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Writing a Master’s Thesis or Dissertation: A Guide 

Writer's picture: MelMel

Updated: 3 days ago

A master's thesis or PhD dissertation is a major milestone for postgraduate students. Its main purpose is to prove that a student is competent in research, scholarship, and scientific communication.


The requirements don’t only vary among universities, they can also vary among departments in the same university. So, making sure you understand the requirements should be a priority.


To complete your master’s thesis or PhD dissertation on time requires being methodical and following a clear system. Of course, there is more than one way to achieve this. However, here is the outline of the logical process, which is presented and discussed in this article.


Steps to completing your thesis or dissertation thesis:


  1. Select a topic

  2. Write a proposal

  3. Select an advisor

  4. Plan a roadmap and process

  5. Write the different parts of the thesis


Your thesis represents your first major academic milestone. So, planning and being methodical in your process is vital to ensure you accomplish such a big goal.

Master's student graduating and holding thesis in hand

What is the difference between a master's thesis & dissertation?

A master's thesis is a research paper that university students write to display their competence as researchers in their field of study. It is typically required as part of a master's degree program and is presented at the end of the program.


The program takes about one or two years to complete. It involves the student carrying out independent research that has to be written out in a report and then represented in front of a committee for review.


A "dissertation", on the other hand, is a more extensive research project that is completed at the end of a doctoral program. It usually involves original contributions to knowledge within the field and a more thorough exploration of a research topic.


Step 1. Select a topic

The first step of completing your master’s thesis or PhD dissertation is selecting a topic. Always make sure to choose a topic that you like or are interested in. Remember this is a commitment that will take at least two years of your life. So you better make sure that your topic is something that you’re passionate about. If not passionate, then at least something that won’t bore you to death or make you miserable.


So, how do you go about choosing a topic that you like? First, you have to find out what you like. This can be done by reading scholarly papers and books about a topic that you are broadly interested in.

The more you read, the more you are likely to come across something that ignites your interest and passion. You can also have discussions with professors and other scholars that you have access to. This can help generate ideas.


There are several advantages to doing this type of wide and deep reading in this way:


  • You get ready early

  • It shows initiative

  • It inspires confidence within you

  • It inspires confidence in your advisor


When you start with this extensive reading, you get an idea of what you’ll be getting into. You can take note of the things that you already know or understand and the things that you need a little more work in understanding. Also, it will get you ready for the next stage of writing your thesis: Writing your proposal.


Step 2. Write a proposal

Your proposal should be written even before you find an advisor. Most students think of writing a proposal only after meeting the advisor. But remember, it’s about showing that you are ready and willing to take the initiative.


A proposal at this stage should be one to five pages, minus the abstract, references, and title page. It will be more or less a mini-research paper giving some idea of how you plan to go about completing your thesis. This is what you should include in your proposal:


  • An abstract

  • An introduction

  • A list of objectives

  • The literature gap

  • Hypotheses or research statements

  • Proposed methodology

  • Expected results


Expected results give an idea of what you expect your results to be. This is why it’s important to do extensive and deep reading. A survey of the literature will give you an idea of what type of results to anticipate for this type of study, as well as the appropriate methodology to use.


When writing your proposal, you should know how to identify the background or context of the problem you wish to tackle. That could be how it relates to wider societal problems. You should also be able to identify the research gap in the literature. That is, something that other researchers have missed.


Step 3. Select an advisor

Selecting your thesis advisor can be an important decision to make. In fact, some people even see it as the most important. After all, without an advisor to teach you how to do sophisticated research you have never done before how can you finish on time? But we disagree.


Advisors, indeed, are important. However, what is even more crucial is your willingness to take responsibility for your research. This is why I recommended writing your proposal even before finding an advisor.


Nonetheless, a good advisor can be a valuable mentor who can answer questions on issues that you encounter in your reading. More importantly, a good advisor will teach and train you on how to practically conduct research and do complicated data analysis. When choosing an advisor, you should look for one with most of the following characteristics:


  1. An advisor who values collaboration

  2. An advisor with a reputation for being helpful to students

  3. An advisor with an impressive publication list

  4. An advisor who is actively doing research

  5. An advisor who has similar research interests to you


Too often, there is the idea that an advisor is supposed to be a hard taskmaster, who is obligated to be mean and tough to mentees. This is not the case. Do your research.


Ask fellow students and even fellow professors about the best advisor to work with, both in terms of scholarly ability and personality. That would go a long way in making your postgraduate journey a rewarding and comfortable one.


Remember, writing a thesis is a learning or even trial-and-error process. In research, things change. And you have to go back and take account of these changes in your research plan. So be ready to go back and make changes to your proposal after consulting with your advisor.


Step 4. Plan a roadmap and system

Now, you have finished your proposal and found an advisor for your master’s thesis or PhD dissertation. What’s next? You need to develop a roadmap and a process or method to complete your master’s thesis on time.


