Graduation thesis defense is an important form of formal review of thesis that is organized, prepared, planned and appraised. In order to successfully defend the graduation thesis, the school, the defense committee, and the respondent (the author of the graduation thesis) must make full preparations before holding the defense meeting. At the defense meeting, the examiner must try his best to find out whether the level shown in the paper is true or false. And students not only have to prove that their arguments are right, but they also have to prove that the teacher is wrong.

Preparation of the respondent (paper author)

The most important preparation before the defense is the preparation of the respondent. To ensure the quality and effectiveness of thesis defense, the key lies with the respondent. Thesis authors must pass the defense in order. After submitting the paper, they should not feel relieved, but should seize the time and actively prepare for the thesis defense. So, what aspects should the respondent prepare before the defense?

First of all, write an introduction to the graduation thesis. The main content should include the title of the thesis, the name of the instructor, and the motivation for choosing the topic. The main arguments, arguments and writing experience of the paper as well as the theoretical and practical significance of this topic.

Secondly, you must be familiar with the full text of the paper you have written, especially the content of the main part and conclusion part, and clarify the basic viewpoints of the paper and the basic basis for the main argument; understand the terms used in the paper The exact meaning of the main concepts and the main content of the basic principles used; at the same time, we must carefully review and repeatedly consider whether there are any contradictions, fallacies, one-sidedness or ambiguities in the article, and whether there is any conflict with the party's policies. place and so on. If you find the above problems, you must be fully prepared—supplements, corrections, explanations, etc. As long as you carefully set up defenses and plug all loopholes, you can be well-informed, calm, and calm during the defense process.

Third, you must understand and master the knowledge and materials related to the paper you write. For example, to what extent has the academic research on the topic you are studying reached? At present, what controversies exist? How many representative views are there? What representative works and articles are there? Which view do you prefer and the reasons; important quotations The source and version of the document; the source channels of the argumentation materials, etc. These aspects of knowledge and materials must be better understood and mastered before the defense.

Fourthly, what other issues should be covered or solved in the paper but cannot be touched due to inability to do so? What other issues are not covered in the paper or are rarely covered in the research process? I have indeed come into contact with it and have certain insights, but I just didn’t write it down because I felt it had little relevance to the core of the paper’s expression, etc.

Fifth, for the authors of excellent papers, they must also figure out which ideas are inherited or borrowed from other people’s research results, which ones are their own innovative ideas, and how these new ideas and insights are formed. 's and so on.

For the above content, the author must prepare well before the defense. After thinking, organizing, writing an outline, and keeping it in mind, he can be well aware of it and answer calmly during the defense.

General procedures 1. Half a month before the thesis defense meeting, students must submit the graduation thesis, which has been approved and signed by the instructor, in triplicate, together with the outline, draft, etc., to the defense committee. The chief defense teacher of the defense committee will carefully study the basis of the graduation thesis. , formulate the questions to be asked, and then hold a defense meeting.

2. At the defense meeting, students are first asked to spend about 15 minutes outlining the title of the paper and the reasons for choosing this topic, and introducing the main arguments, arguments and writing experience of the paper in more detail.

3. The main respondent teacher asked questions. The main respondent teacher usually asks three questions. After the teacher asks the question, some schools stipulate that students can prepare independently for 15-20 minutes before answering on the spot. However, the Correspondence School of the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China stipulates that after the main respondent teacher raises the question, students are required to answer immediately on the spot (there is no preparation time). ), answer any questions. It can be conversational, or it can be that the main respondent teacher asks three questions at once, and the students answer them one by one in order after listening clearly and writing them down. Depending on the specific circumstances of the student’s answers, the main respondent teacher and other respondent teachers can interject appropriate questions at any time.

4． After the students answer all the questions one by one, they exit. The defense committee collectively decides whether to pass or fail based on the quality of the paper and the defense situation, and formulates grades and comments.

5. Recall the students, and the main defense teacher will summarize the thesis and defense process in person, affirm their strengths and weaknesses, point out their errors or shortcomings, and provide necessary supplements and guidance. At the same time, he will announce to the students that they have passed or failed. Not passed. As for the results of the paper, they are generally not announced on the spot.

The Correspondence School of the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China stipulates that for students who fail to pass the defense, they will put forward suggestions for modification and allow students to wait for six months to defend separately.

In order for students to successfully pass the defense and truly demonstrate their abilities during the defense, in addition to being fully prepared before the defense, they also need to understand and master the essentials and art of the defense.

