Writing a dissertation is a requirement for students who want to complete a doctoral program. However, many people believe that the process of producing a worthy dissertation is quite difficult. To create a mindset that writing a dissertation is not something to be feared, the English Language Program (PBI) of Muhammadiyah University Yogyakarta (UMY) held a workshop themed “Demystifying The Thesis”. The event was held in the main meeting room of the AR Fachruddin A Building, 5th floor, on Monday (4/9).
The main speaker at the event was Professor Ron Adams from Victoria University, Australia. Ron presented several tips that can be applied to facilitate the writing of a dissertation. “A ‘master’ must accommodate many students from diverse backgrounds. Therefore, they must be able to equip their students to conduct their own research and help them be inspired to find what they will write about. However, being a supervisor for them does not mean having to provide a blueprint for their writing,” said Ron.
Ron mentioned that the core of this workshop is to empower students to ask the right questions and provide a framework to arrive at the right answers. “Being an independent researcher is more than just completing a dissertation. Therefore, the various tips given in this workshop can be used in various things. On this occasion, there are 7 strategies that we will discuss together to facilitate the writing of a dissertation, namely Asking when in doubt, Using theory to connect evidence and arguments, Moving from general topics to more accurate problem formulations, Using literature reviews to place your research, Maximizing introductory and concluding paragraphs, Connecting paragraphs, and Using the dot point strategy to review your writing,” explained Ron.
“The strategies I mentioned are very practical, easy, and successful in their application. For example, in the section of asking when in doubt. Communication between students and supervisors is very important, because supervisors will expect students to ask when they don’t understand. Then students must also use theory to connect evidence and arguments, this is so that the opinions presented by students can be defended,” explained Ron.
Ron explained that in writing a dissertation, students must be able to provide a new contribution. This can be done by studying the existing literature as existing knowledge, where students can then introduce new knowledge or even surpass existing knowledge. On this occasion, Prof. dr. Ali Ghufron Mukti, M.Sc., Ph.D, the Director General of the Directorate General of Science and Technology Resources and Higher Education, was also present. In addition, the presentation by Prof. Ron Adams was also delivered in the UMY Postgraduate General Studium, which was also held (source: BHP)
