How to write a "state of the art" chapter
I am an engineering student in a non-English speaking country and I'm writing my master's thesis in English, as well as all related articles. I can't use the country's language nor my first language (I was raised in another country) because my writing skills are really lacking in those languages, and as my work as an engineer forces me to write in English everyday (it's still not good enough I think) I feel more comfortable using it rather than the other languages.
Currently I'm facing a problem with a "state of the art" chapter, where I am supposed to describe the current state of the field I'm working in and I have no idea as to how to begin. To write this chapter I read many articles and translated each article into separate paragraphs without any connection with each other. The result was ... lacking to say the least.
It would really help me if anyone could point me in the right direction as how to write a chapter like this, or provide me with good examples (apparently I'm not able to distinguish a good state of the art chapter from a bad or excellent one).
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1 answer
I imagine that you Master Thesis is about something, which is presented in a consequential manner. I would take the same order in which you describe your work and write the state of the art, point by point.
For instance, imagine you were to describe a new electric car engine. I'd start with a state of the art of cars in general, maybe grouped by purpose, and by type of fuel. Then I'd give the state of the art for electric engines, including other means of transportation, e.g. trains. Next, I'd give a start of the art of electric car engines. Finally, I'd give a start of the art of research and industry in all the relevant additional fields, e.g. some chemical reactions that constitute the core innovation of your engine.
I hope that helps.
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