1. Bring necessary materials and supplies

First of all, students must bring the manuscript of the thesis and main reference materials to the defense meeting. As mentioned above, some colleges and universities stipulate that at the defense meeting, after the main defending teacher raises questions, students can prepare for a certain period of time before answering in person. In this case, it is necessary to bring the thesis manuscript and main reference materials. Self-explanatory. Even like the Correspondence School of the Central Party School, after the teacher raises a question, he does not give the students time to prepare and requires them to answer on the spot. However, during the answer process, you are also allowed to look through your own papers and related reference materials. Although you cannot rely on these materials during the defense, you can bring these materials with you. When you cannot remember them for a while, you can just browse through the relevant materials for a while. Avoid the embarrassment and panic of not being able to answer. Secondly, you should also bring a pen and notebook to record the questions and valuable opinions and insights raised by the respondent teacher. By recording, not only can the tension be relieved, but also the key points and essence of the teacher's questions can be better understood. At the same time, you can think while recording, making the thinking process natural.

2. Have self-confidence and don’t be nervous

On the basis of sufficient preparation, there is no need to be nervous but have self-confidence. It is important to build confidence and eliminate nervousness and panic, because excessive nervousness will make it impossible to answer questions that could have been answered. Only when you are confident and calm can you perform well during the defense. Self-confidence mainly comes from adequate preparation in advance.

3. Listen carefully to the question and think about it before answering

When the main respondent teacher asks a question, the students should concentrate on listening carefully and write down the answer in their notebook. , carefully consider the key and essence of the question raised by the main respondent teacher? Do not answer hastily without clarifying the meaning of the question. If you are not clear about the question, you can ask the teacher to ask it again. If you do not understand some of the concepts in the question, you can ask the teacher who asked the question to explain it, or you can express your understanding of the question and ask whether it means this, and wait until you get a positive answer before answering. Only in this way can it be possible to avoid answering questions that are not correct. Get to the point.

4. Answer the questions in a concise and clear-cut manner

After clarifying the exact meaning of the questions raised by the respondent teacher, you must respond in a short time and must Speak your thoughts confidently, with smooth language and a positive tone, without hesitation. When answering questions, first, you must grasp the key points, be concise and to the point, and do not ramble so that people will not understand the point after listening; second, you must strive to be objective, comprehensive, and dialectical, leaving room for room, and avoid talking "deadly"; third, you must analyze it in detail and hierarchically. distinct. In addition, pay attention to speaking clearly, speaking in a moderate voice, etc.

5. Do not forcefully defend questions that cannot be answered

Sometimes the defense committee teacher is not satisfied with the respondent’s answer and will ask further questions in order to understand the thesis. Whether the author has truly understood and mastered this issue. In this case, if the respondent is sure that he can explain clearly, he can state the reasons for his reply; if he is not sure, he can try to answer carefully and answer as many as he can. Even if the answer is not very precise, it does not matter. As long as it is related to the same problem, the teacher will guide and inspire you to get to the point; if it is indeed a problem that you have not clarified, you should be realistic and explain that you have not clarified the problem, and express that you will study this problem seriously in the future. Never use forceful arguments or make excuses. Because the teacher on the defense committee may have done special research on this issue, and no matter how clever he is, it is impossible to deceive him. We should understand here: It is not surprising for students to be asked a certain question at the defense meeting, because the members of the defense committee are generally experts in the subject. It's natural that they can't answer a question they ask.

Of course, it is not normal to not be able to answer all the questions.

6. When the main points in the paper are inconsistent with the opinions of the main respondent teacher, you can start a debate with them

During the defense, sometimes the main respondent teacher will put forward the basic opinions in the paper. Different viewpoints, and then ask you to talk about your views. At this time, you should fully defend your own views and refute ideas that are opposite to your own views.

Among the questions asked by the main respondent teacher, some are basic knowledge questions and some are academic inquiry questions. For the former type of questions, you are required to give correct and comprehensive answers, which are not deliberation. . As for the latter type of issues, there is no final conclusion on right or wrong, and people with different views can discuss with each other. If the basic point of the paper you write is well thought out, well-founded, and self-explanatory, don't go along with it and give up your point of view just because the members of the defense committee have different opinions. Otherwise, it will be equivalent to yourself denying the paper you have worked so hard to write. You should know that some opinions put forward by the defending teacher that are inconsistent with your thesis are not his own opinions. They just want to hear your evaluation and opinions on this point of view, or to test your defense ability or How firmly you believe in your opinions. To take a step back, even if you are asking the teacher about his own point of view, you should hold the attitude of "I love my teacher, and I love the truth even more", argue with reason, and start a debate with it. However, when debating with the defending teacher, you must pay attention to propriety and use appropriate debate techniques. Generally speaking, you should focus on defending your own opinions. When refuting the other party's arguments, you should use euphemistic language as much as possible, ask for advice, and use methods of side talk, covert talk, and circumlocution to input your own views without leaving any trace. The other party, let them obey clearly and sincerely or secretly. Let the teacher who asked the question feel that although he accepts your opinion, his self-esteem has not been hurt.

