Thesis writing methods

A thesis is a research report. The report is concerned about a problem or a series of problems in a particular area of research. Your thesis describes what was known about the problem earlier, what you did towards solving it, what your results mean in your perception, and how further progress can be made in it. A thesis is not a small academic assignment. It is much more than what an undergraduate student can understand. A thesis must be an original contribution to human knowledge and it must discover something totally new. Therefore, there is a way to write a thesis and it must be well-written to be accepted and valued high in the academic circle.

A researcher is the world expert in his topic. The examiners will be experts in the general area, but in the exact topic they may not have the intellectual authority to speak. A thesis will be used as a scientific report in the coming years and it may be used as a reference for people who want to pursue research in the same or allied area. Theses are consulted by people from other institutions and it is possible to save theses in .pdf files in electronic format for future use. A researcher must write thesis keeping this point in mind. A thesis, once written, should be of use to many people and generations to come.

A thesis should be more detailed than a scientific paper. You should make clear what is yours in the thesis and what is borrowed from others. Good referencing is very much required to make the readers aware of what the researcher contributed and what things are borrowed. It will also indicate what the previous knowledge is and what the researcher's own contribution is. A researcher, by no means, should leave out a reference in a desire to make the readers believe that it is his own contribution. It is downright deception. One has to be more careful if using passive voice for writing a thesis. The text of the thesis must be clear. Good grammar and thoughtful and formal writing should be used in writing theses. Sentences and phrases should not be too long. Short and precise sentence constructions entail better comprehension. A thesis should target efficient communication which should stand the test of time and serve as a reference to many generations of students in future.

Complicated sentences should be used only to convey complicated ideas. Too many subordinate clauses make sentences difficult to understand. Such constructions should be formed only when needed. Accuracy should be the prime focus of the researcher. The use of technical terminology cannot be avoided in writing a thesis. A series of numbered points is easy to comprehend; but a thesis should be a connected, convincing argument. Therefore, bullet points or numbered points are not a good option for theses. First person singular can be used to refer to the work which the researcher did himself. A researcher need not strain himself much in an attempt to make his thesis a masterpiece. A thesis need not be a master piece, but its content is more important than the appearance.