Writing the Successful Thesis and Dissertation: Entering the Conversation

by Alfredo Mendoza, Irene L. Clark, Chakarat Skawratananond, et al.

Book Overview

A complete, step-by-step, practical overview of the process of writing successful theses and dissertations Every year thousands of graduate students face the daunting-sometimes terrifying- challenge... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0131735330
• ISBN13: 9780131735330
• Release Date: December 2006
• Publisher: Prentice Hall
• Length: 212 Pages
• Weight: 0.43 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.3" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Clean and Quick!

Once again ... I am very happy with the quality and speed I received this book.

Great for demystifying the process

It didn't hurt that Dr. Clark was my thesis advisor, but she also gave me her book to read as I began writing my thesis. The information about invention heuristics was invaluable, and in general, this book really helped me to better conceptualize the task ahead of me. Throughout the process I referred back to this book often, and as I am now beginning my dissertation, I am planning on reading it again and keeping it handy as I go through the process.

Excellent Book for Doctoral and Masters Students

Professor Irene Clark has written an excellent book for the student in either Doctoral or Masters studies. There appears to be an emerging market for these books in recent times and any student contemplating either course of study had better know what they are going to be confronted with. I had earlier purchased another reference on this topic, as I am currently undertaking studies myself and wanted to ensure that I was well-armed with knowledge on what was required. The earlier reference was good; however it was somewhat dated in terms of some of the information contained within and I have found Prof. Clark's book to be an improvement. Prof. Clark deals with very important issues in her work; like the requirement of writing to an audience, genre in writing and how the literature review underpins the proposal paper. The literature review is highlighted as much more than just a list of sources read-it needs to support the argument and be weaved into the paper and eventual dissertation. Prof. Clark's analogy of being able to pick up on a topic of conversation within a group before you sail forth and offer your thoughts to the group are very well detailed and the basis of her book's title. Professor Clark also discusses the use of visual aids. I also note that earlier works on writing thesis and dissertation discuss computers when they were a luxury, not a necessity. The use of computers and computer programs for writing have advanced greatly since the end of the 1990's. So also, in this regard, an up-to-date reference is required to deal with the issue of the writing task for the aspiring student. In summary, an excellent reference for both the student-to-be and the student already. Practical and well written with the information 'current'. Well done, Professor Clark!

Recommended read before you start your thesis or dissertation work...

Never having gone the route of graduate school, I've never had to contemplate writing a thesis or dissertation. But it's always sounded like a monumental task to me. In Irene L. Clark's book Writing the Successful Thesis and Dissertation: Entering the Conversation, she covers the steps and mindset necessary to successfully complete the chore. It's still a lot of work, but at least she puts a framework around it that makes it do-able. Contents: Getting Started; So What? Discovering Possibilities; The Proposal as an Argument: A Genre Approach to the Proposal; Mapping Texts: The Reading/Writing Connection; Writing and Revising; Writing the Literature Review; Using Visual Materials; The Advisor and These/Dissertation Committee; Working with Grammar and Style; Practical Considerations; Index I appreciated Clark's analogy of a thesis or dissertation. Imagine you're in a large room of academics who are talking about a subject. You hang around and spend time listening to all their points of view. Once you've understood and heard all they have to say, you then add your voice to the conversation... your viewpoint or slant on the issue. Your thesis is your conversation. All the books and papers written on the subject are the conversations of others. Your contribution is akin to entering the conversation. When put that way, the concept doesn't seem quite as daunting as it did before. Once you have that mental image in place, she takes you through the entire process; from coming up with an idea to the act of writing, through the process of review and acceptance by the committee. When you finish the book, the effort facing you is still the same. But the monster now has discrete parts instead of just sitting there as a massive blob that's intimidating. I would strongly recommend that anyone looking at the thesis/dissertation route take the time to read this book early in the process. You're still going to work like you've never done before, but your chances of success (or at least survival) should go up significantly.