Contents
After conducting substantial research, critically reading and evaluating your sources, you would have accumulated a substantial amount of information to process into written form.
Bachelor theses, seminar essays or Zulassungsarbeiten call for academic writing conventions which directly impact the following three aspects:
- Content
- Form
- Style
In writing a bachelor thesis, your goal is to tackle a particular research question within the constraints of the time limit, resources available and the scope agreed upon with your thesis supervisor . Your research findings will be presented in written prose form, this means that full sentences are organized in paragraphs and are structured into chapters and subchapters in a logical and consistent manner. It is also crucial that you document your sources of information and present this according to scholarly conventions .
When working in Microsoft Word, utilize the built-in “Styles and Formatting” options to ensure consistency in your document’s format.
For instance, refer to this format template (in German).
You should communicate your arguments clearly and accurately, bearing in mind your target readership (your thesis supervisor, who stands in for/represents the experts in your field).
The following subunits will take you through selected aspects of academic writing. These include:
- Preparation
- Structure
- Developing an argument
- Writing style and tone
Before embarking on the process of writing, it is crucial that you schedule a meeting with your supervisor.
Preparatory work before your first meeting with your supervisor:
When to consult your supervisor? Ideally, you would have already done preliminary research, which includes:
- identifying the general topic you will work on in your thesis
- determining gaps in existing research on your topic of interest
- formulating a provisionary research question based on your initial survey of the most important literature on your topic
- producing a draft outline of your thesis. This is a summary of your potential thematic content which may include your sources and methods.
At the meeting with your supervisor, you should aim to:
- refine your research question
- ascertain the required source materials, analytical methods and vital scholarly literature
- clarify the expected thematic scope and the length of your written thesis (minimum and maximum word count)
- determine the submission deadline (date?) and form (printed and bound or digital copy?)
After meeting your supervisor, you should be prepared to:
- adjust your research project based on the feedback received
- create a schedule with weekly check-point goals to ensure that you complete your thesis in time
Gardner and Springfeld (2016) recommend at least 5-7 weeks for completing a seminar essay of 15-25 pages, which can be scaled up to suit a longer bachelor thesis. Refer to p. 238 for an example schedule and checklist for weekly goals.
The written text of your thesis comprises three general sections (the percentage represents the approximate scope each section should occupy in your final thesis).
Besides the written text, your final thesis document includes: cover page, table of contents, reference list, appendix, and plagiarism statement. Refer to Formal Layout and Final Corrections
Under which section should you include the following information? Test yourself by grouping the following contents under the appropriate sections.
- Summary of main findings
- Overview of existing literature
- Research background / context
- Explanation of all individual elements in title
- Presentation of collected data
- Research objectives
- Future prospects
- Write-up of data analysis
- Re-address issues brought up in introduction
- Statement of research question
Introduction
The aim of the introduction is to concisely acquaint the reader with the topic, especially the aspects relevant to your research question. Bear in mind that the introduction takes up only 10-15% of the final document, thus you have to carefully select and concisely phrase your introductory section. To avoid non-relevant “filler” information, always return to your research question – use it as orientation.
Aim to “set the stage” for your subsequent arguments, and not to overwhelm your reader with more information than necessary!
Main Text
This section comprises the bulk of your final document. Here you will present your research outcomes and analysis in numbered subchapters. Structuring your findings this way will aid reader comprehension. You should clearly formulate your findings and arguments and order your sentences logically in paragraphs. Remember to include references to the sources you have used as you write to minimize the risk of plagiarism and to save time down the road.
Do not get stuck trying to achieve the “perfect wording” when you write your first draft. Writing is not a linear process.
- It often helps to write freely, work on other subchapters if you find it difficult to proceed, and then return to the original problem with fresh eyes.
- It also helps to ask others to critically read your first completed draft, as they will be able to point our gaps and discontinuities in your writing. Use their feedback to improve the readability of your work and the strength of your arguments!