Let’s go over a list of steps to ensure that you properly plan for the successful completion of the project:


1. Make and keep a schedule. Academic writing of the sort used for your master’s thesis can be difficult. However, taking an approach where you break down challenging tasks into manageable units can be quite effective.


Deciding to read a certain number of papers a day for your literature review or writing a certain number of paragraphs a day would be good examples of this. Making and keeping a schedule could begin with an overall plan or roadmap. This could be represented in the form of a Gannt chart. A Gannt chart shows what has to be done  and when it has to be done. You can create one using specialized software. The good thing about using a Gannt chart is that it’s not set in stone. You can make changes in the Gannt chart to reflect setbacks, delays, or unforeseen progress.


You could also 1) wake up early to write, 2) write down the details of your schedule, and 3) adopt an at-the-office mindset.  The last point — adopting an at-the-office mindset — means deciding to undertake scheduled tasks even when you don’t feel like it. It’s like waking up to go to your nine-to-five job even though you think it’s not that great.


2. Make an overall outline for your thesis. You should do this before you start writing. There is no obligation for you to write in a linear way. A master’s thesis or dissertation follow the IMRAD format — that is — Introduction, Methods, Results, Analysis, and Discussion.


Such a format means that you can start anywhere. A proper outline allows that to happen more easily. For example, the literature review, which can be seen as part of the introduction, is the easiest section to start working on. You can fill out sections of the literature review as soon as you finish reading a new paper.


3. Make use of tools that increase efficiency and productivity. Besides these, taking advantage of academic writing tools and resources can also boost your productivity and efficiency as an academic writer. And the good thing is that many of these resources are free.  These include:


  1. Grammar and spelling checkers

  2. Proofreading software such as PerfectIt

  3. Automated citation and referencing tools

  4. Writing guides and manuals

  5. Writing centers and tutors


The process of completing your postgraduate writing project is a gradual and cumulative one. It is supposed to represent a journey of learning and growth in terms of becoming a competent researcher and scientist. Of course, some can boast about waiting the last two months of their course to complete their thesis.


There are even those who boast about hiring someone to write their thesis and saving themselves the stress of long nights of difficult study and challenging academic writing. But that would be missing the entire point of a postgraduate dissertation. It’s about continually progressing, learning, and growing.


Having a system and a roadmap in place means that you can chop or break down a difficult challenge into manageable tasks. This prevents you from being overwhelmed or suffering burnout. Such negative outcomes are inevitable if you wait until the last minute to get busy.


During this process, you should have regular contact and discussions with your thesis advisor to make sure that the two of you are on the same page. Having a system in place means practicing and learning methodology and data analysis methods that are new to you, which your advisor can help you with. It also means finding solutions to unforeseen circumstances and setbacks to your original plan.


Step 5. Write the different parts of your thesis

You need to ensure that you understand what the format and outline of your thesis is and then you go about writing it. You don't have to write it in any specific order.


Quite often, the abstract is written last even if it comes first in a published paper. This is because your final results and analysis may mean that you have to go back and change your initial abstract. It is often best to write the literature review first. This will help you get a better grasp of the topic.


Also, the literature review section typically makes up the more substantial part of your paper. Your thesis committee would want to see you demonstrate your breadth and depth of knowledge of the topic being investigated.


The key to being successful in writing your postgraduate thesis successfully is time management. Set aside time every day to work on specific portions of your thesis. Waiting for the last minute may result in disaster.


Write your introduction

A thesis or dissertation is based on the IMRaD format. It is a funnel-shaped structure that should be followed for most scientific writing. The introduction is the funnel shape of that hourglass.


It goes from broadly introducing the context of the problem and narrows down to specific objectives or hypotheses. There are five main components to the introduction, and we will discuss them in turn.


1. Introducing the scope of the problem. You need to make it clear what the scope and nature of the problem being investigated or studied. And this should be done clearly and concisely. Your reader should get a good grasp of the relevance and importance of the problem.


2. The introduction contains the literature review. You should be able to give a thorough analysis of the literature, and more importantly, identify the research gap(s) to justify the need for your study. There are several types of research gaps. While reading the literature, you should learn how to identify these research gaps. To learn more, take a look at this article by Lennart Nacke on the seven research gaps.


3. Clarify the objectives of the study. In the hard sciences, objectives are solidified as hypothesis statements. In the social sciences and the humanities, they can be research questions to be explored.


4. State the method of investigation. You should make clear the methodology you plan to use. This includes the type of data to be collected using what instruments. You also should state from who or what this data was collected and how it is to be analyzed. If necessary, also clarify the reason for selecting a specific methodology.


5. Lastly, state the principal results. This does not always have to be the case. But often, certain journals and disciplines encourage briefly providing a summary of your main results at the end of the introduction.


Write your methods

The method section has one main purpose — it makes it possible for other scientists to reproduce experiments and achieve the results presented in your research. In science, this principle is called “reproducibility.”


