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How to write a thesis

The following examiner has a very clear idea of exactly what constitutes a PhD thesis (the general area is the experimental sciences but the model proposed here is widely applicable):

"A doctoral thesis not only needs to make an original contribution to knowledge, it also needs to communicate this knowledge in a clear and logical way accessible to the educated reader. A thesis must clearly describe the gap of knowledge the thesis aspires to fill, it must substantiate this gap and its relevance in the broader context of its specific domain. If appropriate a hypothesis about the new knowledge (solution to the problem) must be made and followed by description of how the hypothesis was tested. Theoretical and experimental support for validity of the hypothesis must then be produced. The result presented must be supported by evidence obtained with accepted research methods and the scope of the validity of the results must be critically assessed. All this needs to be done in a continuous and coherent exposition that separates the key ideas from the incidental, accessory and trivial."

Quite straightforward, don't you think?
Published Friday, November 03, 2006 10:05 AM by robyn.owens
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# re: How to write a thesis

So was this written in an examiner's report on someone's thesis? If so, the way it is written makes it sound like the thesis in question did not meet these requirements. Whatever the case, it is handy advice in terms of what to aim for. I think deep down, we all know that this is required, but seeing it written down like that in such formal language makes it seem somehow more difficult to achieve.
Friday, November 03, 2006 10:34 PM by wayne.griffiths

# re: How to write a thesis

Yes, this was in an examiner's report on someone's thesis. Actually, all the examiners thought the thesis was ok to pass with revisions, but this examiner, like the others, felt the need to help the candidate do an even better job.

This is typical of examiners' reports: they *report* to us, but they *engage* with you, as a scholar, and make suggestions about how to reach the highest standards in research and its communication.

This is what we call the summative (grade the thesis) and formative (advise the candidate) parts of an examination. In many countries this is done via an oral examination, also called a viva.

But all the examiner is really saying is a summary, in other words, of the points I made in an earlier blog, called "The 5 questions that every thesis needs to answer". Here they are again:

  1. What is the problem?
  2. Why is it interesting?
  3. What did you do?
  4. What did you find?
  5. What do your findings mean?
Saturday, November 04, 2006 7:52 PM by robyn.owens

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