thesis paper wiki

• Resources Home 🏠
• Try SciSpace Copilot
• Search research papers
• Add Copilot Extension
• Try AI Detector
• Try Paraphraser
• Try Citation Generator
• April Papers
• June Papers
• July Papers

What is a thesis | A Complete Guide with Examples

Table of Contents

A thesis is a comprehensive academic paper based on your original research that presents new findings, arguments, and ideas of your study. It’s typically submitted at the end of your master’s degree or as a capstone of your bachelor’s degree.

However, writing a thesis can be laborious, especially for beginners. From the initial challenge of pinpointing a compelling research topic to organizing and presenting findings, the process is filled with potential pitfalls.

Therefore, to help you, this guide talks about what is a thesis. Additionally, it offers revelations and methodologies to transform it from an overwhelming task to a manageable and rewarding academic milestone.

What is a thesis?

A thesis is an in-depth research study that identifies a particular topic of inquiry and presents a clear argument or perspective about that topic using evidence and logic.

Writing a thesis showcases your ability of critical thinking, gathering evidence, and making a compelling argument. Integral to these competencies is thorough research, which not only fortifies your propositions but also confers credibility to your entire study.

Furthermore, there's another phenomenon you might often confuse with the thesis: the ' working thesis .' However, they aren't similar and shouldn't be used interchangeably.

A working thesis, often referred to as a preliminary or tentative thesis, is an initial version of your thesis statement. It serves as a draft or a starting point that guides your research in its early stages.

As you research more and gather more evidence, your initial thesis (aka working thesis) might change. It's like a starting point that can be adjusted as you learn more. It's normal for your main topic to change a few times before you finalize it.

While a thesis identifies and provides an overarching argument, the key to clearly communicating the central point of that argument lies in writing a strong thesis statement.

What is a thesis statement?

A strong thesis statement (aka thesis sentence) is a concise summary of the main argument or claim of the paper. It serves as a critical anchor in any academic work, succinctly encapsulating the primary argument or main idea of the entire paper.

Typically found within the introductory section, a strong thesis statement acts as a roadmap of your thesis, directing readers through your arguments and findings. By delineating the core focus of your investigation, it offers readers an immediate understanding of the context and the gravity of your study.

Furthermore, an effectively crafted thesis statement can set forth the boundaries of your research, helping readers anticipate the specific areas of inquiry you are addressing.

Different types of thesis statements

A good thesis statement is clear, specific, and arguable. Therefore, it is necessary for you to choose the right type of thesis statement for your academic papers.

Thesis statements can be classified based on their purpose and structure. Here are the primary types of thesis statements:

Argumentative (or Persuasive) thesis statement

Purpose : To convince the reader of a particular stance or point of view by presenting evidence and formulating a compelling argument.

Example : Reducing plastic use in daily life is essential for environmental health.

Analytical thesis statement

Purpose : To break down an idea or issue into its components and evaluate it.

Example : By examining the long-term effects, social implications, and economic impact of climate change, it becomes evident that immediate global action is necessary.

Expository (or Descriptive) thesis statement

Purpose : To explain a topic or subject to the reader.

Example : The Great Depression, spanning the 1930s, was a severe worldwide economic downturn triggered by a stock market crash, bank failures, and reduced consumer spending.

Cause and effect thesis statement

Purpose : To demonstrate a cause and its resulting effect.

Example : Overuse of smartphones can lead to impaired sleep patterns, reduced face-to-face social interactions, and increased levels of anxiety.

Compare and contrast thesis statement

Purpose : To highlight similarities and differences between two subjects.

Example : "While both novels '1984' and 'Brave New World' delve into dystopian futures, they differ in their portrayal of individual freedom, societal control, and the role of technology."

When you write a thesis statement , it's important to ensure clarity and precision, so the reader immediately understands the central focus of your work.

What is the difference between a thesis and a thesis statement?

While both terms are frequently used interchangeably, they have distinct meanings.

A thesis refers to the entire research document, encompassing all its chapters and sections. In contrast, a thesis statement is a brief assertion that encapsulates the central argument of the research.

Here’s an in-depth differentiation table of a thesis and a thesis statement.

Now, to craft a compelling thesis, it's crucial to adhere to a specific structure. Let’s break down these essential components that make up a thesis structure

15 components of a thesis structure

Navigating a thesis can be daunting. However, understanding its structure can make the process more manageable.

Here are the key components or different sections of a thesis structure:

Your thesis begins with the title page. It's not just a formality but the gateway to your research.

Here, you'll prominently display the necessary information about you (the author) and your institutional details.

• Title of your thesis
• Your full name
• Your department
• Your institution and degree program
• Your submission date
• Your Supervisor's name (in some cases)
• Your Department or faculty (in some cases)
• Your University's logo (in some cases)
• Your Student ID (in some cases)

In a concise manner, you'll have to summarize the critical aspects of your research in typically no more than 200-300 words.

This includes the problem statement, methodology, key findings, and conclusions. For many, the abstract will determine if they delve deeper into your work, so ensure it's clear and compelling.

Acknowledgments

Research is rarely a solitary endeavor. In the acknowledgments section, you have the chance to express gratitude to those who've supported your journey.

This might include advisors, peers, institutions, or even personal sources of inspiration and support. It's a personal touch, reflecting the humanity behind the academic rigor.

Table of contents

A roadmap for your readers, the table of contents lists the chapters, sections, and subsections of your thesis.

By providing page numbers, you allow readers to navigate your work easily, jumping to sections that pique their interest.

List of figures and tables

Research often involves data, and presenting this data visually can enhance understanding. This section provides an organized listing of all figures and tables in your thesis.

It's a visual index, ensuring that readers can quickly locate and reference your graphical data.

Introduction

Here's where you introduce your research topic, articulate the research question or objective, and outline the significance of your study.

• Present the research topic : Clearly articulate the central theme or subject of your research.
• Background information : Ground your research topic, providing any necessary context or background information your readers might need to understand the significance of your study.
• Define the scope : Clearly delineate the boundaries of your research, indicating what will and won't be covered.
• Literature review : Introduce any relevant existing research on your topic, situating your work within the broader academic conversation and highlighting where your research fits in.
• State the research Question(s) or objective(s) : Clearly articulate the primary questions or objectives your research aims to address.
• Outline the study's structure : Give a brief overview of how the subsequent sections of your work will unfold, guiding your readers through the journey ahead.

The introduction should captivate your readers, making them eager to delve deeper into your research journey.

Literature review section

Your study correlates with existing research. Therefore, in the literature review section, you'll engage in a dialogue with existing knowledge, highlighting relevant studies, theories, and findings.

It's here that you identify gaps in the current knowledge, positioning your research as a bridge to new insights.

To streamline this process, consider leveraging AI tools. For example, the SciSpace literature review tool enables you to efficiently explore and delve into research papers, simplifying your literature review journey.

Methodology

In the research methodology section, you’ll detail the tools, techniques, and processes you employed to gather and analyze data. This section will inform the readers about how you approached your research questions and ensures the reproducibility of your study.

Here's a breakdown of what it should encompass:

• Research Design : Describe the overall structure and approach of your research. Are you conducting a qualitative study with in-depth interviews? Or is it a quantitative study using statistical analysis? Perhaps it's a mixed-methods approach?
• Data Collection : Detail the methods you used to gather data. This could include surveys, experiments, observations, interviews, archival research, etc. Mention where you sourced your data, the duration of data collection, and any tools or instruments used.
• Sampling : If applicable, explain how you selected participants or data sources for your study. Discuss the size of your sample and the rationale behind choosing it.
• Data Analysis : Describe the techniques and tools you used to process and analyze the data. This could range from statistical tests in quantitative research to thematic analysis in qualitative research.
• Validity and Reliability : Address the steps you took to ensure the validity and reliability of your findings to ensure that your results are both accurate and consistent.
• Ethical Considerations : Highlight any ethical issues related to your research and the measures you took to address them, including — informed consent, confidentiality, and data storage and protection measures.

Moreover, different research questions necessitate different types of methodologies. For instance:

• Experimental methodology : Often used in sciences, this involves a controlled experiment to discern causality.
• Qualitative methodology : Employed when exploring patterns or phenomena without numerical data. Methods can include interviews, focus groups, or content analysis.
• Quantitative methodology : Concerned with measurable data and often involves statistical analysis. Surveys and structured observations are common tools here.
• Mixed methods : As the name implies, this combines both qualitative and quantitative methodologies.

The Methodology section isn’t just about detailing the methods but also justifying why they were chosen. The appropriateness of the methods in addressing your research question can significantly impact the credibility of your findings.

Results (or Findings)

This section presents the outcomes of your research. It's crucial to note that the nature of your results may vary; they could be quantitative, qualitative, or a mix of both.

Quantitative results often present statistical data, showcasing measurable outcomes, and they benefit from tables, graphs, and figures to depict these data points.

Qualitative results , on the other hand, might delve into patterns, themes, or narratives derived from non-numerical data, such as interviews or observations.

Regardless of the nature of your results, clarity is essential. This section is purely about presenting the data without offering interpretations — that comes later in the discussion.

In the discussion section, the raw data transforms into valuable insights.

Start by revisiting your research question and contrast it with the findings. How do your results expand, constrict, or challenge current academic conversations?

Dive into the intricacies of the data, guiding the reader through its implications. Detail potential limitations transparently, signaling your awareness of the research's boundaries. This is where your academic voice should be resonant and confident.

Practical implications (Recommendation) section

Based on the insights derived from your research, this section provides actionable suggestions or proposed solutions.

Whether aimed at industry professionals or the general public, recommendations translate your academic findings into potential real-world actions. They help readers understand the practical implications of your work and how it can be applied to effect change or improvement in a given field.

When crafting recommendations, it's essential to ensure they're feasible and rooted in the evidence provided by your research. They shouldn't merely be aspirational but should offer a clear path forward, grounded in your findings.

The conclusion provides closure to your research narrative.

It's not merely a recap but a synthesis of your main findings and their broader implications. Reconnect with the research questions or hypotheses posited at the beginning, offering clear answers based on your findings.

Reflect on the broader contributions of your study, considering its impact on the academic community and potential real-world applications.

Lastly, the conclusion should leave your readers with a clear understanding of the value and impact of your study.

References (or Bibliography)

Every theory you've expounded upon, every data point you've cited, and every methodological precedent you've followed finds its acknowledgment here.

In references, it's crucial to ensure meticulous consistency in formatting, mirroring the specific guidelines of the chosen citation style .

Proper referencing helps to avoid plagiarism , gives credit to original ideas, and allows readers to explore topics of interest. Moreover, it situates your work within the continuum of academic knowledge.

To properly cite the sources used in the study, you can rely on online citation generator tools  to generate accurate citations!

Here’s more on how you can cite your sources.

