You’ve finally finished your data generation and analysis. What
next? Oh, it’s the big text … but working out how to move now, working
out how to structure the thesis … well it can feel a bit like trying to
fight your way out of a maze.
Here’s one strategy that can help.
Before you start planning your thesis chapters, it can be a very good
idea to map out the overall argument that you are going to make. Once
you know the rough shape of the whole picture, the line you are taking
and the point you are making, you can then think about the best way to
stage the text. You can focus on the choreography, knowing where the
argument is going.
You can get a grip on the big picture by writing a Tiny Text - your first go at a thesis abstract.
Now, a thesis abstract is not the same as a research proposal - it
doesn’t create the mandate for the study, leaving the reader to find out
what happens later. A thesis abstract is a miniature version of the
whole. It is, if you like, a mini-me. Because of this, the Tiny Text
that can help you, a lot. The thesis abstract follows the same kind of
moves that you make in the thesis itself.
Here is a rubric that might help you construct the first version of
the thesis abstract - it’s one that helps you to structure the thesis.
Your final version might be a little - or even a lot - different.
That’s because writing the thesis itself always produces some refinement
of the argument, and often the structure too.
But you have to start somewhere, and a Tiny Text can help you to sort
out the big argument before you plunge back into the detail.
So - the rubric uses a five paragraph structure. You start however
with five sentences. These are not elegant sentences, but are designed
to get the point that you want to make across.
The first sentence addresses the broad context. This locates the study in a policy, practice or research field.
Example: Secondary school arts are in trouble, as the fall in enrolments in arts subjects dramatically attests.
The second sentence establishes a problem related to the broad context you have set out. It often starts with But, Yet or However …
Example: However, there is patchy evidence about the benefits of
studying arts subjects at school and this makes it hard to argue why the
drop in arts enrolments matters.
The third sentence says what specific research has been done. This sentence often starts with This research … or I report …
Example: This thesis reports on research which attempts to
provide some answers to this problem - a longitudinal study which
followed two groups of senior secondary students, one group enrolled in
arts subjects and the other not, for three years.
The fourth sentence reports the results. Don’t try to be too tricky here, just start with something like ... This study shows, or Analysis of the data suggests that …
Example: The results of the study demonstrate the benefits of
young people’s engagement in arts activities, both in and out of school,
as well as the connections between the two.
The fifth and final sentence addresses the So What question, and makes clear the claim to contribution.
The study not only adds to what is known about the benefits of
both formal and informal arts education, but also provides robust
evidence for policy makers and practitioners arguing for the benefits of
the arts.
These five sentences form the basis of a five paragraph abstract.
They are the topic sentences for each paragraph. And the idea is for you
to simply add the relevant detail to each sentence. This helps you to
think about what material has to go together.
You will probably need to have a few goes at the five sentences. It
may take you a while to write the abstract so you get down all of the
key points that you want and need to make.That's because you are
compressing two years worth of thinking into a small set of words. And
you will probably need to modify your initial five sentences further as
you go along.
You might want to generate the five sentences and then the first
draft of the five paragraphs using separate timed-writing sessions
(pomodoros). That free writing will give you a set of stuff you can work
on and refine.
Once you have your Tiny text, and you know the overall argument of
the thesis, the question you next need to consider is - What is the
best way for me to present this case? What structure will make the
argument work?
And at this point - see using a storyboard to plan the thesis structure.
There’s more about thesis abstracts here, looking at the final - not a planning - version.
And even more - Barbara and I write a lot about using Tiny Texts in our three writing books. Detox your writing has quite a bit on thesis abstracts.
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