What does this mean? It means your methods should be written and properly planned and documented to meet specific scientific standards. Let’s take a look of what should be included in the methods section.


1. Basics to include in the methods. Here is a list of what your readers should expect from your methodology section:


  1. A clear and appropriate research design

  2. It should be written in the past tense

  3. It should follow a chronological order

  4. A clearly defined process for collecting data

  5. A justification of the method

  6. A clear definition of the instrument used to collect data

  7. A clear definition of variables as used in the context of the study


2. Take into account logistics. Great care should be taken when carrying out your thesis methodology. Be careful about the choices that you make in terms of logistics or feasibility. Do not choose a methodology that is beyond the budget available to you or one where you don’t have enough time to complete.


3. Pay attention to ethical standards for animal or human-based studies. Another aspect that you should consider is the ethical standards of your methodology. This is particularly important if animal or human subjects are included in the study. Special permission from the relevant certification bodies or authorities should be granted before proceeding with such studies.


Write your results

Your paper falls or stands based on the quality of your results. The focus should be on summarizing data concisely while being complete. The proper use of tables is an essential part of that process. Let’s look at the list of things to consider for results.


1. Summarize and include complete data. In the results section, the collected data should be summarized to prepare for the analysis and discussion sections. Again as mentioned earlier, all results should be included. This means results that run counter to your expected results and hypotheses. You should also avoid hiding uncomfortable results through omissions.


2. Include all relevant statistics and data analysis. Statistics and analysis are fundamental aspects of research. For this reason, data representation and analysis should be accurate, complete, and unbiased. Moreover, it should provide original and interesting insight.


3. Use tables wisely. Tables are the main devices by which you present your results. They should be made easy to look at and read. Also remember:


  • Table titles should be concise and descriptive. Don’t include periods, and they should be expressed as phrases, not sentences, with no period at the end.

  • One table per page. If a table is too large for a page, it should be split into two tables.

  • A table should be able to stand alone and be complete. Abbreviations and other necessary information such as the definitions of abbreviations should be included in notes at the bottom of the table.


Your results section provides you with the opportunity to practice what you have learned as an emerging scholar. It is during the process of data analysis that you get to apply to new ways of understanding and assessing data. Taking time to learn these processes and instruments beforehand would go a long way in making this part of your master’s thesis or PhD dissertation easier to deal with.


Write your discussion

In your discussion, you should explain the relevance of your results. Here are four tips to remember when writing your discussion.


1. Summarize and state your results clearly. Were your hypotheses statements supported? If not, what factors explain this?


2. Contextualize your results in terms of the wider literature. Do this by comparing your results to those of previous research.


3. State your study limitations. Acknowledge the limitations of your study. Limitations can mean that your sample population was not representative of the wider population, limiting the generalizability of your findings.


4. Explain the relevance of your findings. Explain how important your findings are without exaggeration. This means taking into account any limitations. Also, talk about the larger issues associated with your findings.


Writing your master’s thesis or PhD dissertation represents a milestone in your career as a scholar and a professional. It is definitely a challenge. To own this challenge, you should as quickly as possible, establish a roadmap and system in place to help you on your journey to complete this major postgraduate project.


Also, remember that writing your thesis is an opportunity to learn and grow in many ways. This growth does not simply include your competence as a scientist, but also how you deal or collaborate with others, such as making decisions on choosing your advisor.


The Italian novelist Umberto Eco once said, “Your thesis is like your first love. It will be difficult to forget. In the end, it will represent your first serious and rigorous academic work, and this is no small thing."

Creating a roadmap and system that you stick to ensures that your first serious academic project is something to be proud of.

 

Contact us for help in editing or proofreading your thesis

 

How EminentEdit can help with editing your thesis

At EminentEdit, we understand the importance of submitting your thesis on time. We have editors who have published their own theses and are familiar with the process. In my case, not only have I published my thesis, but I have also helped numerous authors and academics to edit their dissertations successfully.


So, we know exactly what it takes to get your thesis ready for submission. We also make sure that even before any work gets done we both are on the same page. Take a look at our editing SOP below.

 
EminentEdit SOP
The EminentEdit SOP.
 

Our services don't just start with proofreading the final product. It also includes help from the very start, such as editing and double-checking your thesis proposal. Our thesis editing services include the following:


  • Developmental editing to make sure your proposal can be transformed into a thesis that can pass your defense or committee review

  • Substantive editing to improve the quality of your writing on a sentence level

  • Extensive commentary and recommendations to improve literature review, structure, and arguments

  • Proofreading to make sure your writing is grammatically correct with proper spelling and punctuation

  • Assistance in transforming your thesis into a published scientific paper 


So feel free to get in touch through our contact page here: CONTACT US AT EMINENT EDIT. Good luck with your research writing!

 

Cite this EminentEdit article


Antoine, M. (2025, January 28). Writing a Master’s Thesis or Dissertation: A Guide. EminentEdit.


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