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Research 3 days to finish thesis and I can't bring myself to write. ( self.GradSchool )

submitted 4 months ago * by rasha1996

I've got 3 days from tomorrow to finish my MPhil thesis (due friday, it's tuesday night), I have all my stats analysis and 5k words left to write.

Extension is not possible.

I know it's within my means (my undergrad thesis was 4k fewer words and I did that in a similarly tight timeframe) but I can't bring myself to do it. I hate the practical work it's produced, I'm embarrassed honestly. Overall, not the work I set out to do, it feels boring and meaningless. (It's a music practical thesis)

Any general advice for just getting over myself and getting that last part done?

• 26 comments

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[+] [deleted] 4 months ago   (2 children)

[–] Qunfang PhD, Neuroscience 6 points 7 points 8 points 4 months ago   (0 children)

Talking about your thesis verbally helps so much to get a start. The information is all there, and talking is a more natural form of communication, so it's a great stepping stone to getting a polished draft. And, if you can get comfortable with it, this style can help you develop a writing style that has more of your voice in it.

[–] rasha1996 [ S ] 11 points 12 points 13 points 4 months ago   (0 children)

writing about how i hate my thesis is a great segway to the 'what could be done better' formality of the evaluation section aha, thanks :)

[–] pcwg Faculty 17 points 18 points 19 points 4 months ago   (0 children)

A thesis or dissertation are about the process of doing the work, not the outcome of that work. It is about teaching you how to conduct research and project management, not about producing work of value or even significance. It is great if it works out, but that isn't why you do it.

Plus if you don't you've wasted an awful lot of years for nothing.

[–] Outside-Cookie-3056 8 points 9 points 10 points 4 months ago   (1 child)

Hey I am in such a similar place right now!! It was making me genuinely suicidal last week. Listen, it’s not about the work itself. I hate mine a lot. It’s about being a person who handles their responsibilities. You have clearly demonstrated to yourself in the past that you can uphold big commitments and it’s important to tell yourself that you’re the type of person who will get things done. Don’t think about the finish line: try to appreciate that there are so few times in you’re life that you’ll be asked to step up to the challenge, and right now you are in it and it’s a special feeling. 

If you want a buddy for the next few days please let me know. 

[–] rasha1996 [ S ] 1 point 2 points 3 points 4 months ago   (0 children)

Thank you, you're right. I feel you, I've been having suicidal ideation since the start of June for the first time since I was in my early teens and trying to work on my thesis has been super tough.

Framing it like a responsibility I owe myself to see through, is genuinely helping quiet the brain noise, so thank you again.

I truly wish you the best of luck with your deadline, for your honesty and I hope you feel able to talk about your mental health to a family member or friend (unlike myself lol), and I extend the same buddy offer to you.

[–] bitparity PhD* Religious Studies (Late Antiquity) 3 points 4 points 5 points 4 months ago   (0 children)

Action precedes motivation. Also, shit and done is better than perfect and not done. Get that shit out.

[–] tenears22 11 points 12 points 13 points 4 months ago   (1 child)

Turn your phone completely off, put it in another room, and start at the part that is the most interesting to you. I find that if I try to start from the top / just continue from where I left off then it's really hard, but if I begin with the part that at least somewhat intrigues me then that gets the ball rolling. I've also had success with setting a 20min timer and not allowing myself to get up during that time (even if I just stare at a blank page thinking) or I will go work somewhere in my apartment or on campus that I don't usually work in because it helps me feel less "stuck" overall

[–] rasha1996 [ S ] 6 points 7 points 8 points 4 months ago   (0 children)

i kinda use that advice a lot, if i didn't have the forest app on my phone i would have probably failed my undergrad.

starting on what's most interesting is a great start, particularly with how negitive i'm feeling about the work itself, so thank you!

[–] Chance-Brain7912 8 points 9 points 10 points 4 months ago   (0 children)

I had a friend in the same boat, I held him hostage for three days in my house. All he could do is write and eat and I would give him a 30min break every few hours. I also provided food. It worked well because he would get distracted at his place but at mine he had no idea where anything was.

It worked well and every so often he would ask for feedback and he wrote a good chunk of it at my place. So what I’m saying is find a friend to hold you legally hostage.

[–] Life-Butterscotch-74 4 points 5 points 6 points 4 months ago   (0 children)

This is what I did to finish my thesis: 1. Bought myself a fun energy drink for writing sessions. 2. Listened to the same high energy song on loop (my top songs were bangarang, get into it (yuh), and I took a pill in Ibiza (seeb remix)). 3. Divided my thesis into the smallest possible tasks and wrote them in a checklist so I could cross them off one by one. For example “write one paragraph about results of X test” 4. Reminded myself that I just had to get it over with and then I was done with school forever.

