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Classicswrites, a guide to research and writing in the field of classics.

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Thesis Statements

What is an argument.

A thesis statement explains to the reader what argument you will make in your paper. While it can be more than one sentence, your thesis should be concise. A good thesis statement should also come as early in a paper as is reasonable, in order to tell the reader what you will argue and how you will argue it. This second part (the “how”) might include:

  • the base of support or evidence for the argument
  • the methodology or framework of interpretation.

In the field of Classics

In Classics, your base of support will most likely be a text, a set of texts, an object, a group of artifacts, an archaeological site, or a combination of these different types of sources. A thesis statement goes beyond superficial stances and summarization to answer the looming question of “so what?” or “why do we care?” A thesis statement takes a stance and makes an argument.

  • Develop an Argument

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What is a thesis?

What is a dissertation, getting started, staying on track.

A thesis is a long-term project that you work on over the course of a semester or a year. Theses have a very wide variety of styles and content, so we encourage you to look at prior examples and work closely with faculty to develop yours. 

Before you begin, make sure that you are familiar with the dissertation genre—what it is for and what it looks like.

Generally speaking, a dissertation’s purpose is to prove that you have the expertise necessary to fulfill your doctoral-degree requirements by showing depth of knowledge and independent thinking.

The form of a dissertation may vary by discipline. Be sure to follow the specific guidelines of your department.

  • PhD This site directs candidates to the GSAS website about dissertations , with links to checklists,  planning, formatting, acknowledgments, submission, and publishing options. There is also a link to guidelines for the prospectus . Consult with your committee chair about specific requirements and standards for your dissertation.
  • DDES This document covers planning, patent filing, submission guidelines, publishing options, formatting guidelines, sample pages, citation guidelines, and a list of common errors to avoid. There is also a link to guidelines for the prospectus .
  • Scholarly Pursuits (GSAS) This searchable booklet from Harvard GSAS is a comprehensive guide to writing dissertations, dissertation-fellowship applications, academic journal articles, and academic job documents.

Finding an original topic can be a daunting and overwhelming task. These key concepts can help you focus and save time.

Finding a topic for your thesis or dissertation should start with a research question that excites or at least interests you. A rigorous, engaging, and original project will require continuous curiosity about your topic, about your own thoughts on the topic, and about what other scholars have said on your topic. Avoid getting boxed in by thinking you know what you want to say from the beginning; let your research and your writing evolve as you explore and fine-tune your focus through constant questioning and exploration.

Get a sense of the broader picture before you narrow your focus and attempt to frame an argument. Read, skim, and otherwise familiarize yourself with what other scholars have done in areas related to your proposed topic. Briefly explore topics tangentially related to yours to broaden your perspective and increase your chance of finding a unique angle to pursue.

Critical Reading

Critical reading is the opposite of passive reading. Instead of merely reading for information to absorb, critical reading also involves careful, sustained thinking about what you are reading. This process may include analyzing the author’s motives and assumptions, asking what might be left out of the discussion, considering what you agree with or disagree with in the author’s statements and why you agree or disagree, and exploring connections or contradictions between scholarly arguments. Here is a resource to help hone your critical-reading skills:

http://writing.umn.edu/sws/assets/pdf/quicktips/criticalread.pdf

Conversation

Your thesis or dissertation will incorporate some ideas from other scholars whose work you researched. By reading critically and following your curiosity, you will develop your own ideas and claims, and these contributions are the core of your project. You will also acknowledge the work of scholars who came before you, and you must accurately and fairly attribute this work and define your place within the larger discussion. Make sure that you know how to quote, summarize, paraphrase ,  integrate , and cite secondary sources to avoid plagiarism and to show the depth and breadth of your knowledge.

A thesis is a long-term, large project that involves both research and writing; it is easy to lose focus, motivation, and momentum. Here are suggestions for achieving the result you want in the time you have.

The dissertation is probably the largest project you have undertaken, and a lot of the work is self-directed. The project can feel daunting or even overwhelming unless you break it down into manageable pieces and create a timeline for completing each smaller task. Be realistic but also challenge yourself, and be forgiving of yourself if you miss a self-imposed deadline here and there.

Your program will also have specific deadlines for different requirements, including establishing a committee, submitting a prospectus, completing the dissertation, defending the dissertation, and submitting your work. Consult your department’s website for these dates and incorporate them into the timeline for your work.

Accountability

Sometimes self-imposed deadlines do not feel urgent unless there is accountability to someone beyond yourself. To increase your motivation to complete tasks on schedule, set dates with your committee chair to submit pre-determined pieces of a chapter. You can also arrange with a fellow doctoral student to check on each other’s progress. Research and writing can be lonely, so it is also nice to share that journey with someone and support each other through the process.

Common Pitfalls

The most common challenges for students writing a dissertation are writer’s block, information-overload, and the compulsion to keep researching forever.

There are many strategies for avoiding writer’s block, such as freewriting, outlining, taking a walk, starting in the middle, and creating an ideal work environment for your particular learning style. Pay attention to what helps you and try different things until you find what works.

Efficient researching techniques are essential to avoiding information-overload. Here are a couple of resources about strategies for finding sources and quickly obtaining essential information from them.

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/writing_in_literature/writing_in_literature_detailed_discussion/reading_criticism.html

https://students.dartmouth.edu/academic-skills/learning-resources/learning-strategies/reading-techniques

Finally, remember that there is always more to learn and your dissertation cannot incorporate everything. Follow your curiosity but also set limits on the scope of your work. It helps to create a folder entitled “future projects” for topics and sources that interest you but that do not fit neatly into the dissertation. Also remember that future scholars will build off of your work, so leave something for them to do.

Browsing through theses and dissertations of the past can help to get a sense of your options and gain inspiration but be careful to use current guidelines and refer to your committee instead of relying on these examples for form or formatting.

DASH Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard.

HOLLIS Harvard Library’s catalog provides access to ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global .

MIT Architecture has a list of their graduates’ dissertations and theses.

Rhode Island School of Design has a list of their graduates’ dissertations and theses.

University of South Florida has a list of their graduates’ dissertations and theses.

Harvard GSD has a list of projects, including theses and professors’ research.

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Senior Thesis Tutoring : The Writing Center offers thesis writers the opportunity to work with tutors who can read drafts in advance and meet with you to talk about structure, argument, and clear writing.

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Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is an academic research communication competition developed by The University of Queensland (UQ), Australia.  While the original competition was for graduate students, a number of colleges are now sponsoring undergraduate competitions. The Writing Center sponsored Harvard's first undergraduate Three-Minute Thesis competition in April 2019. 3MT offers seniors the opportunity to create an accessible and interesting presentation of their senior thesis research for an audience of non-specialists.  

First Prize

LyLena D. Estabine (Sociology): Shaping Chicago: How Trust and Ownership Influence Community Engagement

Second Prize

Justin Hu (Romance Languages/Literature; History): Studying with Césaire: How a Colonial High School Helped Change the World

Third Prize

Jacob Winter (Economics): Doctors or Dealers? Investigating the Link Between Prosecuting Overprescribing Doctors and Opioid-Involved Deaths

Hemanth Asirvatham (Economics): The Dynamo Is Not The Computer: A Historical Exploration of What Makes Tech Adoption Faster

Rebecca Buehler (Romance Languages/Literature; Government): "Women and Children First": The Problem of Gender Essentialisms in Humanitarian Media

Steven Cho (Electrical Engineering): Transceiverless Radio Frequency Based Human Rescue in Avalanche Disasters

Mira-Rose Kingsbury Lee (History; HEB): The Forgotten Microbes: Reconsidering the 'Golden Age' of Microbiology (Video unavailable)

Nikita Nair (Integrative Biology/Astrophysics): "Your Brain on Space: Examining the Effects of Microgravity on the Cerebellum

Yasmine Omri (Electrical Engineering): Towards a Real-Time Image to Speech Tool for the Visually Impaired: Efficient Hardware for On-device Machine Learning

June Park (Government): "Teach Me Why and How to Vote. Then I’ll Vote": The Effects of High School Voter Registration Drives

Mireya Sanchez-Maes (TDM/English): Writing the New Mexican Comedy Play

Erik Zou (HAA/Statistics): Painting by Pixels: Exploring Digital Color in Claude Monet's Rouen Cathedral Paintings

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Interfaculty initiative, college thesis writer sources.