For example, at a defense meeting, when a teacher was explaining the high profits of a monopoly, he described the high profits of a monopoly as the part of the profit that is higher than the average profit. The defending students heard that the teacher’s explanation was wrong. He said in a calm and puzzled tone: "So, how do you understand that the high profits of a monopoly are because the monopoly price is higher than the cost price?" The teacher who asked the question was startled after hearing this, and after a while, he said loudly: "Good question! "From the cheers of the teacher who asked the question, we know that he has sincerely agreed with your point of view. In such a debate, the defending teacher will not only not embarrass you, but will think that you are competent and have a solid foundation.

7. Be civilized and polite

The process of thesis defense is also a process of academic exchange of ideas. The respondent should regard it as a good opportunity to learn from the respondent teachers and experts, request guidance, and ask questions. Therefore, during the entire defense process, the respondent should respect the teachers of the defense committee and be civilized and polite in his words and deeds, especially when the questions raised by the respondent teacher are difficult to answer, or the respondent teacher’s views are inconsistent with his own. More attention should be paid to this. When the defense is over, no matter what the defense situation is, you must exit calmly and politely.

In addition, after the graduation thesis defense, the author should carefully listen to the defense committee's judgment, further analyze and think about the opinions put forward by the defense teacher, and summarize the experience and lessons learned in thesis writing. On the one hand, we need to figure out what scientific research methods we have learned and mastered through writing this graduation thesis, and we have improved our ability to ask questions, analyze problems, solve problems, and do scientific research. What deficiencies still exist can be used as a reference for future research on other topics. On the other hand, you must carefully consider the questions and opinions raised by the defending teacher at the thesis defense meeting, revise your thesis, deepen your research, and carefully revise your thesis to achieve in-depth development and achieve greater results. Improve yourself in knowledge and abilities.

Things to note After several years of practice and observation as a thesis defense committee, I believe that the following issues should be paid attention to during the graduation thesis defense, which are beneficial to improving performance.

1. Thesis defense - familiarity with the content

As a student who is about to participate in thesis defense, you must first have a deep understanding and a comprehensive familiarity with the content of your graduation thesis. This is a preparation for answering thesis defense questions that may be raised by members of the thesis defense committee regarding the depth of the thesis and related knowledge. The so-called "deep understanding" means a horizontal grasp of the graduation thesis. For example, for a thesis titled "Creating Famous Brand Products and Developing National Industries," the thesis defense committee may ask what the relationship between "national brand" and "famous brand" is.

Although "national brands" may not be involved in the graduation thesis, students participating in thesis defense must have a "relatively comprehensive familiarity" and "a relatively deep understanding" of their graduation thesis, otherwise, embarrassing situations will occur.

2. Thesis defense - interspersed with graphs

Any graduation thesis, whether it is liberal arts or science, involves the possibility of using graphs to express the thesis points, so I think it should Be prepared for this. Charts are not only an intuitive way to express opinions, but also a means to adjust the atmosphere of the thesis defense meeting. Especially for members of the private thesis defense committee, listening to narration for a long time will inevitably be repulsive. Accepting and absorbing the content of your discussion will inevitably have an impact on your graduation thesis defense results. Therefore, you should appropriately intersperse charts or other media similar to charts during the thesis defense process to improve your thesis defense performance.

3. Thesis defense - moderate flow

It is usually the first time for students to defend their graduation thesis. Numerous facts have proven that when they defend their thesis, they often speak faster and faster, so that members of the graduation defense committee cannot hear clearly, which affects their graduation defense results. Therefore, graduation defense students must pay attention to the speed of their speech during the thesis defense process. They must have urgency and slowness, lightness and severity, and cannot blast the audience like a barrage of cannons.

