Page 108 - RMBC Student Catalog 2016-2017

NOTES FOR WRITING A THESIS

YOUR PAPER SHOULD BE TYPED (DOUBLE-SPACED) ON ONE SIDE ONLY
Note: The topic for a Thesis must be approved by the Academic Dean.

Guidelines for Restricting a Topic:

1. Become knowledgeable about your unrestricted topic by doing preliminary research. You
might read encyclopedia articles or other reference books and consult representative sources
from your working bibliography. Always avoid restricting when you have too little
information.

2. As you gather background information about your topic, try to identify a problem or
controversial issue about which experts or special-interest groups disagree. When you find
controversy, you can be sure you are on a topic worth pursuing. When there is controversy,
there is a problem to solve and an opportunity to interpret—for you to make your own sense
of an issue, to explain or find a solution.

3. Limit the scope of your investigation. For example, you might focus on only one area of a
particular subject.

4. Be sure that your research can provide sufficient sources on the topic and that all the material,
that you need, will be accessible. Also consider whether you will have adequate time to work
with the materials and complete the assignment. Be sure, too, that your evidence is sufficient
for you to develop a reasonable and objective thesis for your paper.

RMBC Catalog Appendix B B-2