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MARKETING
STUDENTS: 5 GUIDELINES FOR YOUR FINAL PAPER by Otilia
Otlacan
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Get motivated! ('Why do I
write this paper?")
This is a basic question with a not-so-basic
answer. In order for a job to be done well – and your dissertation paper
is, in fact, a job to be performed – you should give yourself time to
figure out why you will do it and get yourself motivated. No motivation –
no job quality, any professional can confirm that. Here are some possible
answers to the motivational question:
- Because it is a must – if
you do not do it, you do not graduate;
- Because, if done with
responsibility, it is an excellent opportunity to stand out from the crowd and
your peers – the Marketing job market gets busier with every day;
- Because you can practice your research skills while being directed and
supervised by professionals (eg. your university professors);
-
Because it could be a starting point for your career.
We all know the
more you think about it, the more answers you can find. Once you have your
motivational level raised, you will surely want to start your paper right away.
Choose your subject ("What should I write about?")
Allow yourself plenty of time to think what subject you would like to pick
for your paper. In some cases, your professors already have a list of subjects
from where you can choose one but sometimes they would happily accept your own
subject, providing it is of interest and you convince them of your reasons.
Consider the following, before you go for a subject or another:
-
"Marketing" is a broad field – which of its aspects do you feel more
interested into, and more comfortable discussing about? Do you recall any
particular course / chapter / subject that raised your interest at a time?
- Why would your subject be of importance and who would be your auditorium?
- Is your subject researchable? Is there any academic literature base
on the subject?
- Do you think you can come up with a personal
contribution to the subject?
- Do you see yourself developing that
topic further on?
- Can you name at least a couple of persons who can
guide you? Would they be willing to do that for you?
Documentation,
documentation and... documentation
"Documentation" is a magic key
for any successful paper. Student or acknowledged professional, once you made
up your mind about the subject of the paper, most of your efforts will be
directed (or should be directed) towards documentation. Depending on your
subject, on your knowledge and your search capabilities, you might want to
start with this even 1 – 2 years prior to raduation date, in order to have
enough time to collect and review as much information as possible.
Major information resources: libraries, bookshops, internet, newspapers and
magazines (consider subscribing to main specialized magazines in your field!),
university printings, company exhibitions and presentations.
Build
your paper
You do not have to review the whole documentation
before you start to lay the bricks of your paper. Usually, such works are done
using the "top-down" strategy, meaning you start with the major lines and then
you develop the minor ones. You can compare this strategy with the action of
drawing a tree: you might want first to draw the tree trunk, then the major
branches, you will draw then some smaller branches growing from the big ones,
and at the end you draw the leaves and flowers.
Therefore, once you
are clear with the subject and the basics of your paper – the trunk of the
tree, you can start organizing your chapters – the major branches.
Generally, you wont have less than 3 main chapters and more than 6 – 7:
remember your paper has to offer a valuable content but in the same time it has
some space limits (for example you could be told not to exceed 70 pages
including the appendix and graphics).
As you go on with your
documentation, you will probably feel the need to reorganize the chapters and
subchapters several times – this is the way of any good writing, so don't
be afraid of doing it as long as you stick to your subject and your chapters
are part of a whole, "flowing" one from each other. Consult with you supervisor
for any major changes, and ask directions if you feel the documentation is
overwhelming, it becomes difficult to discern from the large amount of
information and you feel like losing your coherency.
As a future
Marketing professional, creativity is a basic skill as well as analytical
thinking: you should prove them by including your own comments, opinions and
conclusions upon the subject and not limit yourself to present only what other
people said. Be critical to yourself and to others. Don't be afraid to bring
out your own vision – that's what counts the most!
Writing
style
Your paper is an academic piece of work, and so it should
look and feel like. Give a lot of attention to your writing style:
-
language issues – keep an academic and formal style, with no colloquial
expressions and no slang terms. Be very precise and avoid hypes (yes, yes, we
know it's hard to do it especially when you're a Marketing or Advertising
professional-to-be) and irrational use of superlatives ("the best", "the
greatest", "the most"… ).
For a professional look, avoid using
vague expressions such as "some authors say…", be specific and precise! A
common mistake is to assume some things are obvious or known: no, they're not
obvious to everyone, so you have to justify your statements (okay… except
maybe if you're saying that "1+1=2"...)
- grammar issues –
nothing can cut enthusiasm for a paper more than poor spelling and grammar!
Check – check – check and check again your grammar before submitting
your work: make use of the grammar facilities included in the word processors,
ask your friends to proofread your paper, use dictionaries and grammar books
every time you're unsure about something.
- layout and other issues:
keep a professional clean simple layout, and stick to one font type (eg. Arial,
Times New Roman or Verdana). Unless you're asked to submit your paper in
another layout, you might want to leave 3 cm (1,2 in) edges on both left and
right side, use line spacing at 1.5 and font sizes 10 to 12 (depending on the
font type) for normal text, with chapter title sized at 14. Double check your
quotations to be acknowledged, and make sure the tables and drawings are
numbered correctly.
Take a final look at your work and ask yourself if
you're feeling proud of it. If the answer is a strong "yes!", you’re
probably ready to present it.
Presentation – the final
torment!
Let's not forget these guidelines were written especially
for Marketing students. For you, the presentation of your paper should count
much more than for other students, since it is a way to promote yourself and
your work. If you fail at marketing your own person, how can you be successful
in marketing something / someone else? This is the reason why you should
dedicate a lot of time and energy to this apparently insignificant last issue.
Don't fall into the trap of thinking that since your paper content is
great, it will speak for yourself. It will not! You have to bring out the
strengths of the paper and try to minimize its weaknesses, if any. Treat your
paper like it is a new product that needs to be launched, and your teachers are
the consumers. Make them "buy" your paper, make them enthusiastic about it!
Start your presentation with an introduction of how the paper subject
attracted you, then shortly point the elements of novelty you bring in. After
that, you can proceed with the content briefing: keep short and very objective.
Talk loud and clear and note people's attention level: try to keep them awake
but if you see them drowsing, you can refresh the atmosphere by changing your
tonality or inserting a joke.
At the end, don't forget to
conclude: a paper with no conclusion is an unfinished pointless paper!
Sustain your speech with a proper visual support: in most cases, a
projector would do a great job. Be careful of how you build your slides: use
80% drawings and figures and only 20% text, as the human eye and brain respond
much better to suggestive drawings instead of regular boring text. Pay
attention to coherency: your presentation must flow and your ideas must have
continuity. Practice your speech at home or in front of your friends, ask for
comments and critics.
Good luck!!!
About the
Author:
Otilia is a certified Marketing consultant with expertise in
e-Marketing and e-Business. She developed and teach her own online course in
Principles of Marketing (http://class.universalclass.com/emarketing). You can
contact Otilia through her Marketing resources portal at
http://www.teawithedge.com
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