How to Write a Thesis Paper

You’ve been working towards this for years, and now the time has finally come for you to work on your thesis. It should be a piece of cake after dozens of essays and research papers, but somehow writing a dissertation feels like an impossible task. Questions and uncertainties make it seem even more daunting, even if it’s the only thing standing between you and your college degree.

To shake you out of this funk, we’re here with answers to the most common questions about how to write a research thesis and complete your degree.

What Is Thesis Writing?

It’s the pinnacle of your academic career, a way to showcase the knowledge and skills you’ve gained throughout your four years in college. Not only does the dissertation allow you to research an exciting topic, but it’s also proof of your ability to assess the field, develop a research question, and conduct independent work on solving a problem. 

Your thesis is a culmination of your soft and hard skills and valuable addition to your academic and professional portfolio. While writing a thesis is hard work, it’s also a rewarding experience you can use down the road.

What Is the Best Topic for My Thesis?

It’s always the one you’re excited about. Your enthusiasm is the main driver of your thesis-making success. If you’re interested in the topic, you are more likely to go out of your way to find obscure yet valuable sources, conduct experiments, and develop powerful conclusions. Most professors can easily tell when you’re not into the topic you’re writing about.

That said, you should always consult your advisor before settling on the thesis topic. You can also ask for help and guidance if you can’t come up with a viable idea on your own. Or you can check out one of our research great thesis topics lists to spark inspiration. 

Most schools will require you to submit a thesis proposal, and that is your chance to dip your toes in the topic and prove how you can contribute to the existing research.

How Long Should a Thesis Be?

There are no universal rules regarding thesis length across US colleges. Some schools will settle for a 50-page paper, while others may require you to turn in at least a hundred pages. However, most colleges and universities will offer a range your work should fall into. 

Still, you shouldn’t try to achieve the desired word count by adding filler words or repeating the same data across different sections or media types. Ideally, you should aim to provide as much information in as few words as possible without making your work unintelligible. Besides, your first and last draft may be of very different lengths, so don’t despair if you can’t meet the minimum limit on your first try.

What Is the Right Thesis Structure?

Regardless of your major and topic, a classic dissertation structure includes:

• introduction;
• literature review;
• research methodology and experiment design;
• research results, discussions, and observations;
• conclusions;
• a list of references.

To round out your thesis paper, you will also need to include a title page and an abstract, along with a table of contents. Some formatting styles also call for a list of tables and a list of figures.

Appendices aren’t a mandatory part of the dissertation, though they might be useful if you want to include extra data or evidence without overburdening other parts of the paper. And acknowledgments are also a nice (not mandatory) touch that lets you express your gratitude towards the people and organizations supporting you throughout your thesis research.

Where Do I Start When Writing a Thesis?

There are different opinions on this matter. 

Everyone agrees that creating an outline before writing is a good idea. You need a clear game plan or a map to keep your research on track without useless and time-consuming detours. Some recommend you start with crafting a thesis statement that will rule over the rest of your research. 

However, you won’t be able to work on the outline or the thesis statement without doing intense preliminary research first. And that’s why we believe you should always begin with a literature overview. Collect as many relevant and reliable sources as possible and use your notes as building blocks to outline the first section of your dissertation and a guide for crafting a thesis statement. Then, with this foundation in place, you can move on to the methodology and research sections of the paper.

What Is the Right Format of Thesis?

It’s the one your school or department prefers.

If you’re not sure about the proper format to use, ask your advisor. Some schools provide a short formatting guide for you to follow, but most simply specify the name of the chosen style. If that’s the case for your college, don’t rely on random blog posts for formatting tips. Instead, use official online or offline guidebooks to make sure your paper meets all requirements.

Important: some formatting styles come in different versions. Make sure you know which one to use to save yourself the trouble of reworking the whole paper.

You can use online citation generators, but you should always review the automatic entries you get before using them in the paper. Glitches happen, and sometimes you will end up missing information or using the wrong style altogether.

How to Make a Thesis Perfect?

You won’t do it on the first try, so don’t get your hopes up. Instead, think of your dissertation as a book. It will go through several rounds of revisions before your advisor is happy with it.

So when you plan how to write a thesis paper, leave enough time for editing and proofreading, in that order. First, you need to ensure the content of your thesis makes sense. Remove all unnecessary repetitions, make sure the argumentation logic is sound and your writing style remains consistent throughout the dissertation. 

Once happy with the content, use professional software to eliminate typos and errors that take away from your writing. Ideally, you should go through the paper at least a couple of times before getting a second pair of eyes to catch what you’ve missed. 

Finally, make formatting your last step before submission. If you mess around with the content after formatting, you may need to repeat the process, and that’s a waste of time you can’t afford.

How to Write a College Thesis and Submit It on Time?

The same rules apply here as for any other large task. You divide it into bite-sized pieces, spread them throughout the weeks and months, and stick to the plan. Then, if you manage to beat your procrastination and writer’s block, you should be able to complete the work with plenty of time to spare. 

Still, you wouldn’t be researching how to write a dissertation if you had no trouble sticking to the plan. So we’re here to offer an easier alternative. You can outsource writing to a professional writer. Even if you choose to order one or two chapters of your dissertation, we can lighten your workload and alleviate stress. It’s a win-win!