This is a non-exhaustive listing of college-wide resources relevant to various aspects of the thesis writing process, organized by department/program. ACADEMIC RESOURCE CENTER Advice for Thesis Writers https://academicresourcecenter.harvard.edu/senior-theses Accountability Groups (may be more relevant for the writing phase of a thesis project) https://academicresourcecenter.harvard.edu/accountability-groups-0 ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY CENTER In addition to course-related support, ATC demonstrates assistive technology software and hardware like keyboards, mice, and dictation software. https://atc.fas.harvard.edu/ DISABILITY ACCESS OFFICE Formerly the Accessible Education Office, the DAO “works in collaboration with Harvard faculty, students, and staff to create equitable educational experiences through the promotion of universal design in learning, reasonable accommodations in inaccessible environments, and the reframing of disability as a valued aspect of the human experience.” https://aeo.fas.harvard.edu/ HOUSES Writing Tutors and Support (Houses not listed here may offer similar support not noted on public-access webpages) Adams - https://adamshouse.harvard.edu/people/teams/writing-tutors Cabot - https://cabot.harvard.edu/people/advising-areas/writing Currier - https://currier.harvard.edu/people/kristen-starkowski Eliot - https://eliot.harvard.edu/writing Kirkland - https://kirkland.harvard.edu/people/resident-tutors/writing-tutors Mather - https://mather.harvard.edu/resident-tutors/writing Pforzheimer - https://pfoho.harvard.edu/people/advising-area/writing HARVARD LIBRARIES Ask a Librarian (chat, email, appointments) https://ask.library.harvard.edu/ Overall Research Support Page https://library.harvard.edu/how-to/get-remote-support-research-publishing#university-resources Overall Library Services and Tools (wide-ranging; worth a skim) https://library.harvard.edu/services-tools Research Consultations https://library.harvard.edu/services-tools/research-consultations Library Liaisons https://library.harvard.edu/services-tools/library-liaisons Research Workshops and Related Events https://libcal.library.harvard.edu/?_gl=1*7opaeh*_ga*NDUyNTgxMzYyLjE2NjQzODc2MTQ.*_ga_3CXC97RWEK*MTY2NjM4NDU2Ni42LjEuMTY2NjM4NjI0Ny4wLjAuMA .. Harvard Library Guide to Citation Management Software https://guides.library.harvard.edu/cite/home Visualization Support https://library.harvard.edu/services-tools/visualization-support Disciplinary Library Research Guides Anthropology (includes Human Evolutionary Biology) - https://guides.library.harvard.edu/anthro Biology: Web of Science Databases for Biological Research - https://guides.library.harvard.edu/webofscience Computer Science - https://guides.library.harvard.edu/cs Health Data Resources - https://guides.library.harvard.edu/healthus (United States) and https://guides.library.harvard.edu/healthinternational (International) History of Science - https://guides.library.harvard.edu/HistSciInfo and https://guides.library.harvard.edu/histsci Mind, Brain, and Behavior - https://guides.library.harvard.edu/mindbrain Social Sciences Data (Datafest 2018) - https://guides.library.harvard.edu/datafest2018 Other Harvard Library Resources Beginner's Guide to Locating and Using Numeric Data - https://guides.library.harvard.edu/data HOLLIS (includes Scan and Deliver service) - https://hollis.harvard.edu/primo-explore/search?sortby=rank&vid=HVD2&lang=en_US Finding Manuscripts and Archival Collections - https://guides.library.harvard.edu/archives Google: A Scholar’s Guide - https://guides.library.harvard.edu/googleguide Other Online Resources Philosopher’s Index - http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hul.eresource:philoind Psyc Info - http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hul.eresource:psycinfo Pub Med - https://guides.library.harvard.edu/PubMed APA Formatting/Style Guide (Purdue OWL) - https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_style_introduction.html STATISTICS DEPARTMENT Statistics Consulting (free stats consulting for all forms of data analysis and interpretation of results, including causal inference, experimental design, classification and prediction/machine learning, statistical issues arising from big data’ sets, time series, model fitting, and data visualization; see https://statistics.fas.harvard.edu/harvard-statistics-consulting-service for details) Fall 2022 Drop-In Hours, through November 29th Science Center 316.06 (zoom option also available) Spring Drop-In Hours through May 1st Mondays 4-6 p.m. Tuesdays 2-4 p.m. Fridays 10 a.m.- 12 noon WRITING CENTER Writing Center Thesis Tutoring https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/senior-thesis-tutoring Writing Center Drop-in Hours for Fall 2022 Mondays through Thursdays, 7-9 p.m., Barker 19 Sundays, 7:30-9:30 p.m., Lowell Dining Hall (writing tutors will have a sign) Writing Center English Grammar and Language Tutor https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/egl-tutor Departmental Writing Fellows (currently includes linguistics and psychology) https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/dwf Brief Guides to Writing in the Disciplines (currently includes guides for philosophy and psychology) https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/brief-guides-writing-disciplines Disciplinary Writing Guides (currently includes guides for life sciences, philosophy, and psychology) https://writingproject.fas.harvard.edu/pages/disciplinary-writing-guides Science Writes, Harvard Toolkit for Writing in the Sciences https://www.sciencewrites.org/  

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Harvard History of Art & Architecture

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Undergraduate Program - Writing a Thesis

  • Created by Marcus Mayo , last modified on Jul 08, 2024

Pursuing a Thesis

Senior Concentrators wishing to graduate with honors in the Department must produce a senior thesis and carry academic standing of Group II or better, with a minimum GPA of 3.00 in concentration grades. In deciding whether one wishes to fulfill the honors requirements, students should consider their academic interests, commitment to independent research, and other deadlines and obligations during the thesis year. Many students find the task of producing a substantial piece of critical scholarship interesting and rewarding, but others find the senior thesis can become a frustrating and unwieldy burden. Some students prefer the freedom to take elective courses or savor extra-curricular pursuits during their last year at the College unhampered by the encroaching demands of thesis preparation. In general, it may be remarked that students are unlikely to do well in the honors program who are not already proven practiced writers committed to the process of scholarship; the senior thesis is not the place to acquire basic skills in writing, design, and/or research. In considering the Department's honors requirements, it should be remembered that students with honors grades overall may graduate with University Honors (Cum Laude) even if they do not receive Honors in History of Art and Architecture. The Undergraduate Program Coordinator (Marcus Mayo), Director of Senior Theses (Carrie Lambert-Beatty,) Director of Undergraduate Study (Jennifer L. Roberts), and Director of the Architecture Studies Track (Megan Panzano), are each available for consultation when determining if pursuing honors is the right decision for any individual student.

Department Timeline of Thesis Preparation 

A schedule of departmental dates and deadlines relative to the thesis will be available on the respective thesis-course Canvas site by the beginning of each fall Term. The thesis writer and faculty thesis adviser should agree on a working schedule which will adequately conform to these deadlines.

Concentrators undertaking a thesis are required to enroll in HAA 99A (fall) and B (spring) for course credit. Students in the architecture track pursuing a design thesis should enroll in HAA 92r (fall) and 99B (spring). Joint concentrators will enroll in the 99 course of their primary concentration.

Overseen by the Director of Senior Theses, HAA 99A –“The Senior Thesis Seminar” – will meet several times during the fall semester for two-hour sessions devoted to facilitating the preparation and writing of a thesis. These sessions will cover such topics as compiling a bibliography, using archives, the use of key technology and software, and constructing and presenting an effective argument. All concentrators pursuing a written thesis project are required to enroll in this seminar. Joint concentrators enrolled in another department’s thesis seminar, and HAA design thesis students enrolled in HAA 92r, are welcome and encouraged to attend some or all sessions of 99A in addition to their primary thesis preparation course.

Late in the fall semester, each concentrator pursuing a thesis will deliver a twenty-minute presentation on their thesis topic, illustrated with digitally projected images, at the Senior Thesis Presentations. All departmental faculty and students will be invited to these presentations. By the end of winter break, each student will submit a complete first draft of the thesis, complete with illustrations.

Overview of Key Dates for Thesis Preparation

These dates apply to all HAA students wishing to pursue an honors thesis. For further criteria specific to students preparing a design thesis in the Architecture Track, see Academic Requirements: Design Thesis in the Architecture Track

Please consult the Senior Thesis Seminar Canvas site, or reach out to the Undergraduate Program Coordinator, for specific dates.

Fall Semester, Junior Year

  • October: Initial Meeting. Junior concentrators are invited to meet with the Director of Senior Theses and the Undergraduate Program Coordinator for an introduction to the senior thesis writing process.

Spring Semester, Junior Year

  • Mid March: Short Proposals Due. Students submit a basic proposal outlining preliminary ideas, along with a list of three potential faculty advisers. Before submitting, students are expected to have corresponded or met with each one of their potential advisors to discuss their proposals. Faculty advisers are assigned to thesis projects in late April or early May.
  • Mid March: Applications due for Pulitzer and Abramson Travel Grants. If wishing to request funding for summer thesis research travel, students are expected to submit their applications to the Undergraduate Program Coordinator at the same time as their thesis proposal. See Undergraduate Prizes, Grants and Opportunities for details on grants and applications. Information on how to apply will be provided by the Undergraduate Program Coordinator. Grant recipients will be notified by email.

Fall Semester, Senior Year

  • During the semester, students enroll in HAA 99A or 92r and follow course deadlines (Please consult the HAA 99A and 92r Canvas sites for additional details).
  • Students meet regularly with their faculty advisers.
  • Early December: Senior Thesis Presentations. All students pursuing a thesis will give a twenty-minute presentation to department students and faculty followed by discussion.

Spring Semester, Senior Year

  • Late January: First Draft . Before the spring semester begins, students submit a full draft of the thesis, with illustrations, to their faculty adviser for comments.
  • Late February/Early March: Second Draft. Students are encouraged to submit the near-final draft to their faculty adviser for a final review before formal submission to the Department.
  • Week before Spring Break: Final Submission Deadline. Late submissions will not be accepted. On the afternoon of submission, all students are invited to attend the Thesis Reception.
  • Late March: Gallery-Style public reception and presentation of Design Thesis projects. All architecture track students that have prepared a design thesis will present their work informally at this event. All HAA thesis writers, as well as faculty and graduate students, are encouraged to attend.
  • April: Thesis Review and Honors Recommendation . Senior Honors Theses are read and critiqued by Members of the Faculty in HAA (and the GSD and the Harvard Art Museums, where relevant) at the request of the Director of Senior Theses. Department Faculty meet to vote on final honors recommendations, after which thesis writers will receive an email from the Director of Senior Theses notifying them of their thesis grade and recommendation for honors. Students should speak with their Allston Burr Senior Tutor for the anticipated final honors decision of the College.
  • Mid-April: Senior Thesis Poster. All senior thesis writers are expected to prepare a digital file for a 24 x 36” poster summarizing the thesis to be exhibited in the HAA Department for the following academic year. A suggested template will be provided and a workshop will be held in late March for assistance with poster preparation. The printing and associated costs are taken care of by the Department. Examples of previous posters can be found here (AY21-22) , here (AY22-23) , and here (AY23-24) .

