How to Write a Thesis Paper: Tricks for Structure and Writing Guide?
Introduction
A research paper is an academic paper that offers interpretation, analysis, and argument based on in-depth independent research.
Thesis papers are like academic essays but usually detailed and longer assignments. They are designed to improve your writing skills and are used in scholarly research papers.
When planning to write a research paper, you demonstrate a strong knowledge of your topic, make some original contributions, and engage with various sources for the debate.
In this article, you will discover guidelines that will help you how to write a thesis paper and understand the structure of the assignment.
Table of Contents
How Long Should A Research Paper Be?
The length of a research paper depends on the assignment or topic. Typically, a research paper runs between 4,000 and 6,000 words, but it is common to see short papers around 2,000 to 2,500 or long papers that are over 10,000 words.
However, if you are writing a school paper, keep the length mentioned in the assignment brief and not exceed more than 100 words.
If you exceed the word limit excessively, you tend to complicate the topic. Similarly, the reader needs more engagement to read the paper.
Tricks For Structuring A Thesis Paper
The guidelines below are for crafting the right structure for a thesis paper.
1. Executive Summary
The abstract or executive summary is the overview of your thesis and is generally very short.
Therefore, this section should highlight the main content of your thesis right away. Moreover, someone interested in reading the paper might get an instant overview of the topic and the research conducted in the below section.
To frame your executive summary, you can use the below-mentioned example:
- Firstly, clearly state the problem statement or the challenges the company, service, or product is currently facing.
- Outline the key value propositions.
- Summarize the market analysis.
- Highlight the main features of the proposed solutions.
- Mention the future projections and ROI.
- Briefly state the strategy implemented.
If you need help crafting the right executive summary for your thesis paper, then Write My Essays is the perfect place for you.
The professionals in the writing services not only guide you with the perfect outline but will also provide a complete solution for the paper before the due date.
2. Introduction
The introduction of your thesis offers an overview of its basics or main points. It should comprise answers to the following questions:
- How is the topic being studied?
- Why is the topic being studied?
- What is being studied?
For instance, you can start your introduction by stating, “The following report is based on (topic)……. The aim of the thesis paper is……… However, the purpose of conducting this research is…………….”
In answering these questions, you must know your interest in your topic and why it is relevant. Therefore, to answer “how,” you must explain the technique you will apply to reach your research goal. You might prefer to answer that question in the methodology section, but it can also give you a quick overview.
3. Literature Review
A literature review is often a part of the introduction but can be a separate section. Thus, it evaluates previous research on the topic, highlighting a gap in your study that you attempt to fill.
Here are a few tips for your literature reviews, and they are:
- Make sure you cover everything that you attempt to.
- Use a wide array of sources.
- Show both sides of the argument.
- Present everything in a structured and clear manner.
For instance:
- Literature Review 1: “Why Do People Sitch Jobs Every Second or Third Year? A review of the theoretical literature (the literature is all about the development of greater working opportunities and the emergence of a hybrid working system)
- Literature Review 2: “The Use of Technology in Developing Online Learning”: A Literature Review (thematic review of the emergence and effects of technology on education).
4. Methodology
The methodology chapter outlines which methodology you choose to gather data. Similarly, you must include how the data is analyzed and justify your preferred method.
Thus, it highlights how your choice of design and research methods is suited to answer the research questions.
Ensure that you also explain your approach’s pitfalls and how you have tried to mitigate them. For instance:
- Mention the purpose of the study.
- Type of investigation undertaken.
- Extent of research interference.
- Study setting.
- Sampling technique.
- Data collection methods.
In addition, discussing where your study might come short can give you more credibility because this shows that you are aware of the limitations.
5. Results
The result chapter creates a framework of what you found out in relation to your research question.
Thus, it generally comprises information about your research and only incorporates a little analysis because that happens mostly in the discussion chapter.
For instance, the structure for writing results follows the following structure:
- Organize your data.
- Start with descriptive data.
- Visualize your data.
- Inferential statistics.
- Compare with previous studies.
Address limitation. Furthermore, you must clearly visualize results using graphs and tables, especially when summarizing. In addition, be consistent in your reporting. This means you must stick to one format to help the reader evaluate and compare the data.
6. Discussion
In the discussion, the chapter includes your analysis and interpretation of the information you have gathered, the answers from the results gathered, and an explanation of what they mean.
Therefore, you can show the data you have gathered and how you will present it here. For instance, you can include a summary of your findings, interpret results, compare with existing studies, discuss implications, acknowledge your limitations, and purpose of future research.
However, when you point out your study’s limitation factors, explain each and note any unanswered question.
7. Conclusion
This is one of the most important chapters in your thesis paper.
In the conclusion section, you highlight the research objective that has been achieved. Similarly, you can reiterate any limitation to your study and make suggestions for future research.
- Moreover, remember to check that you have answered all your research questions and hypotheses in this chapter. Follow the points for crafting a comprehensive conclusion:
- Concisely recap of main points.
- Link back to the introduction.
- Highlight the importance of your findings.
- Suggest potential areas of further exploration.
Ensure your thesis is closely tied nicely to the conclusion and highlights what to convey.
8. Reference List
At the end of the thesis, you must compile a list of references for everything you have cited above.
Generally, you must keep track of everything from the introduction section. If not, this could be a mammoth and laborious task.
Consider using a reference manager. On the other hand, different cite-generation sites will help you generate citations.
For instance, you might be instructed to follow APA 7th, Harvard, Vancouver, MLA, and many others as per the instructions stated in the instruction guidelines.
Why Is It Important To Write The First Draft?
Writing the first draft is an attempt to put one’s ideas on paper and devise a plan for organizing them.
Generally, you need to follow the outline that you have prepared beforehand.
All you need to know is that your first draft will need to be revised. Here, it would help if you prioritized a few things as follows:
- Maintain forward momentum: write now, make rectification later.
- Pay close attention to clear organization and logic, and the order of sentences and pictures. This will help when you review the paper for the second time.
- When you return to the paper, you can express the ideas as clearly as possible so you know what you are trying to say.
Therefore, you need not start by writing the introduction. Moreover, you can begin when you feel it is right and have backed up with every research and information.
Moreover, creating an outline will help you segregate the word count and use it as a map while you work.
Sum It Up (How To Write A Thesis Paper)
Research writing is a piece of academic paper where you evaluate, analyze, and interpret a single topic with evidence and statistical information.
If your assignment submission date is approaching and you are worried about what to include in the paper, follow the guidelines mentioned in this article, How To Write a Thesis Paper.
So, why wait? Begin with your research and data collection today.
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