EFS 698B - STANFORD UNIVERSITY

Advanced Graduate Writing

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Thesis and Dissertation Support: notes from class workshop

Thesis and Dissertation Discussion Outline

I. Introductions: name, field, thesis type (MA/S or PhD)

II. Group discussion: dissertation experience so far and identification of problems

III. Discussion of group discussion  

IV. Note external, psychological, academic, and language barriers

V. Presentation of TAD website: www.thesisweb.net

VI. Lingering questions (no 698C!)

Group discussion questions

In your groups, discuss the following questions. Note that if you have not yet begun your thesis research, you may not have answers to several of these questions. You have 20 minutes.

1. Briefly describe your thesis topic, your progress so far, and the expected completion date.

2. Have you written a formal thesis proposal? If so, briefly describe the process and any feedback you received.

3. Describe what your advisor has done to help you so far. What else would you like him or her to do?

4. What has been (or what do you expect to be) your biggest problems in writing the thesis?

5. Which of the following have you done or plan to do?

            a. Set up a reasonable timetable for completion

            b. Plan writing on a regular basis (e.g., several times/week)

            c. Find one or more model theses relevant to your work

            d. Link thesis research to paper-level publications

            e. Get a thesis buddy or join a support group

6. What do you hope to learn from this workshop?

Other Links 

Example theses from electrical engineering 1 and 2

Stanford Dissertation Group website