Director of Senior Theses 

The process of taking honors and producing the thesis in the Department is overseen for all concentrators by the Director of Senior Theses, Professor Carrie Lambert-Beatty. The Director of Senior Theses leads the Fall Term thesis-writing seminar (HAA 99A) and directs the faculty meetings at which rising senior advisor assignments and senior honors grades are determined.

Faculty Thesis Adviser 

When submitting their initial proposal in the spring of the junior year, students should include a list of three possible faculty advisers, each of which they have previously met or corresponded with to discuss their plans. The Department will then match students with advisers according to student preference and faculty availability. Faculty thesis advisers should generally be full faculty members of the History of Art and Architecture Department, although Harvard museum curators with relevant expertise may also serve as advisers at the discretion of the Director of Senior Theses.  Design thesis students will be provided with a separate network of advisors to consult with at the GSD via the Director of the Architecture Studies Track, Megan Panzano. Joint concentrators with HAA as their primary field will be expected to secure an additional advisor from their allied concentration. Allied joint concentrators are expected to follow the recommendations of their primary concentration when determining advisors.

The adviser ought to serve as a critic of synthesized ideas and writings/designs, rather than as a director of the project. The adviser should be chosen with consideration more to compatibility in overseeing the process of the work than to being an expert in the field. If you have trouble identifying an appropriate adviser, please consult with the Director of Senior Theses or Undergraduate Program Coordinator before the spring deadline for the Thesis Proposal.

Graduate students in the Department of History of Art and Architecture do not advise Senior Theses.

Program Director, Harvard Undergraduate Architecture Studies Track

Megan Panzano, Program Director of the Harvard Undergraduate Architecture Studies Track, oversees the execution of the two studio courses “HAA 96A – Architecture Studio I: Transformations” and “HAA 96B – Architecture Studio II: Connections”, as well as the senior design-thesis seminar “HAA 92R – Design Speculations.” She is available to consult for general advice on the design-thesis process. She coordinates the assignment of readers to senior design-thesis projects in consultation with the Director of Senior Theses and Undergraduate Program Coordinator.

Undergraduate Program Coordinator

The Undergraduate Program Coordinator, Marcus Mayo, is available to consult at any point regarding general questions about the senior thesis writing process. In conjunction with the Director of Senior Theses, they will coordinate the initial meeting of concentrators interested in writing a thesis in the fall term of their junior year. The Undergraduate Program Coordinator collects and distributes thesis proposals, summer funding proposals, advisor assignments, as well as completed theses, grades and reader comments. They hold examples of the written requirements (thesis proposal and prospectus) and of the Pulitzer and Abramson Grant applications which students are encouraged to consult as paradigms.

Academic Requirements – Written Thesis

The writing and evaluation of the thesis is a year-long process, during which the writer enrolls in a senior thesis preparation seminar (HAA 99A) and meets at scheduled intervals with their faculty adviser to formulate, develop, and ultimately refine their thesis work.

The Department encourages seniors to think broadly and explore a problem of interest. The thesis topic does not necessarily have to be within the writer's declared major field, except when required for a joint concentration, in which case, the topic must address an issue shared by both concentrations. The thesis should demonstrate an ability to pose a meaningful question, present a well-reasoned and structured argument, and marshal appropriate evidence. The student should apply a clear methodology and be aware of the assumptions behind the argument, the possible deficiencies of the sources and data used, and the implications of the conclusions. The various parts of the thesis should cohere in an integrated argument; the thesis should not be a series of loosely connected short essays. A primary expectation of the thesis is that it is a work of independent scholarship, directed and crafted by the student, with the thesis adviser serving in a capacity of "indirect overseeing of the project."

There is no set pattern for an acceptable thesis. The writer should demonstrate familiarity with scholarly methods in the use of sources, but this should not be the sole criterion for evaluation. Of equal if not greater importance is the development of the central argument and the significance of the interpretation. A thesis may be research on a little-studied problem or a perceptive reassessment of a familiar question. A well-pondered and well-presented interpretive essay may be as good a thesis as a miniature doctoral dissertation.

Skill in exposition is a primary objective, and pristine editing is expected. The Department encourages writers to keep to a short page count, so as to craft a clear, concise paper, and further edit it to an exemplary presentation. In general, a History of Art and Architecture thesis will have a text ranging from 20,000 to 25,000 words. Students are encouraged to explore the resources available to thesis writers at the Harvard College Writing Center .

The writer must indicate the source of material drawn from others' work, whether quoted, paraphrased, or summarized. Students who, for whatever reason, submit work either not their own or without clear attribution to its sources will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including requirement to withdraw from the College. The use of ChatGPT or any other generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools is forbidden at all stages of the writing process, including preliminary drafts, unless otherwise specifically stated by the instructor in writing.

Academic Requirements: Design Thesis in the Architecture Track

Students in the Architecture Studies Track who wish to pursue a thesis project may choose either a traditional thesis or a design thesis project. Design theses are creative thesis projects featuring a combination of written analysis and visual and physical design materials, as described below.

Course Requirements for Honors Consideration with a Design Thesis

Senior year – fall term.

  • Course prerequisite: Completion of either HAA 96A (“Transformations”) or HAA 96B (“Connections”) studios.
  • This course requires that students secure a faculty adviser from Harvard History of Art and Architecture (HAA) Faculty using the same process as written thesis students (See “Advising” section above).  
  • HAA 99A Senior Thesis Tutorial – attendance in this seminar is encouraged but not required in parallel with HAA 92r - optional
  • Presentation of design work to HAA and select GSD Faculty as part of HAA Thesis Colloquium in December) – required

Senior Year – Spring Term

  • Throughout the semester: Advising meetings with individual faculty advisers to guide production and iterative refinement of design work (architectural analytical drawings and/or physical models), and edits to digital presentation made in fall term HAA Thesis Thesis Presentations.
  • March 14, 2025, 12:00 pm EST: Submission of final senior thesis design project including digital images and written text as a single PDF file (see “ Submission Requirements for Honors Consideration ”).
  • March 28, 2025 (date subject to change and TBC): Participation in a gallery-style final presentation with faculty and peers after submission of thesis . The design presentations for the gallery-style event should include an updated digital presentation comprised of the project title, author’s name, the most current versions of all elements listed below in the Final Project Requirements (with the exception of the Written Manifesto which should be consolidated to a single slide containing 3-4 sentences of a thesis statement capturing the topic of study, a position on this topic, your claim about design agency to address this topic, and specifically, what design elements you’ve explored in your thesis in this address).  Students may elect to also print or plot selected original design drawings they produced (analytical or projective) from their digital presentation to pin up in the space.  Likewise, students are encouraged to bring any sketch and/or final models they have created to display as well.
  • April 14, 2025 : Preparation of a digital file for a 24 x 36” poster summarizing the thesis to be exhibited in the HAA department for the academic year to follow. A suggested template will be provided and a workshop will be held on March 25 (2025, date subject to change and TBC) for assistance with poster preparation. Examples of previous posters can be found here (AY21-22) , here (AY22-23) , and here (AY23-24).

Submission Requirements for the Design Thesis Project (due March 14, 2025, 12:00 pm EST)

A single multi-page PDF file labeled with student’s full last name and first initial should be submitted. It should contain the following elements and should incorporate thesis research and design work from both fall and spring terms.

  • Assemble a visual bibliography of references for your research project. The references included should be sorted into categories of your own authoring in relation to the research. Each reference should be appropriately cited using the Chicago Manual of Style, and each reference should also include an affiliated image. The bibliography should include a brief (approx. 200-word) annotation, describing the rationale behind the sorted categories.
  • A written design manifesto of a minimum of 2,000 words that concisely articulates the issues, problems, and questions embedded in and engaged by your research project. The manifesto should address:
  • Discourse : the role and significance of architecture relative to the project topic of interest, and;
  • Context : the relationship of the project topic to broader surroundings which include but are not limited to the discipline of architecture, cultural contexts, technical developments, and/or typologies.
  • The final statement should reflect deeply upon the character of the design process for the project, and discuss how the design process reinforced, inflected, or complicated the initial research questions. For most students, this final statement will be an elaboration upon the presentation text prepared for the fall senior thesis colloquium. The final text should capture and discuss the design elements that were further explored in the spring term as means to address initial research questions (i.e. include written descriptions of the drawings and/or physical models produced in relation to the thesis topic).  
  • A visual drawing or info-graphic that describes the process of design research undertaken for your topic. This should include the initial criteria developed for evaluating the project, the steps taken in examining the topic, the points in the process where it became necessary to stop and assess outputs and findings, and final adjustments to the methodology as the project neared completion.
  • High resolution drawings, animations, and/or diagrams and photographs of physical models  (if applicable)  that were produced through research. These should be assembled in single-page layouts of slides to follow preceding elements listed here.

Grading of the Senior Thesis

Theses are read and critiqued by faculty members applying a higher standard than expected for work written in courses or tutorials. Faculty do make use of the full range of grades, and students should consider that any honors grade is a distinction of merit. If you have any questions, please contact the Director of Senior Theses, the Director of Undergraduate Studies, or the Undergraduate Program Coordinator.

SUMMA CUM LAUDE: A summa thesis is a work of "highest honor." It is a contribution to knowledge, though it need not be an important contribution. It reveals a promise of high intellectual attainments both in selection of problems and facts for consideration and in the manner in which conclusions are drawn from these facts. A summa thesis includes, potentially at least, the makings of a publishable article. The writer's use of sources and data is judicious. The thesis is well written and proofread. The arguments are concise and logically organized, and the allocation of space appropriate. A summa is not equivalent to just any A, but the sort given by instructors who reserve them for exceptional merit. A summa minus is a near miss at a summa and is also equivalent to an A of unusual quality.