Ymmv, but this worked pretty well for me.

[–] Mammoth-Tie-7225 5 points 6 points 7 points 4 months ago   (0 children)

Fear the consequence of not doing it more than the temporary discomfort.

[–] whoknowshank 2 points 3 points 4 points 4 months ago   (0 children)

I could not make myself work on my thesis. To be honest, I went to a therapist to talk about it (apparently a thesis driving you to therapy is pretty common lol) and just telling them made me feel accountable enough that I felt guilty enough to someone else to do it. Feeling guilty to myself wasn’t enough; I needed someone else to know about my procrastination and expect an update in a week. I know your timeline is pretty short but you could do this with your friend or anyone you’d feel accountable to and guilty if you let them down.

[–] benoitkesley MA '24 5 points 6 points 7 points 4 months ago   (0 children)

I submitted my MA thesis a week ago, so I know what you're feeling. I was able to get a small extension cause all I had left was a short conclusion and all the formatting (and cause my department changed the due date on me), so I had a little of a different circumstance. (And even the morning of, I reformatted like 3 sections of my thesis aha).

I asked for an extension cause I hit burnout so bad the weekend before it was due. I was working so hard the whole month and was so productive with my progress. To be frank, I did most of my thesis in July lol. I don't know if this would help you, but just continue powering through. My initial plan was to just have something to submit on the deadline, but my body just disagreed with me. I've cried, I've screamed in my room (I live alone atm), I told my friends "I can't do this anymore," completely ruined my sleep schedule with all-nighters, and cried so much more even with my support system's "you can do this!" (which, like you said in another reply, I didn't like hearing that much either. I know I could do it, just let me sob or something).

So if I have anything to say, just power through. I definitely had sentences in my drafts that were like "idk man something about [this topic] here" and continued. You can always fix things. And hey, idk how things work in your school/program, but if you're only submitting an examination copy, then you'll have time to edit it after for the "real" final submission.

[–] SomethingThatisTrue 3 points 4 points 5 points 4 months ago   (2 children)

It can certainly be done be friend. You will be okay. I wrote 8000 words In 48 hours for my thesis.

[–] rasha1996 [ S ] 1 point 2 points 3 points 4 months ago   (1 child)

thank you, stuff like this is what i need to hear, not just the vague "you can do it!" from friends who haven't been in school in a long time.

also god damn 8000 in 48hrs??? you're a machine!

[–] SomethingThatisTrue 1 point 2 points 3 points 4 months ago   (0 children)

There was no choice but to write. I had literally no option but to complete the project within 2 days. It was do or die and I totally amazed myself in what I was able to accomplish.

[–] PulledHangnail68 -5 points -4 points -3 points 4 months ago   (3 children)

Ill do it for you

[–] rasha1996 [ S ] -1 points 0 points 1 point 4 months ago   (2 children)

if only ahah

[–] PulledHangnail68 1 point 2 points 3 points 4 months ago   (1 child)

No for real Ill write a word then you write a word, thatll save you half the work! im a genius!

a mad libs style thesis? interesting proposal lol

[–] Electrical-Finger-11 0 points 1 point 2 points 4 months ago   (0 children)

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How Long is a Masters Thesis? [Your writing guide]

Writing a Masters thesis can be quite the undertaking. It presents the research findings of your graduate-level masters study. It can be difficult to work out exactly how much you need to write to pass your masters degree because you can generate so much research throughout your course.

The average masters thesis is typically between 50 and 100 pages long. The length of the thesis will vary depending on the discipline and the university requirements but will typically be around 25,000 to 50,000 words in length.

My Masters thesis in theoretical computational chemistry was 60 pages long. It was quite short for a master’s thesis in chemistry because of the theoretical computational twist. Some organic chemistry Master theses were much longer – in terms of pages – because they relied on a lot of diagrams and schematics to explain their work.

Irrespective of its length, a master’s thesis must demonstrate an individual’s ability to conduct independent research and to effectively express their findings in writing.

It must pass peer-review and is often accompanied with a short oral presentation about the work to an academic committee put together by their advisor.

It must also show that the student has acquired sufficient knowledge about their chosen subject to contribute to existing scholarship in their field. Once you have graduated with your masters you can then consider whether or not a PhD is a good option for your career goals.

How Many Pages Should a Master Thesis Have?

Typically, a master thesis is expected to be anywhere between 100-200 pages long depending on the research field and topic.

In general, most master theses should have at least 30-40 pages of research content (including a literature review) with an additional 10-20 pages for other aspects of academic reports such as acknowledgements, appendices, abstracts, references and schematics or diagrams.