Often, the depth of research produces a wealth of material that, while crucial, can make the core content of the thesis cumbersome. The appendix is where you mention extra information that supports your research but isn't central to the main text.

Whether it's raw datasets, detailed procedural methodologies, extended case studies, or any other ancillary material, the appendices ensure that these elements are archived for reference without breaking the main narrative's flow.

For thorough researchers and readers keen on meticulous details, the appendices provide a treasure trove of insights.

Glossary (optional)

In academics, specialized terminologies, and jargon are inevitable. However, not every reader is versed in every term.

The glossary, while optional, is a critical tool for accessibility. It's a bridge ensuring that even readers from outside the discipline can access, understand, and appreciate your work.

By defining complex terms and providing context, you're inviting a wider audience to engage with your research, enhancing its reach and impact.

Remember, while these components provide a structured framework, the essence of your thesis lies in the originality of your ideas, the rigor of your research, and the clarity of your presentation.

As you craft each section, keep your readers in mind, ensuring that your passion and dedication shine through every page.

Thesis examples

To further elucidate the concept of a thesis, here are illustrative examples from various fields:

Example 1 (History): Abolition, Africans, and Abstraction: the Influence of the ‘Noble Savage’ on British and French Antislavery Thought, 1787-1807 by Suchait Kahlon.

Example 2 (Climate Dynamics): Influence of external forcings on abrupt millennial-scale climate changes: a statistical modelling study by Takahito Mitsui · Michel Crucifix

Checklist for your thesis evaluation

Evaluating your thesis ensures that your research meets the standards of academia. Here's an elaborate checklist to guide you through this critical process.

Content and structure

• Is the thesis statement clear, concise, and debatable?
• Does the introduction provide sufficient background and context?
• Is the literature review comprehensive, relevant, and well-organized?
• Does the methodology section clearly describe and justify the research methods?
• Are the results/findings presented clearly and logically?
• Does the discussion interpret the results in light of the research question and existing literature?
• Is the conclusion summarizing the research and suggesting future directions or implications?

Clarity and coherence

• Is the writing clear and free of jargon?
• Are ideas and sections logically connected and flowing?
• Is there a clear narrative or argument throughout the thesis?

Research quality

• Is the research question significant and relevant?
• Are the research methods appropriate for the question?
• Is the sample size (if applicable) adequate?
• Are the data analysis techniques appropriate and correctly applied?
• Are potential biases or limitations addressed?

Originality and significance

• Does the thesis contribute new knowledge or insights to the field?
• Is the research grounded in existing literature while offering fresh perspectives?

Formatting and presentation

• Is the thesis formatted according to institutional guidelines?
• Are figures, tables, and charts clear, labeled, and referenced in the text?
• Is the bibliography or reference list complete and consistently formatted?
• Are appendices relevant and appropriately referenced in the main text?

Grammar and language

• Is the thesis free of grammatical and spelling errors?
• Is the language professional, consistent, and appropriate for an academic audience?
• Are quotations and paraphrased material correctly cited?

Feedback and revision

• Have you sought feedback from peers, advisors, or experts in the field?
• Have you addressed the feedback and made the necessary revisions?

Overall assessment

• Does the thesis as a whole feel cohesive and comprehensive?
• Would the thesis be understandable and valuable to someone in your field?

Ensure to use this checklist to leave no ground for doubt or missed information in your thesis.

After writing your thesis, the next step is to discuss and defend your findings verbally in front of a knowledgeable panel. You’ve to be well prepared as your professors may grade your presentation abilities.

Preparing your thesis defense

A thesis defense, also known as "defending the thesis," is the culmination of a scholar's research journey. It's the final frontier, where you’ll present their findings and face scrutiny from a panel of experts.

Typically, the defense involves a public presentation where you’ll have to outline your study, followed by a question-and-answer session with a committee of experts. This committee assesses the validity, originality, and significance of the research.

The defense serves as a rite of passage for scholars. It's an opportunity to showcase expertise, address criticisms, and refine arguments. A successful defense not only validates the research but also establishes your authority as a researcher in your field.

Here’s how you can effectively prepare for your thesis defense .

Now, having touched upon the process of defending a thesis, it's worth noting that scholarly work can take various forms, depending on academic and regional practices.

One such form, often paralleled with the thesis, is the 'dissertation.' But what differentiates the two?

Dissertation vs. Thesis

Often used interchangeably in casual discourse, they refer to distinct research projects undertaken at different levels of higher education.

To the uninitiated, understanding their meaning might be elusive. So, let's demystify these terms and delve into their core differences.

Here's a table differentiating between the two.

Wrapping up

From understanding the foundational concept of a thesis to navigating its various components, differentiating it from a dissertation, and recognizing the importance of proper citation — this guide covers it all.

As scholars and readers, understanding these nuances not only aids in academic pursuits but also fosters a deeper appreciation for the relentless quest for knowledge that drives academia.

It’s important to remember that every thesis is a testament to curiosity, dedication, and the indomitable spirit of discovery.

Good luck with your thesis writing!

Frequently Asked Questions

A thesis typically ranges between 40-80 pages, but its length can vary based on the research topic, institution guidelines, and level of study.

A PhD thesis usually spans 200-300 pages, though this can vary based on the discipline, complexity of the research, and institutional requirements.

To identify a thesis topic, consider current trends in your field, gaps in existing literature, personal interests, and discussions with advisors or mentors. Additionally, reviewing related journals and conference proceedings can provide insights into potential areas of exploration.

The conceptual framework is often situated in the literature review or theoretical framework section of a thesis. It helps set the stage by providing the context, defining key concepts, and explaining the relationships between variables.

A thesis statement should be concise, clear, and specific. It should state the main argument or point of your research. Start by pinpointing the central question or issue your research addresses, then condense that into a single statement, ensuring it reflects the essence of your paper.

You might also like

Boosting Citations: A Comparative Analysis of Graphical Abstract vs. Video Abstract

The Impact of Visual Abstracts on Boosting Citations

Introducing SciSpace’s Citation Booster To Increase Research Visibility

While Sandel argues that pursuing perfection through genetic engineering would decrease our sense of humility, he claims that the sense of solidarity we would lose is also important.

This thesis summarizes several points in Sandel’s argument, but it does not make a claim about how we should understand his argument. A reader who read Sandel’s argument would not also need to read an essay based on this descriptive thesis.  

Broad thesis (arguable, but difficult to support with evidence) 

Michael Sandel’s arguments about genetic engineering do not take into consideration all the relevant issues.

This is an arguable claim because it would be possible to argue against it by saying that Michael Sandel’s arguments do take all of the relevant issues into consideration. But the claim is too broad. Because the thesis does not specify which “issues” it is focused on—or why it matters if they are considered—readers won’t know what the rest of the essay will argue, and the writer won’t know what to focus on. If there is a particular issue that Sandel does not address, then a more specific version of the thesis would include that issue—hand an explanation of why it is important.  

Arguable thesis with analytical claim 

While Sandel argues persuasively that our instinct to “remake” (54) ourselves into something ever more perfect is a problem, his belief that we can always draw a line between what is medically necessary and what makes us simply “better than well” (51) is less convincing.

This is an arguable analytical claim. To argue for this claim, the essay writer will need to show how evidence from the article itself points to this interpretation. It’s also a reasonable scope for a thesis because it can be supported with evidence available in the text and is neither too broad nor too narrow.  

Arguable thesis with normative claim 

Given Sandel’s argument against genetic enhancement, we should not allow parents to decide on using Human Growth Hormone for their children.

This thesis tells us what we should do about a particular issue discussed in Sandel’s article, but it does not tell us how we should understand Sandel’s argument.  

Questions to ask about your thesis 

• Is the thesis truly arguable? Does it speak to a genuine dilemma in the source, or would most readers automatically agree with it?  
• Is the thesis too obvious? Again, would most or all readers agree with it without needing to see your argument?  
• Is the thesis complex enough to require a whole essay's worth of argument?  
• Is the thesis supportable with evidence from the text rather than with generalizations or outside research?  
• Would anyone want to read a paper in which this thesis was developed? That is, can you explain what this paper is adding to our understanding of a problem, question, or topic?
• picture_as_pdf Thesis

How to write a thesis paper

Published September 27, 2020. Updated June 1, 2022.

Thesis Paper Definition

A thesis statement is the main argument that is stated at the beginning of an essay, while a thesis paper is a lengthy research paper that is usually written as part of the completion of a master’s program.

Overview of thesis paper

Any thesis-driven essay can be called a thesis paper. Mostly, the term thesis paper is used in reference to the lengthy work written at the end of a master’s program. While writing a thesis paper, keeping a running list of the sources consulted, often in the form of an annotated bibliography, is very helpful. This also makes it easier to cite all the sources used in the paper. You may need to submit a proposal before beginning to draft your thesis paper that includes information about the topic, its background, its methodological approach, the timeline for completion, and the sources planned to use. When the paper is completed, both macro-and micro-editing should be done to ensure that the structure of the paper is correct and free from grammatical or spelling errors.

This page will cover the following points:

Key takeaways

• What is a thesis paper? Let’s clarify some terms
• But how do i choose a topic?

How about the research?

What is a proposal.

• But how will i ever finish?

I’m finished! Now what?

Why does it matter.

• A thesis statement is the main argument that is stated at the beginning of an essay, while a thesis paper is a lengthy research paper that is usually written as part of the completion of a master’s program.
• It is helpful to keep a running list of the sources you consulted, often in the form of an annotated bibliography, to make sure that you cite all the sources you used in the paper.
• You may need to submit a proposal before beginning to draft your thesis paper that includes information about your topic, its background, your methodological approach, the timeline for completion, and the sources you plan to use.
• When the paper is completed, you should conduct both macro- and micro-editing to ensure that the structure of the paper is sound and that it is free from grammatical or spelling errors.

What is a thesis paper? Let’s clarify some terms.

A thesis statemen t is an argument presented at the beginning of an essay and proven by the end of it. Technically, any thesis-driven essay can be called a thesis paper, but usually you’ll hear the term thesis paper used in reference to the lengthy work written at the end of a master’s program, which is meant to showcase what you’ve learned during the course of your study.

A dissertation is an even longer paper that is written during a doctoral program, and it must contribute original findings to its field. Requirements can range in regard to length, formatting, etc., but all thesis papers require substantial research and will most likely be a minimum of 40 pages long.

Worried about your writing? Submit your paper for a Chegg Writing essay check , or for an Expert Check proofreading . Both can help you find and fix potential writing issues.

But how do I choose a topic?

Your topic should definitely be considered over time, but begin by asking yourself the following questions:

• What am I curious about?
• Which books have made me see the world differently?
• What am I passionate about right now?
• Have I tried looking at an old idea in a new way?
• What question would I like to try to answer?

