Students who are about to write a master's thesis must first of all understand that it is necessary to pose a certain problem in it and work it out in depth. The master's thesis will sum up your studies in the magistracy, will provide an opportunity to demonstrate the acquired knowledge and readiness for professional activity, and a correctly chosen and disclosed research problem will transfer it from the category of ordinary works to the category of outstanding ones.

Choose a theme

Think about what interests you. You will have to spend a lot of time working on this project and you can refer to the author on this site https://writingassignment.net/, and meet all the necessary requirements, so it is very important to choose wisely. Here are some criteria that people usually use when choosing (from the most common and important to the less common):

Successfully defend - the topic should be difficult enough, but such that it can be realistically dealt with.

Enjoy the work - the topic should really interest you so that you do not get bored in the early stages.

Get a job - if you know exactly what you want to do after graduation and/or what company you want to work in, it may be worth choosing a topic related to this specialization, industry or company (if you are already working in one or doing an internship).

Contribute - Perhaps you want your work to really help make the world a little better.

Think about what topic to choose. First, think about the chosen direction as a whole. What gaps exist in the literature? What new approaches to analysis can be proposed? Then think about what you really like about this field and what you have learned in high school. Try to combine these factors so that the problem is both relevant to the study and interesting to you.

Try to think of your favorite field - it could be a particular author, a theory, a time period, and so on. Think about how you could contribute to her research.

You can go back to your undergraduate thesis or even term papers and see if there's a particular topic you'd like to explore further.

Check with teachers. They may have good ideas for what you can write about. In any case, before you start writing your dissertation, you will need to agree on its topic with your supervisor.

Consult with colleagues. If you're already working or intern at a company, it might be interesting for you to explore some particular aspect of the company's operations. Perhaps this will help you in the future to get a permanent place in it or even a small bonus.

If you want to contribute to society, you can ask people at a charity, volunteer, or other non-profit organization you support, or search the Internet for topics that might be of practical interest in your field.

Choose a specific topic. Consider all the options and choose the one that best fits the criteria, especially the ones that are most important to you. Make sure you have a clear, specific, and well-structured plan for how to cover this topic and subsequently defend your work.

Choose the questions you will explore. Carefully select the questions that you will need to answer in your research and the answers to which will be of scientific or practical interest. In your dissertation, you will need to clearly and convincingly answer these questions.

Questions and, accordingly, the answers to them will form the content of your study. Try to keep it structured, interesting, and on topic.

When the topic and direction of work are determined, try to formulate 5-10 different questions about what exactly and in what context you need to consider. This will allow you to think more broadly and flexibly about your topic and see how even small changes in wording can change the course of your research.

Do your research. To answer the main question of your master's thesis, you need to do research. Read literature, conduct experiments, do whatever is necessary to uncover the topic and answer the questions posed. This way you can understand if your project is moving forward or if there are still problems that need to be worked on. It will also help you collect information that you will need for further work.

Choose a supervisor and reviewer. A supervisor is someone who will mentor and guide you through the writing process. The reviewer is the one who will evaluate the finished work and recommend it for defense; he can be internal (work in the same university) or external (work in another university or enterprise in your specialty), but in any case he must have a PhD or PhD degree.

You can think about your future thesis throughout the entire period of study, but the real work on it will begin with the choice of a supervisor, and already with him you will agree on the topic and move on. Try to get the consent of the supervisor as soon as possible, otherwise it may turn out that he has already taken charge of many students, and you will have to go to another teacher. It happens that scientific supervisors are appointed by the department or that the teacher himself invites you to write a paper under his supervision.

There is nothing worse than a supervisor who has too much to do and does not have time to meet with you regularly and answer your questions.

Select the required literature

Check out the available literature. Find out what literature and research materials are currently available that are relevant to your topic and review them. This review of the literature should be done in all seriousness to make sure that the topic of your dissertation will be of importance and scientific novelty. It must be original and up to date. To be convinced of this, you need to know what research has already been done in this direction, what opinions have been expressed and what views are generally accepted. Record information related to the origins of your topic, its study, and those who have studied it.

