bachelor thesis 4 0

How to Write a Bachelor’s Thesis: A Step-by-Step Guide

The bachelor’s degree is an important milestone in your academic life, and creating a successful bachelor’s thesis is an essential part of this process.

Although it can be a challenge, with a structured approach and a clear timetable, a well-researched, informed, and organized bachelor’s thesis can be created.

In this article, we explain how to write a bachelor’s thesis.

11 Facts About Bachelor’s Theses

• The average length of a bachelor’s thesis is about 30-60 pages.
• Most bachelor’s theses are written in the field of economics.
• The average processing time for a bachelor’s thesis is 3-6 months.
• Typically, bachelor’s theses are supervised by a professor or lecturer.
• Most bachelor’s theses are still written and submitted on paper.
• A bachelor’s thesis is always written within the framework of a study program and is an important part of the degree completion.
• The topic selection for a bachelor’s thesis is usually free, as long as it falls within the field of study.
• Adherence to citation rules and source references is an important part of a bachelor’s thesis.
• Submission of a bachelor’s thesis is usually combined with an oral examination.
• The bachelor’s thesis is the first longer scientific work that a student writes during their studies and therefore represents an important hurdle.
• In 2021, approximately 260,000 students achieved their bachelor’s degree.

Scientific Formulations in Minutes Seconds

11 Tips for Academic Writing (Bachelor’s Theses)

• Start your bachelor’s thesis early to have enough time for research, writing, and revision.
• Choose an interesting and relevant topic that fits well with your field of study.
• Create a detailed work plan to keep track of your steps and deadlines.
• Use trustworthy and current sources to underpin your work.
• Write clearly and precisely, avoid using unnecessarily complicated sentences.
• Use a consistent citation style and pay attention to the correct source citation.
• Logically structure your bachelor’s thesis and ensure that the common thread is recognizable.
• Revise and polish your work multiple times to ensure that it is free from spelling and grammar errors.
• Have your work read by others and seek feedback to recognize areas for improvement.
• Consider publishing your bachelor’s thesis to make it accessible to others and to present your work.
• Have your text scientifically rephrased by Mimir. Sample input : Potatoes are healthy… ➔ Result : Potatoes are rich in vitamins and minerals and can contribute to a balanced diet.

The Process of Writing a Bachelor’s Thesis: Step by Step Guide

The writing process of a bachelor’s thesis is a challenge for many students. In this section, we give an overview of the most important steps and tips to successfully master the process.

• Determine the topic of the bachelor’s thesis and discuss it with the supervisor.
• Conduct comprehensive research and collect relevant sources.
• Create an outline and divide the topic into individual sections.
• Write the main part of the paper by processing and summarizing the insights gained from the research.
• Compose the concluding part, summarizing the main findings of the work and outlining possible further steps or implications.
• Proofread the work and check for formal requirements.
• Submit and defend the bachelor’s thesis.

Choosing a Topic: How to Find the Perfect Topic for Your Bachelor’s Thesis

The first step in creating a bachelor’s thesis is selecting the topic. It’s important that your topic is specific and answers a clear research question. If your topic is too general, it will be harder to achieve meaningful results.

Why is the topic important?

An interesting and relevant topic not only captivates your readers but also gives you the motivation to successfully complete the work.

The topic of your bachelor’s thesis is crucial for the success of your work.

A difficult or boring topic, on the other hand, can lead to you finding the writing process frustrating and ultimately not successfully completing the work. Therefore, it’s important to think carefully about which topic you choose for your bachelor’s thesis.

If you have difficulty finding a topic, you can turn to your supervisors and present your ideas to them.

Research & Study: The Right Way to the Perfect Bachelor’s Thesis

Once the topic is set, it’s time to collect the necessary information. This can be done by searching through libraries and databases, reading specialist literature, and interviewing experts. It’s important to carefully organize and document the collected information so that it’s easily accessible when writing the work.

It’s also important that your sources are current, as research and opinions in your subject area are constantly changing.

Possible Sources

• Academic Publications
• Professional Journals
• Reputable Websites (you should consult your supervisor beforehand)

Structure: Setup and Organization of the Bachelor Thesis

It is important to have a clear structure for your bachelor thesis. This should include an introduction, a main part, and a conclusion. Within the main part, you can divide your arguments into different sections. This helps you to structure your thought process and ensure a smooth and logical flow.

Introduction

• Summary of the research thesis
• Definition of the main terms
• Explanation of the research question and area of interest
• Conduct literature research
• Develop arguments and hypotheses
• Draw conclusions and results
• Cite sources
• Summary of the results
• Comparison of hypotheses and results
• Explanation of the implications of the results
• Recommendations for further research

Writing: Tips and Tricks for the Writing Process

After you have completed your research and established your structure, it is time to write.

It is important that you write your work in simple, academic German/English.

Avoid using too many technical terms and ensure that each sentence conveys a clear thought.

Compose a clear introduction that explains your topic and presents your argumentation. In the main part of your work, you should provide your arguments and examples to prove your thesis. Make sure that your arguments are logical and understandable.

• Write a simple and clear introduction
• Compose the main part of your work
• Ensure that each sentence conveys a clear thought
• Provide your arguments and examples to prove your thesis
• Ensure logical and understandable argumentation
• Avoid too many technical terms
• Avoid vague formulations
• Avoid subjective opinions

Tip: Let Mimir formulate your bullet point ( Example input : Running is great ➔ Result (1/3) : Running is a healthy and effective form of physical activity that can contribute to improving cardiovascular fitness, mobility, and mental health.)

Formatting: How to Properly Format Your Bachelor Thesis

It is important that you adhere to your university’s guidelines when formatting your bachelor thesis. Check the requirements for margins, line spacing, font size, and font type prescribed by your university.

It is also important to format your work consistently to achieve a professional look.

• Adhere to your university’s guidelines
• Check margins, line spacing, font size, and font type
• Consistently format your work
• Create a professional layout

Citing and Referencing: Rules for Citing and Referencing in the Bachelor Thesis

When referring to the ideas of other authors in your work, it is important to cite and reference them correctly. There are various citation styles you can use, but most universities use the Harvard or APA style.

Make sure to properly cite and reference all sources you refer to, to avoid plagiarism.

• Use the Harvard or APA style
• Cite and reference all sources you refer to
• Avoid plagiarism

Proofreading: Error Sources and Tips for a Flawless Bachelor Thesis

After you have written your bachelor thesis, it is important to thoroughly review it. Check the content for correct grammar, spelling, and structure. Also ensure that your arguments are clear and logical and that your statements are supported by your research.

It is important to proofread and edit your work several times. Make sure to correct all spelling and grammar errors so that your work looks professional.

• Read your work aloud to detect errors in grammar, sentence structure, and pronunciation.
• Use a dictionary or an online proofreading program to find errors in spelling and punctuation.
• Have someone else read your work and ask for feedback to gain additional perspectives and suggestions for improvement.
• Carefully review and revise your work to improve its quality and content. This can be done by adding examples, removing unnecessary information, or refining arguments.

Tip: Have your text checked by Mimir (Unscientific words, gender conformity, and more…)

Submission: How to Safely Submit and Defend Your Bachelor Thesis

Writing a bachelor thesis can be a challenging task, but if you follow the steps mentioned above, you will complete your work in a professional manner.

Don’t forget to adhere to the guidelines of your university.

Once you have reviewed and revised your bachelor’s thesis, it’s time to submit it. Make sure your work meets the requirements of your examiner and contains the correct information. If possible, have a friend or family member review it before you submit it.

Earning a bachelor’s degree is a great achievement, and creating a successful bachelor’s thesis is an essential part of this process. Remember, choosing a topic, conducting research, and writing a bachelor’s thesis can be a laborious process. However, if you have a clear schedule and follow the steps mentioned above, you can create a well-researched, informed, and organized bachelor’s thesis.

And last but not least: Congratulations!

