Thesis Structuring - Help!
January 31, 2012 5:30 AM Subscribe
Will I get this done, even if it ends in madness?
My thesis (English Literature) is due end of Feb. I'm having a hard time with structuring, since I did not write chapter by chapter, but rather in chunks as inspiration dictated.
At the best of times, I'm not a very concrete, 'rack-em-stack-em' thinker, and the stress of getting everything perfect is starting to make me go mental. Everything is starting to look like everything else at this point.
Any tips for approaching this final stage, particularly as it relates to issues of flow and structure? For the record, the thesis encompasses 35 000 words, with a conclusion still to be written. Style is Chicago.
My thesis (English Literature) is due end of Feb. I'm having a hard time with structuring, since I did not write chapter by chapter, but rather in chunks as inspiration dictated.
At the best of times, I'm not a very concrete, 'rack-em-stack-em' thinker, and the stress of getting everything perfect is starting to make me go mental. Everything is starting to look like everything else at this point.
Any tips for approaching this final stage, particularly as it relates to issues of flow and structure? For the record, the thesis encompasses 35 000 words, with a conclusion still to be written. Style is Chicago.
Response by poster: Thanks, will check it out. I have already written the 35K; it's a 40K thesis, though my conclusion and some notes will bring up most of the rear. I don't need a lit review, just a biblio, which still has to be done.
posted by New England Cultist at 5:49 AM on January 31, 2012
posted by New England Cultist at 5:49 AM on January 31, 2012
In terms of structuring -- look at some other theses for ideas.
If I asked you what your theses is about, what would you say? What would I need to know for background? I might ask questions like "where does that concept come from?"
Somewhere between a good, informative conversation and the conventions for a thesis in your discipline is your structure.
posted by vitabellosi at 6:02 AM on January 31, 2012 [1 favorite]
If I asked you what your theses is about, what would you say? What would I need to know for background? I might ask questions like "where does that concept come from?"
Somewhere between a good, informative conversation and the conventions for a thesis in your discipline is your structure.
posted by vitabellosi at 6:02 AM on January 31, 2012 [1 favorite]
Send it out to people and ask for critiques? Preferably people who aren't your friends, so they will be honest about any problems they find. This will be a painful step because you won't want to let go of it in its imperfect state, but letting go of imperfections is the whole problem; best get used to it.
posted by PercussivePaul at 6:11 AM on January 31, 2012
posted by PercussivePaul at 6:11 AM on January 31, 2012
It's really dependent on your topic, your style, your argument, and what you've written. Your best bet is to model yourself after other successful theses from your department, preferably completed under the same supervisor. You may also try to think of your argument as a narrative. Each piece should flow to the other. What's your main thesis? What's the clearest, most efficient way to develop that idea? What relationship does each section have to the other? Sometimes there is a natural order and other times there's not. There should be a way that all of those chunks will fit together logically. If not, you may have more problems than you think.
posted by synecdoche at 6:12 AM on January 31, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by synecdoche at 6:12 AM on January 31, 2012 [1 favorite]
I'm not typically someone who jumps to recommending technological solutions, but if your issue really is structure, you might consider picking up a copy of Scrivener. It's MAC & Windows software for novel writers, and it uses a corkboard metaphor to help you organize your scenes.
In your case, it might be useful to treat each section (or possibly each paragraph for the really disjointed bits) as a scene and use this software to re-arrange them until you find an order and a structure that works for you.
Good luck!
posted by gauche at 6:15 AM on January 31, 2012
In your case, it might be useful to treat each section (or possibly each paragraph for the really disjointed bits) as a scene and use this software to re-arrange them until you find an order and a structure that works for you.
Good luck!
posted by gauche at 6:15 AM on January 31, 2012
Response by poster: There is cohesion, it's just a matter of getting my had around how to fit them together. What makes it extra hard is that I have to turn off the part of my brain that writes creatively - but perhaps there is some kind of middle ground in thinking of it as narrative - thanks.
posted by New England Cultist at 6:15 AM on January 31, 2012
posted by New England Cultist at 6:15 AM on January 31, 2012
Best answer: Been here, not so long ago. I feel for you.
I'm going to suggest that you physically print out what you have done. Getting it off the computer and into a different medium will help you to think differently about it. Try to arrange what you have written so far either in terms of themes or function (i.e. is a given passage providing a context, evaluating or discussing? Are there more general discussion of the project that belong in an introduction?
Once you've identified the themes or different areas that need to be dealt with, try to draft a structure around them, with a short paragraph or bullet points to delineate what belongs in each. Don't sweat this too much. You won't get it right first time, but the act of doing this will really help you to clarify it.
