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Hey pieceacake,
i am not currently writing a thesis, but I had to write one for my undergrad (about 3 years ago). took me about 7 months, and 75 pages, but it was definitely an experience that I am thankful that I had to go through. There IS a light at the end of the tunnel, I promise you!
I got through it by remembering a quote by Gloria Steinem:
"I do not like to write; I like to have written" Because now I have a substantial piece of writing that's all mine :)
I have a 80 page thesis due in December for my masters degree, and will start working full-time in September, all while planning the wedding. Ugh.
I also wrote a 50 page thesis for my undergrad, and for me the key was setting deadlines. I outlined a certain section to finish each week, and didn't let myself go out on the weekend until it was done. It was tough, but getting those 5 pages done each Thursday night meant I was all done with a month to spare!
Thanks for the encouragement melisndescott!
It wouldn't be so bad if I felt like I had more to say on the topic! I'm starting to wonder if I'll ever make it to 25 pages!!
P.S. I can only imagine if I had to write 75 pages..sheesh!! We only have 8 weeks to complete ours (well, 7 now), so that's why it's so short compared to others. We all have to present at the same time!
Good for you leprechaun!!!
I SO don't envy your 80 page project! I hope your topic is pretty broad!
My key to writing was a lot of prep work: I kept extensive notes of citations as I read and then would type up every single thing I highlighted or noted into one document. From there, I would just basically plug and play, obviously with my own close-reading or analysis.
I do have an issue with page lengths though, no matter the length I always have trouble reaching the last few pages. That's when I start employing the block quote: quote a large chunk of text and then explicate/analyze the crap out of it. You'll get a quarter-sized page from the quote, and then at least 1 page from the explication.
These are my trade secrets :)
I would like to note that my largest paper in college was 25 pages for my honors seminar. I wrote all of it, except for the thesis, the night before it was due, starting at 10 pm. I got an A. Proudest moment ever! :)
I had to write a 50 pager in undergrad. I got about 1/2 way done when I realized I had nothing more to say. I went back and extended almost every paragraph. As in, I would make sure every single paragraph was stuctured exactly how english grammer dictates, and I threw in little adjectives here and there as well as expanded on the topic. It also allowed me to re-read a million times and see where I could add more info and how I could reorganize. By the time I finished the 25 page editing process I had upt my count to 46 pages!!!! It was awesome. I easily added in some more things and had my 50. I ended up with an A and could not have been happier :)
@ribbons: Oh, I remember those days. I was an English major in college, so most of my finals weren't tests; they were papers and written responses, etc. SO many of them I started at 10 the night before they were due...
Boo I am working on my master's thesis right now (I still have to do the analyses when the experiment is over and its 60+ pages). My undergrad thesis was around 40-50 ... and my experiment didn't work right at all so I had to BS the last portion. And after all this I have to do a billion page dissertation someday! BAH
I wrote one last year and I don't envy you. Sorry but you will feel so rewarded when you are through! What is it on?
I don't have a thesis because I'm in law school, but I am doing an independent study next semester that requires a 50-60 page paper. Writing a paper in law school is definitely easier than all the reading and the exam at the end of the semester, IMO.
Another English major procrastinator here, though my finest moment was a sad little 5 page paper written at 6:45am the morning it was due (I had another class at 9:00 and then it was due at 10:00), and I got... wait for it... an A+!
My Master's thesis came in at 66 pages, including charts. I also hate page requirements. A paper should be well organized and thorough and take as long as necessary to explain, reason, and analyze. If your topic is such that doing so takes only 20 pages, the other 5 required are going to be nothing but bullsh!t, and you and the prof will probably know it. It detracts from the overall quality of the paper, I think. When I start to sputter out, I do more research. Finding just one more article to cite can add a few more paragraphs, which can add up to pages! And it usually means you've found more relevant info!
Good luck! 25 pages isn't so bad, though. I had to write those for undergrad. I am sure you'll do great!
Here's some terrible advice but I'm going to give it anyways. When you get writers block go out on the town with some friends. Get it off your mind and dance (or watch TV, whatever floats your boat). It helps to get rid of the cobwebs
The other thing that's helpful is get a somewhat bright friend who's not in your field to read it and stick in questions they have as they read it.
Ugh, handed my 75 page monster over in October last year. You'll get there, just stick to your writing goals (but don't beat yourself up if you miss them every now and then).
