Writing an Honors Thesis Project

By Lindy Sipes

My best advice is this: find an advisor who is as passionate about your project as you are and who will help you get organized and make a plan from the very beginning. My advisor, Dr. Trini Stickle, helped me make an outline for the two semesters we spent working on my project and helped me set deadlines for drafts so I would stay on track. We made a plan to divide the paper into manageable chunks and drafted each chunk several times before piecing them together into a 75-page final version (don’t worry, most of it was archival material!). She spent hours helping me edit and assemble my work and scanning in notecards from the archives. She also lent me numerous books from her own library and connected me with prominent linguists to conduct interviews to round out the research. Without Dr. Stickle’s help and guidance, I would not have had a successful defense day.

1. The Outline

I chose to work on my CE/T project over a period of two semesters. Dr. Stickle and I made a rough outline of what those two semesters would look like.  

Timeline:

Fall 2021:

• August-Thanksgiving: Reading, archiving, meeting with Dr. Stickle regularly
• September: set outline for paper: about 60 pages

Spring 2022:

• January-March: writing time
• April 1: Final work finished, send to readers
• April: Final formatting (goes to readers 2 weeks before defense)
• May 1st: Estimated defense date

This timeline made the project very manageable. At the beginning, I was thinking, “Holy cow, I have to write 60 pages by May!” The timeline helped me take it a few months at a time and see the bigger picture, and it let me know that I had plenty of time to get the project together. Need some additional help with the jumping-off point? Check out this short blog post on how to begin tackling a lengthy writing assignment. 

2. The “Chunks”

My paper was divided into several chunks: the abstract, an introduction, critical reviews of the subject’s writings, a background with a brief history of the topic, a section for the interviews, a discussion portion, and appendices for the archival materials (notecards with neologisms). It made the most sense to write the sections in an order that was conducive to my research process, even though this was not the order they would appear in within the paper. For example, I began writing the critical reviews while I was reading and researching; the appendices were composed after meeting with Dr. Stickle to make scans of the notecards; I wrote the introduction last.

3. Drafting First and Editing Later

As soon as I finished a “chunk,” I would send it to Dr. Stickle and get her feedback. She emphasized that the important part was getting words on the page, even if I did not like the way it “sounded.” Then, we were free to edit it, and edit again, and edit again. No matter how terrible the first draft is, you can always keep editing. If your desire to write the perfect draft the first time keeps you from writing very much, you won’t have anything to work with. 

4. Due Dates and Feedback

While the overall outline was vague, once we were in January-March (the “writing time”), I was meeting with Dr. Stickle every other week. We would talk about a section, and I would plan to get her a draft by the next meeting. Then we could talk it over, make edits at the meeting, make a deadline for the next draft, or begin planning the next section. This plan allowed some flexibility if I needed more time to work on a section, but still ensured that I was writing, because I knew I would have to show up to the next meeting with something to talk about. (If this “writing time” tends to take the wind out of your sails, take a look at this list of tips to keep your project on track and on time.)

No matter what topic you choose for your thesis project, it is inevitable that you will get burnt out and frustrated. Being organized, having a schedule, and meeting with your advisor regularly will keep you on track. 

Pre-Writing: Why I Never Skip Those Pesky First Steps

By Sarah Stevens

As we near the end of the semester, we also draw closer to the ever-approaching shadow of finals week: the final, exhausting burst of effort to conclude an entire semester’s worth of writing. At this point, you’re probably itching to cut a few corners, maybe by skipping that final once-over or the single peer review that you couldn’t get to on time. As a harried English major, I totally get it—but no matter how slammed I am for time, there’s one stage of my writing process that I never skip, and that’s pre-writing.

I divide my pre-writing stage into four simple steps: finding resources, making annotations, outlining my major points, and drafting a thesis statement. After a lot of trial and error, I have come to realize that following this process not only makes me feel better about my productivity, but that it also cuts down on the effort and stress that I experience towards the end of a project. Here’s how it works:

1. Finding Resources

Before I come up with any kind of argument or thesis statement, my first step is to pick a general topic and read up on what other scholars have to say about it. Want to write about gender dynamics in Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis, for example? Pop over to the WKU Libraries website to find a few articles that strike a chord.  Not sure what you want to write about at all? There are several paths you can take to finding that jumping off point—you can drop by your professor’s office hours to ask for help generating ideas, or you can even pop some keywords from your writing prompt into Google to see what people think outside of academia. If you’re still having trouble, check out our Brainstorming category on the Writing Center Blog—we have more posts about beginning research, finding a topic, and getting started on papers. 

Why it Helps: There’s nothing worse than getting halfway through a draft and then realizing that you can’t find enough resources to support your argument. Doing preliminary research keeps you from going all the way back to the drawing board. 