Two Practical Examples of the Process

To better understand the steps and tips mentioned above, here are two examples from different academic areas:

• A psychology student writes a bachelor’s thesis on the effects of social media on the mental health of adolescents. She chooses this topic because it combines her personal interest and her expertise in psychology. She gathers information by reading textbooks and conducting interviews with adolescents and experts. She creates an outline consisting of an introduction, three main chapters, and a conclusion, and writes her paper accordingly. She makes sure to use quotes and references and to adhere to the APA formatting requirements. Finally, she carefully corrects her work and has it read by her teacher and a fellow student for improvement suggestions.
• A computer science student writes a bachelor’s thesis on the development of a new algorithm for machine learning. He chooses this topic because it reflects his expertise in computer science and his curiosity about new technologies. He gathers information by reading academic articles and communicating with other experts in his field. He creates an outline consisting of an introduction, three main chapters, a section on results, and a conclusion, and writes his paper accordingly. He makes sure to use citations and references and to adhere to the IEEE formatting requirements. Finally, he carefully corrects his work and has it read by his supervisor and a reviewer from a professional journal for improvement suggestions.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you start writing a bachelor’s thesis.

Before you start writing your bachelor’s thesis, you should first plan the topic and structure of the paper. This also includes researching relevant sources and creating an outline. Once you have an overview of the structure of the paper, you can start writing.

How quickly can you write a bachelor’s thesis?

The duration of writing a bachelor’s thesis can vary greatly and depends on various factors, such as the complexity of the topic, the size of the paper, and the time spent on research. However, you should generally plan several weeks or even months for the actual writing of a bachelor’s thesis.

How do you properly write a bachelor’s thesis?

1. Start by selecting an interesting and relevant topic for your bachelor’s thesis. 2. Create a clear and detailed research plan that outlines the goals, methods, and timeline for your work. 3. Gather comprehensive and reliable sources to support your arguments and substantiate your theses. 4. Compose a clear and structured introduction that highlights the topic and significance of your work. 5. Develop your arguments in the main chapters of your bachelor’s thesis and use examples and evidence to support your statements. 6. Conclude your findings and conclusion in a conclusive and detailed section that summarizes the significance and implications of your work. 7. Thoroughly correct and revise your bachelor’s thesis to ensure it is logical, coherent, and error-free.

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Bachelor's thesis

Objectives of a bachelor’s thesis and the supervisor’s responsibilities at the different stages of the thesis process.

With a bachelor’s thesis, students demonstrate their ability to apply their acquired knowledge and skills, engage in scientific or artistic thinking and activities and communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, in their mother tongue. Students typically attend a bachelor's thesis seminar while working on their bachelor’s thesis.

Students write their bachelor’s thesis under the supervision of a member of teaching and research staff who holds at least a master’s degree and is familiar with the topic and field of the thesis and the relevant assessment criteria. The supervisor is expected to offer advice on the academic content of the work and the research process and support the student throughout the project.   

The stages of a bachelor’s thesis process are outlined below: 

The supervisor and student must discuss the student's goals and expectations for the thesis and the relevant assessment criteria. The role of a supervisor is to guide and support the student in the process of engaging in scientific inquiry and the development of scientific thinking. Students are entitled to a reasonable level of supervision. Supervisors and students should be familiar with their respective roles and responsibilities in the thesis process.

Academic guidance and counselling

The supervisor is a person who is a member of the University’s teaching and research staff, holds at least a master’s degree and is familiar with the field and topic of the thesis as well as the assessment criteria of theses. The supervisor’s task is to support the preparation of your thesis in terms of content and research process at the different stages of working on the thesis. In the seminar, you are assigned a thesis supervisor based on your topic.

Discuss with your supervisor the goals and assessment criteria of the thesis as well as your goals relative to the assessment criteria. As the supervisory process starts, you draw up a supervisory plan detailing the aims, schedule and language of the thesis. A common understanding of the scientific requirements of the thesis and of good scientific practice is also formed. The timing of supervision and the stages of the thesis process are also agreed upon.

Your own work and mastering the scientific thinking and practices supported by the supervision is at the core of the supervision process of a Bachelor’s thesis. You are entitled to a reasonable amount of supervision. A sensible number of supervisors is determined in accordance with the faculty’s guidelines and the work plans of the teaching staff.

Other help and support during the writing of a thesis

You are not alone with your thesis. Support is available, for example, on information searching and data management as well as writing and making progress . Support is offered by the University’s joint counselling services, Language Centre and Library and Data Service.

Thesis as work done in pairs or groups

Make an agreement with your supervisor if you want to do the thesis work in a pair or a group. If the thesis is undertaken in a pair or a group, each student must be able to demonstrate his/her own share of the work because the thesis is fundamentally about practising independent scientific work. The thesis is assessed for each student individually.

Language of the thesis

The language of the Bachelor’s thesis is either Finnish, the language defined in the curriculum or the main language used in the studies. The responsible supervisor decides on the use of other languages. 

A student studying in an English-language degree programme may write his/her thesis in Finnish. However, if the student wants his/her academic record to show that he/she has earned the degree in English, an English-language thesis may be required. 

Students must demonstrate language and communication skills in their field in connection to their thesis. The demonstration of language skills in relation to the thesis is described in more detail in the section on the maturity test.

Thesis seminar

The thesis seminar focuses on the scientific requirements and good scientific practices of the thesis, academic writing and language and communication skills, information seeking, and scientific debate through peer learning. The seminar, together with other supervision, supports the student’s independent work on the thesis. The aim should be to complete the thesis during the seminar. 

Adherence to good scientific practice

Learning outcomes related to good scientific practice are included in all theses and the seminars cover the topic. Review the guidelines for sound scientific practice and, if necessary, seek guidance from your supervisor. As part of supervising the writing process, the supervisor should ensure that you are familiar with good scientific practice and able to act accordingly.

Also remember the accessibility of the thesis.

The originality check of a thesis

During the writing process, you may use the originality check tool that is found on your supervisor’s Turnitin section on Moodle. It will give you a comparative report on your text that helps you to evaluate the appropriateness of your citation practices. You can always ask your thesis supervisor for advice on interpreting the comparison report.

The student and the thesis supervisor agree about the point when the thesis is ready for the official originality check and the subsequent assessment proper. You enter the text of your completed thesis in the originality checking software and the supervisor reviews the originality report. After the supervisor has checked the originality report, you may submit the thesis for the actual assessment process.

From 1 August 2019, the electronic originality check is done to all theses and dissertations at Tampere University.

Commissioned theses

The thesis can be done as a commissioned study for a principal that can be a company or another party. The thesis is a piece of scientific work that is evaluated according to academic criteria. Thus, the principal must also be aware of the academic nature of the work and the publicity of the completed thesis. The student, the supervisor and the principal agree on the topic, schedule and objectives of the thesis. The responsible supervisor at the University is in charge of the scientific supervision of the thesis. The principal may appoint a contact person to deal with matters related to the thesis. The principal may also participate in the supervision of the thesis. The student agrees in writing with the principal on any fee paid to the student. 

As a basis for such discussions, a guideline has been drawn up that applies to Master’s theses but which can also be applied to Bachelor’s theses.

Copyright of the thesis

Copyright issues are also related to the publicity of the thesis. The student is responsible for the contents of the thesis and ascertaining his/her rights to it. The author of a published thesis must have full copyright to the thesis, including any pictorial, table or other material included in it, or have the right to publish such material online. 

Further information on copyright is available on the Library’s Open Access guide and on the following website:  

• ImagOA : Open science and use of images: a guide on the Aalto University website  

Publicity and confidentiality of the thesis

Under law, a thesis is a public document (1999/621). A thesis becomes public as soon as it has been approved. Confidential information cannot be included in a thesis. Publishing the thesis or its parts elsewhere – for example as articles – does not change the publicity requirement.  

If confidential information is processed in relation to the thesis, its use should be prearranged with the supervisor and the possible principal. The actual thesis should be written in a manner that allows the publication of all parts. The possible confidential information should be incorporated in the appendices or background data that are not published. Such separate data is not archived at the University.

Submitting the thesis for assessment

Make an agreement with your supervisor on submitting the thesis for assessment. By submitting your Bachelor’s thesis for assessment, you also confirm that the originality check has also been completed. You also decide what kind of a publication permission you give for your thesis.

Submit the thesis for evaluation via the Library’s publishing archive Trepo . Use your tuni basic user account to login via Haka login. After the Library’s inspection (within 3 working days), the publication archive sends a message to both the student and the faculty saying that the thesis has been submitted. It is the student’s responsibility to inform the supervisor that he/she has submitted the thesis for evaluation. The supervisor gets the thesis from the publication archive. Please note that you must be registered as present in order to submit a thesis on Trepo.

If there is any suspicion of fraud in a thesis that has been submitted for examination, the matter is dealt with in line with the University’s protocol on suspected fraud. 

