Q) Please introduce yourself.

Hello, thank you for giving me this opportunity. My name is Ghezal Wallid, I enrolled in the one-year master’s program at KDI School and majored in development policy in 2020. I decided to study at KDI School because it is a multicultural university and one of the top universities in Asia in terms of providing highest quality of education, having the best managing staff, and the diverse array of professional Korean and international students with unique skills and expertise. In addition, KDIS provides programs that match my career goal, and KDIS was the right place to improve my abilities. It offered me a path where I could know my real worth by doing the best for myself, for my career, and for the world.

Q) What was the most difficult thing about SRP? Was this your first time using it? If this is not your first time writing, what difficulties did you face when writing an academic paper for the first time?

During the second semester, I decided for the first time to write an SRP instead of a thesis. The difficulties that I faced before writing my SRP was choosing a specific research topic, as it must contain no more than one research goal. While writing my research paper, the most difficult part was related to the research literature on how to organize so many ideas into a logical argument.

Q) Please share useful tips to structure ideas.

In the early stage of writing my SRP on my chosen topic, I had a lot to say and write but I did not know how to structure all my ideas into a paper. As I had many things in mind, I could not sort my ideas and get on track, so I categorized all my ideas for each step of my SRP. The outlined thoughts and ideas ordered my research paper, in terms of where and how I could start and finish; this also helped me build the foundation for my research content in a way that could help me achieve my writing goal.

Q) Could you please share your experience and what did you earn or learned from others by writing a thesis?

What I learned from writing an SRP is that you should follow the instructions of your supervisor and work closely with them rather than relying on anyone to give you hints or suggestions, because it causes confusion and creates inconsistency between your ideas and your action plan.

Q) What did you do to express logic and clarity in your paper?

I believe that a person’s writing style is very important in making a paper enjoyable to the reader. Before starting my research paper, I organized my ideas in a logical and clear outline to make the writing process easier for myself and to avoid any confusion on the part of the reader. For this purpose, I structured all my arguments, rather than my opinions, in simple, short phrases with references to make my paper understandable, interesting, and clear.

Q) Did you get a feedback from your professor? How did it help you?

Based on my work plan for each stage of my SRP, I maintained regular contact with my direct supervisor, and I him with the final draft of each section of my paper. His feedback was very helpful in how I formulated my research paper so clearly. As it was the first time I was writing an SRP and I was new in this field, I looked at my supervisor’s comments, which helped me improve the quality of my writing.

Q) What did you do to proofread your paper?

For proofreading my paper, the best way not to get off track was to pause at least for one day after each section before reviewing the written text. I corrected the errors using Grammarly and the comments made by my supervisor. After completing all the sections, I proofread the draft version. For general proofreading, I asked for assistance from the writing center to make sure I proofread my paper properly before I sent the final research paper to my supervisor for approval.

Q) How long did it take for you to write a thesis? How did you manage your time?

At the beginning of the second semester, I took an academic writing class before starting my research paper. I was able to practically apply the things I learned while writing my actual research paper. I decided on my research topic and selected my supervisor in the first two weeks of the second semester. Fortunately, there was plenty of information available for my research topic, so no more time was needed to gather information.

After collecting data, which took only one week before officially starting my writing, I outlined all the main points regarding findings, problem statements, implications, knowledge contributions, and so on.  I wrote my research proposal in my academic writing class and started writing my paper after getting approval for my proposal from my supervisor.

The entire writing process took 4 months and concluded during summer break before the start of the third semester. I tried to write and finalize the best research paper I possibly could before the beginning of the third semester, which successfully I achieved by managing my time and spending 2 to 3 hours a day on it.

The most helpful thing for writing my research paper and finalizing it on time was being enrolled in the academic writing class at the same time. I was able to do my research, and all my questions were answered during the class, which greatly helped me while I was working on my real research paper as an assignment.

Q) How did you decide on your topic? What did you do to learn about the topic and brainstorm ideas?

The research paper I wrote was enjoyable for me, because I did my research about a particular area of interest that I had been thinking about for some time. The idea came from specific problems that have needed better solutions.

As it was a topic I was interested that also had many resources available, I did not face any major challenges while writing my SRP. Although I had a good understanding of the topic I chose, I did some background research before getting feedback from my supervisor to make sure I selected the right topic relevant to the area of my interest.

Q) What advice would you give to students?

If you want to write a great research paper and be successful, be focused and try to improve your writing skills; also, try to be creative and express your own solution in the most logical way possible in your research paper. Furthermore, when you set a goal, try to have an organized plan and deadline for your work so you can put it in action without delay and so that you can achieve your goal instead of just circulating ideas in your mind. It’s best to just get started!