The process of writing an undergraduate honors thesis can be daunting. Fear not â these helpful tips can guide you! Note: this content applies best to those pursuing a humanities-centered degree within the CU College of Arts and Sciences.
- Start early
Registration is required, and depending on the department, this can be required several semesters in advance (which means you should be brainstorming topics months to years ahead of your anticipated defense!). Connect with your departmentâs honors council representative to learn the typical timeline, department standards, and get any questions answered. This is often the first step on your journey. Once they approve your project, you should quickly move on to finding your advisor and outsider reader.
- Choose your advisor wisely â and ask them for help!
Get a feel for faculty throughout your time as an undergrad. Sometimes the best person to advise your project isnât your favorite professor, and sometimes it is. Think about where your personal gaps in knowledge or ability are and who might have the best capacity to fill them. See if anyone in your department has direct knowledge of your chosen topic. Most of all, choose someone who will suit your speed. Need a motivator? Find a professor who will ride you. Need space to create? Find someone laid back who is happy to jump in when you need support. Once you confirm your advisorâs participation, donât be afraid to lean on them. Schedule meetings, send drafts, and ask for help â the same goes for your outside reader, too.
- Make a timeline
Early in the process, figure out all the steps necessary to get you from A to Z. That means readings, meetings, and self-imposed draft due dates. Make a month-to-month schedule with concrete goals. My personal plan included three months of reading in the fall semester, a first draft done by January, a second draft done by February, and a defense in March. That timeline wonât work for everyone, but the point is to have one.
- Print your draft for proofing
Youâve likely been staring at a computer screen for hours on end. The proofing will not progress when youâre scrolling through endless pages. It might take a couple bucks, but printing your draft to read and annotate makes all the difference in the editing process. You learn more about the flow of your piece, and small errors become a lot more obvious.
- Novelty is only paramount in some fields; figure out if itâs valued by your department before stressing!Â
Novelty, or your thesis having something ânewâ to say, is important, but only to a certain extent. This is not a PhD dissertation. While your project ideally contributes something new to your field, the undergraduate thesis is, for the most part, designed to add something new to your skillset. Itâs an opportunity for you to grow and develop as an academic, but more likely than not this will not be the pinnacle of academia. Donât stress too hard about novelty, just donât blatantly plagiarize â run your ideas by your departmentâs honors council representative and see what they think, then go from there
- Book your room and schedule the defense ASAP
You are in charge of booking the room in which your defense will take place! Be sure to do this way ahead of time, because rooms can be few and far between during defense time. Find a time that works for all of your committee members (When2meet and Doodle are both great planning sites) and book ASAP. If you donât have department connections for room booking, Norlin Library is your friend. Most study rooms are able to accommodate defense meetings, but book ahead, do your research on the roomâs capacity and resources, and make sure your committee knows how to find the space.
- Attend Q&A Events held by the Honors Program and use their resources
The Honors Program is your best friend throughout this process. They often host writing workshops and thesis-oriented events to help you answer any lingering questions, offer up university resources, and often provide you with a free slice of pizza. These events also give you a great chance to meet others writing a thesis. Knowing youâre not in this alone makes a lot of difference!
- The defense is your victory-lap, not your death sentence
You most likely will not make it to the defense if your paper is not honors-worthy. Youâve submitted multiple drafts to your committee at this point, stayed on top of check-ins, and defense is now your chance to show off the work youâve done and celebrate this win with your committee. Be proud and relish the moment!
- Be kind to yourself and donât forget to have fun
This process can be demanding, but it shouldnât take up all of your time. More likely than not, this is one of, if not the last semester, of your college career. Donât squander it stressing. Dedicate daylight time to work on your thesis each week and spend your weekends doing fun, restorative activities. College is about more than accolades!
Prospective thesis writers, youâve got this. The process is challenging, but incredibly rewarding. Make this project, and trust that you can climb this hill. Best of luck!