Tips
Below you will find a number of tips for each stage of the writing process:
Planning
- Make sure that your time schedule is realistic. Impossible goals are frustrating.
- Before you start, think about which social activities are more important than your thesis and include these in your time schedule.
- Include concrete goals and concrete actions in your plan.
- Keep evaluating your time schedule. Which goals have you reached and do you need to change your time schedule or not?
- Allow for enough breaks.
- Start planning globally first and then include smaller activities.
- Plan backwards: when is your first deadline and count backwards.
- Allow for enough extra time.
- Do you find it difficult to stick to your planning? Recognise this problem in time and find help, for example by taking a course. For more information about this you can contact the student advisors.
Writing
- Keep a record of which literature you are using and which sources you are quoting. It is very difficult to make a complete bibliography afterwards.
- Do not spend too much time on the lay-out of your text. Leave that for when you have the content down on paper.
Revising
- Use a printed version on paper to revise the text. If you read from the screen, you are more likely to miss errors.
- Ask someone who does not know much about the topic to read your thesis. It is much easier for them to look at the structure and the reader-friendliness of the text without becoming too involved in the content.
- Revise globally first and then focus on the details.
Improving
- Correct the major changes first, such as the structure. Once you are completely happy with that, you can make the more detailed corrections.
