What makes a good honours thesis

This handout will walk you through those stages. It is targeted at students in the humanities and social sciences, since their theses tend to involve more writing than projects in the hard sciences. Yet all thesis writers may find the organizational strategies helpful.

That depends quite a bit on your field of study. However, all honors theses have at least two things in common:. In general, students who are at the end of their junior year, have an overall 3. For information about your eligibility, contact:. Satisfy your intellectual curiosity This is the most compelling reason to write a thesis.

Develop transferable skills Whether you choose to stay in your field of study or not, the process of developing and crafting a feasible research project will hone skills that will serve you well in almost any future job. After all, most jobs require some form of problem solving and oral and written communication.

Writing an honors thesis requires that you:. Writing a thesis offers the opportunity to work one-on-one with a with faculty adviser. Such mentors can enrich your intellectual development and later serve as invaluable references for graduate school and employment.

Writing a sociology thesis would open a window into that world. It also might help you decide whether to pursue that field in graduate school or in your future career. Look for examples from the previous year in the Carolina Digital Repository. You may also be able to find past theses collected in your major department or at the North Carolina Collection in Wilson Library. Pay special attention to theses written by students who share your major.

Ideally, you should start thinking about topics early in your junior year, so you can begin your research and writing quickly during your senior year. Many departments require that you submit a proposal for an honors thesis project during the spring of your junior year.

The senior year is an exceptionally busy time for college students. Do start strategizing about how to make a time for your thesis. You may need to take a lighter course load or eliminate extracurricular activities.

Even if the thesis is the only thing on your plate, you still need to make a systematic schedule for yourself. Most departments require that you take a class that guides you through the honors project, so deadlines likely will be set for you. Still, you should set your own goals for meeting those deadlines.

Here are a few suggestions for goal setting and time management:. Start early. Some goal-setting will be done for you if you are taking a required class that guides you through the honors project.

But any substantive research project requires a clear timetable. Set clear goals in making a timetable. Find out the final deadline for turning in your project to your department.

Working backwards from that deadline, figure out how much time you can allow for the various stages of production. Avoid falling into the trap of procrastination. For some tips on how to do this, see our handout on procrastination. The important thing is to accomplish a bit of active production i. That way, you develop good writing habits that will help you keep your project moving forward. Since most of you will be taking a required thesis seminar, you will have deadlines.

Yet you might want to form a writing group or enlist a peer reader, some person or people who can help you stick to your goals. One of the biggest challenges of a lengthy writing project is keeping the creative juices flowing.

Try keeping a small notebook handy where you jot down stray ideas that pop into your head. Or schedule time to freewrite. Here are some questions to stimulate freewriting. This training is invaluable and you will often look back to realize just how much difference it made in your professional preparation. In addition to independent work, the project involves a close relationship between the student and the faculty members, particularly with the professor supervising your scholarly work.

Such sustained interpersonal interaction contributes greatly to the quality of the experience, leads to more intimate and informative letters of recommendation, and sometimes leads to lifelong professional relationships. Typically, preparation for the Honors Thesis starts in the junior year and finishes in the senior year.

In the spring semester of their junior year, students find a mentor and write a proposal for their project which must be approved by the Research Committee of the Honors Council. The development of analytical thinking, evidenced-based writing, and editing skills makes English not only an extremely marketable major, but the perfect minor for all other majors.

The Ambassador did the honors by introducing the guest speaker. Yes you can opt for a foreign language course even after completing your English Hons.

A lot of job opportunities are there abroad for people who have an excellent command over english and a foreign language, you can also work as a translator in an english speaking country. Generally, humanities subjects have received good success in the UPSC exams.

It is regarded as the home ground of the UPSC. Although there are many toppers who have bucked this trend, if you are sure about your IAS goal even before graduation, it would be wise to take up a related subject in your graduation.

If you are an IAS aspirant, you can graduate in any of the subjects in which you excel or which you like, then you can use this subject as an optional in civil services exam. English honours is a good option only if you have a deep interest in literature and enjoy reading novels, dramas, poems. Begin typing your search term above and press enter to search. Press ESC to cancel.

Skip to content Home Dissertation What makes a good Honours thesis? Ben Davis April 30,