MAGNA CUM LAUDE: A magna level thesis is a work worthy of "great honor." It clearly demonstrates the capacity for a high level of achievement, is carried through carefully, and represents substantial industry. A magna plus thesis achieves a similar level of quality to a summa in some respects, though it falls short in others; it is equivalent to the usual type of A. A magna thesis is equivalent to an A-. For a magna minus, the results achieved may not be quite a successful due to an unhappy choice of topic or approach; it is also equivalent to an A-.

CUM LAUDE: As is appropriate for a grade "with honors," a cum level thesis shows serious thought and effort in its general approach, if not in every detail. A cum plus is equivalent to a B+, a cum to a B, and a cum minus to a B-. The cum thesis does not merely represent the satisfactory completion of a task. It is, however, to be differentiated from the magna in the difficulty of the subject handled, the substantial nature of the project, and the success with which the subject is digested. Recall that, as students putting extraordinary effort into a thesis most frequently receive a magna, theses of a solid but not exceptional quality deserve a grade in the cum range. When expressed in numerical equivalents, the interval between a magna minus and a cum minus is double that between the other intervals on the grading scale.

NO DISTINCTION: Not all theses automatically deserve honors. Nevertheless, a grade of no distinction (C, D, or E) should be reserved only for those circumstances when the thesis is hastily constructed, a mere summary of existing material, or is poorly thought through. The high standards which are applied in critique of theses must clearly be violated for a thesis to merit a grade of no distinction.

Thesis Readers 

Each thesis will have two readers chosen by the Department. A student’s faculty thesis advisor will not be asked to provide a reading. All readers will be asked to submit written comments and grades which will be factored equally to produce the final grade of the thesis. A third reader may be referred to if an irreconcilable disparity in grades is received from a student’s two readers. In this case, the mean grade from all three readers will be used to produce the final grade. Individual grades are not released. When grades and comments are distributed, the readers no longer remain anonymous. There exists a procedure by which a writer may request, via the Director of Senior Theses, to speak with a reader provided that they are willing to discuss the work in further detail or expound on the written critique.

For joint concentrators, the department will defer the reading process to their primary concentration. Students should reach out to their adviser in their primary concentration for further information.

Grade Report and Honors Recommendation 

At the end of each term, fall and spring, the student's progress in the Senior Tutorial (HAA 99) will be graded SAT or UNSAT. At the end of the Department's Honors Review process, the Director of Senior Theses calculates a recommendation for Honors based on the factored grades of the thesis and the student's grades in courses taken for concentration credit up to this point. With this in mind, students are encouraged to consult with the Undergraduate Program Coordinator early in the spring semester of their senior year to ensure that their academic record is up to date. This recommendation is presented to the Faculty at their meeting in April for review. A faculty vote is taken and this decision is passed as an honors recommendation to the Registrar of the College. For joint concentrators, the faculty will make recommendations to a student’s primary concentration but will defer the final grading process to them. The decision of Final Honors to be granted on the degree is made by the Registrar based on departmental recommendation and the student’s College-GPA. Students should consult with their Allston Burr Senior Tutor to determine what final honors might be anticipated at Commencement.

The needs of the Department for fair deliberation dictate that there may be no report of decisions regarding the thesis until after the Faculty has considered and voted upon each recommendation for honors. After honors recommendations have been voted by the Faculty, students will be notified of the Department's recommendation to the College and will receive an ungraded copy of each evaluation of their thesis. The comments in these evaluations should provide the student with a clear explanation of the strengths and weaknesses of the thesis, bearing in mind the difficulties of the field and the type of thesis submitted, and evaluating what was accomplished in terms of what was undertaken, given the student's limitation of time and experience.

Discontinuance of a Thesis 

The process of writing the thesis is a serious commitment of time and energy for both the writer and the adviser. In some cases, however, it might be agreed that the thesis should be discontinued at mid-year. The Senior Tutorial year may be divided with credit through a procedure in which the student must submit a written paper presenting the project and research to that point.

Examples of Past Theses 

Senior Honors Theses which are written by students who graduate Summa or Magna are deposited in the University Archives in Pusey Library . Copies of theses which are awarded the Hoopes Prize are held in Lamont Library . Many of these are available digitally via HOLLIS . Further examples can be provided by the Undergraduate Program Coordinator on request. Students are urged to consult past theses as much can be gained in exploring precedent or seeking inspiration.

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Writing advice from the harvard college writing center tutors, category thesis, is this a good thesis.

@harvardwritingcenter Is this a good thesis?? #writing #writingtips #college #collegetips #fyp #harvard ♬ Nope or Yep – Blue Unicorn 🦄 ❤️

What makes a good thesis?

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@harvardwritingcenter a good thesis is arguable! #fyp #writing #writingtips #harvard #college #collegetips ♬ Say So (Instrumental Version) [Originally Performed by Doja Cat] – Elliot Van Coup

a good thesis is arguable! ##fyp ##writing ##writingtips ##harvard ##college ##collegetips ♬ Say So (Instrumental Version) [Originally Performed by Doja Cat] – Elliot Van Coup

Your Essay’s Argument Might Be Hiding in Your Conclusion

by Sonia Epstein

“a thesis statement shouldn’t be a teaser-trailer; it should be the ‘tl;dr’ of your paper”

I’m finishing up an essay about a 19th century British novel, a pretty typical “marriage plot” novel whose curtain closes on a headstrong female protagonist, now with a ring around her finger, ready to live out her happily-ever-after: she will not become destitute; she will enjoy a respectable social standing; she will have a husband who can provide for her. My thesis statement argues that although the novel traces the triumph of this marriage, as well as the marriage of the protagonist’s close female friend, it simultaneously traces the collapse of a different relationship—the friendship between the two young women.

I’m feeling good: writing teachers often say that a thesis statement—in any discipline—answers what, how, and why questions . In an essay about a literary text, for example, you might answer the question, “ What is an author doing, and/or how ?” (What language does the author use, what metaphors, what kinds of characters?) I know my essay is doing this—it’s describing what I think the author is doing (showing the dissolution of a friendship) and how (by juxtaposing it against successful marriage arrangements). But what I haven’t really done is explain why the author is doing this, or why it’s important to see these contrasting relationships together.

Because I’ve extensively re-chronicled the scenes in which the protagonist is manipulative of her friend—scenes that catalyze both the marriages’ success and the friendship’s decline—it’s hard for me to see that I’m only describing “what” is happening and not “why” it’s happening. But I’m six pages in, and it’s conclusion-time. I’m gleeful. I have that feeling you sometimes get when you know you’re approaching the end of your work, and you’re ready to sign off with an epic mic-drop. This whole marriage-plot-thing has honestly made me a little angry, so I try to channel that into my final paragraph, to end with a flourish. I write that maybe, if marriage at the time wasn’t so transactional , with women needing to evaluate whose wages and estate and family are most promising, then maybe there’d be more altruism ; maybe the female relationships in the book wouldn’t be so doomed to fail. There—done!

In this final paragraph, almost unintentionally, I’ve actually answered a big “why” of my essay: I’ve convinced myself that by juxtaposing the marriage plot against the friendship, the book suggests how transactional both kinds of relationships were at risk of becoming in this era of the history of the British middle class. It was difficult to understand the broader implicationsof my initial, “factual claims” (“this is what’s happening in the book; this is how”) until I’d been sitting with them for several hours—and that’s why, time and time again, I’ve found compelling thesis statements hiding in the concluding paragraphs of others’ work and my own.

Sometimes, writers will feel obligated to keep those more-developed statements of their argument in the concluding paragraph: they worry that transplanting that argument to the introduction will “give away” everything they’re going to be talking about. But a thesis statement shouldn’t be a teaser-trailer; it should be the “tl;dr” of your paper.  Your body paragraphs are there to explain the logic behind the claims in your thesis of “what, how, and why,” and convince your reader of their validity, so that by the time the reader reaches your concluding paragraph(s), you will have the opportunity to restate that thesis with authority. Having done that, you can elaborate on the significance of that argument even further: how it might contribute to a broader understanding of a topic, field of inquiry, or existing body of scholarship. In my essay, for example, I might say that paying attention to the friendships in the book allows a reader to see that, in spite of the “happily-ever-after” ending, the author is actually presenting a critique of the types of relationships existing in this world, but uses the structures of the marriage plot to convey that message in a popular form.

Now that we’ve talked about how you might find a better version of your argument in your conclusion, here are a few main action-items for essay writers:

  • If you’ve finished a draft, copy and paste your intro and conclusion to a different document. To what extent do they match? Does the conclusion present a more specific, developed articulation of your thesis? If so, try to integrate that into your introduction, and put aside fears of “giving away the argument”—your reader doesn’t want to wait until the end of the piece to understand it.
  • Go back to your body paragraphs. If you’re describing what is happening (in a book, historical event, scientific study), are you also developing that into a discussion of why it’s happening and why it’s important? Rework sentences and paragraphs to make sure that you discuss the significance of your argument with specificity and clarity.
  • If you’ve identified that your argument isn’t fully developed in the ways described above, but you’re still working on the essay and don’t have a concluding paragraph to peak at, fear not! Have faith that the writing process can bring you toward a place of greater understanding. It may sound ridiculous, but try writing what you might imagine an impassioned conclusion to your essay could be. Go overboard; wax poetic. It’s just an exercise, and it may help you take a step back from your paper to consider its overall significance. Lastly, come visit us at the Writing Center! We’ll ask you why you felt compelled to write about the topic in the first place, and revisiting that question can help you forge your path forward.

