Prof. A

Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word rough draft of the fifth chapter of your master’s thesis, the discussion chapter. 

“The second section in Chapter Five is the Discussion (this section usually

does not have a level heading). One way to organize this section is to use

the three parallel ladders strategy. Write the discussion of the results or findings

in the same order they were reported in Chapter Four. For example,

if you reported quantitative data for various measurement instruments in

Chapter Four, then the discussion for each measurement instrument would

be written as a subsection in Chapter Five (see Figure 9.1 for the three parallel

ladders strategy for Chapters Four and Five). Similarly, if you reported

qualitative data by major themes or patterns, then the discussion for each

major theme or pattern would be a subsection in Chapter Five. Finally, if

you reported qualitative data by research questions, then the discussion for

each research question would be a subsection in Chapter Five.

In the discussion for each subsection, include a summary of the major

findings and a brief interpretation of the findings. This section is usually

difficult for students because for the last four chapters, you were asked to

minimize your personal interpretations of the findings. I usually receive first

drafts of this section that look exactly like what was reported in Chapter

Four because students do not feel like they have anything “new” to add

or permission to discuss their interpretation of the results. Remember, you

have already reported the results in Chapter Four, so you do not need to

repeat that information here. Instead, report a summary or synthesis of the major results. The summary should help to answer the research questions.

If appropriate, you can include the research questions here as a reminder

for yourself and the reader.

After the summary of the major results, provide a brief interpretation

of the results. For this process, ask yourself, “What factors from the

study could have contributed or influenced these results?” This is where

the “interpretation” part comes in except that the “interpretation” is not

based on pure conjecture. Instead, it is based on your knowledge of what

occurred during the research study.”

I also added an extra $20 to complete a short abstract as well. The instructions for the abstract are below.

“The next page is the abstract. The abstract is a brief (usually between

150 to 250 words) summary of the thesis. While it is brief, the abstract

should also be comprehensive in describing the purpose, participants,

methods, and major results/conclusions. The title “Abstract” is centered,

but the text is flushed to the left margin.”

Again this is a continuation of the past assignments.