General and Practical Thesis Writing Tips

Below are tips relevant to those who are busy preparing their postgraduate project.

1. A thesis is a formal academic work; it should not contain informal languages or colloquial terms.

2. Sentences, paragraphs and chapters should support each other, meaning the thesis should have a flow. A reader must always know what he or she is reading.

3. Since a thesis is about expressing one’s opinion, using quotes should be minimal or, better yet, avoided completely.

4. The introduction must quickly capture the interest of readers. It should provide a clear idea what the thesis is trying to discuss or prove. The introduction serves as an outline of what the writer was able to contribute to the study.

5. The conclusion should be as gripping as the introduction. It is in this section of the thesis where the writer re-states his objectives and shows his findings.

6. Each chapter should start with a paragraph that will link it with the previous chapter, and tell the purpose of the new chapter. This will allow a smooth and clear transition.

7. Each chapter should have a conclusion section, where the writer summarizes the objectives of the chapter and shows his findings.

8. Everything is in the present tense, except the conclusion.

9. Make sure the references are up-to-date. A thesis that uses outdated resources will most likely fail to convince readers.

10. A writer should refrain from using long, convoluted sentences.

11. Do not fail to use a spell checker.

12. A Masters thesis is approximately 130-200 pages, and a PhD thesis is 200-300 pages. A student, however, can use more or less pages; what is important is that he was able to write everything he needed to say.

13. All tables, graphs and figures need to be discussed.