'You're the Expert'

Having just wrapped up his fourth one, Anthony Fejes says the toughest part about writing a thesis is organizing it. "My best trick was simply to write out all of the headers, then write out in point form what I thought went into each section, then — one by one — expand the points into paragraphs," he says. "Once you have manageable small chunks to write, it was always easier to tackle them." Fejes also suggests soliciting feedback early on, as doing so makes it simpler to nip potential issues in the bud. Similarly, he suggests backing the document up periodically. Having a back-up version of his thesis "saved me several hours of trying to recreate something I’d lost," he says. Overall, Fejes adds that the thesis-writer is the expert. "The work you’re writing about is work you did. No one knows it better than you do," he says. "Thesis writing is hard work, but so were the years you put in to get to this point. Try to enjoy the process."