There's light at the end of the tunnel..just hope you don't end up in my position...I'm currently trying to turn my thesis into a manuscript for publication 1 tenth the size! Just got comments back from reviewers last week...all four pages of comments.. *cry*
I'm getting a PhD in bio-medical ethics. I've finished my coursework and just passed my qualifying/comprehensive exams last month. I'm working on my dissertation proposal while wedding planning. It only needs to be a mere 250-300 pages. Eeeek
I'm just starting my 75 page project, which comes on top of a nasty qualifying exam, and two recitals for my Doctorate (in Music). At the Moment I'm still pumped because I LOVE my topic, but we'll see how long that lasts.
I'm nearing the end of my thesis. It's required to graduate, minimum 50 pages. My topic, chosen eons ago, is the literary representation of 18th-century marriage... and I couldn't possibly care less about the whole thing at this point. My comittee consists of what I nicknamed the Three Witches; they're overly demanding, completely unwavering, critical, mean, and degrading. The whole shebang is due at the end of this month, then I go into revisions for a week, then it's do or die in the defense. Um, did I mention this is an undergrad piece? It's madness, and I'll never do it again.
I love to write, but not in the boring, analytical way they want. They won't let me use adjectives because they're 'representative of an opinion, which has no place in a thesis." Try writing about a romance story sans adjectives!
I didn't have to write a thesis but I was a sociology and criminology double major and then I went to law school and was on journal... which means I've written my share (and um, like 40 other people's shares) of papers! My journal note was probably the most similar to a thesis... I want to say 35 or 40 page min and it had to be an original standpoint/argument/topic. Sucked. But I did it and its done and now I don't have to do it again. You'll get through! :)
My dissertation seemed like a lot of work...then I realized I'll be writing research papers for the rest of my life. At least subsequent papers are easier. My advice is to read through all the background papers again one at a time. As you read and notice really important pieces of info that you need in your paper write that in and cite the paper you're reading. It's easy to miss a lot of background details.
I spent the entire summer 2 years ago writing my 160 page thesis! Not fun times, I tell ya. I was writing from home and I had the same routine going everyday. It kept me focused and there were far less distractions than if I were to write in our grad student office. Now I'm spending this summer writing a book chapter. It never ends for me :)
I'm an undergrad, and in September I'll be starting my senior honors thesis. It'll probably be about 75 pages, and will cause great pain and anguish, but hopefully it will be worth it in the long run. :)
@afuturemrsl: my topic is 'Managing Age Diversity in a Multi-Generational Workforce'...it heavily applies to the company I work for, so it's multi purpose. When I started working here at 20, the next person closest to my age was over 40.
This paper is for my masters degree...all of you who have written thesis papers for your undergrad degrees--I don't envy you!! I had to do a business plan for mine, so I guess that is similar to a thesis in a way.
I have 9 pages to go on this thing!! I'm crossing my fingers I can get there! Today is the first day we can turn in our rough draft copies. I'm hoping to turn mine in no later than Friday evening. I'm a pretty quick writer, but that's when I have a lot to write about! Eep!
I had to write my thesis senior year of college, two years ago, and did the entire thing in a week. I'm not onefor working on projects long term and preferred to bang it all out at one time. Luckily, I got an A and one of my panel members suggested I further pursue my topic in grad school.
Good luck! Been there, done that! Don't focus on the page numbers so much.. Go back through and make sure you thoroughly explained all your ideas so far (elaborating a little here and there adds a little to the length every time). I was so used to writing in a very concise way that when it came to my masters thesis I sometimes went back and reworded groups of sentences in order to gain some length in the paper. If you've only got 9 pages to go, they'll go pretty quickly! You're more than halfway there!
im not writing a thesis, but i do have three final exams coming up in 4 weeks for my first term of law school. and i am TOTALLY stressed... (our wedding is 8 weeks away).
"ICANDOTHISICANDOTHIS"
good luck too all the other bees!
Ok, I JUST submitted my paper! I made to DEAD ON 25 pages. 31 pages total!!
I think I feel even more nervous about it now! I've never met this professor (our director has had issues and is no longer our director and thus not grading our thesis projects) and I don't know what she even thinks of my topic other than she approved it!
Fingers crossed she doesn't make me rewrite 75% of it!!
Good luck to all you other thesis-paper-writers! Deep breaths!
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I consider myself to be lucky because my thesis only has to be 25 pages, but it seems pretty grueling at times, too! I'm about 16 pages in and runnning out of things to write about.
Anyone else in the throws of their thesis project and want to vent?!