Maturity test

Visit the maturity test section for further information.

Assessment and grading of the thesis

The examiner of the thesis has 21 days to assess your thesis after you have submitted it for assessment (i.e. when you have sent the link from the Library to the examiner) or 28 days if you are taking the maturity test in connection with the examination of your thesis.  The results on theses submitted for examination during the period from 1 June to 31 August may take longer to be published. For justified reasons, the Dean may make an exception to the deadline. Students are informed about such exceptions in advance.   

The Faculty Council decides on the assessment criteria of theses. Bachelor’s theses are assessed with the grading scale of 0 – 5. In addition, the examiner issues a written statement. The grades are 1 (sufficient), 2 (satisfactory), 3 (good), 4 (very good) and 5 (excellent). 

A student cannot submit a new thesis to replace an already approved one.    

Rectification requests

See more information on the Appeals against grades page.

Electronic archiving and publishing of the thesis

All Bachelor’s theses are electronically archived and stored for ten years. Tampere University’s Library is in charge of archiving theses and dissertations on the university’s publication database. 

All theses and dissertations are public and stored on the university’s publication database Trepo. According to the University’s strategic alignment on open science, all theses and dissertations are openly published unless the publisher’s conditions prevent it. All theses may be read with the computers in the Library and online if the student has granted permission to publish on the internet.

After approval, all theses are stored in the comparison database of the originality checking software. 

Open How do I write an abstract about my thesis?

Open faculty of built environment (ben), open faculty of education and culture (edu), open faculty of engineering and natural sciences (ens), open faculty of medicine and health technology (met).

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What makes a Bachelor's thesis different from Master's and PhD theses? [duplicate]

All the three types of research revolve around an argument, a thesis. They of course differ in terms of student level, that is complexity.

But, what makes a bachelor's thesis different from master's and PhD theses in terms of procedures of researching given that all of them may follow the same process of research, questions or hypotheses, review of the literature, methodology, results and discussion?

• research-process
• research-undergraduate

• 13 In a bachelor thesis you are usually not expected to expand the existing body of human knowledge in contrast to a PhD. Bachelor theses are closer to literature reviews. –  Marc Claesen Commented Mar 29, 2014 at 9:08
• 1 I see what you meant but I'm not really convinced. Concerning the contribution to human knowledge, I think this depends on whether the thesis is innovative. If an undergraduate thesis is genuine, it can be published in a respectable academic journal. In that case, it would expand existing body of human knowledge. Concerning its similarity with literature reviews, how can it be similar if the literature review is but a chapter of the thesis? –  EasternRiver Commented Mar 29, 2014 at 10:26
• 5 You are very unlikely to do anything really innovative as a BA, unless you just happen to be lucky to be working in a very new field, or under a very, very good mentor. The idea that you're going to make a meaningful contribution to some well established, famous open problem at 22 is really, really low. –  user10636 Commented Mar 29, 2014 at 12:00
• 2 A PhD thesis requires original research, a master's does not required it, and a bachelor's thesis ... they just do assignments. –  Philip Gibbs Commented Mar 29, 2014 at 15:25
• 6 This graphic is a bit instructive: An illustrated guide to a Ph.D. –  Matthew G. Commented Mar 29, 2014 at 16:37

3 Answers 3

The PhD thesis should be on a much higher level than the Honours/Masters thesis, offering a contribution to human knowledge that is of a sufficient level of "significance" to warrant publication in a respected journal.

Significance is highly subjective, and you also do not necessarily have to publish to be awarded the PhD (sometimes the peer-review delay means that they come out afterwards, or there may be some intellectual property issues that make it beneficial to refrain from publication). It is awarded based on your supervisors consent and a review of academics in your field. So the "significance" would probably be judged by them in terms of how much original work they see as a reasonable expectation at that stage of your development (first 3 years of serious/committed research). Unfortunately it also means that some people who probably do not deserve PhD's are awarded them anyway for fulfilling grunt work for their easy-going supervisors.

It is possible that some Honours/Masters thesis might even be more significant/higher quality than a PhD thesis. Unfortunately, this does not mean that the submission of the thesis will award the degree that they deserve. The university may have a policy to upgrade the student's enrolment if the supervisor senses that such progress is being made. However, it is impossible to upgrade to a PhD without completing Honours and I believe nearly every single university has a policy of a minimum period of enrolment before submission is allowed. A subsequent question that you may have is how to gain a PhD without enrolling in one, which is another level of achievement completely.

As for the difference between Honours/Bachelor and Masters it would depend on your university, but both have no requirement for publication quality research and are usually small tasks/ideas that are not worth the supervisors time to think about alone, or involve a lot of labor. In fact, in my school, many Honours thesis are of a higher level than the Masters, because the smart Honours students will either graduate into the work force or go straight into a PhD. The Masters students are usually those who cannot find a job and are not suited to research. However, I believe some other universities may require a mandatory Masters degree to start the PhD.

You may get a better idea by looking at some titles/abstracts of completed theses. The PhD level will be something like a new method/observation/application whereas the Masters/Honours will be an application specific set of measurements/simulations or even simply a literature review to gauge the needs of future work. The word limits are also typically different (although note that quality is NOT proportional to the number of words), with PhD at 100K, Masters at 50K and Honours at 30K at my university.

Go back to basic definitions... In history of university degrees (500 years ago)

A bachelors degree is about learning existing knowledge. Historically from the book(s) written by the univ staff.

A masters degree, after you have learnt what is already known and in books in your topic area, is about learning evolving knowledge - that is near recent and current literature in academic journals and conference presentations.

A doctorate degree is about creating new knowledge by research.

So it is now easy to understand a thesis/dissertation for each degree.

A bachelors degree should be a critique of existing knowledge, often looking for inconsistencies in view points from different sources and synthesising arguments or positions in a DISSERTATION )that is you disserting !

A masters thesis (thesis is Greek for 'I believe') can be either an assembly of new knowledge from new published research or simply a critique and integration. It might have propositions (not hypotheses) that the masters student offers as a conclusion from bringing together new knowledge from different sources.

A doctoral thesis is where the author undertakes research, usually collecting primary new data which is presented as both factual findings and conceptual findings and thus new knowledge in the form of a new model or theory. Also possible, is to challenge existing knowledge and show earlier published knowledge is invalid.

Well that's what they all should be. In practice there is some overlap and different universities and faculties have their own custom and practice. It all starts to break down about 40 years ago when a masters degree become post graduate in time rather than post graduate in level. Thus engineers with a bachelor degree might take an MBA to make them more employable and did more a less a bachelor degree in business in 18 months rather than 3 years as they were already a graduate.

But still thinking in the above categories can help students today focus on the overall agenda.

I have examined over 55 PhD theses. And several hundred masters theses and I base my approach to assessment on the above.

Prof Peter Woolliams, B.Sc(hons), B.A., PhD, Emeritus professor, Anglian Ruskin College Cambridge, U K

• Your answer is very clear. However, I have come across many Bachelor's and especially Master's theses following the processes of research. personally, I am writing my Bachelor's thesis. I've followed the same of research. Specifically I've used online ethnography, collected data through participant observation and interviews, and trying to analyze data through constant comparative method. My supervisor did not impose this on me, but students have to follow the processes of research, literature review, data collection and analysis and discussion, etc. I really wonder if I am doing it wrong. –  EasternRiver Commented Mar 29, 2014 at 20:51
• 1 As I said, many units and supervisor have their local specific requirements, peter –  Prof Peter Woolliams Commented Mar 30, 2014 at 10:14

Roughly speaking, there are three levels of tasks:

• Application

For a Bachelor's thesis, you would only expect 1 and 2, that is the student should do something (e.g. solve a well-defined problem) with the knowledge they have aquired during their studies.

For Master's thesis, you would want to have a non-trivial amount of 3, that is the student should transfer the competences aquired during studies to new problems. This usually includes (more) extensive literature research.

A formal difference that (imho) derives from the above is volume; Bachelor's theses typically award less credits than Master's theses and should thus take up less time and fewer pages.

• 1 Note that excellent students will often move to 3 in their Bachelor's thesis and on to independent research in their Master's thesis. That's fair, encouraged even, but should by no means be required. –  Raphael Commented Mar 29, 2014 at 14:26

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged phd research-process masters research-undergraduate .

