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How to write a thesis /

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"Eco's approach is anything but dry and academic. He not only offers practical advice but also considers larger questions about the value of the thesis-writing exercise. How to Write a Thesis is unlike any other writing manual. It reads like a novel. It is opinionated. It is frequently irr...

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Bibliographic Details
Uniform title:Come si fa una tesi di laurea.
Author / Creator: Eco, Umberto
Other Authors / Creators:Mongiat Farina, Caterina, translator.
Farina, Geoff, translator.
Erspamer, Francesco, writer of foreword.
Format: Book
Language:English
Italian
Imprint: Cambridge, Massachusetts : The MIT Press, [2015]
Subjects:
Academic writing.
Academic theses.
Table of Contents:
  • Foreword
  • Translators' Foreword
  • Introduction to the Original 1977 Edition
  • Introduction to the 1985 Edition
  • 1. The Definition and Purpose of the Thesis
  • 1.1. What Is a Thesis, and Why Is It Required?
  • 1.2. For Whom Is This Book Written?
  • 1.3. The Usefulness of a Thesis after Graduation
  • 1.4. Four Obvious Rules for Choosing a Thesis Topic
  • 2. Choosing the Topic
  • 2.1. Monograph or Survey?
  • 2.2. Historical or Theoretical?
  • 2.3. Ancient or Contemporary?
  • 2.4. How Long Does It Take to Write a Thesis?
  • 2.5. Is It Necessary to Know Foreign Languages?
  • 2.6. "Scientific" or Political?
  • 2.6.1. What Does It Mean to Be Scientific?
  • 2.6.2. Writing about Direct Social Experience
  • 2.6.3. Treating a "Journalistic" Topic with Scientific Accuracy
  • 2.7. How to Avoid Being Exploited by Your Advisor
  • 3. Conducting Research
  • 3.1. The Availability of Primary and Secondary Sources
  • 3.1.1. What Are the Sources of a Scientific Work?
  • 3.1.2. Direct and Indirect Sources
  • 3.2. Bibliographical Research
  • 3.2.1. How to Use the Library
  • 3.2.2. Managing Your Sources with the Bibliographical Index Card File
  • 3.2.3. Documentation Guidelines
  • 3.2.4. An Experiment in the Library of Alessandria
  • 3.2.5. Must You Read Books? If So, What Should You Read First?
  • 4. The Work Plan and the Index Cards
  • 4.1. The Table of Contents as a Working Hypothesis
  • 4.2. Index Cards and Notes
  • 4.2.1. Various Types of Index Cards and Their Purpose
  • 4.2.2. Organizing the Primary Sources
  • 4.2.3. The Importance of Readings Index Cards
  • 4.2.4. Academic Humility
  • 5. Writing the Thesis
  • 5.1. The Audience
  • 5.2. How to Write
  • 5.3. Quotations
  • 5.3.1. When and How to Quote: 10 Rules
  • 5.3.2. Quotes, Paraphrases, and Plagiarism
  • 5.4. Footnotes
  • 5.4.1. The Purpose of Footnotes
  • 5.4.2. The Notes and Bibliography System
  • 5.4.3. The Author-Date System
  • 5.5. Instructions, Traps, and Conventions
  • 5.6. Academic Pride
  • 6. The Final Draft
  • 6.1. Formatting the Thesis
  • 6.1.1. Margins and Spaces
  • 6.1.2. Underlining and Capitalizing
  • 6.1.3. Sections
  • 6.1.4. Quotation Marks and Other Signs
  • 6.1.5. Transliterations and Diacritics
  • 6.1.6. Punctuation, Foreign Accents, and Abbreviations
  • 6.1.7. Some Miscellaneous Advice
  • 6.2. The Final Bibliography
  • 6.3. The Appendices
  • 6.4. The Table of Contents
  • 7. Conclusions
  • Notes

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