Why does everything have to be an argument?

by Elliot Schiff

My first year of college, in Expos and other humanities classes, I would get this feedback from my instructors: “Elliot, could you make your thesis statement more argumentative?” Or, “Elliot, this is a good paragraph but it’s missing an argumentative topic sentence.” I couldn’t help but think, “Why does everyone think this argument thing is so great?” It felt like everyone in an academic position of power over me had met in some room and decided unanimously that argument is good and we like argument. Why?

I’ll give you two answers, one theoretical and one practical. These are answers that I’ve come to understand through my experience as a writer, a student, and a tutor.

Imagine that there’s a national academic conference of experts on bouncy balls (maybe there is? maybe there should be…). Who knows what they’d look like or be wearing — probably elbow patches, they’re academics after all, they’ve got a public image to maintain. These are the people the world relies on to understand what’s important about the science of the very very important and ever-confounding bouncy ball. The conference gathers. They’ve got a huge stack of papers to peer review. It’s gonna be a long day.

“Bouncy Balls are Often Made of Rubber,” the first paper is titled. Not off to a great start. The contents of the paper are not any better. As a matter of fact, it’s just that sentence repeated over and over: “Bouncy balls are often made of rubber.” We know this, the experts cry. For ten pages. A prank. For some reason, some punk has decided to make fun of the very serious field of Bouncy Ball Studies.

Time to peer review another paper. This one’s called “From Handheld Toy to Exercise Ball: How Highly Elastic Rubber Spheres Went from Mere Distraction to Lifestyle and Fitness Craze.” We know this! The experts protest once more. Of course they know that the handheld toy led to the exercise ball that brought abs of steel to office workers across America. But then they read the paper: it makes specific claims they haven’t seen before. The paper’s fundamental argument is that the exercise ball’s former life as a plaything led to success and predated the gamifying of fitness to make it more fun. Here’s an argument! The stakes of the conversation are about what we think about when we think about bouncy rubber spheres, but also the history of American fitness culture.

This is all made up — and wildly oversimplified. But in the second paper on the history of bouncy balls, the author is making an argument. Simply put, when you make an argument, you are contributing something new to the conversation. That’s why your instructors keep asking you to be argumentative at every turn: it’s the best way to ensure that you’ll contribute something to a broader academic conversation. How cool is that! This is the theoretical answer to the question, “Why argument?”

The practical answer to “why argument” is that a highly argumentative paper is an easier paper to structure and revise. Think back to those bouncy ball papers. If you had to write a paper whose thesis statement was, “Bouncy balls are often made of rubber,” how the heck would you structure that thing? What evidence would you put where–and why? What would you even analyze? On the other hand, if your thesis was that the exercise ball rose to prominence in American offices not only because of its fitness benefits but because of its origins in play, now you’re cooking with gas. You would probably start with a history of the bouncy ball: its invention, its absolutely unanimous popularity — frankly its dominance over the toy market and the imaginations and Christmas wish-lists of American youth. Then, you would probably do the same with the exercise ball, a markedly different product, even though it’s largely the same material. You’d look at the marketing of the exercise ball, partnerships with offices, the history of office labor in the U.S. You’d find primary sources about the exercise ball as a replacement for the chair and compare those to firsthand accounts of the joy of the bouncy ball. And then you would be able to prove your point: the exercise ball really did rise to popularity in American offices because it is inextricable from its roots as a fun toy. Then you’d do some cultural analysis to connect this idea to the current ubiquity of gamified fitness.

This is not that great of a paper. I admit it. It’s also totally made up. But it helps me prove my point: see how much easier it is to structure a more argumentative paper? With a highly argumentative thesis, your natural wheels of logic start to turn, and moments where you’d otherwise be pulling your hair out over the right place to make a sub-claim or offer a piece of evidence suddenly become much easier.

This logic of the argumentative thesis making your life easier applies on the micro level (topic sentence) just as much as the macro (thesis statement). A paragraph with a non-argumentative topic sentence could often contain just about anything, but a paragraph with a highly argumentative topic sentence must contain evidence and analysis to prove the point outlined in the topic sentence. The same is true with the thesis statement: often, with a non-argumentative thesis statement, just about anything could be in the paper. Let’s make that very weak bouncy ball thesis a little better: “The bouncy ball’s shift from leather to rubber shows the use of post-WWII use of military materials in the toy sector.” If this is true (I have no idea), chances are that bouncy ball experts already know this. But because this thesis is slightly more argumentative than the original, you know that the paper will have to contain a discussion of military materials being repurposed in the civilian sector. That’s more focused and more specific than a paper focused only on the fact that bouncy balls are made of rubber, which increases the likelihood that the paper will say something new.

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Thesis FAQs

Thesis writing faqs, q: is writing a thesis the only way to get involved in research.

A. No. Each semester (including summer), you can apply to do any of the following: 1) volunteer in a lab, 2) receive funding to work in a lab, or 3) receive course credit for working in a lab (through Neurobiology 91; only possible after Junior Fall). All of these options are open to thesis writers and non-thesis writers.

**See the Neurobio Guides page for info on how to find a lab and find research funding.

Q: Do I need to take Neurobiology 91 and 99 to write a thesis?

A:  It depends on your track.

MBB Track : students are required to take one semester of both Neurobiology 91 and Neurobiology 99.

Neurobiology Track : Neurobiology 91 and 99 are optional; however, one semester of Neurobiology 91r is required to be eligible for Departmental Honors.

Q: Why should I write a senior thesis?

A: Writing a thesis allows you to complete a scientific study: conception, planning, research, troubleshooting, analysis, interpretation, and formal communication. Arguably, it is the best way to develop and deepen your understanding of science. First, through your research and the thesis writing process, you will become an expert in a small area of neurobiology. Second, through the difficulties of conducting, analyzing and interpreting your results, you will discover how knowledge is generated and critiqued. Third, through formally presenting your results, you will develop argumentative writing skills and experience how new information and ideas are first communicated.

Here at Harvard College you have truly an amazing range of world-class laboratories and research centers that provide some of the most stimulating intellectual opportunities on planet earth. Writing a thesis allows you to take full advantage of these resources, and participate in the mission of these groups.

For all these reasons, writing a thesis is also required for highest distinction in Departmental Honors (Highest Honors).

Q: When do I have to decide if I am going to write a thesis?

A: There is no deadline or “decision” that commits you to writing a thesis, as you can decide not to write a thesis at any point. However, to remain eligible to write a thesis you must complete all the thesis checkpoints, which start junior year spring semester

Q: How do I sign up to take a tutorial class?

A: This year we are using the online survey tool to make all tutorial assignments (see  Tutorials Sectioning page).  To be considered for a tutorial, you must enter your tutorial preferences by 11 PM the day before study card day. Popular tutorials will need to be lotteried so you should enter at least 3 choices.  Priority is given to Neurobiology concentrators.  If you have to miss tutorial during shopping period (not advisable), you should contact the instructor before study card day.

Since some of our tutorials do not meet until Wednesday evening (the day before study card day), we cannot determine final enrollment until late that night.  You will be emailed your assignment by 10 AM the next morning -- Study Card Day (Thursday).  You can then enroll in the course and the instructor will give you permission.

Q: Do I need to formally present or defend my thesis work?

A:  No, there is not an oral component to the thesis. However, we hold a prestigious (and fun!) event to celebrate our thesis writers in late April: The ‘Annual Thesis Awards in Neurobiology’. During this event thesis writers present their research findings in 60 seconds through any creative medium (song, skit, poem, presentation, interpretative dance, puppetry, etc). There is also an optional poster session to present your completed work in mid-April.

Q: What are the basic requirements for a thesis?

A:  The thesis is a 30-50 page (double spaced) document, which includes: acknowledgements, contributions, table of contents, abstract, introduction, methods, results, figures, discussion and references. Specific guidelines and examples of how to write each sections will be presented senior year to all potential thesis writers. Additionally, thesis writers will be invited to a series of writing workshops designed to help improve and guide their scientific writing during junior and senior year. If you wish to see examples of theses from previous years, they are available in the Neurobiology advising office (Biolabs 1082). Check out a list of titles and abstracts online :

Q: What labs can I work in? What projects can I work on?

A:  Neurobiology students may work in any of the many Harvard affiliated Institutions and Hospitals around Boston. This includes labs on the Harvard College campus, as well as those at Harvard Medical School, Children’s Hospital Boston, Mass General Hospital, Mclean Psychiatric Hospital and more.

As a Neurobiology student, your research must involve the study of neurons. For students interested in working in cognitive science, sleep, immunology, or psychology labs, your project must meet any one of the following criteria:

1. Involve brain imaging (fMRI, EEG, etc) to assess and correlate neuronal function in your study.

2. Involve a diseased group of patients so that you can link what is known in the literature about the neurobiology underlying the disorder to your study.

3. Involve work on an animal model, so that you can link what is known in the literature about the neurobiology of brain (organization, connectivity, activity patterns, structure, etc) to your study.

Q: How is the thesis evaluated? How will it affect my grades?

A: Your thesis will be evaluated by two anonymous Neurobiology faculty members who will comment specifically on 1) the depth of your background knowledge, 2) the clarity of your writing 3) the quality and rigor of your methods, 4) the presentation of your figures, 5) your understanding of how your results relate to the literature, 6) the logic and analysis of your conclusions, and 7) the accomplishments, weaknesses and difficulty of your work.   

As an undergraduate, you may need to stop doing experiments before you have a complete story because of looming thesis deadlines.  The completeness of the experiments is a major difference between the undergraduate thesis and a doctoral thesis.  It is understood that undergraduate theses often are not able to fully complete their intended story.  How well the thesis is written, presented, and analyzed is the major determinant of its grade.

Your thesis will receive a grade: no credit, commendable, cum, high cum, magna, high magna, or summa. This Latin grade affects your Departmental Honors determination only (English Honors); it is not recorded on your transcript. You will be notified of your grade (including the review comments) along with your Honors recommendation several weeks after you turn in your completed Thesis.