4. Thesis defense - eye movement

When graduates defend their thesis, they can generally complete the manuscript, semi-complete the manuscript, or not complete the manuscript at all. But no matter which method you use, you should pay attention to your eyes and make your eyes look at the members of the thesis defense committee and the students in the venue from time to time. This is a way for you to use your eyes to communicate with the audience spiritually and make the audience interested in your topic. At the graduation thesis defense meeting, the committee members will inevitably be distracted due to listening for too long. At this time, you will politely "pull" their attention back with your gaze, so that the committee members will follow their train of thought. Let your ideas go.

5. Thesis defense - body language assistance

Although the graduation thesis defense, like other thesis defenses, is mainly based on oral language, the appropriate use of body language will assist your thesis defense. Make your thesis defense more effective. In particular, the appropriate use of gesture language will appear confident, powerful and irrefutable. On the contrary, if you always stand upright or keep looking down during the thesis defense process, no matter how reasonable the structure of your thesis is, how novel the topic is, and how correct the conclusion is, the effectiveness of the thesis defense will be greatly affected. Therefore, when defending your graduation thesis, you must pay attention to the use of body language.

6. Thesis defense - time control

Generally, in more formal thesis defense meetings, there are time requirements for the defenders. Therefore, students who are defending their graduation thesis are required to complete their thesis defense. When defending, attention should be paid to controlling the time for thesis defense. The thesis defense time should be controlled vigorously, and it should end immediately when the deadline is reached. In this way, it will appear that you are well prepared, and you will be familiar with the content and control, which will easily give a good impression to the members of the thesis defense committee. Therefore, before the graduation thesis defense, you should have a time estimate for the content that will be defended. Of course, flexibly reducing or increasing the time during the thesis defense is also a manifestation of the control of thesis defense time, which should be taken seriously.

7. Thesis defense - stick to the theme

There are often many debaters when conducting graduation thesis defense on campus. Therefore, for members of the graduation thesis defense committee, they are not You may have a comprehensive understanding of the content of each graduate's thesis, and some may not even be familiar with the title of the thesis. Therefore, it is very important to be able to focus on the theme during the entire thesis defense process and to be able to answer the questions at the end. In addition, it is generally easy for the committee members to ask questions about the issues involved in the thesis topic. If you can focus on the thesis topic from beginning to end, it will make the judges think clearly and give you affirmation of your graduation thesis.

8. Thesis defense - use of person

In the process of graduation thesis defense, the use of person will inevitably be involved. I suggest using the first person as much as possible, such as "I" and "we" "Even if the material in the paper is quoted from others, use "we quoted" where the data or materials are, especially graduation thesis, most of which are self-reported, so use the first person more often and decisively and boldly. "I" and "we".

If this is the case, it will give people the impression that the things belong to you and you have done a lot of work! (Excerpted from: "Youth Science" 2003.8, original text: "Several Issues You Should Pay Attention to in Graduation Thesis Defense" Author: Deng Qiuxiang)

9. Personal Quality - Civility and Politeness

In During the defense process, in addition to the above points, you also need to pay attention to this one. Although it does not play a big role, it can leave a good impression on the defending teacher. When you are evenly matched with others, generally The oral defense teacher chooses you.

Example: When MACNAMALA, President Kennedy’s Secretary of Defense, took the graduate entrance examination at Harvard University, he did not answer the questions. But he wrote an article criticizing the pedantic examination questions. His argument was that after World War II, it was unimaginable that a prestigious university in the United States would have such a pedantic question. He proposed what level the examination questions should be at and how they should catch up with the times. He scored a zero. But when the department head was reviewing the exam papers, the zero score caught his attention. After reading his test paper, he crossed out the zero and re-scored it, giving him more than ninety points (I can't remember whether it was ninety-six or ninety-eight points). Later, it turned out that MAC was indeed not an ordinary person. When Kennedy invited him to serve as Secretary of Defense, with an annual salary of 40,000, Ford Motor Company invited him to be the president of the company, with an annual salary of 200,000. He chose Defense Secretary and later he was President of the World Bank. The head of the department is also tall. It was he whom MACNAMALA criticized in the examination paper, but the dean of the department stood tall. He could appreciate a young and promising person with the ability to think independently, and he was the one who criticized him. This shows that he is worthy of being a famous university student. Head of department. The person who gave MACNAMALA a zero score is an assistant coach and can be forgiven. Protecting one's shortcomings is what the lowest level people do. He doesn't even have the ability to judge right from wrong. It's what housewives and old ladies do. When her children fight with others, she always tries to protect her children, even if her children are at fault.