8.2. Preparing for the defence of a master's thesis

After the preliminary defence, provided it fully complies with the established requirements, the master's thesis is bound in a hard cover, and the title page is signed by the master's student and the supervisor.

The prepared master's thesis is submitted to the research supervisor no later than 2 weeks before the defence, and the supervisor draws up a review. In the review, the research supervisor notes the degree of independence in performing the work, its achievements and shortcomings, the presence of elements of research and generalization of best practice, the soundness and value of the conclusions, and draws a conclusion on whether the work can be recommended for defence.

After this, the signed thesis is submitted for a check on compliance with format control requirements, as evidenced by the checker's signature. Only after this may the bound master's thesis be signed by the head of the department, but no later than 10 days before the scheduled date of the defence.

The next stage is the review of the master's thesis. Within three days the reviewer familiarizes himself with the work and gives it a written review. The review must reflect the positive achievements of the work and its shortcomings, contain a thorough analysis of the content of the work, a conclusion on whether it may be defended, and a recommendation on a differentiated assessment of its quality. A negative review is not grounds for barring the work from defence.

Making changes to the master's thesis after the research supervisor's review and the reviewer's review have been drawn up is not permitted.

Approximately a week before the day of the defence of the master's thesis, one should prepare everything the degree candidate will need on that day, namely:

1. The manuscript of the master's thesis.

2. The text of the presentation for the defence of the master's thesis in the form of a short report (5 pages of typewritten text), designed to run 3-5 minutes.

3. Written answers to the reviewer's questions, comments and suggestions.

4. Sheets with tables, diagrams, and graphs taken from the text of the master's thesis and duly prepared for demonstration.

5. Slides, film, photo and video materials, computer discs, etc.

The first and most important thing with which the degree candidate's preparation for the defence of his master's research usually begins is his work on the presentation of the results of the master's research in the form of a report, designed to reveal the essence, and the theoretical and practical significance, of the results of the work performed.

In structural terms the report can specifically be divided into three parts, each of which is an independent semantic block, although as a whole they are logically interconnected and form a unity that jointly characterizes the content of the research carried out.

The first part of the report largely repeats the introduction of the master's thesis. The sections of this part correspond to the semantic aspects with respect to which the relevance of the chosen topic is characterized, a description of the scientific problem is given, and the goal of the master's thesis is formulated. Here it is also necessary to indicate the methods by which the factual material of the master's thesis was obtained, and to characterize its composition and general structure.

After the first, introductory part comes the second, largest part, which, in the sequence set by the logic of the research carried out, characterizes the results of each chapter of the master's thesis. Critical comparisons and assessments are also noted.

Special attention in the report must be paid to showcasing the novelty of the results obtained. For this one should:

- indicate which previously unknown regularities, connections and facts have been introduced into scientific circulation;

- which new methods or techniques were applied in the research;

- what the revision of old views on the phenomenon under study consists of;

- which theoretical propositions have been formulated and substantiated for the first time.

Besides the novelty of the research carried out, it is necessary to reveal its practical significance and to indicate which results can be put into practice.

The report ends with a concluding part, which is built on the text of the conclusion of the master's thesis. Here it is advisable to list the general conclusions from its text (without repeating the more particular generalizations made when characterizing the chapters of the main part) and to bring together the main recommendations.

Since the time allotted for presenting the report is always limited, it is advisable to calculate it in advance, proceeding from the fact that one page of typewritten text, printed at double spacing, corresponds to 2-2.5 minutes of speaking.

The text of an oral presentation differs somewhat from the written presentation of the work, so when preparing the text of a scientific report one should be guided by 7 questions:

1. What to talk about? In order not to drown in a flood of words, one must choose the "guiding thread," that is, formulate what should be said first of all.

Firstly, the sentences must assert the main idea and predetermine the purpose of the speech, requiring further elaboration for full disclosure.

Secondly, if it is a proposition, it must be brief, clear, and free of contradictions.

2. Why speak? Standing before an audience, one must clearly recognize the purpose of one's presentation. In formulating the purpose, choose the verb carefully (to examine, to prove, to determine, to discover, etc.).

3. How long to speak? The time of a public speech is always strictly limited. For presenting the results of a master's thesis this is a mere 5-8 minutes. For this, only the most essential points should be selected. Greater attention should be devoted to the experimental part and to the conclusions.

4. To whom to speak? One must choose a persuasion tactic, one style or another. For an interested audience one style is suitable, while for an indifferent or hostile one – another.

5. Where to speak? The conditions of delivering a scientific report, even on one and the same topic, can significantly change the plan of the presentation and the manner of conduct. For example, a report before the state examination board and at a section of a student conference.

6. How to speak? The main purpose of the report is for the speaker to be understood by the audience. One must take care of suitable means of persuasion and arguments. In any case, it is better to speak not too fast.

7. What to say? To realize one's intent and achieve one's purpose, reliable arguments are needed. A thesis without arguments is like a shell without a powder charge - it "will remain in the barrel" if the speech contains an unsupported assertion. The whole force and power of a speaker lies in his arguments and in the way they affect the audience. This is an extremely important stage of preparation.

The basic requirements for the composition of a speech are summarized in Table 8.1.

Table 8.1

Composition of an oratorical presentation

Continued Table 8.1

There are certain rules that will be useful when preparing for a presentation:

• the text of the presentation should be written in short phrases, avoiding participial and adverbial-participial constructions;

• present facts sequentially and logically: from the simple and known to the complex and unknown;

• the speech itself should be concise, lively, and vivid, and a degree of emotionality will enhance the presentation, as it is conveyed to the audience;

• after writing the text of the presentation, it should be read aloud;

• the introduction and conclusion are thought through with special care: in the introduction one should capture the audience's attention, and in the conclusion - convince it. The introduction should be simple, accessible, understandable, and interesting;

• gesture should be expressive. Strong gesticulation or unnatural stiffness produces an unpleasant impression, while facial expressions enliven the report;

• deliver the speech with conviction and intonational expressiveness (now raising the voice, now lowering it), confidently and calmly, at a moderate volume, observing pauses and addressing the listeners;

• accompany the report with sheets, a presentation (slides).

The text of the report should be supported by materials (diagrams, tables, graphs, charts, etc.), displayed on posters (sheets) which are necessary to prove the propositions put forward and to substantiate the conclusions drawn and the recommendations proposed.

Once the text of the presentation for the defence of the master's thesis has been composed, it is advisable to prepare written answers to the reviewer's comments. The answers should be brief, clear, and well-argued. If references to the text of the master's thesis are possible, they must definitely be made. This will lend the answers the greatest persuasiveness and at the same time make it possible to emphasize the reliability of the results of the research carried out.

When preparing for the defence of the master's thesis, it is advisable to once again carefully leaf through the entire text of the work, make the necessary notes on its pages, and insert bookmarks at the necessary places. Special attention should be paid to visual information (posters), which should contain the most significant results of the work done by the degree candidate. Some of these materials should be prepared for demonstration.