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Dissertation/Thesis Template

The fastest (and smartest) way to craft a winning dissertation that showcases your study and earns you marks. 

Available in Google Doc, Word & PDF format 4.9 star rating, 5000 + downloads

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What’s Covered In The Template?

This dissertation template is based on the tried and trusted best-practice format for formal academic research projects. The template structure reflects the overall research process, ensuring your document has a smooth, logical flow. Here’s how it’s structured:

• The title page/cover page
• Abstract (sometimes also called the executive summary)
• Table of contents
• List of figures /list of tables
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: Literature review
• Chapter 3: Methodology
• Chapter 4: Research findings /results 
• Chapter 5: Discussion /analysis of findings
• Chapter 6: Conclusion
• Reference list

Each section is explained in plain, straightforward language , followed by an overview of the key elements that you need to cover within each section. We’ve also included practical examples to help you understand exactly what’s required in each section.

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FAQs: Dissertation & Thesis Template

Faqs: dissertation template, what format is the template (doc, pdf, ppt, etc.).

The dissertation template is provided as a Google Doc. You can download it in MS Word format or make a copy to your Google Drive. You’re also welcome to convert it to whatever format works best for you, such as LaTeX or PDF.

What types of dissertations/theses can this template be used for?

The template follows the standard best-practice structure for formal academic research projects such as dissertations or theses, so it is suitable for the vast majority of degrees, particularly those within the sciences.

Some universities may have some additional requirements, but these are typically minor, with the core structure remaining the same. Therefore, it’s always a good idea to double-check your university’s requirements before you finalise your structure.

Will this work for a research paper?

A research paper follows a similar format, but there are a few differences. You can find our research paper template here .

Is this template for an undergrad, Masters or PhD-level thesis?

This template can be used for a dissertation, thesis or research project at any level of study. It may be slight overkill for an undergraduate-level study, but it certainly won’t be missing anything.

How long should my dissertation/thesis be?

This depends entirely on your university’s specific requirements, so it’s best to check with them. As a general ballpark, Masters-level projects are usually 15,000 – 20,000 words in length, while Doctoral-level projects are often in excess of 60,000 words.

What about the research proposal?

If you’re still working on your research proposal, we’ve got a template for that here .

We’ve also got loads of proposal-related guides and videos over on the Grad Coach blog .

How do I write a literature review?

We have a wealth of free resources on the Grad Coach Blog that unpack how to write a literature review from scratch. You can check out the literature review section of the blog here.

How do I create a research methodology?

We have a wealth of free resources on the Grad Coach Blog that unpack research methodology, both qualitative and quantitative. You can check out the methodology section of the blog here.

Can I share this dissertation template with my friends/colleagues?

Yes, you’re welcome to share this template. If you want to post about it on your blog or social media, all we ask is that you reference this page as your source.

Can Grad Coach help me with my dissertation/thesis?

Within the template, you’ll find plain-language explanations of each section, which should give you a fair amount of guidance. However, you’re also welcome to consider our dissertation and thesis coaching services .

Additional Resources

If you’re working on a dissertation or thesis, be sure to also check these resources out…

1-On-1 Private Coaching

The Grad Coach Resource Center

The Grad Coach YouTube Channel

The Grad Coach Podcast

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Tips and tricks for being more productive!

I need to write my bachelor thesis in 48 days, which is quite short. Can anybody give me any tipps concerning saving time and on productivity?

I usually would have had 9 weeks but this is now hoq it is. I am also not the best in scientific so i wpnt be the fastest either so i can use any good tipps you can give me concerning literature research, organization or anything else

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Guidelines Bachelor thesis

Some faculties have special guidelines concerning writing a bachelor thesis.

The Bachelor Thesis International and European Law, course 620060, is the final phase of the Bachelor's degree program in law. The course consists of two components. The first component is a brief and practical introduction to the international area of work (for example, by participating in a study trip, a summer- or winter course or doing a short internship). The second component covers an individual research project of limited size. For more detailed information students should enroll in CANVAS page of Bachelor Thesis International and European Law. Concrete questions concerning the Bachelor thesis can be e-mailed to [email protected] .

Below you will find general Eindvak IER information on:

In total 6 ECTS are allocated to the Bachelor Thesis. These can be specified in 2 ECTS for the first component (internationalization) and 4 ECTS for the second component (independent research). Note that for the practical component, regardless of the option chosen, a final paper of approximately 6,000 words (or 15 pages) must be written.

Absolute condition for participation

To start with your Bachelor Thesis students must have obtained 119 ECTS. No exceptions will be made to this requirement. The Education Office will verify the number of ECTS obtained by each student enrolled in the Bachelor Thesis process. Generally this condition means that students must have completed all courses from the first and second year of the Bachelor program and two to three courses from the third year.

Students have two options to fill in the practical component of the Bachelor Thesis:

• Participating in a study trip The department of European and International Public Law (EIP) will organize an international study trip of three to five days (depending on the destination) to European and/or international institutions in the second semester of the academic year (Easter holiday). At the end of the first semester a short summary of the theme of the study trip and the deadline for application will be announced on the website of the department on CANVAS. This will help students prepare for the trip and choose a topic for the Bachelor thesis. In addition to the online information there will be two preparatory meetings in the weeks before the study trip. Attendance at these meeting is compulsory! More information on the preparatory meetings can be found in the ESG.
• Doing a short internship The practical component of the Eindvak IER can be completed by doing a short internship. Students must submit a proposal for an internship, including a theme, and obtain approval from the Eindvak coordinator. Furthermore, it must be taken into account that the total effort they must put into the (short) internship option of the Eindvak IER may turn out to exceed the 6 ECTS awarded for the course as a whole. After all, the internship needs to be useful in and of
• Bachelor Thesis For each Bachelor Thesis options, a final paper of approximately 6,000 words (or 15 pages) must be written in English. The paper should be seen as a 'mini thesis', containing a clearly identifiable tripartite structure of introduction, discussion, and conclusion, and requires students to thoroughly prepare. For the exact assessment criteria please consult the Reglement bachelorwerkstuk . The Scriptorium provides individual coaching to help students with academic writing assignments in Dutch or in English. In addition to helping students become better writers, the Scriptorium*also offers assistance in looking for the right sources and citing them correctly. These services are free for all Tilburg University students.

Registration

All Bachelor theses must be registered at the online thesis file (scriptiedossier). In the thesis file students can upload their design and drafts of the Bachelor thesis and, ultimately, the final version. In addition, the thesis file also contains all contact data of supervisors, file information, plagiarism checks, assessment forms, and an evaluation.

Note: it is very important that students register at the thesis file!

Students are expected to complete the practical component independently, meaning they will have to regard all deadlines for enrollment themselves. Also, the Bachelor thesis must be submitted electronically to the supervisor no later than 6 weeks after the study trip, summer/winter course, or short internship. In week 4 there is the possibility to hand in a draft version of the paper with the individual supervisor and, subsequently, receive feedback on this draft via e-mail.

If the score of the Bachelor thesis is unsatisfactory, students will be allowed to revise their paper in order to obtain a pass (grade: 6). The assessment will include comments on which parts need to be improved. The student must submit the improved version of the final paper within one working week after having received feedback on the assessment of the initial paper by the supervisor. If the improved version is still unsatisfactory, students will need to resit the course by writing a paper on a different topic within the parameters of the overall theme of the practical component. A proposal for the new topic must be submitted for approval by the Bachelor Thesis coordinator within one month after notification of the final grade. The practical component of the Bachelor Thesis will not have to be retaken. For more information on resits please consult the CANVAS page of Bachelor Thesis International and European Law.

Plagiarism constitutes fraud and is strictly forbidden! As a rule each paper will be checked for plagiarism via Urkund. Cases of suspected plagiarism will be reported to the Examining Board. For more information on what constitutes plagiarism, please consult the special website of TLS . In addition, the department of European and International Public Law (EIP) provides some information on plagiarism and the basic rules of correct citation of literature. To access this information please consult the CANVAS page of Bachelor Thesis International and European Law.

The information is only available in Dutch. Please visit the website for more information. 

Visit the TSHD website .

• Go to the information about Educational Coordinators
• Choose for Thesis Coordinators Bachelor's or Master's Programs. 

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• Study guide
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Do you work for Tilburg University and would you like to know more about the Scriptorium? Please contact Eric van Luijt, coordinator of the Scriptorium, at  [email protected] .