2. Making Annotations

Now that you have your resources, your next step is to turn all of that new information into usable materials for your essay. You can do this quickly and easily by making annotations—a fancy way of saying that you write all over those resources that you just found. Even if the word “annotations” sounds intimidating, the actual process is easy: take a highlighter, pen, or pencil and underline the passages that stand out to you. Were they interesting? Do you disagree with them? Do they remind you of something that you talked about in class? Do they sound like they could be used to support your argument? If you answer yes to any of these questions, mark those places on your resources (or on the original text that you’re analyzing, if applicable). As you go, make some additional notes in the margins of the text that tell Future You why that part is important. If you don’t want to use words, you can come up with a system of symbols — stars can be supporting evidence and exclamation points can be statements you disagree with, for example.

An example of my annotations from my copy of Dante’s Inferno.

Why it Helps: All of these marks on your papers serve a dual purpose: first, they make it easier to find passages later, and second, they make up the very beginnings of your argument. Once you start drafting your paper, it’s easy to glance back at your annotations and know exactly what evidence to use and what you want to say about it. Also, no more frantically flipping pages trying to find that one specific quote you need! 

3. Outlining Major Points

After I have a general idea of the resources that I’ll use and the point that I want to make, my next step is fitting my argument into a logical pattern that I can follow when drafting my essay. Depending on the project, I do this either on paper or in a separate digital document that I keep close by for easy reference. Give yourself permission to be messy here—in an outline, grammar isn’t important, and neither is essay formatting. My personal preference is to have a stacked, bulleted list of main points in the order that I want to talk about them, like so: 

An example of one of my digital outlines for a research paper.

In my example, each major topic has a short list of supporting evidence beneath it, with every point representing a paragraph or two that I wanted to write in my essay. No matter how you format your outline, the point of this step is that you begin to form an argument that flows and progresses logically from introduction to conclusion. 

Why it Helps: When writing an essay, your outline is like a lighthouse: it keeps your argument from drowning in details or veering off course. Also, it helps you meet the intimidating word or page count that your professor slipped into the guidelines. If you already have a list of things to talk about, you’re much less likely to peter out in the middle of the project. 

4. Drafting a Thesis Statement

The last stage of my pre-writing process is drafting a working thesis statement to add to the top of my outline. After doing preliminary research and creating an outline for your argument, most of the work for this part is already done. The goal here is to condense what you’re trying to say into a sentence or two, hitting a couple of main points and making a definite statement about your beliefs on your topic. It’s important to note that while the thesis does function as a guiding statement for your essay, it doesn’t have to be concrete: if your writing takes a different direction than you were expecting in the beginning, it’s okay to go back and modify your thesis to match your new conclusions. 

Why it Helps: Even though your thesis statement doesn’t need to be set in stone, it serves as a convenient summary of your outline for you to keep in mind while you write. Most writing projects require some kind of thesis statement anyway, and it could save you some summary work later; you won’t have to retrace your logic in order to distil it. 

Of course, even though these steps work for me, everyone’s writing process will be different. I encourage altering or reordering these steps to fit your preference — and of course, we in the Writing Center can help you brainstorm your essays or your process along the way. 

Meet the Tutors: Katie Bennett

Author: Abigail Raley

Editor: Adrianna Waters

Hello, writers and scholars! We wanted to take an opportunity to let you know about our tutor, Katie Bennett. Bennett is a English for Secondary Teaching major, and she loves academic writing. Bennett is a great tutor for anyone needing help with literary analysis, but she can also help you in any field you’re working in! 

Bennett loves literature because of its diversity.

“I chose English because of how expansive it is,” she said. “I love discussing literature, analyzing arguments and syntax, writing, and so many other things that fall under the English umbrella.” 

Some of Bennett’s favorite books include One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Hobbit, and Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Her love for literature makes her a great tutor. While she most enjoys editing academic criticism, Bennett’s diverse knowledge makes her a great creative tutor as well.

Bennett has advice for writers and students here at WKU. She believes that students should be well prepared before writing their papers.

“My advice is to make sure you have a clear plan ready when beginning a paper,” she said. “Whether it’s a detailed outline or just a Google doc full of ideas you wish to discuss, going in with a plan makes the writing process so much easier.” 

Come down to the Writing Center to see Katie Bennett or any of our other tutors and learn more about your writing, or check out our other tutor profiles to see who may be a good fit for you! 

If you are interested in setting up an appointment with Katie or another of our fantastic tutors, you can schedule an appointment with us through our online submission form. For the spring 2021 semester, we are not having in-person appointments, but you can schedule an asynchronous email appointment or a synchronous zoom appointment. Our hours are Monday-Thursday 9:00 AM- 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM- 9:00 PM, Friday 9:00 AM- 4:00 PM, and Sunday 6:00 PM- 9:00 PM. If you have any questions, feel free to email us at writingcenter@wku.edu or visit our website for more information.