Be willing to bounce your idea off of advisors and peers. How fired up do you get when you talk about it? Do you find yourself trying to convince random people that the millennial generation is misunderstood or that stem cell research is critical? You should find yourself eager to learn more. During this phase, you should also be willing to abandon a topic if you hit on a better one. Let the best idea win.

Plan on devoting plenty of time and utilizing a variety of resources to explore your topic. It’s important to keep track of your sources and stay as organized as possible by using digital bookmarks, post-it notes, folders, etc. It’s also a smart idea to keep a running list of each source, including its publication information and a summary of what you plan on using from it. This is known as an annotated or working bibliography . You may not end up using all of the research you compile, but this list will save you angst during the writing phase. Adjust your research as you go to fill in any holes as you tweak your focus and solidify your argument. You may end up in a different place from where you began, and that’s okay. You will gain confidence and become more invested in your claim as you find your way.

You will most likely have to prepare a proposal for approval before you continue in the process of writing your paper. Every program has different requirements, but you should be prepared to provide the following elements:

Background/Introduction

Statement of problem/statement of purpose, review of literature, methodological approach, overview of chapters, implications of research, work plan/timeline.

Here is a thesis paper template for anyone interested in seeing an example thesis paper structure.

The title page will include information such as the title, author, institution, department, date of completion, and mentor(s). You’ll want to give the title some thought, as it is the first impression readers will receive.

The abstract is a 1-2 paragraph summary of your work. Here, you’ll want to clearly and concisely explain what you set out to prove, the methods you used, the results you have obtained so far, and why they matter. The aim of the abstract is to provide an overview of what you’ve achieved, while encouraging readers to continue on to the paper itself. Hint: write the abstract last.

Provide a little background on what led you to your topic and orient it in its broader field of study. For instance, if you are studying the effect of Copernican theory in Shakespeare’s work, you might begin by giving a little background on how Galileo’s assertion that the Earth revolves around the sun disrupted the worldview of Elizabethan England. You would then introduce the particular plays that highlight this shift.

Identify, as specifically as possible, what problem you are hoping to solve or what knowledge gap will be filled with your research and results. Illustrate what the intended outcome will be and the rationale for why readers should care. Once your findings are complete, this will take the form of a claim, or a thesis statement, in your final draft.

In this section, you’ll need to provide a critical evaluation of the research you’ve done so far. Think of it as if you’re entering a conversation. The existing research represents what’s already been said on your topic; now it’s your turn to weigh in. Do not reference pieces you’ve read but won’t be using, and avoid mere summaries. Instead, indicate which sources will be key players as you expand upon them, integrate their ideas, or argue against them.

Here, you will lay out the methods you will use to conduct your research. For example, will you be including surveys, experiments, or observations? Will you be utilizing historical archives, interviews, or theoretical research? Clarify whether your data is quantitative (dealing with numbers) or qualitative (descriptions that cannot be measured) and explain how you will analyze and interpret your results.

Provide an outline of what the chapters of your thesis paper will look like. Your final draft will most likely begin with elements of your proposal (abstract, introduction, thesis, review of literature, and methodological approach) and continue with chapters dedicated to discussing your results. At this point, you can think about how you might group your findings into cohesive chapters.

You may be asked to devote a section of your proposal to expressing why your project matters to society, whether in practical application or theoretical scholarship. Point out the usefulness of the study and the contribution it will make.

Some committees like to see how you plan on moving through the stages of your work to ensure it will all be done by the time the final draft is due. Whether or not you need to submit a timeline, it’s good practice to draw one up to keep yourself on track.

Remember that annotated bibliography you began when you started your research? Here’s where that will come in handy. Be sure to adhere to the formatting guidelines for your institution and list all of the sources you plan on referencing in your paper.

But how will I ever finish?

A thesis paper is a marathon, not a sprint. It will take time. But by this stage in the game, you know your work habits, so be candid with yourself. If you tend to procrastinate or become easily distracted or anxious, plan accordingly. Create lots of mini-deadlines and reward yourself when you reach them. Guilt-free TV binge for a night? Don’t mind if I do!

Save editing hours by getting things right the first time around, like structure and citation. As you craft your paragraphs, make sure you stick to the organization you planned for your chapters and make sure the paragraphs themselves adhere to the rules of paragraph structure: they should contain clear topic sentences, transitions, and closure. Cite every reference correctly as you go so that you don’t run the risk of missing any.

Definitely allow a cushion before submission to allow for proofreading and editing. This step is crucial. You’ve spent lots of time and effort to generate a great paper, so why would you turn it in with errors that detract from its readability? Use the following guidelines to check your work:

Macro-editing

First, check that the paper is structurally sound. Do your sections make sense in the order they are in? If you need to move things around, you may need to do some rewriting to make sure transitions are in place to create a logical flow. Now is also the time to make sure your content isn’t in need of cutting or expansion in any areas.

Micro-editing for grammar and punctuation

Once all paragraphs are in their proper place, it’s time to edit on a sentence level. It’s a good idea to check each sentence for fragments or run-ons, subject-verb agreement, verb tense, pronoun-antecedent agreement, parallel structure, and punctuation. Reading aloud will often help you to hear errors you might have otherwise missed.

Micro-editing for style

Once your grammar check is complete, read through again for instances of repetition (repeating the same word or phrase too often) or redundancy (saying the same thing using different words). Both can weaken your writing, but they can be difficult to spot unless you are looking for them. Replace any weak diction with more specific words that do a better job delivering your intended meaning and tone.

If possible, it always helps to get at least one fresh pair of eyes on your paper. They can pick up on any grammatical errors you may have missed and can more readily identify any vagueness or clarity issues. Perhaps you could pay in pizza.

Before you turn in that paper, don’t forget to cite your sources in APA format , MLA format , or a style of your choice.

Writing a thesis can be a daunting task. It requires some serious dedication, and there might be some bumps along the way. But think of the feathers in your cap when it’s all over: you’ve become an authority on your topic, and you may have even produced a publishable piece of writing, or at least the beginning of one. You’ve chosen something you are passionate about, turned over some stones, made some discoveries, and then put them in print to teach others. A worthwhile endeavor, indeed.

Thesis paper template

By Heather Walsh. Heather holds an MA in English and has over ten years of experience teaching literary analysis and composition in Princeton, NJ.

Common Writing Assignments, Apps & Tests

• Analytical Essay
• AP synthesis Essay
• Argumentative Essay
• Book Report
• Compare and Contrast Essay
• Cause and Effect Essay
• College Admissions Essay
• Critical Analysis Essay
• Definition Essay
• Descriptive Essay
• Dissertation
• Explanatory Essay
• Expository Essay
• Informative Essay
• Narrative Essay
• Opinion Essay
• Personal Essay
• Persuasive Essay
• Reflective Essay
• Research Paper
• Rhetorical Analysis
• Scholarship Essay
• Short Essay
• Thesis Paper

What’s included with a Chegg Writing subscription

• Unlimited number of paper scans
• Plagiarism detection: Check against billions of sources
• Expert proofreading for papers on any subject
• Grammar scans for 200+ types of common errors
• Automatically create & save citations in 7,000+ styles
• Cancel subscription anytime, no obligation

• PRO Courses Guides New Tech Help Pro Expert Videos About wikiHow Pro Upgrade Sign In
• EDIT Edit this Article
• EXPLORE Tech Help Pro About Us Random Article Quizzes Request a New Article Community Dashboard This Or That Game Popular Categories Arts and Entertainment Artwork Books Movies Computers and Electronics Computers Phone Skills Technology Hacks Health Men's Health Mental Health Women's Health Relationships Dating Love Relationship Issues Hobbies and Crafts Crafts Drawing Games Education & Communication Communication Skills Personal Development Studying Personal Care and Style Fashion Hair Care Personal Hygiene Youth Personal Care School Stuff Dating All Categories Arts and Entertainment Finance and Business Home and Garden Relationship Quizzes Cars & Other Vehicles Food and Entertaining Personal Care and Style Sports and Fitness Computers and Electronics Health Pets and Animals Travel Education & Communication Hobbies and Crafts Philosophy and Religion Work World Family Life Holidays and Traditions Relationships Youth
• Browse Articles
• Learn Something New
• Quizzes Hot
• This Or That Game
• Train Your Brain
• Explore More
• Support wikiHow
• About wikiHow
• Log in / Sign up
• Education and Communications
• College University and Postgraduate
• Academic Degrees
• Doctoral Studies
• Theses and Dissertations

How to Write a Master's Thesis

Last Updated: June 1, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Christopher Taylor, PhD . Christopher Taylor is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of English at Austin Community College in Texas. He received his PhD in English Literature and Medieval Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 612,099 times.

Students learning how to write a Master's Thesis will first learn that a central thesis question must be presented and subsequently answered. A Master's Thesis will be the most prominent piece of your graduate work up to this point, and a pertinent thesis question that forms the spine of this work elevates it from the prosaic to the significant.

Choosing a Topic

• To get a degree - topic should be difficult enough, but manageable too.
• To enjoy the work - topic that you are truly interested in, something that you will not grow bored of after a short period of time.
• To get a job afterward - if you know what specifically you want to do after your studies and/or for which company, it might be useful to choose a topic, that will help with this goal.
• To be useful - thesis might actually be useful to help to make the world a little better place.
• Try thinking about your favorite subject of study - it may be a particular author, theory, time period, etc. Imagine how you might further the study of that subject.
• You might consider skimming through papers you wrote for your graduate courses and see if there is any apparent topic that you tend to gravitate towards.
• Consult with faculty members, favorite professors. They might have some good suggestions to write about. Generally, you'll be required to meet with your thesis advisor at least once before you start working.
• Consider consulting with industry partners. Your favorite company might have some work to do which might be done as a master's thesis. This might also help you get a job within the company afterward and maybe even some money for the thesis.
• If you want to help the world to be a better place, you might want to consult with your local non-profits and charities or check the Internet for possible thesis topics to write about.
• 3 Choose the right topic. From the possible topics generated in the previous step, find the one which best fits the objectives from the first step, especially the objectives most important to you. Make sure that you have a clear, specific, and organized plan on how to write a master's thesis which you will be able to then defend.

• Make sure that your question and the answers provided will provide original content to the body of research in existence. A judicious question will also keep research focused, organized, and interesting.
• Once you've formulated your topic and direction of inquiry, try formulating 5-10 different questions around your intended research. This forces you to think flexibly about your topic and visualize how small changes in wording can change the trajectory of your research.

• Usually, your committee chair will be in place before you formally start your thesis. They can help guide you and provide input into your project, so the earlier you can get their commitment, the better.
• Nothing is more frustrating than your thesis progress being held up by a professor who has too many obligations to make time to meet with you.

