First, the basic steps of writing a master's thesis
The first step is to determine the title of the paper. Whether the topic is appropriate or not has a great influence on the success or failure of the paper. It can even be said that a good topic is half the battle. Although you can write anything on any topic within your major, you must consider whether you can have new ideas, discoveries, perspectives, research methods and materials. Be careful not to choose too big a topic to expand in this relatively narrow scope. According to the experience of many master's dissertations, this level of thesis topics can be considered from the following aspects: research gaps in this major, controversial hot topics (I think my own point of view is enough), comparative topics, topics of this major from the perspective of other majors (this is an interdisciplinary or marginal effect of topic selection), old topics with new insertion angles, and new problems of this major that have just emerged.
The second step is to collect (or "document retrieval") and read relevant research materials and theoretical basis around the topic selection of the paper. This step is hard work, and it may take a lot of time and energy to find information. This step is very necessary. Without this step, the content of your thesis is likely to completely or largely repeat the work that others have already done, which is equivalent to doing it in vain; The process of searching is also a process of stimulating ideas and generating sparks of opinions. If you don't take this step, you will cut off the source of your new ideas, new perspectives and new materials. This is also to prepare for the next step in terms of viewpoints, angles and materials.
The third step is to put forward my own theoretical assumptions about the topic, or specific and core issues to be studied.
Topic selection refers to the general direction and scope of the paper to be written. If you really want to start writing, you will encounter two specific problems. The first category belongs to opinions: what is my specific opinion? You can imagine one or several ideas, but they are just a hypothesis. Through a lot of evidence and materials, through rigorous argumentation and appropriate argumentation framework structure, prove that your hypothesis is established and can form the main body of the paper. The second category belongs to practice: what problems should be demonstrated specifically? You can put forward many reasons, whether the influence of various environmental conditions is related to argumentation and to what extent, all of which require scientific investigation data and (empirical) analysis.
In either case, this involves the central idea or the theme of the thesis, which must be clear and run through the whole thesis. Because the number of words in a master's thesis is relatively long, a common problem is that the author can't grasp the full text, writes and writes, and virtually breaks away from his original assumptions or specific problems, saying a lot of words that have nothing to do with the central idea or the theme of the argument, and finally gets the result of "breaking away from the theme".
The fourth step is to decide which research method to adopt. The research methods of humanities and social sciences can be roughly divided into two categories, speculative research and empirical research, and the latter can be divided into qualitative research and quantitative research. In order to explore social facts or social phenomena, people adopt different research orientations, and different research orientations have different research methods, different research hypotheses, ways of collecting data and criteria for judging results. However, various research methods are increasingly showing compatibility and internal relations in current thesis writing. Generally speaking, according to your own topics and specific issues discussed, you can take one research method as the main one, supplemented by other methods. At the same time, it also needs some research methods of historical culture and political and economic speculation.
In the master's thesis of liberal arts, the quantitative analysis conducted by the author directly for the thesis is generally small in scale, limited in scope of application, and more people use it, rather than their own direct investigation results. This is due to the limited research funds and the author's limited ability to conduct social surveys. Based on logical analysis, this paper uses some quantitative analysis data appropriately, which sometimes adds some weight to the article. But it must be done according to the actual needs, not to show the diversity of research methods. For example, a very macro topic was originally suitable for speculative research, and it would be self-defeating to add a micro-quantitative survey result to prove anything. This is a specific problem to be grasped in writing a good paper now.
The fifth step is to design the framework of the thesis. This step is also needed in general article writing, but it is more necessary and detailed for master's thesis. Generally speaking, a master's thesis should have a preface, a first chapter, a main chapter and a conclusion. Chapter setting should have a general layout logic before writing to make its structure reasonable; There is a logical connection between chapters to prevent scribbling, drowning the theme and not knowing what to say. This step is rarely completed once, and often changes according to the situation of collecting materials and the new situation encountered in the investigation and interview. However, just as an architect must have drawings before building a house, at the level of writing a master's thesis, the general framework of the article should not only be kept in mind, but generally written in words, and it is better to be specific to the "festival" (but don't fix the level of the "festival" at the beginning), so as to facilitate writing.
When it comes to designing the framework of the thesis, because it is a textual chapter design, it is a good opportunity to solicit opinions from other experts in addition to the guidance of the tutor before formal writing. By designing the framework of the paper, we can generally see the value or existing problems of the article.
The sixth step is to analyze and classify the obtained literature, investigation materials and various arguments, enrich them into various chapters respectively, and then elaborate and demonstrate them. This is actually the thesis writing itself, so this description is to let the author know the process of thesis writing. All kinds of materials and arguments can't prove arguments or explain specific problems by nature. Only by organizing and demonstrating the materials (quoting, modifying, adding or deleting) can we make them full of vitality, extremely natural and self-contained, and effectively serve their own themes.
