to maintain a respectful, scholarly tone when discussing the work of others. For example, even if you think a researcher's methods were sloppy and arguments ridiculous, it is not appropriate to write, "This was terrible, sloppy research." Use more neutral language; if you write, "without examining the issue directly we cannot be sure about the implications of this research," your readers will understand what you mean. Likewise, when writing about arguments presented by other authors, use phrases like "Carter argues...", "According to Mare..." or "The authors suggest that..." Avoid words such as "think" "believe" or "feel" when writing about scholarly discussion. Not only are those emotive, they may be inaccurate; you don't know what the researchers felt, believes; only what they reported or wrote.

Write for a Wide Audience. In addition, be sure not to overestimate the reader's familiarity with the topic, particularly in the Introduction. Though you may be writing for researchers in a general area, not all of them will be specialists on your particular topic. As you read through your draft, try to look at it through the eyes of another person ... for example, a researcher you met at conference on your subject who worked in a different area. Though the person was intelligent and had the same general background as you, he or she may still know little about the literature or "specific nuances" that apply to your particular area of expertise.

First vs. Third Person. A stylistic area in which scientific disciplines and journals vary widely is the use of first vs. third person constructions. Some disciplines and their journals - e.g., business - have moved away from a very strict adherence to the third person construction, and permit limited use of the first person in published papers. Other disciplines like sociology or - especially the biomedical fields - still prefer the third person construction. Limit your use of first person construction (i.e., " I" or "we" undertook this study....): usually it is most acceptable in the Introduction and Discussion sections, and then only to a limited extent. Use first person in the methods sparingly if at all, and avoid its use in the results.

Use Active Verbs: Use active verbs whenever possible; writing that overly uses passive verbs (is, was, has, have, had) is deadly to read and almost always results in more words than necessary to say the same thing.

Keep Key Words and phrases Handy
If you are well versed in the literature in your particular discipline you will notice some repeated key words and phrases used in every journal article. Make a list of these key words and phrases and be sure to 'sprinkle' them throughout your document. A wide range of vocabulary is of course important, however, when writing academic papers, it is often helpful to find key terms that are familiar to your reading audience.

Focusing on scholarly text will also ultimately assist you in the writing process. Use academic journals to prepare a list of key words that are important in your research area - use this set of key words repeatedly throughout your document.

Resist the urge to use your thesaurus to come up alternate synonyms to substitute for key terms; these words all have different meanings, nuances, and connotations. For example, if the key phrase for your discipline is "family structure", - do not try substituting other phrases like "family composition", "family formation", "family arrangement", or "family size." Experimenting with alternative word choice can do more harm than good.

On the other hand, purposely repeating key words and phrases links sentences and paragraphs. Moreover, repetition of key words and phrases not only emphasizes important points but also adds cohesion to your overall argument by creating powerful links between ideas in your paper and helping your reader understand the logic of your paper.

Each sentence in a dissertation must be complete and correct in a grammatical sense. Moreover, a dissertation must satisfy the stringent rules of formal grammar (e.g., no contractions, no colloquialisms, no slurs, no undefined technical jargon, no hidden jokes, and no slang, even when such terms or phrases are in common use in the spoken language). Indeed, the writing in a dissertation must be crystal clear. Shades of meaning matter; the terminology and prose must make fine distinctions. The words must convey exactly the meaning intended, nothing more and nothing less.

Remember, to complete your thesis or dissertation you must turn in a written product: the key to success is practice. You don't become a better writer by just reading an essay like this. Instead, you need to practice, practice, practice. Every day.

Writing A Thesis