Thesis Format

Drafting a thesis or dissertation can be difficult at times. It is just too much work and takes a lot of time to complete but your thesis work can become a lot easier if you know how to structure it. However, thesis structure may slightly vary for different courses but a thesis format is generally the same for most of the courses. This blog includes everything you need to know about a Thesis Format.

What is a Thesis and a Dissertation?

A thesis is an academic piece that is meant to include a viewpoint of your findings on the topic you’ve chosen. It is about 100-150 pages and is supposed to be submitted during the completion of your graduate program to mark an end to your study. While a dissertation is an independent work of research that requires you to demonstrate your research and come to a conclusion. It has no specific length but depending on the course you may be required to not exceed the 60,000 – 80,000 world limit. A dissertation is supposed to be written during your doctoral program. Your dissertation is a contribution to the respective field of your study.

Thesis Writing Format: How to Structure a Thesis?

The format of a Thesis is one of the key similarities that a thesis and a dissertation have. Mentioned below are the structures:

Front Matter

• Title – The candidate’s department usually gives a standard title page form which everyone is requied to follow. Usually, the title should be informative, consists important keywords, and adequately exhibit the topic of the thesis.
• Abstract – The adequate section briefly describes the research problem, alongwith the right methodology that will be used, and what are the key results at the end of the project.
• Tabel of Contents – Here the stduent is required to list all the key subject headings and subheadings that are being use din the thesis along witht he accurate page numbers.
• List of Figures – This is a list of all the figure numbers, figure titles, and page numbers mentioned in the thesis.
• List of Tables – The table list contains all the mentioned table numbers, table titles, and page numbers that is included in the thesis.
• Nomenclature – Usually we end of using a lot of unfamiliar symbols and numbers that may not be understandable to everyone, hence, a nomenclature is included where we list all the unfamiliar terms, symbols, acronyms, and their meanings.

Body

• Introduction – Usually the introduction part of the thesis is divided into the following sub categories:
  1. Background
  2. Problem
  3. Statement of Purpose/Aim/Research Questions
• Theory – Usually the student is required to add a theory section if they have developed a theoretical basis for the research topic that includes any governing equations.
• Methodology – In this section of the thesis the writer list and describes the key materials and apparatus that were used in the thesis. After mentioning them, the procedure is described briefly with enough details so that it can be utilized by other readers for future research projects.
• Results – The results are presented after the above topics with the accurate information accompanied by the tables and graphs for further understanding.
• Significance/Implications (Results of the Discussion) – After presenting the results, the significance of it is emphasized for further discussions and what are the topics that has emerged from the following research for further exploration.
• Overview of Chapter (Conclusion) – This section reviews the results and states clearly what their significance is in the field of the particular subject. The writer also utilizes this section to comparatively analyse the result in the theoretical expectation what are their opinions after the end of the research.

End Matter

• Acknowledgements – This section mentions all the advisors, sponsors, funding agencies, colleagues, technicians who assisted the researchers to carry out the entire project.
• Appendixes – Appendixes are list of information that provides detailed calculations, procedures, data for the entire project.
• Bibliography – This section consists of all the referred works in your project. Usually the structure of the bibliography is given by the department and the writer must follow the exact style recommended byt them.

Dissertation Format: How to write a Dissertation?

The format of a Dissertation is quite similar to a Thesis format. A dissertation must include the following sections:

• Section I: Introduction
• Section II: Review of Literature
• Section III: Research Methodology
• Section IV: Result Presentation
• Section V: Summary, Implications and Conclusions

Also Read: How to write a Dissertation?

How to Choose Topics and Titles for Thesis or Dissertation?

1. Select a relevant and interesting topic for your thesis or  dissertation.
2. The topic must be capable of providing you with content to support your arguments.
3. Do not include shallow questions in your dissertation that are supposed to be answered with a Yes or No. Include questions that provide you with long but worthy answers.
4. Ask for feedback and advice from your supervisors or teachers more often. Their suggestions can be a great help.
5. While choosing a title for your thesis or dissertation, select an appropriate title that does justice to your research. The title should be capable enough to demonstrate the purpose of your dissertation or thesis through the title itself.

