Tips on How to Write a Good Thesis Paper
An academic thesis is a paper written by students who are pretty close to earning an academic degree. It is the name typically given to the major document candidates compose to earn a Master’s degree or an MBA, but it can also be used to describe a PhD dissertation or even a culminating study a college student completes at the end of an undergraduate program. At the graduate and doctoral levels, the thesis is a complex academic document of 30, 50, or 100 pages, and the candidate provides an oral defense of it before a university committee. Candidates for an academic degree are required to write a paper that would present a hypothesis and the way they proved it. In other words, you have to find an interesting idea or theory that no one has proved before you and try to explain and convince a reader of its validity using research and experiments. So, let us explore the main techniques that every candidate should pass through on the way of creating a strong and effective thesis. How does one write a good thesis paper? Read the following steps:
Step One: The Structure
Perhaps the thesis and dissertation, more than any other type of proposal or paper, are two papers that require a strict structure. Before starting to write a thesis paper every candidate should learn the main parts that every thesis should include. Your experience writing a proposal probably informed you about most of these: the title page, abstract, table of contents, list of figures, list of tables, introduction, methods, results, discussion, conclusions, recommendations, acknowledgements, references, appendices. These are sections that have to be written and included in your thesis paper. In our thesis writing guide we will provide a little bit more detail in terms of the guidelines and techniques for handling some sections that usually cause more trouble than others. When writing a thesis paper do not forget that average length should reach about 40 pages.
Step Two: Title Page
The title is such an easy part and yet one that leads to so many mistakes made by students. We believe that it is caused by some differences between a usual academic paper's title and thesis title. To make sure you develop the best possible title, just make sure you give these items: the title and subtitle, your institution (full name), author's name, department, date of delivery, research mentors. Follow the requirements of formatting that your institution provides. In terms of the title itself, try to be creative without being too showy. Your title should be descriptive but also intriguing enough to show your committee that your topic is interesting rather than boring.
Step Three: Abstract
The abstract is a section of the thesis about 400-500 words in length that highlights some very important questions of the study. The abstract should be written in a way that would provide a person that is looking at your writing for the first time with a general idea of the purpose and conclusions of your work. In order to write a good abstract, answer these questions: "What is the purpose of your paper?"; "Why did you do this?"; "What methods did you use?"; "What did you learn and what results did you get?"; and "Why do you think it is important?" Essentially, the abstract provides a brief outline of your project and a sample of the conclusions reached.
Step Four: Methods
In order to write a successful thesis, pay attention to the sections we present here, since they are the most challenging for students. Methodology is the part that also can cause trouble even if you think that you know how to do it. First of all, you need to provide the reader with confidence in the reliability of your results. Present to your audience the description of materials, procedure and theory, grounded in the research you conducted in the literature review. Refer back to specific examples from your research. Essentially, you are providing and outline and a plan for how you conducted your research and are making the case that it was a solid and effective way to undertake your experiment. Make sure that after reading your methods section another researcher would be able to replicate your experiments. Very often candidates highlight a description of the results which is a mistake! Be sure to cite all sources in a standard format such as MLA or APA style.
Step Five: What Are Acknowledgements?
Quite often students ask our team what kind of information they should present in the acknowledgements section. When writing an acknowledgements section, typically candidates for an academic degree cite their advisor and any person who helped in writing the thesis, including those who provided them with materials and supplies, and those who helped them intellectually and financially.
The purpose of this article was to provide a few prompts to help concentrate student's attention on the sections that usually cause the greatest number of mistakes when creating a thesis paper. We hope you understood what you should and should not write in your thesis and our effective thesis writing tips have helped to make the process smoother and less intimidating.
