You want to write your thesis quickly …… so you need to know how to do it from the beginning.
At its most basic level, writing a thesis is about getting knowledge and ideas out of your head and onto the screen. Most people, whether they are writing an undergraduate, master’s or doctoral thesis, find this process extremely difficult.
If you are trying to present a thesis proposal, a thesis statement, or write the thesis itself, it is really difficult to sit down and write. Sometimes writing is easy if you already have all the ideas organized in your head. Other times, you just don’t know what to write. So, always remember this;
Your thesis starts on paper
The first thing to do is take all the ideas in your head and everything you know about your research, and get as much information as possible in paper.
Write all over the paper, in no particular order. Don’t worry about structure, just write down ideas. This process allows the creative part of your brain to do its work. You can deal with the logical structure of the thesis later.
Now, you will probably find that once you get started, you have too many ideas for a piece of paper. Okay, use another one! Once you run out of ideas, or just get bored, take a break. Later …
Think about the structure of the thesis but keep working on paper..
Review what you have written and begin to link the ideas. Take your time at this stage. There is often pressure to sit at the desk and spend time increasing the word count. However, if you want to finish your thesis quickly, the extra time spent preparing will save you time in the long run.
Until you have a clear thesis plan, keep working on paper.
Only once you have an idea of the structure can you sit down and write the first words of your thesis or thesis proposal. If you just sit back and write without planning, you will run out of ideas very quickly. You won’t be able to link one idea or argument to the next, and you’ll probably want to start working on another section, with the intention of coming back to it later.
Or you may suddenly have a brilliant idea and then drop what you were working on to write about your new idea. This is not good! This leads to a poorly structured thesis, which is later difficult to edit. Eliminate ideas first and it will be much easier to stay focused.
You don’t rearrange the walls of a house once it’s half built, so don’t try to do the same with your thesis. Plan the structure, build the storylines, then editing should be like rearranging the furniture rather than re-laying the foundation. Regardless of what you are writing about, take an hour to plan it, first roughly and then with more organization. It will save you a great deal of time and your writing will be better!