Master’s Thesis Writing Seminar Decision-Making in Research and Writing SDAC Special Session 2020 Monday, November 9 through Friday, November 20 Instructor: Robert LaFleur |
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| [a] Retro RF |
This seminar will focus upon the writing and “construction” process of the master’s thesis. The assumption is that most (but not necessarily all) of the research is completed or at least well on its way. Our work will concentrate on how to construct a thesis, and give students the opportunity to have clear writing plans well underway by the end of the seminar. Some attention will also be given to the details of grammar and style in the composition of the thesis, but the vast majority of our time will be devoted to developing a thesis writing plan.
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Denotes Class Meeting Days (Zoom schedule to follow)
*Monday, November 9 17:00-19:30
Opening Meeting and Discussion of Projects
Be prepared to give a brief overview of:
[1] the content of your project and [2] the writing process that you envision.
Assignment: Writing, History, and Culture, All of part III (pages 70-81) and the beginning of Part I, pages 1-8 (sections 1-3).
I will explain why I think it is important to read the fictional story of “Eddie” and “Agnes” during our writing session (if it isn’t clearly apparent after reading it).
Tuesday, November 10
Work on Outlines
Work at home on outlines for at least two hours. This is assigned, and you will create “spoke
outlines” to send me before our Wednesday meeting. More details in class on Monday.
Assignment: Writing, History, and Culture. Part I, pages 8-19 (sections 4-11).
*Wednesday November 11 17:00-19:30
Discussion of Outlines
We will discuss the work of moving from an "interest" to a "topic," and then to a series of "questions." From there, the challenge is to find one "problem" of "significance." We'll discuss your outline work (these don't have to be polished at this point; they are works in-progress).
Assignment: Booth, The Craft of Research, 27-63 (just get a sense of the movement through each of the elements).
Thursday, November 12 17:00-19:30
Work at Home on Making Outlines into Thesis Text
Assignment: Umberto Eco, How to Write a Thesis (look through the book and read through a few passages (spend an hour with this). Make a brief list of things that might be helpful.
*Friday, November 13
Discussion of the Drafting Process for Writing the Thesis
We will use the work that you did Wednesday and Thursday in outlining your theses, and begin discussion of the process of turning those outlines into written text.
Assignment: Writing, History, and Culture. Part I, pages 19-30 (sections 12-22)
Weekend (November 14 & 15)
Work on Making Outlines into Thesis (Draft) Text
Work at home to move from your outlines to actual writing. We will discuss ideas for this work in our seminar on Thursday and Friday. Some written work will be required before Monday’s seminar. Ideally, in order to get the most out of this seminar, try to draft a bit of your (rough first draft) thesis each day of the weekend. The principle (a very important one) is that you should always start writing before you think you are ready (and even while continuing research).
*Monday, November 16 17:00-19:30
Moving from Text Creation to Writing Details
Even though you will have much more writing (and probably further research or detail- checking) over the course of the coming months, we will begin this week to speak of the details of writing.
Assignment: Writing, History, and Culture. Part II, pages 31-39 (Introduction and the section I of the writing guide).
Tuesday, November 17
Work on Making Your Writing Clearer
Based upon our discussion on Monday, work on a piece of your writing.
Assignment: Writing, History, and Culture. Part II, pages 39-57.
Just go through the numbered items fairly quickly in section II (ignore the long items in numbers 10 and 11 on footnotes), then pay close attention to the numbers and brief explanations in sections III and IV; just look through some of the examples under each of the numbers. I will explain the process in our seminar on Monday.
*Wednesday, November 18 17:00-19:30
Polishing the Writing Process
We will use this final day of actual seminar work together (before presentations Friday) to discuss some writing details that should be considered as you polish your thesis before (eventually) submitting it.
Assignment: Writing, History, and Culture. Part II, pages 58-70 (sections 5 and 6).
Thursday, November 19
The Revision Process
Use this day working from home, before presentations tomorrow, to reflect upon the rest of the writing details that should be considered as you polish your thesis before submitting it.
Assignment: John McPhee, “Draft No. 4.”
Friday, November 20 17:00-19:30
Presentations and Discussion
Be prepared to give a five-minute presentation of your thesis ideas and your plans going forward, followed by five minutes (or more) of questions and discussion.
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| [b] Supplies RF |
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