How to Write a Thesis??
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This document provides guidance on how to write a thesis. It discusses organizing the thesis by including elements like the title page, abstract, table of contents, introduction, literature review, methods, results, discussion, and references. It emphasizes developing a clear structure with an outline and using visual elements like figures and tables to present data. The document also covers writing each section, editing for clarity and flow, attention to style/formatting details, and managing the writing process with planning and regular writing. The overall message is that a well-organized thesis with a logical structure and flow is important to effectively communicate the research.
How to Write a Thesis??
- 1. How to Write a Thesis?? Dr Amit Agrawal Department of Neurosurgery Narayana Medical College and Hospital Nellore-524003
- 2. ● Organization ● Of the whole thesis ● Within the thesis ● Writing style and form ● Resources Present discussion
- 3. Planning and time line B
- 4. How to Organize a Thesis? How to Write a Thesis??
- 5. Outline ● Title Page ● Abstract ● Dedication ● Acknowledgements ● Table of Contents ● List of Figures ● List of Tables ● List of Appendices ● List of Abbreviations ● Introduction ● Materials and Methods ● Literature review ● Results ● Discussion ● References ● Glossary ● Appendices
- 6. ● It should contain concise and clear description of the content using informative keywords. ● Contains short, descriptive title of the proposed thesis project (should be fairly self-explanatory) and author, institution, department, research mentor, mentor's institution, and date of delivery Title page
- 7. ● The title should be succinct, focused and objective, giving, if possible, the scope of the thesis. Title
- 8. ● A brief ‘thank you’ ● It should be given to whom the researcher is indebted in connection with his/her work. ● It is given for guidance, technical help, financial support, physical facilities and so on. ● It may not be given for small help. ● It should be confined, generally, in a page. Acknowledgements
- 9. ● Write this LAST! ● Abstracts should be 1-2 pages and should be self-contained ● Model after a paper in your field ● Written to attract readers to your article or thesis, gives a good initial impression ● Summary of the contents of the thesis ● The abstract is a brief summary of your thesis proposal ● Brief but contains sufficient detail ● Motivation for the work ● Project objectives ● techniques employed ● Main results and conclusions Abstract
- 10. ● Table of Contents ● List of Figures ● List of Tables ● List of Appendices ● List of Abbreviations
- 11. ● Introduce the subject area (Overview and definition) and explain the research topic. ● Keep introduction shorts and focused ● A summary of existing evidence that motivated the proposed work. ● A general introduction to what the thesis is all about - not just a description of the contents of each section ● Write this second to last! Introduction
- 12. ● State your research question(s) or research objective(s). Aims and objectives
- 13. ● It is a review of what has been published on that topic so we do not duplicate someone else’s work. ● Make sure that you have read and understood cited work ● Organize your content according to ideas instead of individual publications. ● Do not simply quote or paraphrase the contents of published articles. Review of literature
- 14. ● Conduct a thorough literature search before designing your methodology and collecting your data. ● The literature review should provide context and clarify the relationship between your topic and previous work in that area. ● When writing the literature review, present major themes, theories, and ideas that have been published in the area, and the findings of related studies. ● Conclude the review of the literature with a short section that describes your topic, highlighting why it is important to address the problem you have investigated. Review of literature
- 15. ● Contains an overall description of your approach, materials, and procedures ● Explains your research design ● What was done, how, and why? ● What methods were used? ● How were data collected and analyzed? ● What materials will be used? ● Citations should be limited to data sources and more complete descriptions of procedures Materials and methods
- 16. ● The methods should have clear connections to the hypotheses. ● Ensure proper quality control and statistical planning and analysis. ● Describe sufficient detail of the method so that the work can be reproduced. ● Do not include results and discussion of results here Materials and methods
- 17. ● Well- known operations should not be described in detail. List special reagents and apparatus essential for the work with their sources (producer, place). ● Do not describe reagents and apparatus or equipment that are normally found in a laboratory and used in the normal way. ● If recent article has described the methodology in detail, better cite the article. Materials and methods
- 18. ● The objective is to present a simple, clear and complete account of the results of your research. ● Describe what you found in your research, without discussion, interpretation or reference to the literature. ● Describe the results concisely and clearly in the form of tables, figures or plates. ● Discuss how they fit in the framework of your thesis Results
- 19. ● Draft your figures first (A picture is worth a thousand words) ● Make captions stand alone ● Use enough figures to present the data that justifies your interpretations and conclusions. ● Write your text around your figures Data presentation
- 20. ● Discuss the main points? ● Relate your findings to your original statement of the problem and your literature review. ● Begin by briefly summarizing the previous chapters, then discuss what you found. ● Ask yourself why the results were what they were, and then try to provide meaningful answers to the question. Discussion
- 21. ● Discuss the limits of the research? ● Feel free to interpret objectively and subjectively and to make references to what others have said on the subject. ● Make sure that every conclusion you draw is defensible and not just your own personal opinion. Discussion
- 22. ● References should be listed numerically depending on the conventions adopted by your department. ● Double check that you have listed all the works you have used in the text. ● Use ENDNOTE program List of references
