• 4-minute read
• 25th December 2015

What Should a Thesis Include?

There’s no universal template for what a thesis should include, as the specifics depend on your field of inquiry, chosen methods, and the topic about which you’re writing. There are, however, a few things that you will find in most theses. Check out our guide below to find out more.

The Basics

Every thesis needs:

• A cover page with basic information about your thesis, such as the title, your name, and the date of submission.
• An abstract that briefly summarises your work.
• A table of contents, plus any list of figures, charts, or equations.

You may want to include an acknowledgements section, too. Make sure to check your style guide for advice on the above, as your university may have specific requirements (e.g. a template cover page that you need to use).

It’s also worth noting that Microsoft Word allows you to generate an automatic table of contents using the heading font options. If your thesis includes images, tables or charts, these can also be listed automatically.

Introduction

Every thesis also requires an introduction, wherein you should set out the focus, aims and objectives of your research, plus any hypotheses (if relevant). This will help to guide your reader through the rest of your work.

Literature Review

Most theses, especially in the sciences and other empirical fields, include a literature review. This is where you identify past research relevant to your work, explaining how it has informed your study design.

Even if your thesis doesn’t include a conventional literature review, it’s still important to demonstrate the things that a literature review is intended to present: i.e. that you have a clear and critical understanding of research in your field, including its relevance to your own work.

Methods and Results

Any experimental study must include a detailed account of the methods used, including justification of why you chose to use particular techniques. Think about potential limitations to the methods, too.

Likewise, if you’ve conducted a study, your thesis should include a results chapter where your data is clearly presented and explained.

Discussion and Analysis

You should also analyse your results. This demonstrates your understanding of the data, your ability to use analytical techniques and how your work relates to the research in your literature review.

It’s worth remembering that while some institutions prefer separate results and discussion sections, others favour combining them, so you should check with your supervisor about which approach to use.

Conclusions and Recommendations

Your thesis should close with a clear statement of your conclusions. This is not merely a case of restating your results, though. Instead, provide a summary of your arguments and how these address your research question.

As part of this, you may have to make recommendations about applications of your work or potential avenues for future research.

References

You must list every source you use in your research, with full bibliographic detail, in your reference list. Remember, too, to check which referencing system your university favours.

Appendices

Not every thesis will require appendices. However, they are useful if you have data or documentation that won’t fit in the main document.

As long as you clearly indicate where readers can find the relevant information in your thesis, putting additional content in appendices will make sure your work remains focused and easy to follow.

Expert Thesis Proofreading

One last thing! Before submitting your thesis, you’ll want to have it proofread. This will ensure your writing is all easy to read and typo free, helping you win valuable extra marks for your research.

And if you’d like to find out how our expert academic proofreaders could help you, why not submit a free trial document today to find out?