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Bachelor thesis or Bachelor's thesis

During my final year at university, I wrote what I thought was a "bachelor thesis". Right before printing it I stumbled upon several documents stating the name "bachelor's thesis". (Here we do not call it a dissertation just yet, so this question is only about the possessive bachelor's vs. bachelor .) A couple of Google search queries later, I had not found out which of these terms is correct. Which should I use?

• word-choice
• differences

• 2 It's a master's thesis and a doctoral thesis. Going by these, it should be a bachelor's thesis or a bacheloral thesis . Except bacheloral isn't a word. What is the adjective form for bachelor? Oh, it's bachelor. So by analogy, it's either a bachelor's thesis or a bachelor thesis . I think both should be fine. –  Peter Shor Commented Jul 19, 2012 at 16:06

4 Answers 4

First off, I would mimic the term that your university uses. Does that give you a satisfactory resolution? (Or are they inconsistent in their use?)

If not, do you use the full term "Bachelor of Arts" or "Bachelor of Science" in your thesis title? If so, you don't need the apostrophe s (and you should capitalize the words as indicated). However, if you are referring to the degree program more informally, then I think you should use "bachelor's thesis." ( See this Wikipedia entry in which bachelor's is used throughout.)

Also, the Associated Press Styleguide has these guidelines for Academic Degrees:

• Use an apostrophe in bachelor’s degree, a master’s, etc.
• There is no apostrophe in Bachelor of Arts or Master of Science.

I think that would apply to bachelor's thesis as well.

• Inconsistency is the problem. I have seen both versions come up, so it's not about being correct with respect to the university, it's more a question of my curiosity. As BA/BSc is concerned, we do not distinguish between them, we're simply bachelors. I read through some style guides, but none of them address theses specifically, so I was not sure about its application based on "bachelor's degree" and other uses. So your implication may or may not be correct. Still it's the closest I got to a backed answer. –  Ondrej Commented May 10, 2012 at 10:25

In some countries/universities, the word "thesis" or a cognate is used as part of a bachelor's or master's course, while "dissertation" is normally applied to a doctorate, while in others, the reverse is true.

In USA and Canada,

• Research-based papers presented as the final empirical study of a bachelor with honours (honors) degree are normally called bachelor thesis or honours thesis (in USA, "thesis" is in more commonly use).
• Major papers presented as the final project for a master's degree are normally called thesis .
• Major papers presenting the student's research towards a doctoral degree are called theses or dissertations .

In Germany,

• A bachelor's thesis is often 40–60 pages long, other theses are usually even longer.
• The required submission for the doctorate is called a Dissertation or Doktorarbeit.

• 4 1) This does not address my issue at all. As I said, it's not about thesis/dissertation, regional specifics, ..., it's only about the first word of the term. 2) The whole answer is only a compilation of excerpts from the "Thesis" Wikipedia entry. Don't worry, read that already. –  Ondrej Commented May 10, 2012 at 10:19
• Ahem... I double-checked Mac's Oxford dictionaries and they confirm that "thesis" is singular and "theses" is plural; your answer suggests a semantic difference. I've suggested a minimal edit to make the answer consistent with this. –  Blaisorblade Commented Jun 26, 2016 at 15:07

As I understand it, you are the bachelor (or at least the bachelor candidate) by virtue of being on the course, and the thesis is yours, so bachelor's thesis is the correct way to go.

On the thesis/dissertation thing, a thesis is your argument or proposition, and a dissertation is the discourse you defend it with.

At the college I attended, we used the terms Senior Paper or Senior Thesis to describe that it occurs in the final year of schooling. There are no post-graduate programs at the college in question, which avoided confusion with doctoral or master's level work.

Nomenclature of this final year thesis will vary depending on the institution.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged word-choice differences or ask your own question .

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Bachelor Thesis or Bachelor’s Thesis?

The correct term is bachelor’s thesis because you need to show that the thesis belongs to the bachelor. E.g., “Her bachelor’s thesis was on 18 th -century British poetry.” However, the term bachelor thesis , which is viewed as incorrect by some people, is more common.

The difference between the two terms is that the one with the apostrophe shows that the thesis belongs to the bachelor, which in this form is a noun.

• His bachelor’s thesis was on crime statistics in New York City.

In contrast, in the version without the apostrophe, the word bachelor is an adjective that describes the thesis .

• The college rejected her bachelor thesis for plagiarism.

The term bachelor thesis is unacceptable to many people . However, the word bachelor appears as an adjective in the dictionary. Furthermore, there are plenty of examples of people using the term without an apostrophe.

However, although the term bachelor thesis is common, the correct grammar is bachelor’s thesis , with an apostrophe and no capital letter.

Please keep reading the rest of the article to learn more about the different versions and to find out the rules regarding capitalization.

Bachelor’s Thesis

The term bachelor’s thesis is the correct way to refer to a thesis written by a bachelor.

The apostrophe is necessary to show that the thesis belongs to the bachelor.

• He wrote a bachelor’s thesis on the consistency of different types of concrete.

Furthermore, there is no need to use capital letters for a bachelor’s thesis because neither word is a proper noun.

However, if you are writing the full title of a bachelor’s degree, then you should use a capital letter.

• They awarded him with a Bachelor of Arts In French.

Bachelor Thesis

Although many people feel it is incorrect , people commonly use the term bachelor thesis to refer to a bachelor’s thesis .

In this form, the word bachelor is an adjective rather than a noun. Therefore, it doesn’t need an apostrophe.

• I did not do a bachelor thesis , so I didn’t graduate with honors.
• She is writing her bachelor thesis on the causes of poverty.

Please bear in mind that, although this version is common , if you are writing formally, it is best to stick to the correct grammatical version, which is bachelor’s thesis .

Bachelors Thesis

The term bachelors thesis is an incorrect form of bachelor’s thesis.

In this form, with the “s” at the end, the apostrophe is vital because you need to indicate that the thesis is the bachelors .

For example, it is similar to saying:

• The thesis is Johns.
• It is John’s thesis.

Therefore, you must always put an apostrophe in the word order where the bachelor comes first.

• Correct: John wrote a bachelor’s thesis on economic development in Vietnam.
• Incorrect: John wrote a bachelors thesis on economic development in Vietnam.

Bachelors’ Thesis

The term bachelors’ thesis is not correct because the thesis belongs to the bachelor. Therefore, you should always put the apostrophe before the “s.”

As shown in these examples:

• Correct: Her bachelor’s thesis is on river pollution.
• Incorrect: Her bachelors’ thesis is on river pollution.
• Lady’s or Ladies’ or Ladies?
• Saturdays or Saturday’s?
• Secretary’s or Secretaries’ or Secretaries?
• Nicholas’ or Nicholas’s?

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How to Write a Bachelor/Master Thesis in Social Sciences (Step-by-Step + Examples)

• Post published: April 19, 2021
• Post category: Resources
• Post last modified: August 29, 2024

Hello Auré from 2021!

It’s 2024 and we now have AI (and a bunch of other tools) to help us!

I recommend you use the following tools to write your thesis:

• Consensus app : Find and summarize papers with AI.
• S cispace : same thing as Consensus.
• Grammarly : find and correct grammar and vocabulary mistakes in your text. Alternatively, you can use Microsoft Editor or QuillBot which, if you get the paid version, will also offer an AI assistant and a plagiarism checker.
• Research Rabbit : Visualize and organize information from papers.
• Zotero : collect, organize, and annotate research papers.
• Notion : it’s a note-taking app with an embedded AI helping you build your own Wikipedia. Some people also like Obsidian and Microsoft has created its own Loop . Recently, somebody else made AirGraph .
• Notta : Notta will record, transcribe, translate, and summarize your live and online lectures. It’s the best product to do so out there, but you can also check out Otter , Jamworks , and Studyfetch which seems to be tailored for students. I couldn’t find their pricing though.
• Kipper.ai : Kipper will rewrite an AI-written essay so that it doesn’t look like AI. Not sure what it’s worth but you can also build a GPT that does that in ChatGPT.
• Mem : Mem enables you to ask an AI that will search for the answer to your question in the notes you’ve taken with it. Voicenotes does the same thing but also enables you to record an unlimited number of voicenotes an unlimited number of times. Voicenotes is priced at $10/month or $50 for a lifetime.
• Microsoft to-do : the best to-do list app out there.
• Sci-hub : Sci-hub’s mission is to make access to science free for all. The URL may change as time passes. You can always check this to find the updated one.
• Libgen : the biggest free library in the world.
• Anna’s archive : a team merged Sci-Hub and Libgen together to create Anna’s archive.
• ChatGPT , Claude , Gemini , Grok : I use AI to get feedback on what I write and to understand complex ideas and concepts. I use ChatGPT which I pay for because they let you create GPTs which improve productivity a lot. I share the subscription with a friend of mine, so we only pay €10 per month each.
• Perplexity : AI search engine.
• Microsoft Math Solver : it helps you understand, solve, and do math, like Photomath . For advanced level, use Wolfram Alpha .

