When you start writing your thesis, you will have so many questions. Like how do you start your idea? What is the structure of a thesis? What does each chapter entail? Keep in mind that a good thesis structure and its requirements are different for each educational program.
Hence the first step in writing thesis should be finding out directly what the requirements of your program are.
Basic thesis structure guide
Abstract
Write your abstract last after clearing everything. It is the summary of your thesis, and it is usually short. In most cases, the minimum requirement is half a page, and the maximum is one page.
Introduction
Here, you give the main points of your project. It is an overview of your thesis. It should answer the questions Why? How and What? i.e., What is being studied? How is the topic being studied, and Why is the topic being studied?
When answering the question ‘Why you should get to know your interest in this topic, why it is significant, and why it matters, when you answer these questions well, then your readers will not have to ask themselves these questions.
When answering the question ‘How’, you should explain how you will reach your goal. Most people prefer to answer these questions in the methodology chapter. But you can give a summary here.
When answering the question ‘What’, you should explain what you are studying. It is recommended to edit or rewrite your introduction one last time after completing it. It is meant to ensure that it is in line with your conclusion.
Literature Review
It can be combined with an introduction, but it is recommended that it should have its section. Here, you evaluate the previous research on the topic showing the gaps that your research will attempt to fill.
Show both sides of the coin, present everything in a structured manner, be transparent, use many sources, and cover the classic in your field.
Methods
The methodology chapter will show the methods that you will use to gather data, analyze data and justify why you chose that methodology. The research methods should answer your research questions. You should state the limitations of your approach and how you tried to mitigate them.
The limitations should be minimum. It will show the reader that you were aware of the rules of your study.
Results
It outlines what you found out about your research questions or hypotheses. It contains the facts of your research and does not include a lot of analysis. A lot of studies are discussed in the discussion chapter.
If you want it to be inconsistent with your reporting, visualize your results using tables and graphs. You should stick to one format to aid the reader in evaluating and comparing the data.
Discussion
It includes your analysis and interpretation of the data you have gathered, comments of your results, and explains what they mean. Here is where you will show your expertise on how well you have understood your findings and their significance. Powerpoint on the limitations of your study, explain the unexpected results and note any unanswered questions.
Conclusion
It is the most important chapter. Here, you will explain that your objective has been achieved. Point out the limitations of your study and give suggestions for future research. Check whether you have answered all the questions. You should conclude your thesis nicely. Please show what you did, how you did it, your results, and what you learned.