What is a Thesis?
You often come across the term thesis in academic writing, but what exactly does it mean?
Thesis Statement and Thesis Definitions
A thesis statement is a brief expression summarizing the main point of an essay or a research paper. The objective of a thesis statement is to narrow down the content of your writing.
Thesis can also be a long essay or dissertation. Essentially, it involves personal research as part of a university degree.
How do you develop a good thesis statement?
A thesis statement features at the end of the starting paragraph of your paper. It should be vibrant, precise, and concise. Readers always judge the content of a document based on how it starts! Ensure you develop an engaging thesis statement to entice your audience.
A good thesis statement has the following features:
- A bold and clear stand that justifies your discussion.
- It is specific and concise, and the arguments should relate to your thesis sentence.
- It provides the reader with a blueprint for your discussion.
Consider an assignment to discuss how forest fires affect Amazon locals. You can develop your thesis like this:
The cases of fire in the Amazon forest bring adverse effects to the environment. Trees play a significant role in maintaining a favorable climate…
~ a sample thesis statement
We can guess that the writer does not support the burning down of Amazon. Consequently, the next statement suggests why the writer thinks so. You can anticipate that the paper will discuss the unfavorable effects that frequent fires can cause on the climate.
Thesis Writing
The other meaning of the thesis refers to an entire report and is compulsory in a degree course. Roughly, it may take 50 pages, double-spaced. Its goal of writing it is to tell if the candidate completed and understood the program. Unlike short essays, thesis writing takes a lot of time to prepare. This section gives you some insights into how to write a proper thesis. In some universities, a thesis and dissertation are the same. Although that may be the case, they vary a bit.
The submission of a thesis occurs at the end of a degree course. Institutions expect you to research a topic, analyze it, and provide a conclusion on the investigation.
With dissertations, the researcher relies on other research materials for guidance. One must provide own unique hypothesis, and the paper is also complex compared to thesis research. USA students write a thesis at the Masters level and a dissertation at the Ph.D. stage. In the United Kingdom, it is vice versa.
Now, how do you develop a master’s thesis?
There are different guidelines for writing a thesis, and it depends on the demands of your school or the program you are taking. Always include chapters to organize your thesis research.
How to Structure a Thesis
1. Title Page
This section contains the title, subtitles, author, institution, department, and delivery date. The researcher can also include his mentors, institutions, and their contact information.
2. Abstract
In a sentence, explain why the paper has value. Abstracts contain approximately 400 to 500 words to explain why the research occurred. An abstract has the methods, main findings, and some recommendations in summary.
3. Table of Contents
It provides a list of all the headings and sub-headings in the document. With the help of page numbers, the readers can easily navigate your document.
4. Introduction
This chapter contains the background elements of the paper. You need to state the purpose and significance of your research. Include a statement of the goal to summarize why you conducted the study.
You can proceed by providing enough background information to prepare the reader. The introduction should stick to the thesis statement. Finally, outline what the paper contains in a step-by-step order.
5. Literature Review
This chapter focuses on previous studies that other researchers did, and it must align with the topic of discussion. The author should analyze the findings of other scholars in the past. It helps one determine what is available and unknown about the subject. Through that, you can develop your research questions or hypotheses.
6. Method
The methods section usually describes and justifies the data-gathering process. This approach facilitates evidence that can be useful in defending the results. You need to explain the materials, procedures, and theories that your research utilized. Include the mathematical formulae, calculations, statistical tools, and the software used.
7. Results
This chapter addresses the findings from your data analysis. Outline the steps taken to carry out the research. They are the statements of observations in detail. It is imperative to break down the findings into logical segments. The categories can have sub-headings, paragraphs, and other vital formatting elements.
A strong thesis includes both positive and negative results. This part can contain tables, graphs, statistical charts, and some mathematical data.
8. Discussion
Explain the findings in connection to the theoretical body and the topic here. In summary, the main goal of a discussion is to explain your observations. It interprets the results and answers to the ‘So what?’ question.
9. Conclusion
The closing part of your thesis narrows down your study in line with the problem statement. An impressive parting shot should convince the reader why the research was crucial.
10. Recommendations
Your research will be stale if it lacks some creative advice. Always propose some ideas that may help future researchers because someone may deal with the same topic in the coming days.
11. References
It is one of the most crucial parts of a thesis. If you dare use another person’s work without citing, you may end up on the wrong side. All the references should follow alphabetical order. There are different styles of referencing. Please read more on APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, Oxford, and other citation styles.
12. Appendices
You can place some tables, data, calculations, and other subsidiary matters at the back.
That is how to make a thesis less painful and more satisfying. With all the information, we can roll our sleeves and tackle an actual thesis. If you need help creating one, do not hesitate to reach us today. Cheers!