Thesis 101

First of all, finding a supportive advisor in your academic department is of paramount importance. Preferably, this will be someone who will answer your emails and provide constructive advice and criticism on your reading list and drafts.

Her untraditional topic made writing a thesis more appealing, she says, because it was the type of material never covered in a class. If you do indeed find yourself in the thesis boat, the process can seem more than a little daunting. Many thesis programs encourage students to start planning in the summer before their senior year.

Similarly, Miles Watkins, a senior economics major at Wesleyan University, says that he plans to write a thesis next year because “it just seems like a nice capstone experience.” Also, he thinks it will indicate to the research institutions he hopes to work for after graduation that he can do his own “independent and substantial work.”

The senior thesis isn’t for everyone. In fact, to many, it’s a laughable prospect. If you’re limping towards graduation, the idea of committing yourself to a sixty-page paper seems suicidal. Other students have been planning on writing a thesis all along, and are now only beginning to actually pick and research their actual topic.