School of Materials & Mineral Resources Engineering

1. School of Materials & Mineral Resources Engineering SMMRE UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH PROJECT GUIDELINES Academic Session (2009/10) Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

2. SMMRE THESIS WRITING Prepared and Presented By Dr Norlia Baharun Coordinator FYP Monitoring Committee SMMRE 11 MAC 2010

3. Help! Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

4. Learning Objectives • To acquire generally useful techniques for effective thesis writing. • To learn specific skills that apply to all forms of scientific writing. Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

5. Learning Objectives • To become familiar with common writing mistakes • To gain insights that improve all • To develop specific skills to meet Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

6. Writing a Thesis “Have you something to do tomorrow, Do it TODAY ! ” Ben Franklin

7. The Writing Process will help you: • get started • get focused • develop a writing “path” • write fluidly • write with style and clarity • write correctly Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

8. Writing a Thesis • Begin earlier rather than later • Might do initial literature review while gearing up for doing work • If the work naturally falls into project parts, can write parts as they are completed • Ideally, you will already have submitted papers for publication well before completing the thesis. Depends on the scope of the work. • Key to success: Make it look like it was done right! Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

9. A Challenge Please write a One Sentence Definition of : WRITING EFFECTIVELY Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

10. Definition To communicate specific information or ideas, utilizing the formats, language, and content relevant to the work Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

11. Tips on Effective Writing 􀁺Concepts 􀁺Focus on key ideas 􀁺Expose, weave it in the body, conclude 􀁺Why, not what 􀁺Don’t get trapped by details and artifacts 􀁺Flow: be a good story teller 􀁺Pay attention to order, and smooth transitions Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

12. Tips on Effective Writing 􀁺Simplicity 􀁺Simple exposition, simple styles 􀁺Make it intuitive rather than formal 􀁺Be specific, use examples 􀁺Pitfalls 􀁺Too vague: for example, no examples 􀁺Contributions non-obvious 􀁺Too much “what”, not enough “why” Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

13. What is a thesis statement? • The MOST IMPORTANT SENTENCE in your thesis • Lets the reader know the main idea of the project • Answers the question: “What am I trying to prove?” • Not a factual statement, but a claim that has to be proven throughout the paper Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

14. Thesis Statements • What is a thesis statement? • It is the central message of the essay • It’s the essay’s main idea • It prepares the readers • States the essay’s topic • States the essay’s purpose • Indicates the focus Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

15. Thesis workProject model 1: Short description and approval from the examiner and supervisor 2: Project plan sent to examiner/supervisor 3: Half time report sent to examiner/supervisor 4: Final report sent to examiner/supervisor, decide on date for final presentation 5: Presentation of the thesis Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

16. Thesis workProject model 1 2 3 4 5 Phase 3: Analysis, solutions, results and discussions Phase 1: Planning Phase 2: Description of current situation & data collection Report Writing (continuously) 14 Week 0 1- 3 9 - 10

17. Thesis work Project plan • The planning period typically takes 1-3 weeks and is concluded by a short report. • The project plan report ought to contain: – Background of the problem and problem description – Short presentation of the company where the thesis is made – Purpose, detailed research question and activity plan – Identified delimitations – Planned theoretical references – Time plan (Gantt-chart) • The project plan report typically consists of 4-8 pages. Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

18. Outline • Part 1: Writing your thesis (1) Context: What is a thesis (for)? (2) How Do I Get Started? (3) What Should My Thesis Contain? (4) How Do I Get Finished? (5) Summary • Part 2: The Examiner’s View (1) Oh God, not another thesis to read... (2) What’s this one about? (3) Now there must be some corrections... (4) Let’s see, what can I ask the candidate? Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

19. Outline • Part 3: Thesis FORMAT • Part 4: Drafting the Thesis Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

20. Part 1 Writing your thesis

21. What is a thesis? • An argument ? • An exposition of an original piece of work • The product of an apprenticeship • Probably the largest (most self-indulgent) piece of work you’ll ever do • Something that could be published Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

22. How do I get started? • Do this today: • Decide your title • Write your title page • Start a file • Plan your argument Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

23. Plan your thesis • Convert this argument into a chapter outline • Start a file with a division for each chapter • Collect material in this file • Set out clearly what each chapter should say Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

24. What the thesis should contain (1) • Title (and title page) - conveys a message • Abstract - for the librarian • Contents Listing - shows the right things are there • Acknowledgements - get your supervisor on your side! • Introduction - says “I am going to look at the following things”. • Review of Previous Work - show you know the subject • Philosophy of Approach - no great detail Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

25. What the thesis should contain (2) • Plan of Attack - a bit more specific • Description of the work • Critical analysis of the results - show you know its limitations • Future Work - show you know what’s missing • Conclusions - repetition of the intro, but with reference to the detail. • References - Cover the field; examiners will look for key references • Appendices - Nitty Gritty details that would clutter your eloquent description Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

26. Part 2 The Examiner’s View

27. The Examiner’s View • Oh God !!.. not another thesis to read... • Your examiners are busy people • Examining theses is a chore, but: • “It might help me keep up to date with an area of research” • “It might inspire me” • “I might learn something” • Note: the reading will be done in trains, planes, and departmental meetings! Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