My own thesis (a mixture of philosophy and recounting practical, creative activities) was of similar length. I ended up with 5 chapters each of around 6-7 k and the balance went to into and conclusions. I think something similar, give or take a chapter or two might work for you. I would suggest that your first chapter is basically your literature review and your thoughts on it. That will help you to set your stall out for your own discussion of the themes at hand, and you can then pull these people back in to either push against or use to back up your arguments.
On preview: what Percussive Paul and synedoche said. And narrative thinking is good too.
Good luck!
posted by Chairboy at 6:18 AM on January 31, 2012 [1 favorite]
I'm going to suggest that you physically print out what you have done. Getting it off the computer and into a different medium will help you to think differently about it. Try to arrange what you have written so far either in terms of themes or function (i.e. is a given passage providing a context, evaluating or discussing? Are there more general discussion of the project that belong in an introduction?
Once you've identified the themes or different areas that need to be dealt with, try to draft a structure around them, with a short paragraph or bullet points to delineate what belongs in each. Don't sweat this too much. You won't get it right first time, but the act of doing this will really help you to clarify it.
My own thesis (a mixture of philosophy and recounting practical, creative activities) was of similar length. I ended up with 5 chapters each of around 6-7 k and the balance went to into and conclusions. I think something similar, give or take a chapter or two might work for you. I would suggest that your first chapter is basically your literature review and your thoughts on it. That will help you to set your stall out for your own discussion of the themes at hand, and you can then pull these people back in to either push against or use to back up your arguments.
On preview: what Percussive Paul and synedoche said. And narrative thinking is good too.
Good luck!
posted by Chairboy at 6:18 AM on January 31, 2012 [1 favorite]
First, you need to lower the drama. Stop talking like "even if it ends in madness" and start treating this like a job. If you worked for me, and I told you that you needed to write a 70 page report by the end of the month, you'd grumble a little bit and then start typing, no big deal.
Second, the way you get there is by breaking it down into little parts, each of which is easy to do. Don't think of it as 70 page thesis, think of it as, say, an introduction, four chapters, conclusion, and bibliography. And each of those is made of small parts, too: a chapter will have an introduction, etc, each of which might be only three pages. At this point you can write three pages in your sleep, so you know you can do this.
So, print out what you have written (as was just suggested) and see where pieces already fit within the structure of the thesis, and what pieces you still need to write. This is boring, workaday writing, but it gets the job done in a way that high drama and thrashing around never will.
Good luck! It's totally doable -- I know several people who wrote entire dissertations in less than a month, so finishing up a thesis that you have 90 percent finished will be cake.
posted by Forktine at 6:29 AM on January 31, 2012 [2 favorites]
Second, the way you get there is by breaking it down into little parts, each of which is easy to do. Don't think of it as 70 page thesis, think of it as, say, an introduction, four chapters, conclusion, and bibliography. And each of those is made of small parts, too: a chapter will have an introduction, etc, each of which might be only three pages. At this point you can write three pages in your sleep, so you know you can do this.
So, print out what you have written (as was just suggested) and see where pieces already fit within the structure of the thesis, and what pieces you still need to write. This is boring, workaday writing, but it gets the job done in a way that high drama and thrashing around never will.
Good luck! It's totally doable -- I know several people who wrote entire dissertations in less than a month, so finishing up a thesis that you have 90 percent finished will be cake.
posted by Forktine at 6:29 AM on January 31, 2012 [2 favorites]
Also: the old INDEX CARDS PINNED TO THE WALL trick really helps. Put your chunks up, one per index card. Color code them if you have to. Then organize it visually. Then you know what you have and what you need. And you can shuffle them easily, when you're like "that's dumb, Y can't come before Z!"
Then you can put placeholder cards between the actual cards, that say like, TRANSITION HERE, or, SUB-CHAPTER ABOUT X HAS TO GO HERE.
Then often I'll make Word docs that correspond to the index cards, then compile it all. (It also helps when you finally have one big document to use specific symbols that you can search for, that indicate where you need to write-in. Like a "£" or some such; easy to find.)
posted by RJ Reynolds at 6:31 AM on January 31, 2012 [1 favorite]
Then you can put placeholder cards between the actual cards, that say like, TRANSITION HERE, or, SUB-CHAPTER ABOUT X HAS TO GO HERE.