Selecting Your Texts

• For example, a novel written by Ernest Hemingway or a scientific journal article in which new results are documented for the first time would both be considered primary sources.

• For example, a book written about Ernest Hemingway's novel or a scientific journal article examining the findings of someone else's experiment would both be considered secondary sources.

• Use the in-text citation format appropriate to your discipline. [3] X Research source The most common formats are MLA, APA, and Chicago.
• Create a coordinating works cited or reference entry for each source you cite in the text of your document or in a footnote.
• Consider using a citation management software such as EndNote, Mendeley, or Zotero. These will enable you to insert and move citations within your word processor program and will automatically populate a works cited or reference page for you.

Planning an Outline

• Qualitative. This type of thesis involves completing a project that is exploratory, analytical, or creative in some way. Usually, students in the humanities will complete this kind of thesis.
• Quantitative. This type of thesis involves conducting experiments, measuring data, and recording results. Students in the sciences usually complete this kind of thesis.

• Signature page (with the completed signatures of your advising committee - usually attained at the defense, or after the project is deemed complete )
• Abstract - this is a short (one paragraph or so) description/summary of the work completed in your thesis
• Table of Contents (with page numbers)
• Introduction
• Body of paper
• Works Cited or Bibliography
• Any necessary appendices or endnotes

Moving through the Writing Process

• If you do not already have a review of literature written, it’s time to do your research! The review of literature is essentially a summary of all of the existing scholarship about your topic with plenty of direct quotations from the primary and secondary sources that you’re referencing.

Finalizing Your Thesis

• Many departments or programs provide a document template for theses and dissertations. If you have one of these, it may be easiest to use such a template from the beginning of your work (rather than copying and pasting your writing into it).

• Alternatively, ask a trusted colleague or friend to read over your thesis to help you catch any minor grammar/spelling/punctuation errors and typos.

• Some institutions require you to submit your thesis for a formatting check prior to uploading the document to ProQuest. Be sure to check with your department’s Director of Graduate Studies for specific instructions.
• Be aware of thesis submission deadlines, which are often well in advance of your graduation date. Late submission of your thesis may force you to push back your graduation date, which may affect your employment or continuing graduate studies.

Masters Thesis Outline

Expert Q&A

• Remember why you are writing a Master's thesis and who will want to read and use the material. You write a Master's thesis for members of your community, so keep in mind that they will have extensive knowledge and experience before reading your work. Don't bore them with unnecessary material. Thanks Helpful 2 Not Helpful 0
• Choosing the perfect question before starting research will prevent frustration and save time. Rigorous effort on finding the perfect question is probably the most important task when learning how to write a Master's thesis. Thanks Helpful 2 Not Helpful 0
• Consult other people who have completed a Master's thesis and obtained a Master's degree. It can be a long, grueling process, and having the support and advice of someone who has already done it can be very valuable. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://umb.libguides.com/PrimarySources/secondary
• ↑ https://www.scribbr.com/citing-sources/in-text-citation-styles/
• ↑ https://www.unk.edu/academics/gradstudies/admissions/grad-files/Grad%20Files/ThesisGdlnsFinal08.pdf
• ↑ https://u.osu.edu/hackingthethesis/managing-stuff/your-content/outline/
• ↑ http://www.imm.dtu.dk/~janba/MastersThesisAdvice.pdf

About This Article

To write a master's thesis, make it a goal to write 500 words every day, which will help you meet your deadline without having to rush at the last minute. It's also helpful if you work in 25-minute increments and take a 5-minute break in between, which will make your work sessions less overwhelming. Also, figure out a writing time that works best for you, whether it's in the morning or at night, and stick with it so you're more productive. For more help writing your master's thesis, like how to make an outline, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

• Send fan mail to authors

Reader Success Stories

Abdijabaar S.

Did this article help you?

Joseph Pertey

Aug 24, 2018

Jackson Kwakwa

Nov 21, 2017

Genc Zhushi

Apr 18, 2016

İsmail Binmasudi

Jul 20, 2016

Featured Articles

Trending Articles

Watch Articles

• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Do Not Sell or Share My Info
• Not Selling Info

Don’t miss out! Sign up for

wikiHow’s newsletter

Dissertations/Theses: How to write a dissertation/thesis

• How to write a dissertation/thesis

Examples - thesis-writing help

MIT resources

• MIT Thesis FAQ
• Academic integrity
• Avoiding plagiarism
• Thesis - Information from the Office of the Dean for Graduate Education
• Writing & Communication Center

For books on thesis writing, try the following subject headings to  Search Our Collections in an advanced search.

Dissertations, Academic

Dissertations, Academic -- Authorship

Dissertations, Academic -- Handbooks, manuals, etc.

Academic writing

Academic writing -- Handbooks, manuals, etc.

Report writing

Technical writing

Select "subject" from the search filters drop-down menu.

Related guides

• Citing sources
• Citation management & writing tools
• ORCID & author identifiers
• << Previous: Non-MIT
• Last Updated: Oct 19, 2022 7:33 AM
• URL: https://libguides.mit.edu/diss

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Tips and Examples for Writing Thesis Statements

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

Tips for Writing Your Thesis Statement

1. Determine what kind of paper you are writing:

• An analytical paper breaks down an issue or an idea into its component parts, evaluates the issue or idea, and presents this breakdown and evaluation to the audience.
• An expository (explanatory) paper explains something to the audience.
• An argumentative paper makes a claim about a topic and justifies this claim with specific evidence. The claim could be an opinion, a policy proposal, an evaluation, a cause-and-effect statement, or an interpretation. The goal of the argumentative paper is to convince the audience that the claim is true based on the evidence provided.

If you are writing a text that does not fall under these three categories (e.g., a narrative), a thesis statement somewhere in the first paragraph could still be helpful to your reader.

2. Your thesis statement should be specific—it should cover only what you will discuss in your paper and should be supported with specific evidence.

3. The thesis statement usually appears at the end of the first paragraph of a paper.

4. Your topic may change as you write, so you may need to revise your thesis statement to reflect exactly what you have discussed in the paper.

Thesis Statement Examples

Example of an analytical thesis statement:

The paper that follows should:

• Explain the analysis of the college admission process
• Explain the challenge facing admissions counselors

Example of an expository (explanatory) thesis statement:

• Explain how students spend their time studying, attending class, and socializing with peers

Example of an argumentative thesis statement:

• Present an argument and give evidence to support the claim that students should pursue community projects before entering college

• Skip to main content
• assistive.skiplink.to.breadcrumbs
• assistive.skiplink.to.header.menu
• assistive.skiplink.to.action.menu
• assistive.skiplink.to.quick.search

• A t tachments (1)
• Page History
• Page Information
• Resolved comments
• View in Hierarchy
• View Source
• Export to PDF
• Export to Word

Undergraduate Program - Writing a Thesis

• Created by Marcus Mayo , last modified on May 31, 2024

Pursuing a Thesis

Senior Concentrators wishing to graduate with honors in the Department must produce a senior thesis and carry academic standing of Group II or better, with a minimum GPA of 3.00 in concentration grades. In deciding whether one wishes to fulfill the honors requirements, students should consider their academic interests, commitment to independent research, and other deadlines and obligations during the thesis year. Many students find the task of producing a substantial piece of critical scholarship interesting and rewarding, but others find the senior thesis can become a frustrating and unwieldy burden. Some students prefer the freedom to take elective courses or savor extra-curricular pursuits during their last year at the College unhampered by the encroaching demands of thesis preparation. In general, it may be remarked that students are unlikely to do well in the honors program who are not already proven practiced writers committed to the process of scholarship; the senior thesis is not the place to acquire basic skills in writing, design, and/or research. In considering the Department's honors requirements, it should be remembered that students with honors grades overall may graduate with University Honors (Cum Laude) even if they do not receive Honors in History of Art and Architecture.

Department Timeline of Thesis Preparation 

A schedule of departmental dates and deadlines relative to the thesis will be available by the beginning of each Fall Term. The thesis writer and faculty thesis adviser should agree on a working schedule which will adequately conform to these deadlines.

Concentrators undertaking a thesis are required to enroll in HAA 99A (fall) and B (spring) for course credit. Students in the architecture track pursuing a design thesis should enroll in HAA 92r (fall) and 99B (spring). Joint concentrators will enroll in the 99 course of their primary concentration.

Overseen by the Director of Senior Theses, HAA 99A –“The Senior Thesis Seminar” – will meet several times during the fall semester for two-hour sessions devoted to facilitating the preparation and writing of a thesis. These sessions will cover such topics as compiling a bibliography, using archives, the use of key technology and software, and constructing and presenting an effective argument. All concentrators pursuing a written thesis project are required to enroll in this seminar. Joint concentrators enrolled in another department’s thesis seminar, and HAA design thesis students enrolled in HAA 92r, are welcome and encouraged to attend some or all sessions of 99A in addition to their primary thesis preparation course.

Late in the fall semester, each concentrator pursuing a thesis will deliver a twenty-minute presentation on the thesis topic, illustrated with digitally projected images, at the Senior Thesis Presentations. All departmental faculty and students will be invited to these presentations. By the end of winter break, each student will submit a complete first draft of the thesis, complete with illustrations.

Overview of Key Dates for Thesis Preparation

These dates apply to all HAA students wishing to pursue an honors thesis. For further criteria specific to students preparing a design thesis in the Architecture Track, see Academic Requirements: Design Thesis in the Architecture Track

Please consult the Senior Thesis Seminar Canvas site, or reach out to the Undergraduate Program Coordinator, for specific dates.

Fall Semester, Junior Year

• October: Initial Meeting. Junior concentrators are invited to meet with the Director of Senior Theses for an introduction to the senior thesis writing process.

Spring Semester, Junior Year

• Early April: Short Proposals Due. Students submit a basic proposal outlining preliminary ideas, along with a list of potential faculty advisers. Faculty advisers are assigned to thesis projects in late April or early May.
• Late April: Applications due for Pulitzer and Abramson Travel Grants. See Undergraduate Prizes, Grants and Opportunities for details on grants and applications. Information on how to apply will be provided by the Undergraduate Program Coordinator. Grant recipients will be notified by email.

Fall Semester, Senior Year

• During the semester, students enroll in HAA 99A or 92r and follow course deadlines (Please consult the HAA 99A and 92r Canvas sites for additional details).
• Students meet regularly with their faculty advisers.
• Early December: Senior Thesis Presentations. All students pursuing a thesis will give a twenty-minute presentation to department students and faculty followed by discussion.