Additionally, if you are enrolled in Neurobiology 99, you will receive a course grade by your research lab director, similar to Neurobiology 91 (ie, based on your performance and diligence in the lab).

Q: How independent should my research be?

A: Independence varies greatly from lab to lab.   On one extreme some rare students are able to spend several years in a laboratory and have free reign to design and carry out experiments completely on their own.  More commonly though, students work fairly closely with a postdoc or graduate student in the lab.  It is perfectly acceptable for you to work closely with someone in the lab, but it is important that you take ownership of some aspect of the project, whether it is the day-to-day experiments, reading the literature and suggesting new models to incorporate, or independent statistical analyses.  This will likely also make the project more interesting to you.  The writing of the thesis should be done entirely on your own, with feedback and editing suggestions from your lab director or others.

Q: Whom can I talk to about my thesis?

A:  Your concentration advisers (Dr. Ryan Draft and Dr. Laura Magnotti) are always available to discuss any issues or questions you have about your thesis in general, and any issues related to formatting or deadlines.

You should also be in touch with your daily supervisor and your lab research director to discuss specific questions about your research results, ideas about your project, and get feedback on your writing.

For additional writing help, the Writing Center at Harvard has resources available for thesis writers (senior thesis writing tutors available by appointment through the Writing Center website).

Potential thesis writers will also be invited to workshops throughout junior and senior year that focus on writing the Junior Thesis Proposal, Introduction, and Figures.

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Writing a thesis, department schedule of thesis preparation .

The thesis writer and adviser should agree on a working schedule which will adequately conform to the calendar of thesis requirements established by the Senior Honors Adviser. Each of these written requirements should be submitted to the Tutorial Office for review by the Senior Honors Adviser. Paradigms for each of the written requirements are held on file in the Tutorial Office, for consultation.  An updated schedule of departmental dates and deadlines relative to the thesis will be available at the beginning of each Fall Term.  All writers of the senior thesis shall enroll in an HAA 99 for course (and requirement) credit - joint concentrators will enroll in the 99 course of their primary concentration.

Beginning in 2006-07, every concentrator writing a thesis will enroll in the senior thesis seminar in the fall of the senior year. Overseen by the Senior Honors Adviser, the senior thesis seminar will meet several times during the semester for a two-hour session devoted to facilitating the preparation and writing of a thesis. These sessions will cover such topics as compiling a bibliography, using archives, and constructing an effective argument. Late in the semester, each participant will deliver a twenty-minute presentation on his or her thesis topic, illustrated with slides or digitally projected images. All departmental faculty and students will be invited to these presentations. By the end of the semester, each participant in the seminar will submit a complete first draft of the thesis, complete with illustrations.

Application for Pulitzer and Abramson Travel Grants: Early March. See above under Prizes for details on grant and application.

Announcement of Pulitzer and Abramson Grant Awards Mid-March: By letter to the recipients.

Adviser's Review: Early March. Ideally, you should present the full, finished and finalized draft of your text to your adviser for a final review before formal submission to the Department.

Thesis Submission: Mid-March - a week before Spring Break. You must submit your thesis in the afternoon at a Thesis Reception. In exchange for your finely crafted magnum opus you will receive a glass of champagne and our heartiest congratulations. Please do attend this afternoon because a thesis submitted late is usually not accepted.

Reader's Response: after Early May. Senior Honors Theses are read and critiqued by Members of the Faculty and the Museum at the request of the Senior Honors Adviser. Readers' identities no longer remain anonymous.

Faculty Meeting on Honors: Early May. Department Faculty meet to vote on final honors recommendations, after which thesis writers will receive by letter from the Senior Honors Adviser notification of their thesis grade and recommendation for honors. Writers will also receive at this time the written responses of their readers. Students should speak with their Allston Burr Senior Tutor for anticipated final honors decision of the College.

Grading of the Senior Thesis

Theses are read and critiqued by faculty members applying a higher standard than expected for work written in courses or tutorials. Faculty do make use of the full range of grades, and students should consider that any honors grade is a distinction of merit. If you have any questions, please contact the Senior Honors Adviser, the Director of Undergraduate Studies, or the Undergraduate Coordinator at 495-2310.

SUMMA CUM LAUDE: A summa thesis is a work of "highest honor." It is a contribution to knowledge, though it need not be an important contribution. It reveals a promise of high intellectual attainments both in selection of problems and facts for consideration and in the manner in which conclusions are drawn from these facts. A summa thesis includes, potentially at least, the makings of a publishable article. The writer's use of sources and data is judicious. The thesis is well written and proofread. The arguments are concise and logically organized, and the allocation of space appropriate. A summa is not equivalent to just any A, but the sort given by instructors who reserve them for exceptional merit. A summa minus is a near miss at a summa and is also equivalent to an A of unusual quality.

MAGNA CUM LAUDE: A magna level thesis is a work worthy of "great honor." It clearly demonstrates the capacity for a high level of achievement, is carried through carefully, and represents substantial industry. A magna plus thesis achieves a similar level of quality to a summa in some respects, though it falls short in others; it is equivalent to the usual type of A. A magna thesis is equivalent to an A-. For a magna minus, the results achieved may not be quite a successful due to an unhappy choice of topic or approach; it is also equivalent to an A-.

CUM LAUDE: As is appropriate for a grade "with honors," a cum level thesis shows serious thought and effort in its general approach, if not in every detail. A cum plus is equivalent to a B+, a cum to a B, and a cum minus to a B-. The cum thesis does not merely represent the satisfactory completion of a task. It is, however, to be differentiated from the magna in the difficulty of the subject handled, the substantial nature of the project, and the success with which the subject is digested. Recall that, as students putting extraordinary effort into a thesis most frequently receive a magna, theses of a solid but not exceptional quality deserve a grade in the cum range. When expressed in numerical equivalents, the interval between a magna minus and a cum minus is double that between the other intervals on the grading scale.

NO DISTINCTION: Not all theses automatically deserve honors. Nevertheless, a grade of no distinction (C, D, or E) should be reserved only for those circumstances when the thesis is hastily constructed, a mere summary of existing material, or is poorly thought through. The high standards which are applied in critique of theses must clearly be violated for a thesis to merit a grade of no distinction.

Examples of Past Theses 

Senior Honors Theses which are written by students who graduate Summa or Magna are deposited in the University Archives in Pusey Library. Copies of theses which are awarded the Hoopes Prize are held in Lamont. Students are urged to consult past theses as much can be gained in exploring precedent or seeking inspiration.

Discontinuance of a Thesis 

The process of writing the thesis is a serious commitment of time and energy for both the writer and the adviser. In some cases, however, it might be agreed that the thesis should be discontinued at mid-year. The Senior Tutorial HAA 99 may be divided with credit through a procedure in which the student must submit a written paper presenting the project and research to that point.

Guidelines for Writers and Advisers of Senior Theses  

Senior Concentrators wishing to graduate with honors in the Department must write a senior thesis and carry academic standing of Group II or better, with a minimum GPA of 3.00 in concentration grades. In deciding whether one wishes to fulfill the honors requirements the student should consider his/her academic interests, commitment to independent research and other deadlines and obligations during the thesis year. Many students find the task of researching and writing a substantial piece of critical scholarship interesting and rewarding, but others find the senior thesis can become a frustrating and unwieldy burden. Some students prefer the freedom to savor extra-curricular pursuits during their last year at the College unhampered by the encroaching demands of thesis preparation. In general, it may be remarked that students are unlikely to do well in the honors program who are not already committed to this process of scholarship, and proven practiced writers; the senior thesis is not the place to acquire basic skills in writing and research. In considering the Department's honors requirements, it should be remembered that students with honors grades overall may graduate with University Honors (Cum Laude) even if they do not receive Honors in History of Art and Architecture.

Academic Requirements 

The writing and evaluation of the thesis is a year long process, during which the writer meets at scheduled intervals with his/her adviser, to formulate, develop, and ultimately refine their thesis work. The Department has also instituted a "thesis writing seminar" which writers will participate in through the fall term. The thesis is due just before spring break, and is then sent to its readers for their judgment and critique. The final thesis grade and recommendation for honors is determined at a faculty meeting in mid-May. Students working towards a March degree will follow a schedule to finish the thesis in early December.

The Department encourages seniors to think broadly and explore a problem of interest. The thesis topic does not necessarily have to be within the writer's declared major field, except when required for a joint concentration, in which case, the topic must address an issue shared by both concentrations. The thesis should demonstrate an ability to pose a meaningful question, present a well-reasoned and structured argument, and marshal appropriate evidence. The student should apply a clear methodology and be aware of the assumptions behind the argument, the possible deficiencies of the sources and data used, and the implications of the conclusions. The various parts of the thesis should cohere in an integrated argument; the thesis should not be a series of loosely connected short essays. A primary expectation of the thesis is that it is a work of independent scholarship, directed and crafted by the student, with the thesis adviser serving in a capacity of "indirect overseeing of the project".

There is no set pattern for an acceptable thesis. The writer should demonstrate familiarity with scholarly methods in the use of sources, but this should not be the sole criterion for evaluation. Of equal if not greater importance is the development of the central argument and the significance of the interpretation. A thesis may be research on a little-studied problem or a perceptive reassessment of a familiar question. A well-pondered and well-presented interpretive essay may be as good a thesis as a miniature dissertation.

Skill in exposition is a primary objective, and pristine editing is expected.  The department encourages writers to keep to a very short page count, so as to craft a clear, concise paper, and further edit it to an exemplary presentation. In general, a History of Art and Architecture thesis will have a text ranging from 40 to 80 pages, dependent upon the topic. Students are encouraged to explore the resources available to thesis writers at the Writing Center and the Bureau of Study Counsel.

