If you had to explain your thesis in three minutes or less, could you do it? The Dr. Gerald H. Sanders Three Minute Thesis Competition, hosted by the Miami University Graduate School, asks graduate students to do just that. Through this challenge, graduate students can refine and distill their ideas down into an explainable and easily-understood format, thereby granting them additional insight into their own research and practices.

Graduate Assistant Director Emma Boddy participated in the 2023 Three Minute Thesis Competition, bringing with her research on writing expertise, writing center pedagogy, and disciplinary and writing identities. “I think what this competition does is forces you to boil down your project until you are left with the core of your research,” she said. “So, I asked myself ‘What is the heart of my research?’ and built my presentation from there.” Boddy used a common and effective writing tactic–chunking, or breaking larger projects down into smaller pieces–to plan out her presentation and ensure she was using her limited timeframe to the best of her ability.

Three minutes is hardly enough time to share all important information from a large research project, so Boddy had to set priorities and stick to them. For Boddy, her highest priority was sharing the complex nature of her research with highly-educated, non-specialist academics while being intentional with her word choice. In other words, she prioritized the audience and built her presentation with that in mind. “I really wanted to make sure that I was avoiding jargon and explaining any terms that I was using,” she explained. “I really had to step outside of myself and what I know about my project to place myself in the shoes of an audience member and what would be the most important takeaway for them to walk away from the presentation with.”

The other aspect that she focused on was the visual aide–a slide breaking down the focus of her research and showcasing just how complex and interconnected writer identity, consultant identity, and conceptions and values of writing are.

To ensure these priorities were met effectively, Boddy focused on each individual part of her presentation and rehearsed each of them to make sure she did not exceed the given time limit. “I started with a catchy introduction to invite audience members into the world of writing centers, explained my research question and where it came from, gave a preview of my findings using an example from one of my participants, and wrapped up with a conclusion that included only the big takeaways,” she said. “It was really important to me to include at least one example from my interviews to illustrate the topics of disciplinary writer identity and consultant identity that I was talking about because I really think so much of the core of my research is that writing consultants are doing these amazing things and having these really complex, full lives, and I am trying my best to analyze and represent that.”

For Boddy, the biggest challenge manifested itself in the delivery of her research. Citing that it was unlike anything she had experienced before, Boddy found it a rewarding challenge to express the most important points of her research within such a strict time frame. “By the day of the competition, I had what I wanted to say memorized,” she said, “and although it didn't erase the nerves, it helped me feel comfortable and confident when giving my presentation.”

Boddy was one of 10 finalists for the Three Minute Thesis competition, competing with other graduate students from multiple different disciplines: Biology, Psychology, Art, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Geology, and Speech Pathology and Audiology. Graduate students from various disciplines presented their own three minute theses, something which she found fascinating. “Not only were you learning about projects in so many different disciplines, but you could also get a glimpse into how research is conducted and represented according to what that discipline values,” she said.

Despite the challenges of condensing a complex thesis into a three minute presentation, the competition proved to be an enjoyable and rewarding experience for Boddy. “The Heritage room in Shriver was a great space to be able to present in,” she said, “and I am really thankful for my thesis advisor, Jason Palmeri, and my fellow graduate student (and writing consultant in training) Cam Cavaliere who came out to support me!”