Spring Semester, Senior Year

• Late January: First Draft . Before the spring semester begins, students submit a full draft of the thesis, with illustrations, to the faculty adviser for comments.
• Late February/Early March: Second Draft. Students are encouraged to submit the near-final draft to their faculty adviser for a final review before formal submission to the Department.
• Week before Spring Break: Final Submission Deadline. Late submissions will not be accepted. On the afternoon of submission, all students are invited to attend the Thesis Reception.
• Late March: Gallery-Style public reception and presentation of Design Thesis projects. All architecture track students that have prepared a design thesis will present their work informally at this event. All HAA thesis writers, as well as faculty and graduate students, are encouraged to attend.
• April: Thesis Review and Honors Recommendation . Senior Honors Theses are read and critiqued by Members of the Faculty in HAA (and the GSD and the Harvard Art Museums, where relevant) at the request of the Director of Senior Theses. Department Faculty meet to vote on final honors recommendations, after which thesis writers will receive an email from the Director of Senior Theses notifying them of their thesis grade and recommendation for honors. Students should speak with their Allston Burr Senior Tutor for the anticipated final honors decision of the College.
• Mid-April: Senior Thesis Poster. All senior thesis writers are expected to prepare a digital file for a 24 x 36” poster summarizing the thesis to be exhibited in the HAA Department for the following academic year. A suggested template will be provided and a workshop will be held in late March for assistance with poster preparation. The printing and associated costs are taken care of by the Department. Examples of previous posters can be found here (AY21-22) , here (AY22-23) , and here (AY23-24) .

Director of Senior Theses 

The process of taking honors and producing the thesis in the Department is overseen for all concentrators by the Director of Senior Theses, Professor Carrie Lambert-Beatty. The Director of Senior Theses leads the Fall Term thesis-writing seminar (HAA 99A) and directs the meetings for departmental approval once theses have been submitted. 

Faculty Thesis Adviser 

When submitting their initial proposal in the spring of the junior year, students should include a list of three possible faculty advisers. The Department will then match students with advisers according to student preference and faculty availability. Faculty thesis advisers should generally be full faculty members of the History of Art and Architecture Department, although Harvard museum curators with relevant expertise may also serve as advisers at the discretion of the Director of Senior Theses. Students in the architecture track pursuing a design thesis must also secure a second adviser from the faculty of the Graduate School of Design. Joint concentrators will generally select one faculty adviser from each department.

The adviser ought to serve as a critic of synthesized ideas and writings/designs, rather than as a director of the project. The adviser should be chosen with consideration more to compatibility in overseeing the process of the work than to being an expert in the field. If you have trouble identifying an appropriate adviser, please consult with the Director of Senior Theses or Undergraduate Program Coordinator before the spring deadline for the Thesis Proposal.

Graduate students in the Department of History of Art and Architecture do not advise Senior Theses.

Program Director, Harvard Undergraduate Architecture Studies Track

Megan Panzano, Program Director of the Harvard Undergraduate Architecture Studies Track, oversees the execution of the two studio courses “HAA 96A – Architecture Studio I: Transformations” and “HAA 96B – Architecture Studio II: Connections”, as well as the senior design-thesis seminar “HAA 92R – Design Speculations.” She is available to consult for general advice on the design-thesis process and in finding a suitable advisor from the GSD. She coordinates the assignment of readers to senior design-thesis projects in consultation with the Director of Senior Theses and Undergraduate Program Coordinator.

Undergraduate Program Coordinator

The Undergraduate Program Coordinator, Marcus Mayo, is available to consult at any point regarding general questions about the senior thesis writing process. In conjunction with the Director of Senior Theses, they will coordinate the initial meeting of concentrators interested in writing a thesis in the spring term of their junior year. The Undergraduate Program Coordinator collects and distributes thesis proposals, summer funding proposals, advisor assignments, as well as completed theses, grades and reader comments. They hold examples of the written requirements (thesis proposal and prospectus) and of the Pulitzer and Abramson Grant applications which students might wish to consult as paradigms.

Academic Requirements – Written Thesis

The writing and evaluation of the thesis is a year-long process, during which the writer enrolls in a senior thesis preparation seminar (HAA 99A) and meets at scheduled intervals with their faculty adviser to formulate, develop, and ultimately refine their thesis work.

The Department encourages seniors to think broadly and explore a problem of interest. The thesis topic does not necessarily have to be within the writer's declared major field, except when required for a joint concentration, in which case, the topic must address an issue shared by both concentrations. The thesis should demonstrate an ability to pose a meaningful question, present a well-reasoned and structured argument, and marshal appropriate evidence. The student should apply a clear methodology and be aware of the assumptions behind the argument, the possible deficiencies of the sources and data used, and the implications of the conclusions. The various parts of the thesis should cohere in an integrated argument; the thesis should not be a series of loosely connected short essays. A primary expectation of the thesis is that it is a work of independent scholarship, directed and crafted by the student, with the thesis adviser serving in a capacity of "indirect overseeing of the project."

There is no set pattern for an acceptable thesis. The writer should demonstrate familiarity with scholarly methods in the use of sources, but this should not be the sole criterion for evaluation. Of equal if not greater importance is the development of the central argument and the significance of the interpretation. A thesis may be research on a little-studied problem or a perceptive reassessment of a familiar question. A well-pondered and well-presented interpretive essay may be as good a thesis as a miniature doctoral dissertation.

Skill in exposition is a primary objective, and pristine editing is expected. The Department encourages writers to keep to a short page count, so as to craft a clear, concise paper, and further edit it to an exemplary presentation. In general, a History of Art and Architecture thesis will have a text ranging from 20,000 to 25,000 words. Students are encouraged to explore the resources available to thesis writers at the Harvard College Writing Center .

The writer must indicate the source of material drawn from others' work, whether quoted, paraphrased, or summarized. Students who, for whatever reason, submit work either not their own or without clear attribution to its sources will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including requirement to withdraw from the College.

Academic Requirements: Design Thesis in the Architecture Track

The HAA Architecture Track asks students to select an Area of Emphasis for fulfillment of their degree -- either Design Studies or History and Theory. Students wishing to pursue an honors thesis in the History and Theory Area of Emphasis will usually complete a written senior thesis paper and presentation on the same model as the thesis for general concentrators (see Academic Requirements: Written Thesis ).

Students in the Design Studies Area of Emphasis who wish to pursue a thesis project may choose either a traditional thesis or a design thesis project. Design theses are creative thesis projects featuring a combination of written analysis and visual and physical design materials, as described below.

Course Requirements for Honors Consideration with a Design Thesis

Senior year – fall term.

• HAA 92r Design Speculations Seminar – required
• Course prerequisite: Completion of either HAA 96A (“Transformations”) or HAA 96B (“Connections”) studios.
• This course requires that students secure a pair of faculty advisers – one from Harvard History of Art and Architecture (HAA) Faculty and one from the Harvard GSD to support their research work within the course; course faculty advisers then serve as the faculty thesis advisers for the design thesis.
• Megan Panzano, GSD Architecture Studies Director, and Jennifer Roberts, HAA DUS, can both help make faculty adviser connections for students pursuing this path.
• (optional) HAA 99A Senior Thesis Tutorial – attendance in this seminar is encouraged but not required in parallel with HAA 92r.
• Presentation of design work to HAA and select GSD Faculty as part of HAA Thesis Colloquium in December) – required

Senior Year – Spring Term

• Throughout the semester: Advising meetings with individual faculty advisers to guide production and iterative refinement of design work (architectural analytical drawings and/or physical models), and edits to digital presentation made in fall term HAA Thesis Thesis Presentations.
• March 14, 2025, 12:00 pm EST: Submission of final senior thesis design project including digital images and written text as a single PDF file (see “ Submission Requirements for Honors Consideration ”).
• March 28, 2025 (date subject to change and TBC): Participation in a gallery-style final presentation with faculty and peers after submission of thesis . The design presentations for the gallery-style event should include an updated digital presentation comprised of the project title, author’s name, the most current versions of all elements listed below in the Final Project Requirements (with the exception of the Written Manifesto which should be consolidated to a single slide containing 3-4 sentences of a thesis statement capturing the topic of study, a position on this topic, your claim about design agency to address this topic, and specifically, what design elements you’ve explored in your thesis in this address).  Students may elect to also print or plot selected original design drawings they produced (analytical or projective) from their digital presentation to pin up in the space.  Likewise, students are encouraged to bring any sketch and/or final models they have created to display as well.
• April 14, 2025 : Preparation of a digital file for a 24 x 36” poster summarizing the thesis to be exhibited in the HAA department for the academic year to follow. A suggested template will be provided and a workshop will be held on March 25 (2025, date subject to change and TBC) for assistance with poster preparation. Examples of previous posters can be found here (AY21-22) , here (AY22-23) , and here (AY23-24).

Submission Requirements for the Design Thesis Project (due March 14, 2025, 12:00 pm EST)

A single multi-page PDF file labeled with student’s full last name and first initial should be submitted. It should contain the following elements and should incorporate thesis research and design work from both fall and spring terms.

• Assemble a visual bibliography of references for your research project. The references included should be sorted into categories of your own authoring in relation to the research. Each reference should be appropriately cited using the Chicago Manual of Style, and each reference should also include an affiliated image. The bibliography should include a brief (approx. 200-word) annotation, describing the rationale behind the sorted categories.
• A written design manifesto of a minimum of 2,000 words that concisely articulates the issues, problems, and questions embedded in and engaged by your research project. The manifesto should address:
• Discourse : the role and significance of architecture relative to the project topic of interest, and;
• Context : the relationship of the project topic to broader surroundings which include but are not limited to the discipline of architecture, cultural contexts, technical developments, and/or typologies.
• The final statement should reflect deeply upon the character of the design process for the project, and discuss how the design process reinforced, inflected, or complicated the initial research questions. For most students, this final statement will be an elaboration upon the presentation text prepared for the fall senior thesis colloquium. The final text should capture and discuss the design elements that were further explored in the spring term as means to address initial research questions (i.e. include written descriptions of the drawings and/or physical models produced in relation to the thesis topic).  
• A visual drawing or info-graphic that describes the process of design research undertaken for your topic. This should include the initial criteria developed for evaluating the project, the steps taken in examining the topic, the points in the process where it became necessary to stop and assess outputs and findings, and final adjustments to the methodology as the project neared completion.
• High resolution drawings, animations, and/or diagrams and photographs of physical models  (if applicable)  that were produced through research. These should be assembled in single-page layouts of slides to follow preceding elements listed here.

Grading of the Senior Thesis

Theses are read and critiqued by faculty members applying a higher standard than expected for work written in courses or tutorials. Faculty do make use of the full range of grades, and students should consider that any honors grade is a distinction of merit. If you have any questions, please contact the Director of Senior Theses, the Director of Undergraduate Studies, or the Undergraduate Program Coordinator.