Furthermore, certain schools may require that your master thesis meet additional criteria such as formatting guidelines or word counts in order to be considered complete.

Your supervisor should not let your master’s thesis go to examination if it does not meet the minimum requirements for your specific field. Your academic supervisor will be your biggest asset while writing your master’s thesis.

If you want to know more about how long a Masters’s thesis and PhD dissertation is you can check out my other articles:

• How long is a Thesis or dissertation? [the data]
• Is writing a masters thesis hard? Tips on how to write a thesis
• How to write a masters thesis in 2 months [Easy steps to start writing]

How is a Masters thesis assessed and examined?

A Masters dissertation is assessed by academics in your department or university and it may also include an external examination by experts in the specific field you are studying.

The thesis will typically require a student to conduct extensive research to answer a research question and come up with an original argument or thesis on the topic.

Once the thesis has been written, the student must submit it to their faculty or university for assessment and examination.

The university will then grade the dissertation based on its content, structure, and accuracy. Most universities require that the dissertation be at least 60 pages in length and be written according to academic standards of writing and style guides.

These academic writing style guides can be very confusing and are often not something people have encountered before. However, reaching out to, and using the services of, a trusted editor will help make the process much easier.

The faculty at the university will then assess the submitted dissertation and provide feedback to help guide the student in making any necessary corrections or revisions before finally submitting it for examination.

Sometimes the examiners will require the thesis to undergo small amendments.

This is quite normal and you will be expected to address each of the criticisms before being admitted to your degree.

Also, many institutions require a public presentation on your Masters research for admission to the degree. This can be relatively nerve racking for young career academics. Nonetheless, presenting your work to a general audience is always good experience and will help prepare you for a PhD if you decide to pursue further research studies.

Effective tips on how to write a thesis successfully

Writing a master’s thesis is not an easy task and many students struggle to complete it with a smile on their faces.

Making sure that you work on your thesis little by little and that you do not get bogged down in the details too quickly is an important step to finishing your thesis without it causing too much mental anguish.

However, writing a thesis is often a very challenging thing no matter what you do. You can check out more about this in my YouTube video below right talk about the unglamorous truths about writing a thesis, whether it Masters, PhD or for peer review.

Small chunks

Work on your thesis in small chunks. Do not think of it as one big thesis but rather as small chapters and subsections within that chapter.

I actually had multiple documents with different chapters and did not combine my thesis until the end. This allowed me to compartmentalise my work and ensure that I was focused on one aspect of the thesis at a time without jumping between many other sections – which would have been a huge distraction.

Get feedback as often as possible

I’ve always been incredibly lucky with my research supervisors. I’ve been able to get feedback about my writing quickly and effectively.

Speak to your research supervisor about what would be an appropriate amount of work for them to mark at any given time.

Some supervisors like small amounts of work – such as a chapter or a subsection, whilst others prefer to have full chapters submitted at a time.

Try to work out the smallest amount of work they be happy to look over as then you can get feedback much quicker.

Also, you can reach out to other supervisors and academics that may be able to give you feedback on your writing. You do not just have two work with your primary supervisor when looking for feedback.

Do what you must to get through

Even though many helpful PhD and thesis writing blogs and videos talk about making yourself as productive as possible, the truth is sometimes you have to do whatever you can to get through.

For example, I used to eat a lot of chocolate and drink a lot of energy drinks to try to focus myself while writing up my thesis.

I only did this for a short period of time and it certainly wasn’t sustainable. But, when you have got a tight deadline sometimes you just have to do whatever you can to get through your writer’s block.

Protect your flow

Protect your flow as much as possible. Getting into a flow state can be achieved regularly if you change your environment to make sure that you are able to focus effectively.

For example, I like to completely turn off my mobile phone and email or other computer notifications so that I can focus for at least one hour on writing my thesis.

You may also find white noise helpful if you are in a particularly noisy environment such as a shared office.

If you find yourself becoming distracted – remove that distraction as best you can. Protecting your flow and working for one-hour blocks will really help you finish on time.

Wrapping up

This article has been through everything you need to know about the length of a Masters thesis and how to write your thesis effectively.

The length of a Masters thesis is very much dependent on the field of study and the University’s requirements for your course. Nonetheless, they are typically between 50 and 200 pages long and are examined by experts in the field and other academics before you are admitted into the degree.

There may also be a short presentation that is given to the public or academics in your department.

Dr Andrew Stapleton has a Masters and PhD in Chemistry from the UK and Australia. He has many years of research experience and has worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow and Associate at a number of Universities. Although having secured funding for his own research, he left academia to help others with his YouTube channel all about the inner workings of academia and how to make it work for you.

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