Select primary sources. Primary sources are those sources that are written directly by the author of a work, theory, experiment, and so on. This is an important factual basis for your master's thesis, especially if you are writing an analytical paper.

For example, a novel written by Ernest Hemingway or an article in a scientific journal that first presents the results of a new study are considered primary sources.

Select secondary sources. Secondary sources are those in which it is written about the primary sources. It is important to include them in your research, as you need to demonstrate that you have a clear understanding of what certain authorities have said in connection with your topic, what has been said in support of it, what has been criticized, and so on.

For example, a book written about an Ernest Hemingway novel or an article in a scientific journal that analyzes the results of an experiment conducted by other scientists are considered secondary sources.

Please cite sources correctly. Probably most of the study will be in the theoretical part, but references may be present in other chapters. Either way, they should not be forgotten. Indicate sources immediately in the process of writing, and do not try to insert them all into an already finished dissertation: you may simply not remember what and where you took it from.

Correctly format quotes in the text. Surely your university has issued a manual on how to properly format papers, or the requirements are listed on the website. If not, look them up online.

You can refer in the text to one or another item in the list of literature sources, indicating its number or page, or you can make links at the bottom of the page: check with your supervisor for the correct one. Until it comes to formatting, you can simply write the name of the source immediately after the quote in a different color, including all the imprint and page number - just remember to style everything after the rules.

Make a plan

Familiarize yourself with the requirements for a dissertation at your university or department. The requirements for a master's thesis in English are different from those for a master's thesis in chemistry. There are two types of master's theses:

Quality. This includes writing a research, analytical, or even creative work. Usually dissertations of this type are written by students of the humanities faculties.

Quantitative. This involves experimenting, measuring data, and recording results. Usually dissertations of this type are written by students of technical faculties.

Clearly define the purpose of your dissertation. Clearly state the main problem that you will be looking to solve in your research. It is very important that it sound clear and distinct. If you find it difficult to articulate what the purpose of your work is, you may need to revisit the entire project.

Prepare a plan. The plan will provide you with the milestones to follow as you write your paper, as well as give your supervisor information about where you want to go and how you plan to get there. He can add his comments and suggestions to your plan.

Find out what needs to be included in the work. You should find out the exact requirements of your university and follow them strictly. However, in general, the structure of master's theses is as follows:

title page (it will also contain a mark on admission to defense and the signature of the head);

abstract or abstract (brief description/statement of the work);

content (with page numbers)

introduction;

the main part (analysis of sources, presentation of own results and their interpretation - usually 3–4 sections);

conclusion;

bibliography;

applications (if necessary).

Start writing your dissertation

Make a schedule. One powerful way to get yourself to work is to use a countdown calendar where you count down the days from a set date. If you know how much time you have to complete the work, and break it down into stages, each with its own due date (these can be dates when you must show this or that part of the work to the manager, or simply set by you for yourself), then the job is less likely to seem huge and impossible to you.

Write a little every day. The task of writing 70 or 80 pages can be intimidating, but if you write a page a day for two and a half months, you can easily finish on time. Specific time frames will vary, but still try to leave as much time as possible for writing the work, and certainly at least a month. Try not to put off the work, even if it is difficult to progress: the unfinished will only accumulate, and it will become increasingly difficult for you to be on time.

Take breaks. It is extremely important to give your brain a rest, especially when working on a large-scale project. You can't stay focused 100% of the time without compromising the quality of your work, and after a couple of days of rest, you can look at your work in a new way. You'll notice mistakes you've missed before and find answers you've never thought of before.

Write when it suits you. Some people are more productive in the morning, while others can only focus in the evening. If you don't know what time of day is most productive for you, work at different times to find out when it's best for you to work.

Write an introduction. You may find that your dissertation outline is an excellent basis for an introduction. You can copy and paste parts of your plan at the beginning of the introduction, but remember that changes can be made as the work progresses. While writing your dissertation, you may want to reread the introduction and correct it. Perhaps you will do this after completing each major section or chapter.