Also Read: MBA Dissertation Topics to Consider

Tips to Write a Thesis or Dissertation

Apart from using the correct format for your Thesis or Dissertation, there a couple of other tips you can use to make it better.

• Set specific goals and deadlines so that you complete the thesis and dissertation on time. 
• Give at least 2 hours a day to write a dissertation or thesis. 2 or 3 hours are enough for you to start with. You can increase the hours if you feel that you can work under pressure.
• Start with a rough draft. Remember that it is not the final draft, you can always make changes if needed in the final dissertation.
• While writing a thesis ensure that you include evidence of your personal experience throughout the duration of writing a thesis. 
• A thesis statement should be extremely precise. It should only include your objective with particular evidence to support the statement.
• Proofread your thesis and dissertation and make changes if required.
• While choosing a topic for dissertation, you should try to find a topic that you are genuinely concerned about. If you choose a topic that you love, you’ll be able to put your thoughts clearly. 
• Conduct effective research and choose a variety of methods. Do not use just one method. Try to use different methods so that you get a lot of content through the findings.
• Do not copy content. Plagiarism is extremely prohibited while writing a thesis or a dissertation. However, you can still use primary sources to support your statements in a thesis but a dissertation is original research work that should only include your findings.

Also Read: Dissertation Topics for Marketing

Thesis Sample Format

To make it easier for you to understand the format of a thesis, we’ve mentioned a thesis sample outline for your reference below:

TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………1 1.1 What is Coronavirus? …………………………………………………………………….1 1.2 Tables and Figures………………………………………………………………………….2 2 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ………………………………………………..25 2.1 Impact of Coronavirus on the World ……………………………………….25 2.2 Effects of Coronavirus on World Economy ……………………………..35 3. CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ………………………………………………………40 3.1 Participants…………………………………………………………………………………….49 3.2 Methodology ………………………………………………………………………………..51 3.3 Statistical Analysis ………………………………………………………………………..62 4. CHAPTER 4: RESULTS………………………………………………………………………69 5. CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION………………………………………………………………89 5.1 Long-Term Effects of Coronavirus……………………………………………..92 5.2 Limitations of the study……………………………………………………………….93 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSIONS ……………………………………………………………..100 REFERENCES ………………………………………………………………………………………..104 APPENDIX A: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR PARTICIPANTS OF THE SURVEY.

Dissertation Sample

Mentioned below is a Dissertation Outline sample for your reference:

The Impacts of a Potential Free Trade Agreement Between Mercosur and the European Union – A Structural Gravity Model General Equilibrium Analysis

Content 1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………..1 2. Literature Review………………………………………………………………………………………….2 3. Theoretical Framework ………………………………………………………………………………4 4. Empirical Model……………………………………………………………………………………………7 5. Data………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..10 6. Estimation Results………………………………………………………………………………………..13 7. General Equilibrium Analysis……………………………………………………………………..16 8. Alternative Scenario: the inclusion of TTIP …………………………………………….25 9. Robustness Check ……………………………………………………………………………………….26 10. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………………..28 11. References ………………………………………………………………………………………………….31 12. Appendix …………………………………………………………………………………………………….34

Thesis Format Guidelines

Spacing

For writing a thesis, use 1.5 or double-spaced text. When it comes to footnotes, long quotations, bibliography entries (double space between entries), table captions, students must use single spacing.

Paper Size

The thesis should be formatted to be printed on 8.5 x 11-inch paper within your PDF.

Margins

A left margin of 1.5 and a top, bottom, and right margin of 1 for thesis format is the ideal sizing.

Title Page

The title page contains degrees and other titles of committee members. Make sure to use the correct titles, upper case settings, and spacing when writing this page. Get all the relevant signatures and references for this page.

Abstract

The abstract should be 350 words for a doctorate or 150 words for a master’s. It should contain a summary of the results, conclusions or main arguments presented in the thesis beneath a heading called the Abstract, title of the thesis, and name of the writer.

Numbering Pages

Numbering pages should be on the upper right corner of the page.

Hyperlinks

Hyperlinks are not the same as complete bibliographic citations.

Thesis Format Templates

FAQs about Thesis Format

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