SUMMA CUM LAUDE: A summa thesis is a work of "highest honor." It is a contribution to knowledge, though it need not be an important contribution. It reveals a promise of high intellectual attainments both in selection of problems and facts for consideration and in the manner in which conclusions are drawn from these facts. A summa thesis includes, potentially at least, the makings of a publishable article. The writer's use of sources and data is judicious. The thesis is well written and proofread. The arguments are concise and logically organized, and the allocation of space appropriate. A summa is not equivalent to just any A, but the sort given by instructors who reserve them for exceptional merit. A summa minus is a near miss at a summa and is also equivalent to an A of unusual quality.

MAGNA CUM LAUDE: A magna level thesis is a work worthy of "great honor." It clearly demonstrates the capacity for a high level of achievement, is carried through carefully, and represents substantial industry. A magna plus thesis achieves a similar level of quality to a summa in some respects, though it falls short in others; it is equivalent to the usual type of A. A magna thesis is equivalent to an A-. For a magna minus, the results achieved may not be quite a successful due to an unhappy choice of topic or approach; it is also equivalent to an A-.

CUM LAUDE: As is appropriate for a grade "with honors," a cum level thesis shows serious thought and effort in its general approach, if not in every detail. A cum plus is equivalent to a B+, a cum to a B, and a cum minus to a B-. The cum thesis does not merely represent the satisfactory completion of a task. It is, however, to be differentiated from the magna in the difficulty of the subject handled, the substantial nature of the project, and the success with which the subject is digested. Recall that, as students putting extraordinary effort into a thesis most frequently receive a magna, theses of a solid but not exceptional quality deserve a grade in the cum range. When expressed in numerical equivalents, the interval between a magna minus and a cum minus is double that between the other intervals on the grading scale.

NO DISTINCTION: Not all theses automatically deserve honors. Nevertheless, a grade of no distinction (C, D, or E) should be reserved only for those circumstances when the thesis is hastily constructed, a mere summary of existing material, or is poorly thought through. The high standards which are applied in critique of theses must clearly be violated for a thesis to merit a grade of no distinction.

Thesis Readers 

Each thesis will have two readers chosen by the Department. All readers will be asked to submit written comments and grades, which will be factored equally to produce the final grade of the thesis. Individual grades are not released. When grades and comments are distributed, the readers no longer remain anonymous. There exists a procedure by which a writer may request, via the Director of Senior Theses, to speak with a reader provided that they are willing to discuss the work in further detail or expound on the written critique.

For joint concentrators, the department will defer the reading process to their primary concentration. Students should reach out to their adviser in their primary concentration for further information.

Grade Report and Honors Recommendation 

At the end of each term, Fall and Spring, the student's progress in the Senior Tutorial (HAA 99) will be graded SAT or UNSAT. At the end of the Department's Honors Review process, the Director of Senior Theses calculates a recommendation for Honors based on the factored grades of the thesis and the student's grades in concentration coursework. This recommendation is presented to the Faculty at their meeting in April for review. A faculty vote is taken and this decision is passed as an honors recommendation to the Registrar of the College. For joint concentrators, the faculty will make recommendations to a student’s primary concentration but will defer the final grading process to them. The decision of Final Honors to be granted on the degree is made by the Registrar based on departmental recommendation and the student’s College-GPA. Students should consult with their Allston Burr Senior Tutor to determine what final honors might be anticipated at Commencement.

The needs of the Department for fair deliberation dictate that there may be no report of decisions regarding the thesis until after the Faculty has considered and voted upon each recommendation for honors. After honors recommendations have been voted by the Faculty, students will be notified of the Department's recommendation to the College and will receive an ungraded copy of each evaluation of their thesis. The comments in these evaluations should provide the student with a clear explanation of the strengths and weaknesses of the thesis, bearing in mind the difficulties of the field and the type of thesis submitted, and evaluating what was accomplished in terms of what was undertaken, given the student's limitation of time and experience.

Discontinuance of a Thesis 

The process of writing the thesis is a serious commitment of time and energy for both the writer and the adviser. In some cases, however, it might be agreed that the thesis should be discontinued at mid-year. The Senior Tutorial year may be divided with credit through a procedure in which the student must submit a written paper presenting the project and research to that point.

Examples of Past Theses 

Senior Honors Theses which are written by students who graduate Summa or Magna are deposited in the University Archives in Pusey Library . Copies of theses which are awarded the Hoopes Prize are held in Lamont Library . Students are urged to consult past theses as much can be gained in exploring precedent or seeking inspiration.

• Copyright © 2023 The President and Fellows of Harvard College
• Accessibility
• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Use
• Atlassian Confluence 7.19.22

Writing Lab

Parts of the paper.

• Introduction Paragraph

What is a Thesis Statement?

Thesis examples.

• Body Paragraphs
• Conclusion Paragraph

A thesis statement clearly identifies the topic being discussed, includes the points discussed in the paper, and is written for a specific audience. Your thesis statement belongs at the end of your first paragraph, also known as your introduction. Use it to generate interest in your topic and encourage your audience to continue reading.

You can read chapter four of  Schaum's Quick Guide to Writing Great Research Papers  an eBook in our online collection, click the title to open:  "How Do I Write a Thesis Statement?" .

Another option is to think of a thesis statement as  one complete sentence that expresses your position .

• Narrows the topic down to a specific focus of an investigation.
• Establishes a direction for the entire paper.
• Points forward to the conclusion.
• Always stated in your introduction. (Usually at the end of the first paragraph).
• Always take a stand and justify further discussion.

Things to rememeber

A thesis statement is not a statement of fact.

Your readers, especially instructors, prefer engaging writing. Therefore, craft debatable thesis statements, not factual ones. While facts are easy to prove, they make for dull papers. Engaging writing showcases critical thinking and analytical skills. Avoid restating widely known facts in your papers.

Thesis Statements always take a stand and justify further discussion.

To make your writing enjoyable, you should develop an arguable thesis statement. Sometimes, you will be writing to persuade others to see things your way, and other times, you will simply be giving your strong opinion and laying out your case.

Statement of fact:

Small cars get better fuel mileage than 4x4 pickup trucks.

Arguable thesis statement:

The government should ban 4x4 pickup trucks except for work-related use.

Foul language is common in movies.

The amount of foul language in movies is disproportionate to the amount of foul language in real life.

• << Previous: Introduction Paragraph
• Next: Body Paragraphs >>
• Last Updated: Jun 14, 2024 9:43 AM
• URL: https://guides.rasmussen.edu/parts-of-the-paper

How to Build a Paper Research Wiki

Back in the early days of Study Hacks, I introduced the paper research database . The idea was to build a database of every quote you might need to cite in your paper. These citations could be sorted by date or type, and be linked to their matching source. The technique works because it helps you build and organize a comprehensive understanding of an event or idea before you start writing about it.

I should be clear: I love this technique . I used it to write two massive art history research papers while here at MIT. Recently, however, when I began the research process for my new book , I found myself drawn to a new strategy: the paper research wiki .

In this post I want to explain this approach, which has the potential to significantly improve the complexity and confidence of your written arguments.

The Basics of a Research Wiki

The research wiki I’m currently using is not my first attempt at this strategy. In fact, it’s the fourth research wiki I’ve started. The first three quickly faded in disuse. This last attempt, however, has become an incredible aid to my writing.

What’s the difference? It all comes down to structure…

If you jump blindly into a wiki, and start creating pages left and right, you’re unlikely to gain much benefit. When I attempted this approach with my first research wikis, I ended up building a page for every idea or piece of information, with few internal links. The site soon devolved into an overly complicated, wannabe notebook.

For my latest wiki, by contrast, I enforced structure. Specifically, I introduced a strict information hierarchy:

• At the bottom level, there are primary sources. Above them are second-level structures. Above them are third-level structures, and so on.
• My linking rule is simple: pages can only link to those from a lower level. Primary sources cannot link to any other pages. Second-level structures can link only to primary sources. Third-level structures can only link to second-level structures and primary sources. Etc.

As you ascend through the levels of this hierarchy, you increase the complexity of the ideas being captured. For example, here’s a screen shot of the home page for my book research wiki:

Notice, I have two types of primary sources : interview subjects and research papers. Each interview subject has his or her own page where I capture all of the relevant information — from contact information to interview transcripts. Each research paper has a page with a full citation and summary. These are the foundational blocks on top of which everything else about my book is built.

My second-level structures are ideas. For example, if you click on the ideas link you’ll see a list that includes the Failed Simulation Effect . The corresponding page describes the idea, linking back to the relevant primary sources, including the relevant research papers and students who exhibited the effect.

At the third-level , I have annotated outlines for each of the major parts of my books. The annotated outlines link heavily to both ideas and interview subjects.

When it comes to writing a part of the book, I can start with the relevant annotated outline and quickly drill down to the needed information. As you might imagine, this allows me to write with great confidence.

Applying the Technique to Your Paper

For a standard college research paper, I would suggest the following information hierarchy (this is only a suggestion, feel free to modify as needed):

• Have your primary sources include the actual primary sources : books, articles, interviews. Create one page for each such source. Include on the page the properly formatted citation and a list of the relevant quotes you might use from the source.
• Have your second-level structures include events and ideas. Create one page for each of these items. On the page, you can link every quote and fact in your description to the matching primary source.
• Have your third-level structures capture timelines and comparison charts. For example, you could have a page that orders and dates a sequence of important events (linking each to its matching second-level page), or a page that compares different related ideas (linking to the matching idea descriptions).
• Have your fourth-level structures capture large arguments. Here you can draw freely from all of the lower structures.

Notice, this wiki is different than an outline. Starting from the fourth-level argument pages, you should be able to easily drill down to the primary sources needed to build a standard flat outline . In other words, put most of your thinking into the wiki, then generate the pre-writing outline at the last minute.

The Advantages of a Wiki Approach

Wiki-driven writing enjoys two important advantages. First, the structure of the wiki helps you structure your research. Plugging your research into a clear information hierarchy is superior to simply creating a large pile of stuff. Second, working through these different levels forces you to do lots of high-level thinking before you get to the outlining and writing phase. In some sense, your paper research wiki requires you to master the nuances and complexity of the topic before you think about what you want to say about it. I can tell you from experiences, this is the approach that generates A* results .

Finding a Wiki

If you’re tech savvy, you could potentially setup your own wiki on a personal web hosting account. But I suggest just using PBworks (formerly PBwiki), which has every feature you need, works fine, and is free. It takes roughly 7 seconds to setup a PBworks wiki, so the required effort is minimal.

Practice Makes Perfect

It takes a little time to customize this technique to suit your own tastes. But if you’re serious about producing high quality papers, then I highly suggest experimenting with this strategy. I’ve been loving it.

43 thoughts on “How to Build a Paper Research Wiki”

Great idea. I might try this for my dissertation research, which I’ll be starting over the summer. Seems like a much more manageable (and useful) system than my binder filled with my thesis research…

Oh my god, is that research for a new book I’m seeing?