Good luck! I didn’t change the rest of the article so always remember that whatever you need help with, there will be an AI tool for that.

When it comes to theses, the guidelines depend on your university, your program, and your supervisor. Always make sure to follow these rules first.

I have written three theses in my academic career and passed all of them the first time.

This article will explain how to write a bachelor or a master thesis in social sciences.

You’ll learn:

• how I found my research question and two guaranteed methods to do so
• how I structured my work
• the five parts of theses and how to write them
• the different research methods and which ones to select
• how to find respondents
• the mindset to adopt to write your thesis
• how not to be late

You can also download my three theses to have a look at them yourself.

Table of Content

Click to expand/collapse

Part 1: The Theory

• Finding Yout Topic

What to Do if You Cannot Find a Thesis Topic?

Finding the research question and the introduction of your thesis, how to establish the theoretical framework of your thesis, which research method to select for your thesis, how to conduct the research for your thesis, how to find respondents for your interview, transcript analysis and presenting the results of your research, how to conclude your thesis, part 2: the mental behind writing a thesis.

• Don’t Focus on the End Goal – Focus on the Next Step Instead

Break the Routine

Load up on things to do, realize what your time is worth.

• You’ll End up Dying at Some Point…
• Use Parkison’s Law

The Bottom Line

How to write a thesis, finding your topic.

The first thesis was the most complicated to write.

Even though I was studying communication, the theme I had chosen was “business model innovation” because it looked interesting to me.

Initially, I had decided to write something related to online news websites.

I wrote my research proposal and sent it to my supervisor.

He hated it and gave me zero.

While everyone in my class was already contacting people to interview, I had to do it all over again.

But I didn’t want to.

I was angry, and I considered quitting my bachelor’s altogether.

I wrote an email to the faculty asking to change group and join a political-themed thesis class.

They said no. Great.

I wouldn’t graduate then.

As I was weighing my options, an idea came to me.

I had written days earlier a paper for another course about the challenges that TV stations had to face due to Netflix and Amazon.

I thought the theme was great for my thesis because it had all I needed: innovation, media, and business.

I asked my supervisor if I could research this theme, he said yes, and off I was.

The second thesis was easier. Written in the context of a master’s in management, I had decided to base it on the first one but with another industry.

Instead of writing about Netflix VS TV stations, I wrote about hotels VS Airbnb.

I bought a ticket to Colombia and wrote the paper under the sun of Medellin.

For my third thesis, I wanted to analyze the power of the US, China, and Russia.

However, it was more suited for a book, so I didn’t do it and wrote instead about an idea I wanted to publish in Quillette (but they never accepted it).

One day, as I was daydreaming, I wondered how we could improve political decision-making.

So I looked at how private companies handled their own decision-making.

Turns out that they use data, algorithms, and AI.

So I thought that political decision-making would probably come to that point as well, with all the consequences on democracy.

That idea stayed in my mind, so I wrote about technological decision-making in politics, namely data science within the EU Commission.

Take a paper you already wrote and derive your thesis topic from this paper.

Let’s be honest, it is difficult to randomly come up with ideas to research.

Look at what you have already done, and go deeper.

The alternative is to take a paper you enjoyed reading and to look at their “suggestion for follow-up research” section.

A thesis is no more than an answer to a question.

Look around you, read the newspapers, ask questions.

What are people wondering about? What are the impacts of new technologies? What could be the link between such a field and another one?

How do people perceive such a phenomenon? What does it mean for both people and the phenomenon?

Find what you wonder about, and go research it.

Personal trick:  think for yourself. 

When I was studying for my master’s in political science, everyone went to research boring topics in international relations. As a result, they all struggled to find supervisors.

I did not research a boring topic in international relations. I went for a topic that was different and that  I liked . As a result, I had four different professors ready to supervise me, when most students couldn’t even find one.

Look outside the box and stop caring about other people.

The best way to succeed is not to be better than anyone else, but to  escape competition and rule over your own empire.

To summarize, here are all of the ways you can find a thesis topic:

• Take an assignment or a topic you have already written about and go further for your thesis.
• Take a previous thesis that you apply to another area (like I did with hotels and Airbnb).
• Find an interesting scientific paper and look at the “further research” section.
• Same thing as 3, but with a thesis from a student that wrote it the previous year.
• Be aware of what you are daydreaming about and see if it could apply to a thesis.
• Ask a researcher or professor about the unanswered questions in their domain of expertise. Don’t be obvious though, they shouldn’t know that this is because you want to write about it. Make it sound like it’s a simple conversation you are interested in.
• Read a bunch of papers about a topic and see which question has not been answered yet.
• Replicate: take a study, do it again, and see if it replicates (great for psychology).

Back to my first thesis.

As soon as my supervisor gave me the green light, I worked like a madman for the next few days.

The first step is to find a research question, aka, a problem to solve.

The problem should be as simple and as small as possible.

That’s what makes research difficult.

It’s easy to find big philosophical questions. It is less so to answer them.

Find the smallest problem possible for your question, or your theme will be too broad and you’ll have issues.

My question, as we said, was the survival of TV stations. I imagined they were going to die because of Netflix.

To make sure this problem was real, I had to read maybe 4 or 5 academic papers talking about this problem.

Once I had my proofs, I could come up with a research question.

Originally, I wrote:

“What is public TV stations’ strategy and response to counter new competitors in the TV landscape such as streaming companies?” 

But my supervisor didn’t like it and told me to write this instead:

“What societal remit should PSBs (public service broadcasters) fulfill in an increasingly innovative and competitive media landscape?” 

Now, I kid you not, I understood the question only weeks after I had gotten my final mark.

I had no clue what I was writing about until after I had finished writing it.

Instead of focusing on what TV stations did to survive, my supervisor wanted me to focus on what was public TV stations’ role in society.

Instead of asking “what do you do to survive”, it was asking “why do you even exist?”.

That guy was smart.

Next up, you’ll have to formulate hypotheses (some people work without them as I did).

Hypotheses are answers you believe you will find. They are based on the current literature.

When you write hypotheses, it will help you later on to structure your questionnaire into different parts so that you can answer your research question.

While I’m not a fan of hypotheses because it gives you more work, I do admit it eases your task.

Ask your supervisor.

For my second thesis, I did the exact same thing as for the first one, but with Airbnb’s and hotels instead of TV and Netflix.

I could have also chosen Uber and taxis, but that looked more like a done deal since they are the same service.

Hotels and Airbnb still differ to some extent.

The research question was:

How do high-end hotels use innovative strategies to overcome challenges and be more competitive in the hospitality business?

My third thesis was written in the context of a master’s in political science and EU studies.

“How does the EU Commission use data throughout the policymaking process?”

As you can see, the second and third research questions suck. They are badly phrased.

Since a thesis is built on a research question, a bad research question will give a bad thesis.

Don’t do what I did. Do it better. Do it simpler.

Getting your research question is the most difficult and critical step of any research work .

Once you got it, you just need to put your brain on “pause” for one or two months, and follow the plan.

Theses in the humanities and social sciences are not about thinking, but about writing what people tell you to write.

Once I got my RQ (research question), I could write my introduction: for the first thesis, I wrote about the challenges of TV, then of public TV, then about the specific challenges that these streaming newcomers represented for public TV, then I introduced my RQ.

Afterward, I presented an outline of how I researched the problem (technically, an intro is the last thing you write, so if you write it first, write in the past tense) and what research method I used.

And boom. I got my intro.

Don’t forget to add the “academic relevance” (why your research is academically interesting) and the “societal relevance” (how it can be applied to society).

Next up is the theoretical framework, also called “literature review”.

The literature review consists of reading a bunch of academic papers and make them  speak to each other .

What you need to write is who says what about what and who agrees with who or contradicts who.