Then often I'll make Word docs that correspond to the index cards, then compile it all. (It also helps when you finally have one big document to use specific symbols that you can search for, that indicate where you need to write-in. Like a "£" or some such; easy to find.)
posted by RJ Reynolds at 6:31 AM on January 31, 2012 [1 favorite]
Isn't this exactly what Scrivener is for? They have a free trial. You might try it out.
posted by ephemerista at 6:36 AM on January 31, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by ephemerista at 6:36 AM on January 31, 2012 [1 favorite]
Are you talking undergrad honors thesis, master's thesis, or dissertation?
posted by kestrel251 at 7:05 AM on January 31, 2012
posted by kestrel251 at 7:05 AM on January 31, 2012
In the same vein as index cards, have you tried various pre-writing activities like webbing? Webbing has turned out to be a crucial pre-outlining step for me that helps me identify big ideas in the chapter that I can then group together into sections when I'm done with it. Once I have the sections I know I want I can mess around with their order. I really like drawing it out on paper since that gets me away from the linear "I must write it and it must be perfect" mindset I have when I sit at the computer. I know I'm not going to turn scribbled notes into my advisor so that pressure of getting it perfect isn't as strong. And doing it in pencil so I can erase also helps trick my mind.
Maybe since you don't have any chapters yet but have chunks written it would be good to list them all out somehow -- index cards, webbing, etc. Some way NOT on the computer, and preferably in a manipulative medium so you can move it around. What chunks seem to go together? What chunks seem to not go together? Why? Pick a potential structure (theme? Chronology? Author?) and organize everything that way. Then try a different structure and do it again. 3 or 4 in and you should find some ideas naturally sick together better, and that's your building block for structure.
Also, don't underestimate the power of walking. When you're stuck take a walk around the room or building or block and just think. You look like a crazy person, but most of my moments of clarity come when I get away from my desk.
posted by lilac girl at 8:21 AM on January 31, 2012
Maybe since you don't have any chapters yet but have chunks written it would be good to list them all out somehow -- index cards, webbing, etc. Some way NOT on the computer, and preferably in a manipulative medium so you can move it around. What chunks seem to go together? What chunks seem to not go together? Why? Pick a potential structure (theme? Chronology? Author?) and organize everything that way. Then try a different structure and do it again. 3 or 4 in and you should find some ideas naturally sick together better, and that's your building block for structure.
Also, don't underestimate the power of walking. When you're stuck take a walk around the room or building or block and just think. You look like a crazy person, but most of my moments of clarity come when I get away from my desk.
posted by lilac girl at 8:21 AM on January 31, 2012
I'm a lot like you. I wrote my thesis in bits and pieces (whatever I felt interested in writing about at that moment). If I had my time back, I'd probably do it exactly the same way. Sometimes it was a whole paragraph, sometimes it was a note to myself like "Don't forget to talk about X here." I don't know quite how to explain it, but the thesis sort of structured itself along the way.
What saved me was having a fairly detailed chapter outlines. These outlines changed quite a few times while I was writing. Six chapters, all seguing into each other in some way, and all discussing the thesis of the thesis. I had the chapter outlines written in Sharpie on pieces of 8.5x11 paper and stuck above my desk. Cheap, easy, and organized.
The final edits were the most tedious. I read the whole thing out loud twice to make sure it made sense. Anyway, don't sweat it, it's just a big paper. I handed mine in about three years ago and haven't given it much thought since.
posted by futureisunwritten at 9:59 AM on January 31, 2012
What saved me was having a fairly detailed chapter outlines. These outlines changed quite a few times while I was writing. Six chapters, all seguing into each other in some way, and all discussing the thesis of the thesis. I had the chapter outlines written in Sharpie on pieces of 8.5x11 paper and stuck above my desk. Cheap, easy, and organized.
The final edits were the most tedious. I read the whole thing out loud twice to make sure it made sense. Anyway, don't sweat it, it's just a big paper. I handed mine in about three years ago and haven't given it much thought since.
posted by futureisunwritten at 9:59 AM on January 31, 2012
Response by poster: Forktine - I'm a creative writer, drama comes with the territory.
Thank you everyone so far, I'm just heading out to uni to print out the doc.
ephemerista - Scrivener, sadly is for MAC, with which I do not gel. But Mrs Cultist works on one and I will definitely check it out.
kestrel - Masters
posted by New England Cultist at 1:37 PM on January 31, 2012
Thank you everyone so far, I'm just heading out to uni to print out the doc.
ephemerista - Scrivener, sadly is for MAC, with which I do not gel. But Mrs Cultist works on one and I will definitely check it out.
kestrel - Masters
posted by New England Cultist at 1:37 PM on January 31, 2012
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posted by parmanparman at 5:41 AM on January 31, 2012 [1 favorite]