 Writing the “dreaded” senior thesis doesn’t have to be the horrid thing many lower-class undergraduates think that it is. In fact, it should be one of the most enjoyable parts of being in college. You have just spent 3 years listening to professors blab on about topics you may not have been interested in, but required to take in order to fulfill your credit requirements for your major. If you made the right choice while entering college and picked a major you knew you would love, then a senior thesis will be one of your first chances to really make yourself shine and delve into your area of study that you so much enjoy.
When preparing your senior thesis, pick a topic you are truly interested in. A senior thesis is something you get nearly a year to work on and you will be dedicating a lot of time to it. Making sure you are writing about something you love will make the process all that much easier. A senior thesis can reach upwards of 20 pages (if not more) and you certainly don’t want to be stuck writing on a subject you rather wouldn’t want to. Make the questions you will be answering intriguing and about something you really have a passion for knowing about. The research you put towards it will seem much more fulfilling when you can discover your answers.
Start writing your thesis right away. You will obviously be starting with your abstract, but once you are past that stage, keep writing. Every day, attempt to write a little more on your subject. If you haven’t put in the research needed to get to the next stage in writing your senior thesis, go back and revise your pages. Putting in work earlier saves you time in the long run. Even just 10 minutes a day the month you start developing your thesis saves you 5 hours that you might spend on an all-nighter the week your final senior thesis is due.
Allow for expansion in your senior thesis. The last thing you want to be doing is limiting yourself to only the questions you asked in your first draft of your abstract. Why would you want to limit yourself on a senior thesis? Writing a senior thesis is all about proving questions that don’t always have specific answers. If you are truly interested in changing your thesis for something that you find more intriguing, then go for it. This is your last time to prove yourself in college, so make it your paper and show how passionate you are about writing it.
As usual with any writing project, you will need critique. The criticism necessary for a senior thesis may be a little harder to come by than what you were normally used to with your other undergraduate papers. Here you will want professionals in the field you are studying from to examine your senior thesis. Ask graduate students and professors that have experience with your topic to take a look. Not only is this some of the best critique you can get, but it can also provide you with invaluable information that can help you get answers and write further within your senior thesis.
A senior thesis is your first chance to get a grasp on real world work. You won’t be answering test questions or reading from any textbooks after graduation; people will be looking to your research skills and abilities. Make sure you prove yourself here so they know you can be relied on.
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