Editing and Finishing Your Thesis

Erika HawkesUniversity Graduate School

We will cover

Reviewing and refining your thesis structure

How to gain distance from your writing Ideas for critical readings of your own

work Suggestions for editing, copy-editing

and proof reading

“Getting it out the door”

“Scholars and artists…believe that if they wait long enough they may find a more comprehensive and logical way to say what they think”

Howard S Becker Writing for Social ScientistsUni.Chicago Press 2007

WESTERN UNION

1945 JUN 28 PM 4 37

NBQ209 78=NUJ NEWYORK NY 28 422PPASCAL COVICI.VIKING PRESS=18 EAST 48 ST=

THIS IS INSTEAD OF TELEPHONING BECAUSE I CANT LOOK YOU IN THE VOICE. I SIMPLY CANNOT GET THAT THING DONE YET NEVER HAVE DONE SUCH HARD NIGHT AND DAY WORK NEVER HAVE SO WANTED ANYTHING TO BE GOOD AND ALL I HAVE IS A PILE OF PAPER COVERED WITH WRONG WORDS. CAN ONLY KEEP AT IT AND HOPE TO HEAVEN TO GET IT DONE. DONT KNOW WHY IT IS SO TERRIBLY DIFFICULT OR I SO TERRIBLY INCOMPETANT=

DOROTHY.

Dorothy Parker to her editor, Pascal Covici(Source Nancy Campbell archives via Letters of Note)

Finishing up

It can be difficult to ‘let go’ of you thesis (Alternatively you might just want to get it done!).

There can be tension between the institution, who want people to finish on time, and your own desire to just do a little bit more.

Ultimately I can’t tell you when your thesis is finished- but I can (hopefully) give you some idea and tools for you to decide for yourself

LOOKING AT STRUCTURE

Common thesis structures

IMRAD Overview of PhD Literature review ‘Topic one: Intro; Methods;

Results; Discussion’ ‘Topic two: : Intro;

Methods; Results; Discussion’ etc…

Conclusion – drawing strands together

Thematic Overview of PhD Literature review Theory Methods Theme 1 Theme 2 Theme 3 etc… Conclusion – drawing

strands together

Review your thesis structure

What structure model does your thesis follow?

Is it clear, logical, in line with discipline conventions?

Can you summarise the overarching thesis argument in one sentence?

CRITIQUING

How To Critique Your Own Work

It can be hard to get distance from your own work. Our writing is so personal to us that making any changes can be difficult. The playing card exercise gives you a number of different lenses or approaches to critiquing your own work.

Pick a Card

You’ve been give 3 cards. Look at the text you bought with you and apply each of the cards in turn.

Make notes or rewrite the section to reflect the different approaches.

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Debrief

What was hardest? What was easiest? Did you learn or consider anything new?

Thinking outside the text

Charts, tables, images - where are they placed?

- check captions- check legends and keys

Do they add, distract from, or complement the text? Footnotes and endnotes.

EDITING AND PROOFING

Split it up

There’s a difference between editing, copyediting and proofreading

Editing looks at structure, clarity, how easily the text is understood

Copy editing and proofing are more about the presentation of the text- spelling, grammar, word agreement, layout etc

Editing your writing

Top tips when editing your own work: Leave time between writing, editing, and proofing If can’t leave much time, do something different for a

while Remind yourself a) who the text is for b) the purpose of

the piece ‘Hear’ what you have written, sound the words out in

your head or read out loud Know what your weaknesses are e.g. a tendency to use

over-long rambling sentences When copy editing, read the text ‘backwards’ to help

check each word separately and as it appears on the page (rather than in your head)

Pen and paper- proofing symbols

Expand, extend, say more

Cut down, cut out, lose the tangent or padding

Split up, rearrange, resequence

Check, look up, reexamine

Any Questions?