Oops, sorry, I jumped ahead to the image without reading the entire article first.

Cal, are you familiar with the index-card method for writing research papers (easily adapted to MS Word), which I see, in many variations (some better than others), in a lot of how-to-study books?

Essentially, you write an outline for your paper (developed after scouring sources), you create a numbered list of your sources, and then you gather your data on “indexed” index cards (i.e., a single quote or fact on an index card, labeled with the source you found it in, the section of your paper it belongs to, and a little subtitle about the subject to which it pertains; some index cards basically just have a personal idea from your head). And then you arrange the cards in order and write the first draft of your paper from them.

I see this method suggested commonly in study-skills books, and am actually okay with it tho at most my papers are 30 to 40 pages long. Yet I encounter so many other suggestions on how to write research papers and wonder if they are actually an improvement on this method, improvements that I have failed to recognize. What is your evaluation of this technique? How does it compare and contrast with the techniques you espouse?

Wikis are still too cumbersome. There are much more user friendly software packages for this job. I like most the Evernote, which works and syncs on all platforms you may want to use. My basic problem was that I wanted to progress to the next stage of the research process, before I have finished the preceding one. I wanted to achieve too much too quickly and end up with nothing. To solve this, I looked for a process that would allow me to: – store structural ideas while doing the reading; – note various ideas for possible structure, while linking to them snippets from readings – trust that no idea will be lost. Wiki would be one option, but it is often too cumbersome as one needs to think about how to record the idea not just simply record it. With Evernote this is much easier. Here is my current workflow for a literature review: 1. Create a separate Evernote account for the project 2. Gather all literature sources, create a new notebook for each source and drop all files there (you can also clip from web, mail yourself ideas, note them to your mobile it is all synced). 3. Read each source and create Notes from all potentially useful bits of information (select text + double-click CapsLock – that is all it takes to make a note from any PDF or webpage – much easier than wiki) 4. attach tags to all Notes; each Note may have multiple tags 5. Tags can be arranged into a hierarchy that gradually morphs into the structural outline of the paper. This is a key! Tagging and retagging creates the structure from a pile of clippings. 6. After all sources sorted and with workable tag-based outline, go through all notes – merge, delete, re-tag etc. 7. You are ready to open word processor and start writing, and copy-pasting (you can also export en masse from EN, but I did not find this useful).

This workflow mimicks the logic of the qualitative research process. On the pro level, this is usually supported by expensive software packages like Nvivo or Atlas.TI, but it can be done in Evernote, which is free and much, much more lightweight. People on Macs swear on DevonThink, but I run on Windows only.

Cal, thanks for this helpful article!

Personally, I’d be interested in getting an insight into your whole workflow when writing the two books mentioned.

And although I enjoy reading your blog, it seems to me that you often choose commercial solutions over free and open source alternatives which sometimes are even better.

E.g. as a wiki engine you could use tiddlywiki which runs from your harddisk or usb pendrive ( https://tiddlywiki.com/ ) and can be kept in sync with an online version at tiddlyspot.com (where you can also collaborate with others, access earlier versions of your wiki etc.),plus you don’t need to be tech savvy for that.

Another great alternative would be the zim desktop wiki ( https://zim-wiki.org/ ), a cross-plattform desktop wiki with versioning, to-do features, calendar and so on.

Overall, I’d like to see a greater amount of open source and linux related content as this certainly meets the financial needs of (doctoral) studends. (like this: https://academiclifehacker.wordpress.com/2009/02/19/academic-software-roundup-for-linux/ )

Great tips, nonetheless. So thanks again,

Great idea. I might try this for my dissertation research, which I’ll be starting over the summer.

I highly recommend it. At first, you’ll be a little frustrated that it’s taking you a little bit of time to enter things into the wiki. But once it grows past a certain size, you’ll start to love the structure it provides.

Oh my god, is that research for a new book I’m seeing?

I’m planning on posting some more information and updates on the project soon. Stay tuned…

I think the paper research database, in some sense, is like an advanced index card system. The wiki, by contrast, adds structure and high-level thinking in a way that a primary source-centric approach does not.

My basic problem was that I wanted to progress to the next stage of the research process, before I have finished the preceding one.

This is insightful. Overcoming this issue was one of the most important things I’ve learned to do as a student interested in producing good writing.

Wiki would be one option, but it is often too cumbersome as one needs to think about how to record the idea not just simply record it.

That’s what I like about the Wiki, it forces me to spread out the thinking over the whole research process. It’s slightly more cumbersome while processing sources, but you end up performing a *lot* more thinking in total, hopefully generating a better result.

That being said, I’m not that familar with Evernote, so thank you for providing a good tutorial on how a student might use it as an alternative research system.

I tend to go with whatever is available and easy. I use pbworks because it was free and fast. I use excel and word because it’s already on my machine, etc. I rely on slightly more savvy readers like you to point me toward superior alternatives. Both tiddlywiki and zim sound cool. I’m going to check those out.

Great post, Cal. I’ve used pbworks for two other research projects in the past. One was a literature review and the other involved program development. Your tips on how to structure the wiki and the value of the thinking you do as you structure it are right on.

The additional value of using a tool like pbworks is as a team project management tool for research projects where you’re collaborating with others. The lit review project mentioned above involved two other students; we had widely varied schedules and had a hard time finding one day and time to meet that would work for everyone. The wiki allowed for us to do our individual work relative to the project, upload it to the wiki, and not experience any overlap. With three of us forcing ourselves to use the same logic and structure of the wiki we found ourselves easily following each other’s work. Of course, the wiki didn’t completely replace meeting in person. But it did help create a common organization for the project between all of us, keep us all marching in the same direction, and made it easy to transfer all of our work to our professor in one nice package when we were done.

The wiki also allows everyone to know who’s doing what, when, and how much. Therefore, it has a built in accountability function. Using it helped cut down on the social loafing I’ve experienced in the past from other group projects (and been guilty of myself).

I was in the process of getting another wiki set up for a new team research project and will add your suggestions into the structure.

Thanks again for the post.

So why don’t you just use endnote or even evernote? To me it would seem like an easier solution as most of the databasing can be done through the program. Just a thought.

Coincidentally, I was just assigned a paper that this wiki idea is perfect for. I’m going to try it out. Thanks.

Oh, beautiful. Just what I was looking for to do exam notes for law.

And the reason I think it will work really well for those as well as research papers (in case you’re interested) is basically because the structure of law school in common law countries is a cause of action in each class, or one element of a cause of action, with a lot of cases that illustrate how they work in particular circumstances for reading. Exams are a hypothetical fact situation. Generally you pass if you can work through the steps to determine whether each cause of action will work in the given situation, and you get the A* if you can comb through the detail and facts of each case to really analyse how relevant a legal principle is to the ones you’re looking at in the exam. I’ve never really been able to map any of your other study techniques onto law school without big tweaks because they just don’t fit the style, but this is probably something that could be maintained on a daily basis – you do the wiki pages (cases, legislation) for level one throughout semester, review once you’re done with a particular limb (one or two classes) by putting it into a level 2 page that explains this element, review once you’re done with a page that outlines the whole cause of action (maybe a month) with a level 3 page, and then stick the whole thing into a level 4 page at the end which basically lists them all and maybe gives some guidance on which one to go for for a given exam situation.

Cal, Great post. I’m going back to grad school for another master’s degree this Fall and found the Red Book about a year ago. I wish I had had it in undergrad and during my first grad degree!

I’m curious how using the research wiki might fit into the “process” for writing research papers in the Red Book. Any guidance?

Thank you for your time and effort! It’s been a wonderful learning experience for me.

Yours, Jason

A couple of other recommendations for personal wikis. Firstly, I wouldn’t go with tiddlywiki for this as it gets bigger.

Better alternatives. Wikidpad, which is free and is very powerful. However if you have the money, I’d spring for the excellent ConnectedText, which is very powerful, fast and nice to use.

This seems like a great idea to bigger projects. I’m so happy I found these kind of blogs, before I’m joining University next year, all these ideas, all these disciplines. I’m almost looking forward to a year of hard studying!

great post, thank you. I’m totally on your side. I love wiki too.

This looks great! One question – How do you pull together your bibliography when the time comes? Certain classes or professors require different bibliography styles – so would one copy the information from the Primary Sources in the wiki to another database for formatting into the proper style, or somehow make the wiki do the work?

Based on your screenshot and the ‘ideas’ link you mentioned in the post, I gather that the actual structure of the wiki is:

1)a wiki-wide directory

2)a level directory

3)the pages themselves

In other words, the wiki hierarchy is not just 4 levels high but three levels deep.

Does PB’s tagging option come in handy, at all?

Based on your screenshot and the ‘ideas’ link you mentioned in the post, I gather that the actual structure of the wiki is: 1)a wiki-wide directory 2)a level directory 3)the pages themselves

Something like that seems to work well. Though it’s not fixed in stone.

I haven’t tried the tagging option yet, as I haven’t really seen the scenario where it would help.

I haven’t really seen the scenario where it would help.

Noticed that tagging a PB page ‘template’ makes it a template next time you use it, which is handy.

Thanks for the wonderful post, btw. I think this ‘node-based’ wiki approach (embedding a link page, and adding the links/pages as you go along) let’s you, the researcher, bring the complexity to the project, rather than imposing a structure a priori on your work. The underlying organizing principle being radically simple, but not simplistic.(Hearkens to mind an another MIT figure on language).

Can’t wait to see your ideas on the doctoral dissertation, but hurry my defense is coming up : )

At risk of seeming like a blog-hog, I’m posting again to give a little dirt on TiddlyWiki, which I found a better solution to PBworks. Wanted to illustrate what Keith posted about not needing to be “tech savvy,” because I surely ain’t:

My two step / two second solution to Tiddly-research-Wiki creation: 1. Write a wiki-wide TOC (table of contents) in the main menu on the front – and only – initial page, 2. Create the corresponding pages by adding double brackets as you write the page names inside the TOC.

That’s it, ya’ got yerself a wiki.

Btw, yes, PBworks can work this way too, but, it was significantly slower because you’re online with a delay (up to 7 seconds on my count), and it had too many clicks to get to the same point as Tiddly. If you further arm yourself with a cheat sheet here [https://www.linuxbeacon.com/doku.php/cheatsheets], and a FAQ there [https://www.giffmex.org/twfortherestofus.html], both for absolute beginners since there’s a lot of documentation, you can even do advanced things right off the bat (text formatting, printing, tables).

Hope that helps, /Cas

• Pingback: Organizing a literature review « Protoscholar

I’m off Wikis altogether and on to Onenote! Just curious if anyone else has tried to apply the above system to onenote, and how it worked out?

