Book Notes, Summary and Review: How to Write a Thesis by Umberto Eco

I've been playing around with the idea of publishing long-form articles, or essays, onto this website. Mainly because I felt that one of my greatest struggles in writing was organizing and structuring what I've written.

My ideas are often scattered. Writing longer articles, in my view, will help me train this muscle of writing more coherently. I was researching on books that may help me with this problem, and came across Umberto Eco's How to Write a Thesis.

While this book wasn't what I was exactly looking for, it did offer me new insights on academic writing, as well as made me consider how I might approach my Honors Project in University.

What Is a Thesis?

According to Eco, a thesis is a "typewritten manuscript, usually 100 to 400 pages in length, in which the student addresses a particular problem in his chosen field". A student ideally will spend a minimum of 6 months to a maximum of 3 years on his thesis.

There are generally two directions a student can take his or her thesis towards:

1. A paper that offers new insights through unique research on a particular topic. He or she may discuss relevant literature on their thesis topic, but the overall emphasis of the paper is still on the results of their individual research.
2. A paper that consolidates the majority of the existing critical literature on a particular topic. He or she will explain the literature, link various perspectives together, and offer an intelligent review.

The purpose of theses is not to show that the student did his or her homework. That's not it. Instead students write a thesis to demonstrate that they can create something out of their education.

The Usefulness of a Thesis

Writing a thesis develops valuable research skills that will stay with you forever. For example:

1. Collect documents on a topic.
2. Define a precise topic to write on.
3. Improve reading skills when navigating through unfamiliar, and often complicated, literature.
4. Sharpen thinking skills. You'll make new connections between various points of views, as well as dispel unconvincing arguments.
5. Strengthen writing skills, so you can communicate to your readers and make it easier for them to understand you.
6. Provide necessary documentation so your readers may also reexamine the topic you're writing on through your sources.

To add, if you intend to pursue research in academia, your thesis may become the foundation of a broader research project that will continue in the future.

Wrapping Up

Eco originally published How to Write a Thesis in 1977. Nonetheless, most of the writing advice that Eco outlines still stands the test of time.

Albeit, I disagree with what Eco advocates on how we hone in on our thesis topic. Eco seems to advocate the idea of writing our thesis using a bottom-up approach, rather than a top-down approach. He integrates this idea into his overall writing process in which where he figures out what he wants to write, then look up the relevant literature.

The problem with this, however, is that most students don't know what to write on. Instead, I'm more supportive of the idea that we should review the relevant literature of a topic of interest, then search for possible areas to write on.

Putting our different preferences aside, Eco's guide on writing a thesis is worth reading, especially if you're someone who wants to do rigorous work and develop professional skills that will remain useful after graduation.