0.2 Thesis overview  (Page 2/3)

Writing a thesis is hard work because you must organize and explain such a huge amount of material. I am convinced, though, that the effort is worthwhile because you learn so much during the process. Everything you learn about writing accurately, clearly, and concisely you will use over and over in your professional life.

Remember to use the required thesis margins: one and a half inches left; one inch top, right, and bottom. The page number does not have to follow the one-inch margin rule; do what your software wants to do with a page number.

Thesis contents:

Copyright notice (if applicable; not all theses are copyrighted)

Title page

Signed by your committee; take 4 copies on 100% cotton rag or 20 lb. bond paper to your defense

Abstract (350 words for ph.d.; 150 words for a masters)

The abstract must summarize the contents of the thesis, not merely say what it is about. Write it last because you must have written the Introduction and Conclusion before you can summarize their main ideas in the Abstract.

The first sentence should identify the research problem and signal your method(s) and your results. Then move to details, which must include a clear definition of the problem addressed and its importance, the intellectual context of the problem within your field, your methods, the most important of your findings (be specific!), your unique contribution, and possible applications. You may want to include possible future work suggested by your findings, as well.

Acknowledgments

Try to limit this to one page. Thank your committee first; then team members and others who helped you; and, finally, your family. Be generous, but not flowery.

Table of contents

List of tables and figures (if needed)

List of definitions (if needed).

If your thesis is interdisciplinary, you will almost always need to include definitions.

Preface (optional; most theses omit this)

Text (the body chapters)

Chapter 1. introduction:

This chapter provides an overview of the thesis as a whole; it does not simply give background. The first sentence should identify the problem and signal your results. Then move to a more detailed overview of problem, importance, method, intellectual context, and your findings. The last paragraph usually briefly lists what will be covered in subsequent chapters. You can usually do it in one sentence per chapter; try to vary the sentence style.

The Introduction is often short, perhaps some 10 pages. Write it after you have written the body chapters and the Conclusion so that you know just what you are introducing.

Chapter 2. background and literature review:

Here is the place you situate your work in the field. Your goal is to show that you understand how your work fits into and contributes to the context of the wider research field. Include only references to previous work important to your research project.

The chapter can be organized either thematically or chronologically. Summarize the major contribution of each of the works cited; show how each work relates to what came before or to contemporaneous research; identify issues; link each previous work to your research as well. It should be clear why we are reading about a particular work and how it relates to your thesis research.