A thesis voyage and other tips to smoothly write your thesis
(c) STAN
‘Tis the season, thesis season! Your studies are almost over but to unlock your degree, you have to dive into writing mode first. STAN gathered some useful (and not so useful) tips to help you.
counter the ‘fear of the blank page’
You are ready to start but the blank page is staring at you and you immediately get a panic attack. Where do you begin? Start with some easy things like the title, your name, the year… It sounds simple but now that the blank page is gone, some of the stress disappears with it. You’ve officially started! Then structure with subheadings, create a table of contents and briefly write what parts you want in your thesis. Don’t get lost in details, you can adjust everything later.
go on a thesis voyage
Locking yourself up in your dorm for months? No thanks! Go on a weekend with some friends who also have to write a thesis and combine the useful with the pleasant. Go to the Belgian Ardennes for example and alternate writing sessions with hikes. The new surroundings and fresh air will definitely help!
(c) STAN
avoid overly difficult language
A thesis is serious business, right? However it is not necessary to write like someone with an IQ of 140. Some jargon from time to time is fine, but above all, make sure it reads smoothly. Writing is easier when you leave out difficult language. Later you can adjust and rewrite things.
postpone
Six months of stressing over your thesis is unnecessary! Just postpone all the work for five months and work non-stop for one month. It will be a tough month but it won’t be six 😉
explain your thesis to your family
Can’t see the wood for the trees? Don’t forget the big picture! Go back to basics and ask yourself the questions, “What is my thesis about?”, “What do I want to do?” Give an elevator pitch to your granny or little brother and explain in five minutes your thesis topic and what you want to accomplish. This will help you regain clarity.
(c) STAN
read your thesis out loud
Sometimes reading aloud helps you find mistakes you didn’t see after rereading five times. Use your cell phone as a microphone and imagine yourself in one of your favorite podcast episodes.
go on a date with someone doing a PhD
Writing a thesis, difficult? It’s just the way you look at it. Go on a date with a PhD student and realize that your work is not thát hard. After all, it’s only a thesis, right? (For the PhD student reading this, please see the other tips)
give yourself deadlines
It’s a big deal, a full thesis. But a tenth of a thesis is not too bad, right? So just do that times ten. Divide your work into sub-tasks and give yourself a number of weeks each time. On difficult days write the easy parts, on good days write more difficult parts.
Lots of luck! And remember, thousands of students already did it before you. You got this! Follow STAN’s platforms for more tips on student life.
