How to write a Thesis Practical Tips for Students
The thesis paper is a form of final state certification of students completing their studies in universities. To get a passing grade, your paper has to be reviewed by a group of people, which consists of professors, scholars, and even leading professionals related to the professional sphere of study.
The Right Thesis Statement Format
When dealing with thesis statement format, students are to use Microsoft Word, A4 page layout, and Times New Roman font in size 12 with double spacing. An approximate number of characters per line including spaces is 60.
All pages of paper, except for the title page, should be numbered. Numeration starts from a page on which the table of contents is printed. The placing of page numbers may differ depending on the formatting style (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.) your university supports.
The main body is divided into chapters (sections) and paragraphs. Chapters should have ordinal numbering, paragraphs within chapters, and denote by Arabic numerals with a dot. Headings should be concise and correspond to the content. They are placed symmetrically in the text. If the header consists of two sentences, they are separated by a period. At the end of the title, the period is not used. Usually, no additional space between the heading and first line is required.
Each new chapter is to be started from a blank page. The same rule applies to other basic structural parts of the work: introduction, conclusion, bibliography, appendix, etc.
Phrases starting with a new line are printed with a paragraph indent from the beginning of the line.
The appendix should be numbered in Arabic numerals. In the upper right corner, you need to indicate: Appendix 1, and from the new line – an exact name of the appendix.
Descriptions and calculations are accompanied by illustrations and tables. Drawings and tables are placed immediately after the reference to them in a text. All illustrations (photographs, photocopies, diagrams, sketches, graphics, maps, etc.) are called drawings. The number and content of illustrations should be consistent with the text and be sufficient to understand it. All illustrations should have names and consecutive numbering with Arabic numerals.
All formulas must be numbered with Arabic numerals. The values of symbols and numerical coefficients entering into a formula must be given directly under a formula. Above and below each of the formulas you must leave one free line. Formulas must be typed using the formula editor. Uppercase and lowercase letters, superscripts, and subscripts in formulas should be clearly marked. The following sizes of signs for formulas are recommended: uppercase letters and numbers – 7-8 mm, lower 4 mm, exponents and indices at least 2 mm.
What are the Main Types of Thesis Statements?
Analytical Thesis Statement. An analytical statement aims at analyzing a given issue. When writing a thesis statement of this type, the student has to define a topic and dissect some aspects of it. An analytical thesis statement outlines the subject, which is going to be examined, and demonstrates how it will be dissected.
Expository Thesis Statement. When wondering “how to start a thesis statement” or “how to write a poetry analysis essay” of expository variety, the student has to explain chosen topic to a reader. You are to decide on vital aspects of your topic and elaborate on those in your paper’s body. In this type of statement, you need to list the topic’s aspects, which you are going to elaborate on according to the order in which they will be discussed.
Argumentative Thesis Statement. An argumentative statement poses a certain argument by taking a stand on a subject. In the body of your paper, you’ll need to defend your claim. An argumentative thesis statement poses your claim as well as how your work will support it.
Structure and Steps to Writing a Thesis:
These are written under the supervision of a scientific curator – a professor of graduating department, who is assigned to the student after choosing a topic. A curator can be selected from a list provided by the university or offered independently: the main thing is that it should correspond to your specialty and be amenable to the fullest possible disclosure within a framework of your study.
To make the process of writing this type of academic work easier, it is necessary to find a middle ground: a topic should not be jaded or too rare. Otherwise, it will be difficult to find any unlighted aspects and, on the contrary, select materials for development, analysis, argumentation, comparison.
The next stage is complex, and it involves determining goals, objectives, research methods, selecting and systematizing bibliography relevant to them, and concurrently drawing up the plan for this type of academic work, which is a preliminary outline of a structure and content of a future student scientific work, which you can find at TypeMyEssays.com. We can always help if you don’t know what website types essays for you online nowadays.
A graduation qualification work (diploma project) contains the following structural elements in this specified sequence:
Table of Contents. A table of contents is made out in form of a list of structural elements (chapters, paragraphs, etc.), compiled in the order in which they are given throughout the text. The content is indicated by a page number on which the beginning of a chapter, paragraph, etc. is placed. Introduction justifies the problem’s urgency providing the basis for future analysis in science and practice. It also clarifies the general purpose of the study, identifies the subject, object, goal, and research tasks formulate a hypothesis, gives a description of research methods, summarizes the structure of a work as a whole.
Chapter 1. It is written based on generalization and analysis of theoretical information gleaned from selected sources; Here, you need to reveal central concepts, the essence of phenomenon or process, different points of view on the object and subject of research.
Chapter 2. It is given for factual material and analysis of a problem; contains statistical references with quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the phenomenon under consideration, an account of revealed tendencies and shortcomings in its state and development.
Chapter 3. It is dedicated to the development of a solution to a selected problem. It is written on a basis of data of chapter 2 with a scientific justification, for which the theoretical provisions of chapter 1 are drawn.
Size-wise, all chapters should be approximately equal.
Conclusion. In conclusion, general conclusions on a thesis work (thesis project) in general are stated; proposals, recommendations on the use of results obtained in practice and science are formulated; problems that require further consideration are posed.
Bibliography. The bibliography is placed immediately after the main body of work. The bibliography is written in accordance with the requirements of your university.
Appendix. The appendix is listed to spare your main text from an unnecessary detail that is difficult to understand. Texts of questionnaires, tables, calculation formulas, reference data, diagrams, graphs, content-analysis of concepts, plans-abstracts of specific events, etc., are listed. The appendix is not included in the recommended page size of the thesis work (thesis project). The recommended size of a text part of a thesis is 50 – 90 pages.
The graphical part of a thesis contains design, technological drawings, made in accordance with requirements of standards, and posters (research results, calculation algorithms, tables, etc.). The total size of the graphical part is 6 – 12 sheets of A1 format. The ratio of drawings and posters volume is set by your issuing department.
A thesis, in addition to the text part, can contain demonstration materials in form of drawings, posters, models, mock-ups, computer programs, etc. That’s where a thesis writer service can come in hand, check it out and let us know what you think. Specific requirements for demonstration materials of thesis work are determined by your issuing department.
What is a Thesis After All?
So what is a thesis? A thesis is written scientific research on a topic related to a graduate’s specialty, in which he/she demonstrates the acquired amount of theoretical knowledge and practical skills to federal educational standards. This type of academic work in most cases is written by students studying humanities, social sciences, or mastering creative professions to systematize their theoretical knowledge acquired at university and show the mastery of skills necessary for independent work.
A thesis can also be written by a tech student if research is of fundamental academic nature, for example, in the field of physics. Conversely, students of humanities can do a full-fledged project involving an innovative social survey algorithm or a progressive methodology for data collection and processing.
In this context, it is also worth mentioning what is the thesis statement and how to write a thesis statement. It is briefly formulated key points and main thoughts of scholarly work. It is written based on the type listed above.