IMM Virtual Writing Assistant

In the overwhelming enthusiasm to submit papers, we’ve noticed many of the recently submitted theses and dissertations are not of the usual high quality. Unfortunately, this results in us returning them for multiple, time-consuming revisions on the part of the student.

Because it’s much easier to do a paper right the first time than it is to revise it later, please don’t rush your paper. Take time to:

Students are highly encouraged to paraphrase a good portion of their sources’ original text. Paraphrasing is a wonderful learning tool, as it helps to crystalize your paper’s content within your mind and inner being; the knowledge imparted by your sources will be more effectively retained. That is how YOU become the expert.

Paraphrasing is RESTATING the author’s ideas and meaning represented by their text or audio, but in YOUR OWN WORDS AND VOICE. Paraphrasing is NOT swapping out some words for others or using the source’s words, but in a different order. When you paraphrase, you still must include in-text citations crediting the original source. Plus, any four words in a row left of the author’s original text must be treated as a quote with quotation marks and in-text citations.

Some students have a difficult time understanding the difference between the Review of Literature and the Discussion. Many wonder why they need the Discussion if all the evidence for their topic was already presented in the Review. Some make the mistake of thinking the Discussion is a “continuation” of the Review. Others mistakenly think the purpose of the Discussion is to write freestyle about their own opinion on their topic and/or share personal experiences with little regard to the Review of Literature.

UOS and UOM Students frequently ask if their Thesis and Dissertation can relate to each other. This all depends on what the student means by “relate.” Here are some guidelines to prevent having to rewrite your paper.

For your thesis, you must choose a topic from Dr. Masters’ Bachelor’s or Master’s Courses that is different from what you plan to do for your dissertation. The dissertation cannot be an extension of the thesis.

Your thesis and dissertation topics can be “related” but they need to be diverse, or independent, from each other. For example, you cannot write about different aspects of dreams, even if they are targeting different metaphysical properties of dreams because both papers would cover too much of the same ground.

When reviewing the approved theses and dissertations in the Online Center, keep in mind that the Universities update handbooks periodically and review papers based on the standards and guidelines in place at the time of each student’s enrollment. Therefore you may see requirement and formatting variations that differ from the current handbooks and from one paper to the next.

For this reason, students are cautioned to follow the instructions in Thesis or Dissertation handbook first and foremost, rather than relying on what is posted online. The papers online serve best as content examples and to generate ideas.

UOM and UOS Students and Graduates can get so immersed in Dr. Masters’ life-changing lessons that they sometimes forget to make time for the free Bonus Materials available to them through the Study Materials Link sent to them upon registration. Visit the Study Materials page today, and check out the Meditation Dynamics Bonus Course, “The Art and Practice of Mystical Meditation” and “Self Hypnotic Meditation” – Workshop (in four videos), and the 21-minute “Mystical Meditation” (downloadable MP3). Remember, you can reference these in your theses and dissertations, too!

HolyBooks.com: https://www.holybooks.com/sitemap/
Boston Public Library: https://archive.org/details/bostonpubliclibrary
FreeSpiritualBooks.com: http://www.freespiritualebooks.com/
Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=spiritual
Truth Unity: https://www.truthunity.net/pubs/books
New Thought Archives: http://lessonsintruth.info/library/
Open Library: https://openlibrary.org/
Sacred Text Archives: http://www.sacred-texts.com/
Metaphysic Spirit: http://metaphysicspirit.com/

When students ask if they may use their own books or other works to write their thesis or dissertation, we tell them they can. However, since they are working on a research paper (researching other experts’ opinions and writing about it), the student’s book or works cannot count toward the total number of sources required to write the paper.

Also, the student’s work must be treated like any other author’s work, meaning if quoted, it must be within quotation marks with in-text citations. If paraphrased, it must also contain in-text citations. As with other authors’ works, students should not use too many overly long quotes, so this means students may end up paraphrasing their own material if they want to use already-published works they, themselves, have written.

Based on the overwhelming feedback from our students professing that “writing their papers has profoundly changed their lives for the positive,” I have come to the conclusion that writing your thesis or dissertation is an act of deep meditation and trust in Source/Universal Presence Within.
Think about it … you are setting your intention to immerse yourself in a metaphysical subject that will surely enlighten you. By this act, you will be Divinely guided to each source you require. Then, as you quietly read and absorb information, your mind opens to receiving what is meant for your greater good, just as it is in meditation. Later, as you write your paper, you are “listening” to Higher Self as it interprets, applies, and pieces together what you learned into something meaningful for yourself and those who read your paper.
Based on what students share with me, as well as my own personal experience, this intimate act of receiving and re-communicating a Metaphysical Truth on behalf of Divine Mind is another way to connect with Source/Universal Presence Within. How could it not change your life?

Do you have personal stories, journeys, dreams, or experiences related to your topic that you would like to include in your thesis or dissertation? That’s just fine, as long as you don’t include too many of them, you keep them brief, and you put them in the right place.

The Introduction and Discussion are the best places for your personal information. However, make sure the Discussion is based more on what you studied, with a few of your personal experiences distributed amongst your text.

The Review of Literature is NOT the place for personal information, as that chapter is more of a synopsis of the other experts’ opinions as they pertain to your topic.

The Review of Literature is an overview about the content coming from each source as it pertains to your paper’s topic and purpose. You do not need to cover the portions of a source’s work that does not pertain to your paper’s topic or that does not help you prove your theory.  In other words, use your source’s material to help you prove your point; most of them should be contributing something important to your paper. This means most of your sources mentioned should be in the Review of Literature. However, no matter how little of their text you quote or paraphrase, you must always list each source used in the Works Cited.

For tips on telling the difference between the Review of Literature and the Discussion, email uos@metaphysics.com.

Some students are unclear about the difference between the Discussion and Review of Literature. In a nutshell, the Review of Literature is JUST what the experts say about your topic, without any analysis or commentary from you. You save the analysis and commentary for the Discussion as you put the pieces together to support your paper’s topic.

The purpose of the Review of Literature is to give us a synopsis for each source you studied, as it pertains to your subject. You will need to write one to four paragraphs in order to tell readers each expert’s opinion/research on your topic. This is where you showcase what your authors have to say about your topic with minimal commentary, which lays the groundwork for your Discussion––a bit like dropping clues in a mystery book. This is not the place, however, for your personal experiences.

Quite often students misunderstand when they would need Methods and Findings chapters and what should go in these two sections. You would only use Methods and Findings chapters because your subject depends upon one of the following studies:

1. Your subject requires the use of your own designed questionnaire or other tool from a number of participants (not including yourself);
2. Your subject includes your own review of a project that you used as a counselor or a project you are designing for this thesis; or,
3. Your subject includes a demonstration about the specific method(s) you used in the technique you chose to examine as your topic.