The writer must indicate the source of material drawn from others' work, whether quoted or summarized. Violations of this rule are considered serious and should be brought to the attention of the Director of Undergraduate Studies immediately.

Senior Honors Adviser 

The process of taking honors and writing the thesis in this Department is overseen for all concentrators by the Senior Honors Adviser. The Senior Honors Adviser leads the Fall Term thesis-writing seminar, and directs the meetings for departmental approval once theses have been submitted.  The department Tutorial Office holds examples of the written requirements (Thesis proposal and prospectus) and of the Pulitzer, and Abramson Grant application which students might wish to consult as paradigms.

Thesis Adviser 

Students must seek a thesis adviser who is a full faculty member of the History of Art and Architecture Department or museum curator holding a teaching appointment in this department. The adviser ought to serve as a critic of your synthesized ideas and writings, rather than as a director of your work. The adviser should be chosen with consideration more to compatibility in overseeing the process of the work than to being an expert in the field. Prospective advisers should be approached as soon as you have identified a thesis topic. You should be prepared to show examples of your written work to your prospective adviser. Your verbal agreement with your adviser should be communicated promptly to the Senior Honors Adviser. If you have trouble identifying an appropriate adviser, please consult with the Senior Honors Adviser before the deadline for the Thesis Proposal.

Graduate students in the Department of History of Art and Architecture do not advise Senior Theses.

Thesis Readers 

As voted by majority consensus of department faculty, a new procedure for the reading and grading of senior theses will go into effect. Each thesis will have two readers chosen by the Department, ideally, but not exclusively,one from within the student's area of interest, and the thesis adviser. All readers will be asked to submit written comments and grades, which will be factored equally to produce the final grade of the thesis. Individual grades are not released and the readers no longer remain anonymous, and there exists a procedure by which a writer may request, via the Senior Adviser, to speak with a reader provided that reader is willing to discuss the work in further detail or expound on the written critique.

Grade Report and Honors Recommendation 

At the end of each term, Fall and Spring, the student's progress in the Senior Tutorial (HAA 99) will be graded SAT or UNSAT. At the end of the Department's Honors Review process the Senior Honors Adviser calculates a recommendation for Honors based on the factored grades of the thesis and the student's grades in concentration coursework. This recommendation is presented to the faculty at their meeting in May for review. A faculty vote is taken and this decision is passed as an honors recommendation to the Registrar of the College. The decision of Final Honors to be granted on the degree is made by the Registrar based on departmental recommendation and grades. Students should consult with their Allston Burr Senior Tutor to determine what final honors might be anticipated at Commencement.

The needs of the Department for fair deliberation dictate that there may be no report of decisions regarding the thesis until after the Faculty has considered and voted upon each recommendation for honors. After honors recommendations have been voted by the faculty, students will be notified of the department's recommendation to the College and will receive an ungraded copy of each evaluation of their thesis (the needs of the Department for fair deliberation dictates that there may be no report of decisions regarding the thesis until after the Departmental Honors Meeting). The comments in these evaluations should provide the student with a clear explanation of the strengths and weaknesses of the thesis, bearing in mind the difficulties of the field and the type of thesis submitted, and evaluating what was accomplished in terms of what was undertaken, given the student's limitation of time and experience.

Proposal for Senior Thesis Design Projects, Honors Consideration

The History of Art and Architecture concentration asks Harvard College students to select an Area of Emphasis for fulfillment of their degree - either Design Studies or History + Theory. The History + Theory Area of Emphasis has traditionally required the completion of a senior thesis paper and presentation as a product of two requirements in order for the student to be eligible for honors consideration: 1/ completion of course HAA 99a Senior Thesis Tutorial and 2/ discussion of a thesis topic to be studied in said course supported through advisement by History of Art and Architecture faculty over the fall and spring semesters of senior year.

The Design Studies Area of Emphasis orients students toward making-based design courses wherein students develop design experiments engaging disciplinary issues, often incorporative of both historical and contemporary architectural precedents. The primary courses currently offered that address thinking through making include: HAA 179x Tectonics Lab (fall), HAA 92r Design Speculations (fall), HAA 96a Transformations (spring), and HAA 96Bb Connections (spring). An increasing number of Harvard College students who have selected the Design Studies Area of Emphasis are interested in extending their architectural design focus to their conclusive senior year work via ‘creative thesis’ projects. These creative thesis projects would include a hybrid of written text and visual and physical design materials originally produced by the student.

This proposal outlines a draft course requirement guideline and set of final submission requirements for a senior thesis design project that aims to support the design and making-based methodologies as thesis research on a topic of interest while simultaneously paralleling the well-conceived course requirements of the traditional thesis paper and presentation within HAA. This proposal offers that through the requirements outlined here, this senior thesis design project could be eligible for honors consideration for any student pursuing this final thesis option.

Senior Thesis Design Project / Course Requirements for Honors Consideration

Senior Year – fall term

1/ HAA 92r Design Speculations Seminar – required (see fall 2019 HAA 92r syllabus for details)

  • course prerequisite: completion of either HAA 96a Transformations or HAA 96b Connections studios
  • this course requires students secure a pair of faculty advisor - one from Harvard History of Art and Architecture (HAA) faculty and one from the Harvard GSD to support their research work within the course; course faculty advisor(s) would serve as advising faculty for senior thesis design project
  • Megan Panzano, GSD Arch Studies Director, and Jennifer Roberts, HAA DUS, would both help make faculty advisor connections for students pursuing this path

2/ HAA 99a Senior Thesis Tutorial (fall) – strongly suggested to be taken in parallel with HAA 92r above

3/ Presentation of design work to History of Art and Architecture and select GSD faculty as part of HAA Thesis Colloquium (fall) – required

  • to be coordinated with senior thesis tutorial presentations usually made to faculty in December of senior year fall term

Senior Year – spring term

1/ Advisement meetings with individual faculty advisors to guide production of design work (architectural analytical drawings and/or physical models) and edits to digital presentation made in fall term to HAA

2/ Submission of final senior thesis design project digital presentation inclusive of photographs of physical models, high resolution originally-produced design drawings as a PDF and descriptive written text to accompany images in presentation*

Senior Thesis Design Project / Submission Requirements for Honors Consideration

Final Project Requirements: A single multi-page PDF file labeled with student’s full last name and first initial and should be submitted containing the following elements:*

  • Assemble a visual bibliography of references for your ongoing research project. The references included should be sorted into categories of your own authoring in relation to the research. Each reference should be appropriately cited using the Chicago Manual of Style for recording citations (refer to The Chicago Manual of Style ), and each reference should also include an affiliated image. This bibliography should include a brief annotation, which should comprise a description of the rationale/intention behind sorted categories of research references. This description should be approximately 200 words.
  • Discourse , the development of a proposition for the role and significance of architecture relative to the project topic of interest, and
  • Context , the relationship of the project topic of study to broader surroundings which include but are not limited to the discipline of architecture, cultural contexts, technical developments and/or typologies.
  • The manifesto should take into account the intended audience for the project and use language and modes of communication that reflect this audience in the written text.
  • A visual drawing or info-graphic that describes your process of design research on your topic. This will include the criteria for evaluating the project, the steps planned to be taken in examining the topic, and when/where along the process of working it may be necessary to stop and assess outputs and findings.
  • High resolution drawings, animations, and/or diagrams and photographs of physical models (if applicable) that have been produced through research. These should be assembled in single-page layouts of slides to follow preceding elements listed here.

 *submission deadlines would parallel HAA thesis paper draft and final submission schedule

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As a graduate student, you may need to complete a thesis or dissertation as part of your program's graduation requirements. While theses are common among master’s students and dissertations among doctoral students, this may not apply universally across all programs. We encourage you to reach out to your program adviser to determine the specific requirements for your culminating project.

Office of Theses and Dissertations

The Office of Theses and Dissertations is the unit of the Graduate School responsible for certifying that theses and dissertations have been prepared in accordance with formatting requirements established by the Graduate School, the University Libraries, and the graduate faculty of Penn State. We are here to help you navigate the review and approval process to ensure you are able to graduate on time.

Cover of the 2023-2024 Penn State Graduate School Thesis and Dissertation Handbook

The Thesis and Dissertation Handbook explains Penn State formatting requirements for all master’s theses and doctoral dissertations. It covers the submission process and approval deadlines, the responsibilities of each student, and provides page examples. We highly recommend all students doing theses or dissertations to carefully review the handbook.

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Questions about theses, dissertations, or Graduate School commencement should be directed to the Graduate School Office of Theses and Dissertations (OTD) .

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Among these resources, you can get help from the Graduate Writing Center and the Statistical Counseling Center, notify the University of your intent to graduate, and prepare for Commencement.

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harvard writing center thesis

The Interview

Robert Putnam Knows Why You’re Lonely

Credit... Philip Montgomery for The New York Times

Supported by

Lulu Garcia-Navarro

By Lulu Garcia-Navarro

  • July 13, 2024

More than two decades ago, Robert Putnam became something rare: a celebrity academic. In 2000, he published a groundbreaking book, “Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community,” in which he demonstrated, with copious data, that America was transforming from a nation of joiners to a nation of loners — we were going to church less, joining clubs less and, he warned, losing trust in our fellow Americans and our institutions. But even before the book reached shelves, Putnam’s work attracted widespread attention, including from President Bill Clinton, who invited him to the White House. For a moment it seemed as if those in power might work toward reversing the trends Putnam warned about.

Listen to the Conversation With Robert Putnam

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon Music | NYT Audio App

We all know how the story unfolded from there. Putnam, who has spent most of his career as a political scientist at Harvard, is now 83. He has watched as the nation has become more divided, more lonely and less confident about the way forward. That’s why, when I heard about “Join or Die” — a new documentary about Putnam and his work — I knew I wanted to talk to him about where American community stands today.