You’d think that writing a thesis is about writing, but it’s not.

It’s mainly about reading, then rephrasing whatever you read ( that’s one of the reasons why science stagnates , it has too many protocols and people are mostly concerned about what has been written instead of writing new stuff, but that’s a topic for another time).

So, reading then re-writing about 20-40 academic papers will do for your theoretical framework.

“40?! But Auré, how could you remember what you read?”

I didn’t, because I never read them entirely.

Here’s why.

First of all,  time is important  (remember that at the end of the article).

You’ll most likely die before you turn 80 because of the micro-plastic in your body and the low-quality air you breathe, so you want to maximize your time spent doing cool stuff, not writing papers no one gives a crap about.

When you read an academic paper, you want to focus on three parts only : the abstract, the introduction, and the conclusion/discussion.

The rest has not been written for you and you can ignore it.

Here’s what I did. I read the paper, then write a summary on a word document that I called “sources”.

This document was my database containing everything I had read.

If I didn’t remember where I had read a particular piece of information, all I had to do was a quick search in my database, and boom, I got what I wanted.

Sometimes, I’d just copy-past the abstract or the conclusion and add some keywords to find them easily in the database.

Since I often had +- 50 sources for my theoretical framework, this database was huge.

Once you established your database with the academic papers, you can start writing your TF (theoretical framework). Basically, you should define and explain all the concepts of your RQ.

For my first thesis, I explained the evolution of the TV landscape, then explained Netflix and all of the issues and strategic problems they caused for public TV (well, “explained” is a big word, you’re not allowed to explain, only to rewrite what other people had already written for you).

For my thesis on data and the EU Commission, I explained the entire policymaking process, defined “data”, and defined the few evidence-based policymaking strategies that I could find (research was lagging, I couldn’t find much).

Once you got your RQ, your introduction, and TF in order, congratulations!

You’ve done about 69% of the thesis.

I have no clue about theses in engineering or math, but theses in humanities and social sciences can choose between quantitative research (numbers) or qualitative research (people).

Needless to say,  you should never go for quantitative research. 

Here’s why:

1. You need a lot of respondents: every year, Facebook is assaulted with “hey, I’m writing a thesis for my master in gender studies, can you please fill up this short survey that will only take 5 minutes of your time? Thaanks!!”

Students often need to find 100-250 respondents for their results to be valid, and that’s when you realize that your 1000 friends on Facebook are completely useless when you can’t even get 20 people to fill up your survey.

A girl I know was smart. She paid a company whose job is to find respondents and got her results within 2 days.

Trust me, you don’t want to waste time and alienate your Facebook friends, nor do you want to pay to find people.

2. Analysis is hard: dunno which software you’ll have to use, but if you’re not in love with statistics, the analysis of your data will be difficult. You’ll have to perform regression analysis and who knows what else.

Let’s not even speak of results interpretation.

A girl I knew paid a guy in Bangladesh to analyze the results for her.

That only cost her 25€, but still.

-> quantitative research is dumb.

Qualitative research is much better (if you don’t know what it is, google it).

Whether you interview people (5-15) or do content analysis, you are the master of your time.

I did interviews for my three theses and never regretted it.

The only annoying thing was transcribing them, but it gets faster as you progress and gain skills.

In order to avoid interviews that are too long, don’t hesitate to interrupt your respondents if they give answers not relevant to your research.

The next part of your thesis is the “research method”.

I am not sure if what I’m about to tell you is correct. The three research method sections I wrote were done differently according to the wishes of my three supervisors.

Make sure to always follow the guidelines you are given since they are the requirements on what you will be judged on.

For the first thesis, I had to write a mini-theoretical framework about the research method, basically explaining what is qualitative research, in which context it is used, and why it was suitable for my work.

For the second thesis, I had to add a small part on  how  I had conducted my research.

For the third thesis, I had to scrap this research explanation structure to explain the steps I had taken instead.

I believe the third one is the best.

If you haven’t done so yet, now is the time to create the questionnaire you will use for your interviews.

The questionnaire should whether answer your hypotheses (or your theoretical framework) and overall, answer your RQ.

Count around 5-10 questions.

Be specific in what you’re asking, and don’t hesitate to elicit more answers if your respondents remain vague and elusive.

One easy way is to ask your supervisor if they don’t know anyone to interview. Usually, people in small industries know each other.

If they don’t, you’ll have to find respondents by yourself.

Contacting people by email is best.

If you’re a girl, you’ll have more success contacting men.

If you’re a guy, you’ll have to offer value in exchange for the time you’ll spend interviewing the person.

Start your email by briefly introducing yourself, then introduce your research project.

Ask if you can interview them, by Skype or in real life, whatever suits them best.

Don’t forget to add that you will share your results with them (they usually give you an interview because of that specifically).

If they answer they can’t give you an interview, ask them if they know anyone else.

Find below an email template I sent to people I wanted to interview for my first thesis,

“Dear Mister X,  

My name is Auré.

I am a communication and media student at the Erasmus University of Rotterdam. I am currently writing my thesis on the innovative strategies that public service broadcasters have implemented/are implementing in order to overcome the challenges of the media landscape.

In order to do so, I’m currently interviewing media innovation experts/managers from public service broadcasters.

Would it be possible for me to interview you? 

I would be happy to come to Brussels to do so, or to do it over Skype, whatever suits you best.

I would of course be happy to share the results of my research with you, once it is completed. 

Looking forward to hearing from you, 

Best regards,

Auré”

Tip! Sending emails manually is a waste of time. There are many free email software out there you can use to send a high number of personalized emails easily (I use Zoho Campaigns, but use the one most adapted to your needs.)

Also, the Chrome extension Email Hunter will automatically capture any emails you run across on the web, and hunter.io enables you to find the email of an important person.

The second way to find respondents is to ask for names at the end of each interview . If you manage to find one respondent that gives you the name of one other respondent that gives you the name of etc, you will easily find all respondents you need.

As such, finding 3-4 respondents should be enough, as these people will likely help you find more people.

When I wrote my political science thesis, I only found 3 respondents myself, and the 9 others had been introduced to me by the 3 original respondents.

Don’t underestimate people’s willingness to help you. 

We’re all humans and as humans, we are wired to enjoy helping others. It’s important to frame your work as  you helping them  rather than the opposite since you are the one tackling a problem  they have.

No one has ever said no to free value.

Send as many emails as you can. I must have sent about 50 emails for my first thesis, more than 200 for my second thesis, and about 40 for my third thesis.

Writing a thesis is not hard. Like all things of value, it just takes time.

Side note: some industries have professionals that are sick and tired to answer students’ questions (marketing). Avoid well-known industries and choose a rare topic where experts are seldom interviewed.

Once you have all of your interviews and transcripts, you can do your analysis. First, I made a list of all the concepts I had asked questions. Then, I assigned a color to each of them.

Then, I’d read all the transcripts and highlight the corresponding concepts to the right color.

That made the organization easy when I had to write the results section.

When I wrote my first thesis, my supervisor told me to “make experts speak to each other”.

Basically, I had structured the section like I had structured the TF. Who says what, about what, and who contradicts who and why.

Afterward, I had written a conclusion and that was it.

For my second thesis, I was told to add a summary of the main findings. For my third thesis, my supervisor screwed me up (no, not in that way).

As I had finished a nice-looking analysis that had taken me two full weeks, she told me it wasn’t “enough”. My research also had to include content analysis.

So I went back to my computer, looked for content, and analyzed it. I subsequently presented the findings according to the hypotheses I had developed in the research question part.

The summary of the findings was included in the conclusion part.

The conclusion is the easiest part. If it doesn’t include the “summary of the main findings”, it usually includes the following: recommendations, limitations, and suggestions for future research.

Recommendations are the part where you can freely express yourself without having to cite anyone else.

It’s you, as an expert, advising people that have the problems you researched.

Limitations are the problems with your thesis or the reasons why people that read it shouldn’t believe what you wrote.

The suggestions are what you think should be researched next.

To summarize, here’s how your thesis should look like:

1. Introduction part: introduce the topic with some background information and present your RQ, research method, possible hypotheses, academic and societal relevance.

2. Theoretical framework: the academic knowledge onto which your RQ is built.

3. Methodology: what methods you used, how (and why).

4. Your results: the part where you answer your RQ whether through your hypotheses or the structure of the TF.

5. Your conclusion: the part where you give your main findings, recommendations, limitations, and suggestions for future research.