For those of us stuck with windows, I can’t imagine a more perfect solution. In fact, I had no idea what to do with it until I started adding structure as per the description in the above in the post. Your wiki-like onenote pages because a virtual sandbox for ideas, but the nuts and bolts of organizing a ‘spine’ of citations and concepts garnered from texts can be done in a quote table supporting it.

Since its all integrated into MS Office, you can have your database cake and eat it (or your wiki at least), too.

Thanks for the great step by steps on how to create a research paper wiki. Well written.

your blog is an answer to a most desperate prayer. I’m a 3rd year “grad stud” working on a phd in biomedical sciences. I passed my orals in august, got married two weeks later and nothing in the lab has worked since… almost daily i pound my head against the wall asking why nothing works. i now have a few ideas how i might improve-but any additional ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for this wiki post, this is great! I have been all over the place with my dissertation notes and all the word docs I use to house them, and this sounds like a great way to organize and structure things better. I’m not at all familiar with wiki, but I’m going to go give this a try. Thank you!

Hey Cal! Great post here. I have one question though. I assume that due to your math background you are familiar with LaTex. I just started grad school and am brainstorming some ideas for paper tracking. I was wondering what you thought the advantages of a wiki were over say creating a directory structure and tex documents.

I like tex because eventually that is how all my papers and writings will be formatted and published. I also enjoy a good afternoon of vim and tex writing as well, but I see some of the positives about using a wiki. Most notably the fact that you can easily view and navigate the content. What argument would you provide in choosing the wiki over something like a good latex set up? I would also be interested to see your response to the comparison of using Evernote rather than a wiki as well.

Thanks for any comments and suggestions!

I was wondering what you thought the advantages of a wiki were over say creating a directory structure and tex documents.

When working on mathematics research, I do use latex documents — one per potential problem — as my central organization tool. As you note, the ability to easily render math is essential for this specific type of work.

Great system! I think I’m going to start learning how to implement that for my senior high research paper, so that when I’m actually in college I will have the system down good!

Love it! Just implemented it and blogged about it.

I have the same question as Jason–how does this fit in to or correspond to the method in the red book? Do you not make photocopies in this method? I’m a beginning PhD student and just read the red book because I really like this blog, but I’m not sure if the photocopy method would be practical given the number of sources in my research papers. But maybe that makes it even more practical, I’m not sure.

So now I have gone through all of my sources and extracted the relevant information onto different pages in PBworks. I’m ready to start the structural work, but I’m frustrated at the prospect because many of my sources covered more than one of the ideas within my paper topic. So, when I link back to the primary sources, I will have to comb through the irrelevant quotes for that topic to get the relevant ones. Is there an aspect of this system that I’m not understanding? I’m starting to like your research paper database idea better. Perhaps it would work well to build a research paper database for primary sources, then create a wiki for the second and third levels,pasting the relevant quotes into the ideas and outline pages.

This is such an amazing approach to organizing the paper writing experience. I don’t know how I ended up on your site Cal, but my mind is blown. I have no doubt that your writing wisdom will change the way I approach my writing. As far as using a wiki…I’m very tech savvy, but I agree with the others that think starting a wiki for this task is just overkill. If you’ve got a mac, save up your coffee money for 2 weeks and get Scrivener. Does everything you need a Paper Research Wiki to do, all right out the box, no setup required, AND you can set up multiple ‘wiki’ styled researched situations within a single document. I don’t work for the Scrivener people or anything, just sharing what worked for me.

Here’s a slightly rambling but still great youtube video applying the research wiki technique using Zotero (a free addon for Firefox) which was created by academics for academics to make research easy. It’s clearly not just a reference manager. I found it very helpful to see the wiki strategy in use, rather than reading about it. It’s much clearer to me how to go about it now. Interestingly, he says that he’s sure that he has “radically oversimplified” the strategy from Study Hacks, but I am not so sure since the philosophy here is that of professed ‘radical simplicity’.

How does your use or application of the strategy jive with this one? Does any of you use Zotero for building a research wiki, or use it but organize things differently? Please share, especially if you have a video, screen shots or anything tangible. A picture is worth 1000 words.

• Pingback: My knowledge tools | SilverWolf's PhD Blog

Please forgive my old-school ignorance here- I am not as tech-savvy as the rest here: What is the advantage of wikis over documents in Microsoft Word and just making folders and sub-folders for related ideas? There must be a difference (other than the graphics aspect) that I am missing…thanks

• Pingback: Using a wiki to keep track of research? | georgie tarling research journal

Hi Cal, I was wondering if you can recommend a particular program for organizing notes on research papers. Both in terms of organizing research papers and notes written about them.

Cal, do you think I could see your wiki myself? This is brilliant stuff, but I want to compare yours to mine manually to see if I need to fix anything.

We might be a little late to the party here, but I think we have created something that would interest you. Ref Ren allows users to create a bibliography citation on their mobile device by converting highlighted text. That citation is then saved where it can be saved, edited and exported for later use.

• Pingback: How To Write Proper Dissertation Proposal | Kafkasör Bo?a Güre?leri Festivali - Artvin
• Pingback: How To Prepare Proper Dissertations | The Riverwoods Conference Center | Special Events | Hotel

I’m writing a 10 page research paper on Joseph Stalin and there is so much info on him i’m not sure what’s important and what’s not anymore. And also what would be a good thesis? Mine right now is how he affected the soviet Union and the world during and after WWII, but I’m not sure if that’s good enough.

Now in 2022 the options for building a personal wiki are massive. Are you aware of this? Have you a personal one?

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Your path to academic success

Improve your paper with our award-winning Proofreading Services ,  Plagiarism Checker , Citation Generator , AI Detector & Knowledge Base .

Proofreading & Editing

Get expert help from Scribbr’s academic editors, who will proofread and edit your essay, paper, or dissertation to perfection.

Plagiarism Checker

Detect and resolve unintentional plagiarism with the Scribbr Plagiarism Checker, so you can submit your paper with confidence.

Citation Generator

Generate accurate citations with Scribbr’s free citation generator and save hours of repetitive work.

Happy to help you

You’re not alone. Together with our team and highly qualified editors , we help you answer all your questions about academic writing.

Open 24/7 – 365 days a year. Always available to help you.

Very satisfied students

This is our reason for working. We want to make  all students  happy, every day.

I am very grateful to have come across this site. Alongside my APA manual, it has not led me wrong, and the citations line up with what's in my manual & saves me a great deal of time. To whomever created this..thank you!

I love that this site is free and gives…

I love that this site is free and gives you references as well as intext citations and keeps your list for you and alphabetizes it and the format when you copy and paste already has a hanging indent. Pretty awesome tool!

Scribbr is so easy to use

Scribbr is so easy to use! It makes citing my sources easy and hassle-free. I also like that it saves all my sources and can import directly into Google Docs and Word. It stays up to date so I don't have to manage formatting either.

Great asset for my course.

very good APA style references

I hate citing my sources. I always struggled with putting what where. I love how scribbr makes things soooooo much easier.

Citation generator

I have used this site for generating citations. I love that I can copy and paste a URL and the whole citation is available. It is saved on the website, and it can easily be copied to the clipboard. The parenthetical as well as narrative citations are also available. This has saved me so much time!

I have truly enjoyed using this app

I have truly enjoyed using this app. It has been a tremendous asset while I have been in school .

good article for publiation

I am thankful to Scribbr

Really useful. I am thankful to everyone who has contributed to Scribbr as I didn't understand much about referencing until I found this site. It has helped me structure and cite various academic reports.

Scribbr is extremely helpful

Scribbr is extremely helpful. I am in college and have to use APA7 citations both inline and full. This program helps to reduce the amount of time I need to use on writing citations, and enables me to focus on the content of my papers.

It's so informative

It's so informative. Very helpful!

Best tool for your academic (or any) bibliography

Greatest tool to generate your academic bibliography. Highly recommended. Good job guys, you helped me out a lot.

The fast response

The fast response, and the accuracy

It's exactly what I need. My teacher loves it!

Amazing Experience

I think this is an amazing website that takes the pressure off of students trying to cite. The one bone I have to pic with this website is that PDFs aren't available for auto-citation. But other than that, the assessable, easy-to-use nature, and quick generations are all what make this website great.

It does everything perfectly well

It does everything perfectly well. My teacher endorses it heavily.

Scribbr has been very useful in guiding…

Scribbr has been very useful in guiding me in creating APA references for my work.

Love how it helps with citation.

Citations made easy...

This tool is fantastic! It is a must-have bookmark if you are in school and are writing any papers where you might need a citation.

Everything you need to write an A-grade paper

Free resources used by 5,000,000 students every month.

Bite-sized videos that guide you through the writing process. Get the popcorn, sit back, and learn!

Lecture slides

Ready-made slides for teachers and professors that want to kickstart their lectures.

• Academic writing
• Citing sources
• Methodology
• Research process
• Dissertation structure
• Language rules

Accessible how-to guides full of examples that help you write a flawless essay, proposal, or dissertation.

Chrome extension

Cite any page or article with a single click right from your browser.

Time-saving templates that you can download and edit in Word or Google Docs.

Help you achieve your academic goals

Whether we’re proofreading and editing , checking for plagiarism or AI content , generating citations, or writing useful Knowledge Base articles , our aim is to support students on their journey to become better academic writers.

We believe that every student should have the right tools for academic success. Free tools like a paraphrasing tool , grammar checker, summarizer and an  AI Proofreader . We pave the way to your academic degree.

Ask our team

Want to contact us directly? No problem.  We  are always here for you.

• Email [email protected]
• Start live chat
• Call +1 (510) 822-8066
• WhatsApp +31 20 261 6040

Frequently asked questions

Our team helps students graduate by offering:

• A world-class citation generator
• Plagiarism Checker software powered by Turnitin
• Innovative Citation Checker software
• Professional proofreading services
• Over 300 helpful articles about academic writing, citing sources, plagiarism, and more

Scribbr specializes in editing study-related documents . We proofread:

• PhD dissertations
• Research proposals
• Personal statements
• Admission essays
• Motivation letters
• Reflection papers
• Journal articles
• Capstone projects

Scribbr’s Plagiarism Checker is powered by elements of Turnitin’s Similarity Checker , namely the plagiarism detection software and the Internet Archive and Premium Scholarly Publications content databases .

The add-on AI detector is powered by Scribbr’s proprietary software.

The Scribbr Citation Generator is developed using the open-source Citation Style Language (CSL) project and Frank Bennett’s citeproc-js . It’s the same technology used by dozens of other popular citation tools, including Mendeley and Zotero.

You can find all the citation styles and locales used in the Scribbr Citation Generator in our publicly accessible repository on Github .

Thesis paper

• Edit source

Thesis papers are used to convert people to your faith. They can be crafted by a preacher at a Protestant dome or cathedral with 2 leather , 2 parchment , and 2 holy water .