Conclusion
The conclusion is complementary to the introduction. It should recap the central ideas brought up in the introduction, include a concise summary of the main findings and provide an “answer” to the “research question.” The conclusion provides an opportunity to address questions that were not answered or new questions that may have arisen during your research. Addressing these “future prospects” resulting from your work is a valuable contribution to the field.
Reorder the following sentences in a logical manner. Pay attention to how the author connects each sentence to the next.
- From 1960, he was the driving force behind a significant initiative to bring Mahler to a prominent place in the canon of Western art music.
- He went on to conduct and record all of Mahler's symphonies multiple times with major orchestras, and he bolstered his reputation as the world's leading Mahler interpreter through published commentaries that continue to be cited regularly.
- As the recently minted music director of the New York Philharmonic and one of the most celebrated musicians in the United States, Bernstein that year presided over the orchestra in a celebration of Mahler's hundredth birthday, conducting several of Mahler's works and starring in the national CBS broadcast of the Young People's Concert, 'Who is Gustav Mahler?’.
- As a conductor, Bernstein, with some justification, has garnered most of the credit for having popularized Mahler's music in the twentieth century.
- To many music lovers, mention of Gustav Mahler conjures up an image of Leonard Bernstein poised at the conductor's podium to lead an impassioned performance of one of the Austrian composer's symphonies.
Note: Footnote numbering removed for the purpose of this exercise
Source: Matthew Mugmon, “Beyond the Composer-Conductor Dichotomy: Bernstein’s Copland-Inspired Mahler Advocacy,” Music & Letters 94, no. 4 (2013): 606–27.
Slide right to reveal the correct order!
In her book Academic Writing, Felicitas MacGilchrist (2014, p. 88) draws attention to the key to successful academic writing at university level:
Your core task in any kind of theoretical, interpretive and analytical writing across the disciplines is to develop an argument. The quality of your writing – and your grades – will depend on how convincingly you develop your argument.
MacGilchrist posits a three-step approach in complex argument development:
- Selecting and using relevant information from sources
- Establishing your own position
- Presenting your position in a coherent manner
Crucially, academic writing at university level is not simply a compilation of quotations from published scholarship, no matter how meticulously documented. In accordance with the scholarly value of discursivity, establishing one own’s position involves:
- Critically evaluating the various sources
- To what extent do you agree or disagree with the author(s)?
- Comparing and contrasting the ideas formulated by various authors
- Which publications support your position – in what ways and to what degree?
As a result, you will form and present a scholarly opinion: one that is founded upon acknowledged references to the relevant research literature. You will present these opinions as your own claims in a coherent manner in order to convince the reader about the argument you are making, thus making a valuable contribution to the field.
Academic writing takes on a formal tone to ensure that meanings are conveyed unambiguously. This is because informal expressions (including colloquialisms and incomplete sentences that are common in spoken language) are not necessarily understood the same way by every reader.
Yet, as Trever Herbert (2009, p. 10) reminds us:
You should avoid using overly elaborate sentences or choosing words because you think they sound impressive or intellectual. Rather, academic language places emphasis on correctness and precision in order to ensure that information is conveyed accurately and that ideas are accessible and clearly understood.
Writing accessibly involves identifying the language that is most suitable for your target readership. In the case of university-level academic writing, your default target readership ranges from your peers to your professors with an assumed level of basic proficiency in the specialized terminology of your research topic.
Reference
- Matthew Mugmon, “Beyond the Composer-Conductor Dichotomy: Bernstein’s Copland-Inspired Mahler Advocacy,” Music & Letters 94, no. 4 (2013): 606–27.
Further reading
- Felicitas Macgilchrist, Academic Writing (Paderborn: Schöningh, 2014), 87–111.
- Trevor Herbert, Music in Words: A Guide to Researching and Writing about Music (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009), 9–23.
- Matthew Gardner and Sara Springfeld, Musikwissenschaftliches Arbeiten: eine Einführung, 2nd edition (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 2018), 236–244.
