THESIS. It's a scary word, isn't it? I probably just frightened half my readers away. For all you brave souls still reading, take heart. I'm here to tell you that writing a thesis is not that terrifying -- exhausting, exhilarating, challenging, intense, even fun. And while I'm at it, let me try to debunk some of the most common myths of the dreaded thesis.
Myth: If you decided to write a thesis, you would have to give up activities and/or a social life your fourth year.
Reality: You get academic credit for writing a thesis, which, for most students, means you take one less course per semester (depending on your department, it may be a semester or year-long project). So, all that time that you would spend reading, writing or studying for a normal course, you instead would spend on one project. As an added bonus, you're working on your own "syllabus," not a professor's, so you can schedule your thesis work around your other tests and papers.
Myth: A chronic procrastinator would end up writing his thesis in a week -- and suffering a breakdown.
Reality: Because of the structure of most thesis programs, this nearly is impossible. For one, you have an advisor, who reads your work and discusses questions with you, and it is highly unlikely that he or she would let you procrastinate that much. Many departments also set up deadlines throughout the process, like turning in 20 pages after one semester, or a draft a few weeks before the due date, so it's hard to leave everything until the last minute.
Myth: Your thesis topic must be densely academic -- complete with a paragraph-long title made up of really big words -- that no one would ever want to read.
Reality: Because you devise your own topic, you can choose what really interests you. Most departments are very flexible about limitations, especially if you are dedicated and enthusiastic. In the English department this year, thesis topics weren't limited to critical analysis of literature -- there were creative writing projects, as well as analyses of film, music and comic books. After all, no one expects you to spend a year researching and writing about something that doesn't absolutely thrill you.
Myth: If you want to write a thesis, you already should have a close relationship with a professor. Otherwise you won't be able to find an advisor.
Reality: You don't need to know a professor beforehand. You will find someone. All you have to do is ask. Most professors are flattered and happy to oblige. When I asked a few professors I knew to recommend a good advisor for my thesis, one professor's name kept coming up over and over again. I had never met her, but on a whim, I decided to drop by her office hours and ask if she'd be interested in supervising my project. She accepted on the spot. It was that easy.
Myth: The only benefits to writing a thesis are intellectual.
Reality: Writing a thesis yields many random and cool perks. I got to know a bunch of other fourth-year English majors. My roommate's advisor gave her an office of her own in Clark Hall. I came back from spring break three days early to work on my thesis, and reveled in having my apartment to myself (and watching my "Dawson's Creek" reruns in peace).
The best non-intellectual perk, though, is that, because "thesis" is such a scary word, you can get out of pretty much anything else you don't want to do (except homework). When my parents called to ask me how the job search was going, I told them I was concentrating on my thesis. When my roommates complained that I hadn't done my chores in three weeks, I blamed my thesis. I conserved my free absences carefully this semester, and skipped a few classes the week it was due, even though I didn't really have to. I sat on the Lawn and proofread all 66 pages, savoring the delicious feeling of playing hooky -- with a good excuse.
Myth: The intellectual benefits alone aren't worth it.
Reality: Don't underestimate the incredible feeling of knowing you've accomplished something so intensely challenging. Of leafing through a book on your topic and realizing that you've read half the articles in the footnotes. Of holding your own in a discussion with your advisor, who wrote that book. Of holding a thick stack of papers in your hand and realizing you've written a short book of your own. Of the look people give you when you tell them you've written 50-plus pages. Of the pride in your parents' voices when you call them to say you're done (and ask them to pay the huge bill you've racked up at Kinko's).
So maybe it is a little scary -- but that just makes the accomplishment even sweeter. Because then you can revel in the feeling that you've conquered one of the scariest villains of all college legend. And lived to tell.
(Katie Dodd's column appears Thursdays in The Cavalier Daily.)
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