How to Write a Thesis?

Umberto Eco was one of these professors. In 1977, just before he became famous for The Name of the Rose, he wrote a small handbook to help struggling students. How to Write a Thesis has been in print for over 40 years. Used and beloved by generations of students in Europe and beyond, it was only recently

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What Is a Thesis, and Why Is It Required?

A thesis is a typewritten manuscript, usually 100 to 400 pages in length, in which the student addresses a particu­lar problem in his chosen field. Italian law requires students to successfully complete a thesis before they are granted the laurea, currently the terminal humanities degree offered by Italian universities. Once the student has passed

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The Usefulness of a Thesis after Graduation

There are two ways to write a thesis that is useful after graduation. A student can write a thesis that becomes the foundation of a broader research project that will continue into the years ahead, if he has the means and desire to do so. Additionally, writing a thesis develops valuable profes­sional skills that

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Four Obvious Rules for Choosing a Thesis Topic

Although we will discuss thesis topics in greater detail in the next chapter, the following rules will help you get started. They do not apply if the professor pressures you to choose a particular topic (see section 2.7, “How to Avoid Being Exploited by Your Advisor”), or if you lack interest and are willing

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Choosing a Thesis Topic: Monograph or Survey?

The first temptation of any student is to write a thesis that is too broad. For example, the first impulse of a literature stu­dent is to write a thesis titled “Literature Today.” If advised to narrow the scope, the student might choose “Italian Lit­erature from the Postwar Period to the Sixties,” a topic with

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Choosing a Thesis Topic: Historical or Theoretical?

This choice only applies to certain subjects. A thesis in his­tory of mathematics, Romance philology, history of German literature, and other similar subjects can only be historical. A thesis on experimental subjects such as architectural com­position, nuclear reactor physics, or comparative anatomy is usually theoretical. But there are other subjects such as theo­retical philosophy,

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Choosing a Thesis Topic: Ancient or Contemporary?

Here I am not attempting to revive the age-old quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns. Instead I am here using the term “ancient” in the most general sense of “very old,” referring to authors whose works have survived and been studied by scholars. The choice between an ancient and a contemporary author does

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How Long Does It Take to Write a Thesis?

Let us state from the outset: no longer than three years and no less than six months. This period includes not just the time necessary to write the final draft, which may take only a month or two weeks, depending on the student’s work hab­its. Instead, this period begins at the genesis of the

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Is It Necessary to Know Foreign Languages?

This section does not concern those students writing a the­sis on a foreign language or on foreign literature. One would hope that these students know the language on which they write their thesis. Better still, one would hope that a stu­dent studying a French author writes his thesis in French, as many universities around

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What Does It Mean to Be Scientific?

Some identify science with natural sciences or quantita­tive research. In other words, they believe research is only scientific if it contains formulas and diagrams. From this perspective, research on Aristotle’s ethics would not be sci­entific, nor would a thesis on class consciousness and the peasant revolts during the Protestant Reformation. Clearly this is not

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Choosing a Thesis Topic: Writing about Direct Social Experience

Here our initial question returns in a new form: is it more useful to write an erudite thesis on an established, scholarly topic, or one tied to practical experiences and direct social activities? In other words, is it more useful to write a thesis that involves famous authors or ancient texts, or one that

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Treating a “Journalistic” Topic with Scientific Accuracy

As most Italians know, scores of these stations have appeared in large Italian cities. There are a few even in cen­ters of a hundred thousand inhabitants, and more continue to appear across Italy. They can be political or commercial in nature. They often have legal problems, but the legislation regarding these stations is ambiguous

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How to Avoid Being Exploited by Your Advisor

As I’ve mentioned earlier, often a student chooses a topic based on his own interests, but other times a student wishes to work with a particular professor who suggests a topic to the student. Professors tend to follow two different crite­ria when suggesting a topic: a professor can recommend a familiar topic on which

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What Are the Sources of a Scientific Work?

A thesis studies an object by making use of specific instru­ments. Often the object is a book and the instruments are other books. For a thesis on “Adam Smith’s Economic Thought,” the object is Adam Smith’s bibliography, and the instruments are other books on Adam Smith. In this case, we can say that Adam

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Direct and Indirect Sources of Primary and Secondary Data of the thesis

Regarding books, a direct source is an original edition or a critical edition of the work in question. A translation is not a direct source: it is instead a prosthetic like dentures or a pair of glasses. It is a means by which I gain limited access to something that lies outside my range.

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How to Use the Library in the thesis

How should a student conduct preliminary research in the library? If he already has a reliable bibliography, he can obvi­ously search the author catalog to discover what a particular library has to offer. If the library lacks some of the titles in his bibliography, he can search another library, and so on. But this

Managing Your Sources with the Bibliographical Index Card File

Naturally, to compile a basic bibliography you must con­sult many books. Many librarians will only lend one or two books at a time, are slow to find each book for you, and will grumble if you quickly return for new books. This is why you should not try to immediately read every book you

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Documentation Guidelines of the thesis

1. Books Here is an example of an incorrect reference: Wilson, J. “Philosophy and religion.” Oxford, 1961. This reference is incorrect for the following reasons: It provides only the initial of the author’s first name. The first initial is not enough, first of all, because read­ers may want to know the full name; and

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An Experiment in the Library of Alessandria

Some may object that the advice I have given so far may work for a specialist, but that a young person who is about to begin his thesis, and who lacks specialized expertise, may encounter many difficulties: He may not have access to a well-equipped library, per­haps because he lives in a small city.

Must You Read Books? If So, What Should You Read First?

The examples in this chapter suggest that writing a thesis involves putting together a great number of books. But does a student always write a thesis on books and with books? We have already seen that there are experimental theses that document research in the field, perhaps conducted while observing mice in a maze

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