A stressful writing process. Photo credit: Pixabay.
If you’ve been talking to your senior friends this semester, you might be aware of one of the greatest stressors of our academic lives: the senior thesis. Known for causing late nights and an increased caffeine intake, writing a thesis can be a real struggle. Of course, I’m being (somewhat) over-dramatic here. While you may have heard horror stories, a senior thesis does not have to ruin your sleep and social schedule. It’s definitely a lot of work, but it doesn’t have to take over your life. In this post, I plan to outline the top two senior thesis strategies that I used to manage my research and writing. While my process wasn’t perfect, these strategies helped me turn in an organized, minimally stressful, on-time thesis.
- Start early. While this might sound crazy, I recommend that you start considering your thesis the summer before your senior year. No need to start drafting, of course, but it’s valuable to think ahead. For example, I started to reflect on my favorite papers that I had written for Classics courses in the past. I realized that I enjoyed learning about education in the Classical world, so I decided to be on the lookout for sources to read on that topic. In addition, that reflection allowed me to take advantage of thesis preparation opportunities in the fall. For instance, all seniors majoring in Classics are required to take the Major Seminar (a primary component of which is thesis preparation). In that seminar, I was able to tailor my readings and responses towards my potential topic (Classical education). While all majors are different, advanced preparation never hurts.
- Find a good advisor and work closely with them. I know that the senior thesis advisory process is different for every department. I hope, however, that by sharing my own specific experience, I can demonstrate what a helpful and productive relationship with an advisor looks like. Professor Kathy Eden was an enormous help to me, and I hope that everyone writing a thesis finds such an encouraging, knowledgeable advisor! At the beginning of the Fall 2021 semester, I met with the Classics Director of Undergraduate Studies to make sure that I was on track to graduate with a Classics major. I knew very generally what I wanted my thesis to be about by that point, and I brought up my ideas in our meeting. He mentioned a few Classics professors who researched similar topics, so I wrote down their names and did some quick Googling to narrow down my options. During this time, I was also slowly refining and narrowing my topic. After talking to some Classics friends who had taken classes with these professors, I decided to reach out to a professor who was known for both her research and her willingness to advise students: Kathy Eden. I went to Professor Eden’s office hours, spoke to her about my ideas, and asked her to be my advisor. She graciously agreed and gave me a list of reading recommendations. Throughout the rest of the fall semester, I met with her every three weeks or so to discuss what I was reading and how my interests were developing. The previously mentioned fall Classics Major Seminar requires students to write a fifteen-page paper (preferably about your thesis topic), and Professor Eden and I used that draft to narrow my interests still further. By the beginning of the spring semester, she had read my fifteen pages and written comments that I would use to develop my first full outline. After that initial outline, we went through two rounds of full drafts. I made sure to communicate with her frequently, and I stopped by her office hours approximately every two weeks. I often asked her to assign me deadlines for these drafts, a practice which I found kept me accountable. By the time my thesis was due, we both felt confident about the final product.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of thesis strategies, these two tips served me well. If you’re still nervous about writing a thesis, feel free to reach out to me! I’d love to talk about your ideas.