Include a review of literature sources. If you immediately selected the necessary information from the right sources, congratulations: you have already written almost an entire chapter. Again, you can change the structure, rewrite parts, and certainly add something to your theory chapter as you go along.

If you haven't written a source review yet, now is the time to do so. You need to highlight the main views, schools, approaches, interpretations, etc. on your topic, using a large number of quotations from primary and secondary sources.

Contextualize your work. After reviewing existing scientific research, you must explain what contribution you have made to this area by writing your work - in other words, you justify the scientific novelty of your dissertation.

Write a dissertation. Dissertations differ significantly depending on the field of science. The science dissertation will use fewer secondary sources because the remainder of the paper will describe and analyze the results of the research. A dissertation in literature would rather rely heavily on secondary sources for the purpose of textual analysis.

Write a strong conclusion. In conclusion, you should justify the importance of your master's thesis for the scientific community and, possibly, suggest a direction for future research in this area, providing the necessary information for this.

Enter additional information. Be sure to include the necessary charts, graphs, and pictures where appropriate. At the end, you can also add applications that are relevant to your work but not directly related to its central theme. Also, statistical tables, calculations and other voluminous information are often included in applications. Arrange your work, including attachments, to meet the requirements and standards of your school.

Finish your dissertation

Check again if everything in the dissertation meets the requirements for registration. The format requirements are usually quite strict and complex. Your work must meet all the standards adopted at the university and the department.

Often templates and designs are available in departments. If so, use them from the very beginning.

Reread the entire dissertation to correct errors. If possible, at the end of writing your dissertation, take a week off and let your brain rest. Then re-read the work with a fresh eye to look for grammatical errors or typos. When you are immersed in writing a paper, you may read what you meant, not what you actually wrote. Therefore, it is important to read the work with a fresh head in order to check and evaluate it more carefully.

You can also ask a colleague or friend to read your dissertation to help you find minor grammar/spelling/punctuation errors and typos.

Follow all instructions that are set by your faculty or department. Find out how many copies to print the work, whether you need to submit an electronic version, what other documents and in what time frame you need to prepare, and so on. Be sure to follow these instructions so you don't run into surprises before the actual defense.

Prepare for your dissertation defense. After you have written your master's thesis, it should be checked by a supervisor and give your feedback. A few weeks before the defense, pre-protection is carried out; it is accepted by the supervisor or a commission formed at the department, and based on its results, a decision is made on admission to the defense. Also, before the defense, you will need to submit the conclusion of the reviewer and the abstract of the dissertation.

Defend your dissertation. Your school has its own security procedures. It is carried out by the State Attestation Commission (SAC) according to a pre-approved schedule. In addition to the timely delivery of the dissertation and other necessary documents, you will need to write a report and prepare visual materials (an electronic presentation if you have the opportunity to use a projector, posters, handouts for members of the commission, etc.). The presentation is limited in time, so be sure to find out in advance how many minutes you will have and rehearse your report.

Tips

Carefully study the literature and available studies on similar topics so that you do not have to spend a lot of time redoing one part or another.

Always keep in mind the purpose of writing your master's thesis and who will be reading and using it. You are writing a master's thesis for members of the academic community, and they will already have broad knowledge and experience in the subject before they read your work. So don't overload your work with common knowledge that they will get bored reading or listening to.

Choosing a good topic and problem to study before you start your research will help you move in the right direction and save time. Finding the ideal research topic and problem is perhaps the most important task for someone who undertakes to write a master's thesis.

Consult with those who have already defended their master's thesis and received a master's degree. The dissertation process can be long and tedious, and advice and support from someone who has already been through it will be of great help to you.

When you're writing a master's thesis (or any other project or report), it's a good idea not to end on the last word of a paragraph or chapter, but to write at least 1-2 sentences on the next question. This will make it easier for you to continue working the next day.