Thesis Notes

In your English class, you will learn the importance of total writing process as a key to the development of the writing skills you will need in order to cope with the demands of collegiate studies. Writing process involves finding a topic, writing your draft and re-writing the final copy. The end result could be a research paper or a three page essay or 5 to 10 sentence paragraph.

In your pre-writing, you will need to find a topic. Sift through a number of ideas in order to find a topic that interest you to write about. Clustering is another technique that can help you when you are trying to find a topic for writing. It is a nonlinear brainstorming process created by Professor Gabriel Lusser Rico of San Jose State University of California.

In clustering, you will begin with one word in the middle of a page and draw a circle around it. Then, as brainstorming, allow your mind to flow freely and write any word that comes to you or anything that the preceding words bring to mind. Each word must be circled and connected to the word that suggested it. When the given time is over, look at the cluster as you allow your mind to go over the words until you find one that seems interesting or that you think you can discuss with some competence or that you can feel strongly about. This technique has an advantage over brainstorming in that you may not only find a topic but supporting points as well.

Brainstorming is a most common and popular as well as time-tested means to explore the mind for ideas and an invaluable aid in discovering topics for writing. It is one method to choose a right topic for your writing.  It is an effective technique to generate lots of ideas for the specific issue to determine the best idea and it should be performed in the relaxed environment. Everyone brainstorms before start writing to get more ideas in their writing.

Prepare a blank page and start at the top and write down as many words and phrases that come to mind to begin brainstorming. After a given amount of time, let say 5 to 15 minutes, stop and go over the list and select the subject that appeals to you the most. The topic you will be chosen should be dictated by your personal interest, background and knowledge.  Always remember to select what you are most comfortable with and what feel most about and what you know best.

After choosing the topic, you will begin your pre-writing. Have fun!

One of the most difficult tasks in Technical Writing subject is finding a topic for your research paper.  At first, you are excited for your research because you choose a topic that is popular but after a few days, you will change another topic because although this topic is popular, you can’t find enough information and data for your research. It is totally a wasted of time and effort so make sure that your topic is interest you.

Always remember that to select a topic; it should something that interests you personally so that you can project some enthusiasm and emotion in your writing.  Also, you should be knowledgeable about your topic so that you can have something worthwhile to say to your readers.

Your experiences, family, ambitions, goals and dreams are the best source of topic.  And if there are topics outside yourself that you may find interesting but which you are not confident enough to discuss, you will have to make an effort to gather information by interviewing the right people, reading books, magazines, journals and newspapers or consulting references books in the library.

Significance of the study in thesis is a part where you will tell the importance and purpose of your study. This part is tell how the study would be beneficial to society and specific person.

This is a sample significance of the Study By: Engr. Mary Rose Florence S. Cobar, Doctor of Philosophy in Education , Thesis title: “Development of a Source Material in Food Dehydration Craft Technology for the Secondary Schools

The study of dehydration technology and craft fabrication can be a learning paradigm in the secondary level and vocational schools to enhance the students’ knowledge and entrepreneurial skills as well. This is but a small contribution with the Dakar Framework for Action (2000) that not only basic education be learned by today’s students but acquisition of learning skills and knowledge for gainful employment and full participation in country’s society. The project’s goal is designed to help students improve academic competence, develop employability skills, implement a career plan and participate in a career pathway in preparation for post secondary education or careers in the food manufacturing or services sector after graduating from high school. This goal can be achieved through the mentors that can teach the students the food dehydration technology and craft fabrication for use of the process. The output of this study is a source material that the teachers can assimilate and disseminate by diffusion and induction technique.

For sure everybody knows that a title page is the first page of a thesis, dissertation or report.  Title page varies from one school to another but still contain the same parts such as the name of the topic, the name of the author, the relationship of the report to a course or degree requirement, name of the institution where the report is to be submitted and the date of presentation.

It is said that the title must be written or typed in capital letters, single spaced, and centered between the right and left margins of the page.  Where more than one line is required, the words in the title are divided into lines so that each successive line is shorter than the one above it and is centered below it in an inverted pyramid style.

1. Choose a subject that interests you but from which you can still learn much.
2. Choose a subject that is not broad.
3. Choose a subject not too difficult, one for which you can find materials from popular magazines or books aimed at general reading.
4. Choose a subject that has some interest for the average reader.