In this step, it is sometimes necessary to review basic professional knowledge (such as social survey and statistics), use rigorous data organization methods, closely focus on established theoretical assumptions or specific problems, mobilize all kinds of knowledge that you have learned, and use positive theory (this is the main), counter-theory, hypothesis theory, refutation theory, metaphor theory and other methods to demonstrate opinions or problems, draw conclusions, and complete the paper.
There will inevitably be problems such as the use or lack of materials, logical reasoning, and the mismatch between arguments and topics. It is necessary to stop and look for information or materials or visit experts, enrich or delete the contents in the framework of the original paper, and make local adjustments to the framework structure when necessary. This situation is normal and common. It is also necessary to arrange the time. If the time is not properly arranged, it may be too late to adjust the structure and content of the paper.
The seventh step is to re-evaluate the selected topics and modify the scope of the demonstration objects if necessary. This is another situation that happens at the same time as the sixth step, that is, through extensive consultation and self-thinking, I feel that the original topic is not suitable for me or difficult to complete, so I should adjust my writing plan in time, change the topic or adjust the topic. Because there has been a lot of thinking and literature retrieval on the academic research of this major, it won't take too long to change the topic.
Another situation that the topic selection is inappropriate and difficult to complete is not the topic itself, but the scope of the topic selection argument is too large. It is not difficult to solve this problem, but it narrows the scope of the argument. At this time, the author must be willing to "give up love" and give up those useless materials. In the writing of master's thesis, it is rare that the scope of argument is too small, because there are 20,000-30,000-word papers, but we should also pay attention to the problem that the topic scope is too small.
Step 8, check and adjust the paper technically. The technical problems such as chapter design (including table of contents), quotation marks, notes and numbers, arrangement of references at the end of the paper, abstracts (including English abstracts) and keywords that do not belong to the paper itself should be checked and adjusted according to the requirements of standardization. Although these are technical problems, they also reflect the author's academic attitude. In particular, quotations, where others' opinions are used, must indicate the source of the materials, not vague, let alone turn other people's research results into their own. The source of the marked materials should also be very clear, such as the name of the work, the author or editor, the name of the publishing house or publication, the publication or publication time, etc. Should be complete. Sometimes a good paper is criticized in the defense, and the main problem is that the quotation is not standardized, which leads to a low evaluation of the paper and is not worth it.
Second, how to write a master's thesis?
The writing of master's thesis can be divided into two parts: one is to further process the opening report to form a detailed writing outline. The outline must be reviewed and approved by the tutor before writing. For the outline, the first thing is to scrutinize the topic. The title of the paper is the crowning touch of the article, so that readers can grasp the main features of the article at a glance. Topics should be specific, not vague, eye-catching, not general, concise and not lengthy, and more attention should be paid to the certainty of thought, so as not to give people a specious impression. The second is thesis writing. Don't rush to write a paper, and don't do a paper without an outline or with a rough outline, so as not to take detours and do ineffective work.
In the process of writing, we will certainly find some problems in the outline, so we should pay attention to correcting them in time. Master's degree thesis is generally controlled at 30,000 ~ 50,000 words, which is not easy to be too long or too short. After the text is written, you should also write:
(1) summary. It is necessary to summarize the essence of the paper in very concise language, not simply condense the full text, let alone do it in a few words. As the "window" of the newspaper, we must take it seriously and choose words carefully. It is best to write it after the full text is completed, so that it can be summarized more accurately. At present, most foreign language abstracts are sloppy, and the foreign language level is problematic, but it is mainly not serious. It is best not to directly translate Chinese abstracts when writing foreign abstracts, because Chinese and foreign languages have different writing habits, and literal translation is often ineffective.
To get rid of the shackles of Chinese, write directly in a foreign language. The space can be a little longer.
(2) keywords. Choose words or phrases that reflect the main features of this article. Phrases should be concise, agreements should be fulfilled, not fabricated. Don't use too many phrases, generally 3~4 are appropriate.
(3) Introduction. The content of the introduction is to provide the research background of this paper, including the significance, history and present situation of the research, and lead to the writing purpose of this paper. Generally 1000 words or so.
(4) comments. Labeling should be accurate, unified and standardized. Quotations must be checked against the original text. Especially classic works, if there is a new version, you can't quote the old version. The format should be unified according to the standards of the Press and Publication Administration.
(5) References. The nonstandard bibliography is also a common problem. It should be noted that only the literature you have read can be listed, not the literature you have not read; Only documents related to this article can be listed, and irrelevant documents cannot be listed; The arrangement of literature catalogue must be classified, and the reference system of classification can be determined by itself. Bibliography is also a window to judge the quality of a student's thesis.