- 36. ● What new knowledge will the proposed project produce that we do not already know? ● Make recommendations for areas that require further study. ● Make recommendations relating to the problem that you investigated, for example by making practical suggestions on how to improve the situation in the organization in which your research took place. Recommendations
- 37. ● Not a rambling summary of the thesis ● Short, concise statements of the inferences that have been made ● Short numbered paragraphs, ordered from most to least important ● Should be directly related to the research question stated ● No new facts and references in conclusion Conclusion
- 38. ● Appendix may be placed after references. ● Material which casts light on the work done but which would impede the clear delivery of ideas ● Program listings ● Huge tables of data ● Prforma Appendix
- 39. ● Make scientific drawings ● A well chosen and well labeled figure can reduce text length, and improve proposal clarity. ● It clarifies thinking ● Incorporate graphs in the text or on separated sheets inserted in the thesis Figures and tables
- 40. ● Plagiarism means using other writers’ ideas, words or frameworks without acknowledgement. ● It means that we are falsely claiming that the work is your own. ● This can range from deliberate plagiarism such copying whole papers, paragraphs, sentences or phrases without acknowledgement to splicing phrases from other writers into your work without acknowledgement. B Plagiarism
- 41. ● Writing resources ● Library ● Google ● Pubmed ● Spreadsheets, analysis tools ● Plotting programs ● Graphics programs ● ENDNOTE ● Start learning these before you collect the data (e.g., during the thesis proposal process) Tools
- 42. Nested hourglass model ● The whole thesis ● Each section, subsection ● Most paragraphs ● Broad focus at beginning, end; specifics/narrow focus in middle
- 43. ● Prepare an extended outline. ● List each section and subsection ● For each section and subsection, write a brief point-form description of the contents. Getting Started
- 44. ● Review with your advisor. ● Look for ● Unnecessary material? Remove it. ● Missing material? Add it ● It is much less painful and more time-efficient to make such decisions early, during the outline phase, rather than after you've already done a lot of writing which has to be thrown away. Getting Started
- 45. ● Content ● The message given ● Style ● The way that message is presented (structure, language, and illustration) ● Form ● The appearance of the message (grammar, punctuation, usage, spelling, and format). Hierarchy of importance
- 46. ● Framing text ● Use the MS Word outline tool ● Keep going back to “outline view” throughout the various drafts of your writing ● Short headings (punchy, 4-8 words) Framework
- 47. ● Outline broader issues ● Each paragraph needs a topic sentence ● Contents of paragraph should only relate to that topic Framework
- 48. ● Good structure ● Logical ● Paragraphs single units of thought ● Readability ● Straightforward language ● Simple grammar ● Managing readers’ expectations ● Relevancy / need to know basis A Write Clearly
- 49. ● Start by writing down the single most important concept. ● Outline the critical observations and reasoning that support that concept ● Test your organization by careful evaluation of the outline ● Expand the outline to greater detail, then test it again Organization
- 50. ● Write the body of the text : methods first, observations next, interpretations last. ● Write the contextual elements: conclusion first, introduction next, abstract last. ● Insert carefully composed transitional sections, paragraphs, and sentences. Organization
- 51. ● Vital part of writing ● Consult supervisor ● Ask for clarification A Editing
- 52. ● Is the chapter structure good? ● Are the subheadings appropriate? ● Is the argument clear and logical? ● Are your paragraphs linked to each other? ● Does each sentence say what you want it to? ● Are there any sentences out of place? ● Is the language appropriate? A Editing
- 53. ● Different levels ● Word level ● Misspellings, grammar mistakes, repetition of words ● Paragraph level ● How different sections link to each other ● Chapter level ● Can your argument be strengthened? ● Can your links to previous research be strengthened? Editing
- 54. ● Poor grammar and spelling distract from the content of the proposal ● Simple wording is generally better ● Explain abbreviations, unusual terms Editing
- 55. ● Facilitate the writing process and make your dissertation readable. ● Select documentation style and apply it consistently and carefully throughout your dissertation. Style and Structure
- 56. ● The dissertation must not exceed 15,000 words (excluding tables, figures and appendices). ● Most dissertations are between 40 and 80 pages. ● Format ● Typography, layout ● Justify all your text in the dissertation body. Font, Spacing and Length
- 57. ● Spacing and fonts ● The preferred typeface is Times Roman (11 or 12 points). ● Use 1.5 or double-line spacing for the dissertation text. ● Page setup ● Top = 3 cm; bottom = 2.5 cm; left = 3 cm; right = 2.5 cm. ● Pagination ● Put the page number at the center of page 1.5 cm from the bottom edge. ● Don't show page umber on the first page. Font, Spacing and Length
- 58. ● Figures inserted in the dissertation should appear close to where they are referenced in the text. ● The usual convention of the figure followed by the figure title shall be followed. ● Use the Chapter/Figure number convention to label the figures in the dissertation. ● For example, Figure 1.2 refers to the second figure of chapter 1. ● A List of Figures and Tables must be included after the content page of dissertation Font, Spacing and Length
- 59. ● Start writing today (never tomorrow) ● Use a clear structure ● Takes more time than you may think ● Read the whole thesis to pick up repetition. ● It should be well-written ● Organized, with a logical flow ● Concise, but also complete ● Good grammar Summary
- 60. ● A thesis is not a story. It’s a formal document designed to answer only a few major questions. ● A research paper (or thesis) is an attempt to persuade. ● The key to persuasion is organization. ● A picture is worth a thousand words. ● Don't use a thousand words where five hundred will do. ● If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, again. Conclusions
- 61. Good Luck!