28. Examiner’s first question • What’s this one about? • Examiners have little time available, so they want to extract the most juice in the shortest time: abstract (bibliography) conclusions contents list • This may be enough to decide whether it’s worth a PhD. • Then: 1) What questions now spring to mind? 2) ...read through... 3) Were the questions answered? Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

29. Corrections • “Now there must be some corrections…” • Many examiners don’t feel they’ve done the job unless they find some corrections to do. • Typical errors • Typographical / grammatical • Poor presentation • Missing statements / references • (Superfluous / redundant statements) Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

30. Corrections • Whole sections missing... – research questions – critical review of literature – research methodology – presentation of results – discussion and conclusions Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

31. What the examiners are looking for ?? Review of literature: • To what extent is the review relevant to the research • study? • Has the candidate slipped into “Here is all I know about x”? • Is there evidence of critical appraisal of other work, or i t he review just descriptive? • How well has the candidate mastered the technical or theoretical literature? • Does the candidate make the links between the review and his or her methodology explicit? • Is there a summary of the essential features of other work as it relates to this study? Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

32. What the examiners are looking for ?? Methodology: • What precautions were taken against likely sources of bias? • What are the limitations in the methodology? Is the candidate aware of them? • Is the methodology for data collection appropriate? • Are the techniques used for analysis appropriate? • In the circumstances, has the best methodology been chosen? • Has the candidate given an adequate justification to the presentation of results Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

33. What the examiners are looking for ?? • Have the hypotheses in fact been tested? • Do the solutions obtained relate to the questions posed? • Is the level and form of analysis appropriate for the data? • Could the presentation of the results been made clearer? • Are patterns and trends in the results accurately identified and summarized? • Does the software appear to work satisfactorily? • Discussion and Conclusions Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

34. What the examiners are looking for ?? • Is the candidate aware of possible limits to confidence/reliability/validity of the work? • Have the main points to emerge from the results been picked up for discussion? • Are there links made to the literature? • Is there evidence of attempts at theory building or re-conceptualization of problems? • Are there speculations? Are they well grounded in the results? Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

35. Part 3 THESIS STRUCTURE

36. Sequence of Thesis • Title page • Declaration • Acknowledgements • Table of Contents • List of Tables • List of Figures • List of Plates • List of Abbreviation • List of Symbols Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

37. Sequence of Thesis (cont’d) • Abstrak • Abstract • Chapter 1: Introduction • Chapter 2: Literature Review • Chapter 3: Materials and Method • Chapter 4: Results and Discussion • Chapter 5: Conclusion • References • Bibliography • Appendices Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

38. Thesis Structure • Title page • where you enter the full title, and the sub-title if any, of the research work; the name of the author; a statement about the degree programme under which the dissertation is submitted; the date of submission. Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

39. Abstract which is usually a one page summary of the objectives of the research; the methodology used and the main findings of the work • Contents listwhich lists the chapter and section headings with their corresponding page numbers Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

40. Tips: Writing the Main Text • Main text • - divided into chapters, with appropriate chapter • headings, to include : Chapter 1 -a chapter to introduce the research; the motivation and the objectives; and to provide an overview of the dissertation Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

41. Chapter 2:A chapter reviewing the work that has done in the area (literature review, theoretical background) Chapter 3:A chapter to describe in detail the methodology adopted or proposed Chapter 4: A chapter presenting the main results and discussion Chapter 5:A concluding chapter that summarizes the main findings of the research; statement about the main contributions of the research and recommendations for future work Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

42. List of tables, diagrams and illustrationswhich list the figure and table numbers, together with captions and their corresponding page numbers • Nomenclature listwhich provides a list of nomenclature and definitions of acronyms used in the thesis. Make sure that the corresponding units, if applicable, are included. It is good practice to have a different section for nomenclature involving Greek symbols as might be encountered in equations and one for acronyms. Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

43. Tips: Write the Abstract and Introduction chapter last References:lists the references that have been cited in the dissertation Appendices:contain those parts of dissertation that are either well known or does not contribute directly to the main text, but needs to be included for completeness. Examples are sample calculations; derivation of a published result which forms the basis for the work; background information Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

44. Part 4 Steps in Drafting the Thesis

45. Step 1: Drafting • Tentative thesis statement (your position on the topic; the answer to the question you are investigating) • Support • Conclusion Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

46. Contents of Key Chapters • the Introduction • the Literature Review • the Materials & Methods • the Results and Discussion • the Conclusions and Recommendation Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

47. Step 2: How do I get finished? Answer: by not getting stuck. • You’ve written most of it ... ... but for the bits you’re avoiding ... ... you keep rewriting other bits ... ... doing more reading ... ... tinkering with the layout ... ... seeking neat quotations ... • STOP!!! Q: Why are they difficult to write? A: Because they are not relevant. • Don’t be afraid to change your plan if it proves too hard. • Be savage in cutting irrelevant bits. Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

48. Reviewing • Get other people to read your drafts • Peers will give friendly comments (and may have the most time!) • Supervisor will steer you • Other academics will spot things your supervisor has missed. • Above all, get the bugs out before the examiners see it. Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

49. Summary • Start writing today (never tomorrow) • • Make up a title page for inspiration • • Write down your argument succinctly • • Turn the argument into a chapter plan • • Maintain a file of stuff to put into these chapters • • Don’t be afraid to change the plan Final Year Project (Thesis Writing) Dr Norlia

50. Part 5 Guidelines and Tips