(6) Postscript. This is also an essential part of the paper. It is necessary to explain the writing process of my thesis, and it is reasonable to express my gratitude to those who have supported and helped me with my writing, especially my teaching teacher and thesis advisor. However, we must pay attention to our own discretion. There is no need to praise too much, and it is not appropriate to write down something irrelevant and unimportant.
The writing process of a thesis generally goes through several stages: outline, first draft and final draft. Even students with writing experience often have to carefully revise and read their manuscripts in order to write a high-quality paper. Papers must be approved by the tutor before printing. When writing, you should be careful not to be tight and loose, and retreat in a hurry. Generally speaking, a qualified dissertation should have three kinds of consciousness in content, namely, theoretical consciousness, realistic consciousness and historical consciousness. In other words, it is necessary to have theoretical depth, historical basis and answer questions raised by reality. Logically, it should be holistic, standardized and simple. In other words, the system should be rigorous, the expression should be standardized, including proofreading in the printing process of a book, and it should be meticulous; Articles should be unpretentious, don't grandstanding, and don't deliberately make things that people can't understand.
4. Defense defense is a necessary link for graduate students to complete their thesis and strive for a degree. It is a collective review and evaluation of dissertations by experts and scholars in this discipline in the form of organization. Not only whether the dissertation is qualified, but also the theoretical level reached by students in this field. In the process of defense, graduate students should carefully prepare their own speech outline. We should sort out the ideas of the essence of the paper, especially the creative part, highlight the key points, and don't cover everything. Learn the contents of the speech by heart, and don't read the manuscript when you speak.
The manuscript can only be used as a "memorandum" when speaking. Students should carefully record the questions raised by teachers.
The questions that need to be answered are generally several questions designated by the chairman of the defense Committee. Sometimes it is necessary to sum up and answer several main questions. When answering questions in the defense, we should grasp the time, make a long story short, be few and precise, and finish it within the specified time, and avoid long speeches and anticlimactic; Don't digress, answer irrelevant questions; Be modest and avoid being strong and ignorant. Be careful when writing a paper. Here, in addition to the necessary knowledge and skills, but also have a good style of study. Emphasize the following three points:
First, learning is expensive. Perseverance is perseverance, and it is a manifestation of perseverance. On the road of learning, there are two possibilities: giving up halfway and success. On this issue, we should remember a passage of Confucius: "For example, we are a mountain, and we will stop until it is finished." For example, on the flat ground, although covered with a raft, I will go as soon as I get in. In other words, failure and success depend entirely on the perseverance and perseverance of scholars. We should carry forward the spirit of perseverance and persevere.
Second, learning is expensive and single-minded. The so-called "one heart" contains two meanings, one is to concentrate on learning, and the other is to pay attention to specialization in academic research. Dong Zhongshu once put forward a famous assertion: "You can't see twice with your eyes, listen twice with your ears, and do two things with one hand. Draw a square with one hand and a circle with the other. " That is to say, studying and doing things and paying attention. So should scientific research.
Third, study is more expensive than diligence. That is to say, we should have a correct learning attitude and be diligent. On this issue, we should remember a sentence in Han Yu's "One Solution to Learning": "Diligence is good at diligence, but poor in interest; What you do is thought, but it is destruction. " In other words, as a student, whether entering Germany or studying, we should be strict with ourselves, be diligent and eager to learn, and strive for perfection. These ideas are still valuable today.
Third, the practical skills of writing master's thesis
First, the key point you want to write is to summarize the existing literature, carefully introduce the existing research on related topics at home and abroad (first introduce the situation objectively and truthfully state other people's views), and then comment (after subjective discussion, evaluate and tell the shortcomings of existing research), saying that there are these studies now, but there are still many problems worth studying. It should include the questions you will discuss in the topic selection. Because of the lack of research at present, you should study it. Therefore, what you want to write for your master's thesis is based on literature review, not what you want to write. If you don't make a summary, it is very likely that your topic has been deepened by others.
Second, why write this? This is mainly to explain the significance of your topic. It can be said that, in theory, if you find any shortcomings and research gaps in others, you will have theoretical value if you do it. Then you should be clear about the position of the topics you selected from the literature review in the whole related research field. This is the theoretical value.
Then we can talk about it from the actual value. It is what this topic may mean to reality, what use it may have in practice, and so on.
Third, how to write the opening report? After you choose this topic, you should also explain clearly how to solve this problem. If you have a question, how will you find the answer? Say your general idea, and at the same time, focus on what method you want to learn. Such as literature analysis, interviews, questionnaires, quantitative research, experimental research, theoretical analysis, model testing and so on.
The above is a complete introduction to the Basic Steps of Master's Thesis Writing (Introduction to Writing Methods and Skills), hoping to help you understand the writing methods of master's thesis.