Diploma Advice. Part 1

    During my life I had to defend two diplomas and a large bunch of term papers and various reports. Well, from personal experience, I made several conclusions that I want to share with you. We will talk about theses, which are the completion of studies at a higher educational institution. But it seems to me that these tips will be useful in other cases.

    So, a diploma. This is not a dissertation, but no longer a term paper. The graduate is required to demonstrate knowledge and skills confirming his qualifications as a person with higher education. Accordingly, in this process there are two stages: writing a diploma and protecting a diploma.

    Someone may express the idea that the main thing is to write a diploma, and the defense is nonsense. I think this is not so. Whatever a good diploma is, this is generally not enough ... Although one mathematics teacher defended the diploma by formulating and proving a theorem. He came to the defense with one A4 sheet, wrote a theorem on the blackboard with chalk, gave a sheet of proof to the commission and verbally said how this theorem is interesting to the mathematical world. After 5-7 minutes, he came out with a rating of “excellent”.

    But in most cases, a diploma is not so brilliant. This is usually a repetition of already known theses, but with different numbers, a variety of calculations and projects. It is very difficult to find a topic that would not have been written before you. Therefore, do not neglect the protection process - this is an opportunity to make an excellent one out of a satisfactory diploma :)



    So, enough reasoning. Stage one: writing a diploma. For me, the supervisor should be either “rummaging” or “authoritative”. If he understands the topic, then his advice will help you to write a diploma, and if he is authoritative among his colleagues, then he is invaluable in defense. From personal experience, a diploma can be written in a week. Another week is needed to coordinate all sorts of bureaucratic issues - reviews, reviews, brochures, etc. But it’s better to write a diploma in advance. Although everyone says so. But in practice, everything is done on the last day.

    What should be the structure of the diploma?
    • Title page
    • Table of contents
    • Introduction
    • The first part, as well as the second, third and as much as you need
    • Conclusion
    • Bibliography
    • Diverse applications


    Guess who reads all your 50-100 pages of thesis? You yourself. Well, the supervisor, if he is not lazy. Everything. Your diploma is not interesting to anyone else. And what does the commission read? She, too, is watching your diploma. And she looks at the title page, table of contents, list of references, well, and briefly runs through the introduction, conclusion and conclusions of the chapters. Sometimes he can look at pictures and graphics in text and applications. In general, she is more interested in a delicious table and drinks. Yes, and quickly dump home from these graduates.

    Therefore, in your diploma, regardless of the university and specialty, the following sections should be especially well written:

    Introduction

    The hardest part. It is necessary to describe how important your work is for science and society (importance, relevance) and corresponds to your specialty (it makes no sense for an economist to write about programming). Do not forget to indicate objects, objects, goals, methods, tasks and other buzzwords. At the very end of the introduction, you need to talk about your work and its structure: what issues are explored in each chapter, how the chapters are related.

    Conclusion

    No less difficult part. It should contain the fact that all the promises in the introduction (goals, objectives) are fulfilled, describe the results, emphasize once again the relevance and rephrase the conclusions of the chapters, if that makes sense.
    It would also be very desirable to give ways to use the results of work in practice and indicate directions for further development (candidate or practical application). In a word, look into the future and dream :)

    Chapters, diploma text

    Everything should be designed in accordance with the standards: fonts, spacing, captions for pictures, graphs, charts. No grammatical errors. Each chapter of the work may have its own introduction, and what is desirable is a brief conclusion with the passage to the next chapter. Work must be united, integral, connected. Each part should follow one after another.

    The list of references should not contain obsolete books. It is acceptable to describe the websites, newspapers and magazines that were used.

    You see, this is what is required of the diploma for excellent protection. We assume that the diploma is written.

    In view of the fact that a lot of text has turned out, I will tell you the most interesting in the next part, which is devoted to the preparation for defense itself and the defense.

    PS Until the second part is written - questions and comments are welcome :)

    This article was also published on my blog

    UPD: Hurried and quickly wrote the second part

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