15 Common Mistakes to Avoid in Theses and Dissertations
- Overestimating your time
- Weak defending
- Not making a roster
- Not enjoying your topic
- Going it alone
- Not planning your outline
- Failing to connect the dots
- Being unsure about your direction
- Insufficient facts to back up your statement
- Being one dimensional in your research
- Not seeing your result section as an opportunity to contribute
- Living in a bubble
- Not proofreading your work
- Feeling brave about editing
- Being shy about sharing your work
Always start your thesis or dissertation as early as possible. Too many students make the mistake of seeing a whole year as enough time to relax. This usually breeds procrastination as time marches by.
A thesis or dissertation will hold very little ground if it isn't defended properly. Your readers must be convinced in the first place that the paper and its subject are actually needed in your field.
Failing to plan the writing process and dividing it up into manageable sections is a good way to become quickly overwhelmed by your thesis or dissertation.
So many students choose a topic that they cannot relate to. Choose a topic for yourself, not because you think someone else expects it.
Format mistakes are easily made in a paper of such magnitude. Students who don't source a good thesis or dissertation template often make silly errors.
By not taking the time to outline your headings and subheadings, time is wasted and a high level of organization is lost.
Without a visible flow from one paragraph to the next, your reader will struggle to understand your point.
Again, this comes down to proper planning. Know where to start, where to end, and how to transition from the one to the other.
Lack of research comes from time constraints and indolence, but can cost you a lot of quality points for your paper.
It's a mistake to drive one side of the argument without looking at all the angles. Always do your research in a non-bias way.
When you come down to discussing your results, always use this opportunity to show how you have brought something to the table of your subject.
It's imperative that you engage the people around you about your thesis or dissertation. Don't hide what you're learning from friends and family.
A lack of proofreading will always result in sloppy work that doesn't read easily.
Get help with your editing. Writing is hard enough, so don't be afraid to hire an editor to refine your paper.
Let others read your paper. Hand every new chapter to some people you trust and get their opinion about what you've written.