Once you have settled upon a subject, you are now ready to gather materials.  Begin by defining the specific problem with which you wish to deal. Select only materials related specifically to your problem.

The sources of materials are the following: observation or experience, interview, library and special bulletin and reports.

If your source of materials is books, you will need to take note the following: the author or editor, title of the book, place of publication, publisher, date of publication, and call number. If you use magazines as source of material, you will need to the author and title of the article, name of magazines or newspaper, volume number, date of issue, and page number.

After the research problem has been defined, the next step would be to determine and select the method of research to be used.  There are number of considerations in the process of selecting the method of research.

• The method of research should be logically sound.  It must have well-ordered processes of thinking.

• Research method should be adequate for the solution of the problem.

• The researcher should see to it that the research is free from specific weaknesses in research methodology.

• The chosen research method should be adequately explained. The explanation must be precise, not ambiguous; clear and sharp.

• The researcher should have reasons for the selection of research method, and these reasons must be clear and precise.

In selecting a research method, the researcher should think through the research problem carefully, analyze critically the adequacy and effectiveness of the method, and take into account the nature of the problem and the purposes of the study

The President

Western College
Cabanatuan City

Dear Mr. President:

The Senate Committee on Education with the assistance of well-known educators and researchers is undertaking a comprehensive survey of universities and colleges for the purpose of assessing and defining the role of higher education in the process of national development.  We consider your cooperation in this undertaking to be very valuable.  Specifically, the study aims, among other things, (a) to gain insight into the quality and quantity of major educational inputs, (b) to assess the contribution of higher education, and (c) to explore possibility for alternative directions, planning and possible legislation for the improvement of and support for higher education in the country to make it more relevant to national need and development.

The study covers two major areas; namely, (1) survey of educational institutions, and (2) follow-up study of graduates or alumni.  The attached questionnaire is designed to elicit the information needed for the study of educational institutions. We shall send other questionnaires to complete our study of educational institutions.

We wish to assure you that all information obtained in this study will be kept in strict confidence.  The identity of the institution will not be revealed in any way as the report will only deal with aggregates.  As much as possible, please do not leave any item in the questionnaire blank.

No total in-depth study in higher education has so far been completed.  It is our experience that the reason for this is that questionnaire sent are not answered and returned on time.  The return of this questionnaire in three weeks is therefore earnestly requested.

Thank you.

Dr. Mercedes de Leon
Chairman
Senate Committee on Education

Thesis title: “Development of a Source Material in Food Dehydration Craft Technology for the Secondary Schools”

The primary objective is to develop a course outline complementing the present high school subjects offering and preparation of a manual of procedures that will serve as a guideline in performing the experiments and what will then be the output of said experiments.

The secondary objective is for the course program to provide a combination of educational and work based learning opportunities for a student’s career path after leaving the high school portals. With urban based employment growing but cannot absorb the incoming supply of labor, that is, for new high school and college graduates, entrepreneurship in the food sector can offset this imbalance.

As an addendum, the study will only include local fruits such as bananas, mangoes and pineapples as subject of dehydration in the literature and proposed manual.

By: Engr. Mary Rose Florence S. Cobar, Doctor of Philosophy in Education

1. Prevention of unnecessary duplication. The problem must not have been investigated before. If the problem is investigated before, it may be the subject of another study but with different assumptions, different methods, or different ways of analyzing data.
2. Practical value of the problem. The result of the research study should use to improve practices and concepts.  It can use of those who may want to make use it.
3. Researcher’s interest in the problem. The researcher should select a problem not because of research popularity or someone wants him to investigate it but because it appeals to his interest.
4. Availability of data on the problem. A fruitful results yield if data on the problem is available.
5. Special qualification of the researcher to attack the problem. The researcher whose field is medicine is eminently qualified to investigate problems in medicine; we cannot say that he is qualified to undertake research in other field.
6. Time required to investigate the problem.  The research should be conducted within a reasonable period of time.
7. Cost of investigating the problem. Conducting a research project needs the expenditure of money such as questionnaires, tools, xerox, etc. The cost should be reasonable meaning it is within the means of the researcher.