Congratulations! You know now how to write a thesis.

If you’re interested in having a look at how the final result looks like, you can download below the three theses that I’ve written.

Obviously, I had to take down names and personal details.

Here are some tips to make the process of writing a thesis easier.

Don’t Focus on the End-Goal – Focus on the Next Step Instead

First of all, take your eyes off the “final moment” when you’ll “be free”.

When Dilma Roussef was getting tortured, she’d think “one more minute, all it takes is one more minute” not to give up.

She could handle 20-25 minutes this way.

You should do the same: only look at what remains to do for the day.

You’ll reach the end before you know it.

Writing a thesis is like sex: you’ll go nuts if you always do the same thing at the same place at the same time.

Go write at the library, in a café, at your friends’ house, change rooms in your apartment and  never write in the room where you sleep. 

On Procrastination

Procrastination is what happens when doing something is more costly than not doing it.

When you enjoy what you do, you don’t procrastinate.

So make sure you find actual, meaningful reasons to write your thesis. Or choose a topic that’s fun to write.

Another way to look at it is to think about  why  you are studying/what are the perks you’ll get once you finish your studies.

It motivates and breaks procrastination.

“What?? But I already don’t have enough time, why would I load up on activities too?”

Technically, writing a thesis would take about one month if you wrote 6-8 hours/day every day, but no one does that nowadays because we’re all lazy and unfocused.

Let me tell you a story.

When I was a kid, I was doing music, sport, and theater. I’d perform best when I “didn’t have enough time” because I didn’t have time to procrastinate which forced me to create a schedule to be on time.

Hence, I was on time. Had I had a week to write something, I would have written it last minute because “I have the entire week, why bother now?”, but since I had many activities, I didn’t procrastinate.

People that procrastinate are those that have time to do so, hence, they end up wasting it.

If I told you that a bomb will explode in a month if you don’t finish on time, trust me, you will.

So the best way to finish on time is to give yourself just enough time to finish.

Load up on activities so that it stresses you out a bit  before  you run out of time to finish your work.

Sometimes, I get paid 10€/hour, sometimes, 15€/hour. That’s what my time is currently worth.

If I spend one hour on Instagram, I’ll “lose” 10€.

Once you realize that time is the scarcest commodity on earth, you stop wasting it.

You’ll End up Dying at Some Point…

This thought scares the hell out of me.

Not dying per se, but not having had time to do all I want to do.

It’s when I realized I wasn’t immortal that I started being productive and stopped losing time like I did when I was a teenager.

Contemplating your own death is a formidable motivational experience.

Use Parkison’s Law

Parkinson’s law says that an assignment will take you the time you allow yourself to take to complete it.

Should you decide to write your thesis within a month, you will.

This law though, is tricky. You may decide upon a period of time that will end up being bigger than needed.

For example, I had given myself until the 15th of May to finish the thesis but was done by the 22nd of April.

While I did use Parkinson’s law as a safety, I didn’t plan my work around it. I worked let’s say…reasonably.

I could have worked faster, but I didn’t want to because we were in lockdown and I had enough working 4-6 hours per day on my piece.

I used to be a last-minute guy until I realized that the ultimate last-minute moment is not the deadline: it’s death.

That was a life-changing realization. Also, as life got more and more complex, I realized I wanted to enjoy full brain capacity and that couldn’t be done if I had a list of things to do in the back of my mind.

If you are a last-minute person, then simply move back in time your deadline and make your own.

If you have a week to write something and think it will take two days, make sure you load up your week with activities two days from now.

Not only you’ll do more stuff, but you’ll have more time and will feel more productive, happy, and energetic.

Personally, the best periods of my life were the ones where I was working 10-14 hours a day.

But well, not everyone is crazy like that.

Photo by Vadim Bozhko on Unsplash

Subscribe to my monthly newsletter and I'll send you a list of the articles I wrote during the previous month + insights from the books I am reading + a short bullet list of savvy facts that will expand your mind. I keep the whole thing under three minutes. 

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• How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples

How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples

Published on January 11, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on August 15, 2023 by Eoghan Ryan.

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . It usually comes near the end of your introduction .

Your thesis will look a bit different depending on the type of essay you’re writing. But the thesis statement should always clearly state the main idea you want to get across. Everything else in your essay should relate back to this idea.

You can write your thesis statement by following four simple steps:

• Start with a question
• Write your initial answer
• Develop your answer
• Refine your thesis statement

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Table of contents

What is a thesis statement, placement of the thesis statement, step 1: start with a question, step 2: write your initial answer, step 3: develop your answer, step 4: refine your thesis statement, types of thesis statements, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about thesis statements.

A thesis statement summarizes the central points of your essay. It is a signpost telling the reader what the essay will argue and why.

The best thesis statements are:

• Concise: A good thesis statement is short and sweet—don’t use more words than necessary. State your point clearly and directly in one or two sentences.
• Contentious: Your thesis shouldn’t be a simple statement of fact that everyone already knows. A good thesis statement is a claim that requires further evidence or analysis to back it up.
• Coherent: Everything mentioned in your thesis statement must be supported and explained in the rest of your paper.

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The thesis statement generally appears at the end of your essay introduction or research paper introduction .

The spread of the internet has had a world-changing effect, not least on the world of education. The use of the internet in academic contexts and among young people more generally is hotly debated. For many who did not grow up with this technology, its effects seem alarming and potentially harmful. This concern, while understandable, is misguided. The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its many benefits for education: the internet facilitates easier access to information, exposure to different perspectives, and a flexible learning environment for both students and teachers.

You should come up with an initial thesis, sometimes called a working thesis , early in the writing process . As soon as you’ve decided on your essay topic , you need to work out what you want to say about it—a clear thesis will give your essay direction and structure.

You might already have a question in your assignment, but if not, try to come up with your own. What would you like to find out or decide about your topic?

For example, you might ask:

After some initial research, you can formulate a tentative answer to this question. At this stage it can be simple, and it should guide the research process and writing process .

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Now you need to consider why this is your answer and how you will convince your reader to agree with you. As you read more about your topic and begin writing, your answer should get more detailed.

In your essay about the internet and education, the thesis states your position and sketches out the key arguments you’ll use to support it.

The negatives of internet use are outweighed by its many benefits for education because it facilitates easier access to information.

In your essay about braille, the thesis statement summarizes the key historical development that you’ll explain.

The invention of braille in the 19th century transformed the lives of blind people, allowing them to participate more actively in public life.

A strong thesis statement should tell the reader:

• Why you hold this position
• What they’ll learn from your essay
• The key points of your argument or narrative

The final thesis statement doesn’t just state your position, but summarizes your overall argument or the entire topic you’re going to explain. To strengthen a weak thesis statement, it can help to consider the broader context of your topic.

These examples are more specific and show that you’ll explore your topic in depth.

Your thesis statement should match the goals of your essay, which vary depending on the type of essay you’re writing:

• In an argumentative essay , your thesis statement should take a strong position. Your aim in the essay is to convince your reader of this thesis based on evidence and logical reasoning.
• In an expository essay , you’ll aim to explain the facts of a topic or process. Your thesis statement doesn’t have to include a strong opinion in this case, but it should clearly state the central point you want to make, and mention the key elements you’ll explain.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

• Ad hominem fallacy
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A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.

The thesis statement is essential in any academic essay or research paper for two main reasons:

• It gives your writing direction and focus.
• It gives the reader a concise summary of your main point.

Without a clear thesis statement, an essay can end up rambling and unfocused, leaving your reader unsure of exactly what you want to say.

Follow these four steps to come up with a thesis statement :

• Ask a question about your topic .
• Write your initial answer.
• Develop your answer by including reasons.
• Refine your answer, adding more detail and nuance.

The thesis statement should be placed at the end of your essay introduction .

Cite this Scribbr article

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McCombes, S. (2023, August 15). How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved August 29, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/academic-essay/thesis-statement/

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My Bachelor Thesis

ThoughtfulDev/BachelorThesis

Folders and files.

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Analyzing brain images with deep learning, a bachelor thesis of thoughtfuldev.

This is/was my Bachelor Thesis. My real name has been changed to my alias.

Currently only the German PDF Version is available. I try to translate the Thesis as soon as possible.

Maybe i will also upload the Python/Models and LaTex files.

Please be patient. Thanks.