Your work is all about connection, so I’m wondering first, can you describe your own social life? What clubs are you in? That’s a really embarrassing question. [Laughs] I write about and talk about the importance of connections, but my wife actually does it. She is actually the one who joins everything, who has been a tutor and a teacher and a terrific mother and an even better grandmother. In the long run, her work is going to have a longer half-life than mine, because those kids are going to be around long after people have forgotten anything about this Putnam.

Part of why I was interested in having this conversation with you is that when it comes to social connection, things feel bad right now. Do things feel bad to you too? I think we’re in a really important turning point in American history. What I wrote in “Bowling Alone” is even more relevant now. Because what we’ve seen over the last 25 years is a deepening and intensifying of that trend. We’ve become more socially isolated, and we can see it in every facet in our lives. We can see it in the surgeon general’s talk about loneliness. He’s been talking recently about the psychological state of being lonely. Social isolation leads to lots of bad things. It’s bad for your health, but it’s really bad for the country, because people who are isolated, and especially young men who are isolated, are vulnerable to the appeals of some false community. I can cite chapter and verse on this: Eager recruits to the Nazi Party in the 1930s were lonely young German men, and it’s not an accident that the people who are attracted today to white nationalist groups are lonely young white men. Loneliness. It’s bad for your health, but it’s also bad for the health of the people around you.

harvard writing center thesis

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IELTS Exam Preparation: Free IELTS Tips, 2024

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The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is designed to measure English proficiency for educational, vocational and immigration purposes. The IELTS measures an individual's ability to communicate in English across four areas of language: listening , reading , writing and speaking . The IELTS is administered jointly by the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia and Cambridge English Language Assessment at over 1,100 test centres and 140 countries. These test centres supervise the local administration of the test and recruit, train and monitor IELTS examiners.

IELTS tests are available on 48 fixed dates each year, usually Saturdays and sometimes Thursdays, and may be offered up to four times a month at any test centre, including Elektrostal' depending on local needs. Go to IELTS test locations to find a test centre in or nearby Elektrostal' and to check for upcoming test dates at your test centre.

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The Unique Burial of a Child of Early Scythian Time at the Cemetery of Saryg-Bulun (Tuva)

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Pages:  379-406

In 1988, the Tuvan Archaeological Expedition (led by M. E. Kilunovskaya and V. A. Semenov) discovered a unique burial of the early Iron Age at Saryg-Bulun in Central Tuva. There are two burial mounds of the Aldy-Bel culture dated by 7th century BC. Within the barrows, which adjoined one another, forming a figure-of-eight, there were discovered 7 burials, from which a representative collection of artifacts was recovered. Burial 5 was the most unique, it was found in a coffin made of a larch trunk, with a tightly closed lid. Due to the preservative properties of larch and lack of air access, the coffin contained a well-preserved mummy of a child with an accompanying set of grave goods. The interred individual retained the skin on his face and had a leather headdress painted with red pigment and a coat, sewn from jerboa fur. The coat was belted with a leather belt with bronze ornaments and buckles. Besides that, a leather quiver with arrows with the shafts decorated with painted ornaments, fully preserved battle pick and a bow were buried in the coffin. Unexpectedly, the full-genomic analysis, showed that the individual was female. This fact opens a new aspect in the study of the social history of the Scythian society and perhaps brings us back to the myth of the Amazons, discussed by Herodotus. Of course, this discovery is unique in its preservation for the Scythian culture of Tuva and requires careful study and conservation.

Keywords: Tuva, Early Iron Age, early Scythian period, Aldy-Bel culture, barrow, burial in the coffin, mummy, full genome sequencing, aDNA

Information about authors: Marina Kilunovskaya (Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation). Candidate of Historical Sciences. Institute for the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Dvortsovaya Emb., 18, Saint Petersburg, 191186, Russian Federation E-mail: [email protected] Vladimir Semenov (Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation). Candidate of Historical Sciences. Institute for the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Dvortsovaya Emb., 18, Saint Petersburg, 191186, Russian Federation E-mail: [email protected] Varvara Busova  (Moscow, Russian Federation).  (Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation). Institute for the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences.  Dvortsovaya Emb., 18, Saint Petersburg, 191186, Russian Federation E-mail:  [email protected] Kharis Mustafin  (Moscow, Russian Federation). Candidate of Technical Sciences. Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.  Institutsky Lane, 9, Dolgoprudny, 141701, Moscow Oblast, Russian Federation E-mail:  [email protected] Irina Alborova  (Moscow, Russian Federation). Candidate of Biological Sciences. Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.  Institutsky Lane, 9, Dolgoprudny, 141701, Moscow Oblast, Russian Federation E-mail:  [email protected] Alina Matzvai  (Moscow, Russian Federation). Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.  Institutsky Lane, 9, Dolgoprudny, 141701, Moscow Oblast, Russian Federation E-mail:  [email protected]

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COMMENTS

  1. Developing A Thesis

    A good thesis has two parts. It should tell what you plan to argue, and it should "telegraph" how you plan to argue—that is, what particular support for your claim is going where in your essay. Steps in Constructing a Thesis. First, analyze your primary sources. Look for tension, interest, ambiguity, controversy, and/or complication.

  2. Thesis

    Your thesis is the central claim in your essay—your main insight or idea about your source or topic. Your thesis should appear early in an academic essay, followed by a logically constructed argument that supports this central claim. A strong thesis is arguable, which means a thoughtful reader could disagree with it and therefore needs your ...

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    The senior thesis is typically the most challenging writing project undertaken by undergraduate students. The writing guides below aim to introduce students both to the specific methods and conventions of writing original research in their area of concentration and to effective writing process.

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    A thesis statement must go beyond fact and convey a stance. At the heart of a debate is agreement and disagreement. If your argument were indisputable, it wouldn't be an argument. In the example below, the first sentence might make a good hook, but it doesn't require any argumentation - it's simply a statement of fact. The second sentence is something many people agree with, but others might ...

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  11. Research Guides: Write and Cite: Theses and Dissertations

    This searchable booklet from Harvard GSAS is a comprehensive guide to writing dissertations, dissertation-fellowship applications, academic journal articles, and academic job documents.

  12. Senior Thesis Tutors

    Senior Thesis Tutoring: The Writing Center offers thesis writers the opportunity to work with tutors who can read drafts in advance and meet with you to talk about structure, argument, and clear writing.

  13. 2024 3MT: Three Minute Thesis

    The Writing Center sponsored Harvard's first undergraduate Three-Minute Thesis competition in April 2019. 3MT offers seniors the opportunity to create an accessible and interesting presentation of their senior thesis research for an audience of non-specialists.

  14. College Thesis Writer Sources

    College Thesis Writer Sources. This is a non-exhaustive listing of college-wide resources relevant to various aspects of the thesis writing process, organized by department/program. In addition to course-related support, ATC demonstrates assistive technology software and hardware like keyboards, mice, and dictation software.

  15. PDF Writing Center & Revise and edit

    out grammar and punctuation. ngage readers and seek feedback. Ask a classmate, writing group, Writing. F, or friend to read your paper. Another set of eyes can identify p. ms you are too cl. se to see. Revise in stages. Instead of trying to catch all problems at once, read through your paper multiple tim.

  16. Undergraduate Program

    The writing and evaluation of the thesis is a year-long process, during which the writer enrolls in a senior thesis preparation seminar (HAA 99A) and meets at scheduled intervals with their faculty adviser to formulate, develop, and ultimately refine their thesis work.

  17. thesis

    Posts about thesis written by Harvard College Writing Center

  18. Thesis FAQs

    Here at Harvard College you have truly an amazing range of world-class laboratories and research centers that provide some of the most stimulating intellectual opportunities on planet earth. Writing a thesis allows you to take full advantage of these resources, and participate in the mission of these groups.

  19. Writing a Thesis

    The writing and evaluation of the thesis is a year long process, during which the writer meets at scheduled intervals with his/her adviser, to formulate, develop, and ultimately refine their thesis work. The Department has also instituted a "thesis writing seminar" which writers will participate in through the fall term.

  20. Theses and Dissertations

    As a graduate student, you may need to complete a thesis or dissertation as part of your program's graduation requirements. While theses are common among master's students and dissertations among doctoral students, this may not apply universally across all programs.

  21. Robert Putnam Knows Why You're Lonely

    The author of "Bowling Alone" warned us about social isolation and its effect on democracy a quarter century ago. Things have only gotten worse.

  22. Take IELTS test in or nearby Elektrostal'

    There is no IELTS test center listed for Elektrostal' but you may be able to take your test in an alternative test center nearby. Please choose an appropriate test center that is closer to you or is most suitable for your test depending upon location or availability of test.

  23. The Unique Burial of a Child of Early Scythian Time at the Cemetery of

    Burial 5 was the most unique, it was found in a coffin made of a larch trunk, with a tightly closed lid. Due to the preservative properties of larch and lack of air access, the coffin contained a well-preserved mummy of a child with an accompanying set of grave goods. The interred individual retained the skin on his face and had a leather ...

  24. Geographic coordinates of Elektrostal, Moscow Oblast, Russia

    Geographic coordinates (latitude and longitude) define a position on the Earth's surface. Coordinates are angular units. The canonical form of latitude and longitude representation uses degrees (°), minutes (′), and seconds (″). GPS systems widely use coordinates in degrees and decimal minutes, or in decimal degrees.

  25. State Housing Inspectorate of the Moscow Region

    State Housing Inspectorate of the Moscow Region Elektrostal postal code 144009. See Google profile, Hours, Phone, Website and more for this business. 2.0 Cybo Score. Review on Cybo.