how to write phd thesis in 3 months

How I wrote a PhD thesis in just 3 months

• by James Hayton, PhD
• February 28th, 2012

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Dealing with phd research stress, the invincible mindset.

In the summer of 2006, almost 3 years after starting my PhD, I was ready to quit. I had nowhere near enough results, the equipment I was using didn’t work most of the time, and I could barely summon the motivation to get up in the morning.

Just over a year later I’d managed to;

• turn things around and get the data for a few publications
• write my entire PhD thesis from scratch in just 3 months.
• pass my thesis defence with zero corrections

And, on top of all that, I actually started to enjoy the process.

So how did I do all this? The tips below are not easy and many go against common thesis-writing advice, but they worked.

1. Dealing with stress

After a near-breakdown, I started taking walks around the campus when I faced a problem or found myself getting stressed. I took the time to think about what I needed to do and get myself in the right frame of mind to go back.

Previously, I would have found myself killing time on the internet just to get through to the end of the day. This was one of the key habits that probably saved my PhD .

2. Slowing down

This may seem counter intuitive, but slowing down helped me to go faster. By taking more time over my experiments and doing thingscarefully, I eliminated a lot of time-consuming mistakes.

3. Limiting the time available

Though my productivity increased once I figured out how to deal with stress, I was still doing experiments well into my fourth year.

I had a final submission date (at the end of my 4th year), but my research was still a bit chaotic. It wasn’t focused on finishing.

My supervisor (the brilliant Professor Moriarty ) then told me that I would no longer be allowed into the lab after the end of March 2007, and that I would have to write whatever I had.

4. Adapting and acting decisively

Because of the limited time, I had to make some tough decisions. Anything I did, I would either have to finish or let go . There would be some loose ends, but that was OK as long as I tied up others.

I had to decide not to do certain things, and focus with energy and determination on others.

Still, though, the thesis would be a little thin. So I took on a side project based on another student’s research, which could produce some results quickly.

This side project produced the most interesting result of my scientific career .

5. Finishing research before writing

By the time I stopped doing experiments, I knew I had enough for a PhD. Not the best PhD ever, and not world-changing, but with two publications and enough data for another, I felt it was good enough.

Because I wasn’t allowed back in the lab, I just had to focus on writing. The hard part was behind me. The results weren’t going to change, so it was just a matter of making sure I was productive when writing.

It is much, much easier to write when you know the raw material isn’t going to change.

Tip: If there’s research or analysis still to do, prioritize this over writing

6. Preparation

I decided to work at home, not at the office, because there would be fewer distractions.

I got rid of the TV, and had no internet connection on my computer. The lack of internet meant I had to gather all the papers I would need beforehand, forcing me to think about what I would need.

I also set up a dedicated space (2 large desks joined together and a very comfortable chair, next to a large window for plenty of natural light), just for thesis writing.

7. Targets and consistency

I set myself a target of 3 months, broken down into targets for each chapter. This would give me about 3 months in reserve before the final absolute deadline.

I had a daily minimum target of 500 words , which I knew I could meet even on the least productive days.

This meant that because I smashed the target most days, I finished every day feeling good about my progress, which in turn meant I started the next day feeling confident.

Tip: Set your target as something you know you can achieve daily, then beat it. Don’t set it as high as you can possibly imagine.

The two most important parts of the day are the beginning and end. It’s important to build momentum early, and have a routine for ending the day too.

At the end of each day I always left myself something easy to do to get started with the next day, so I woke up knowing what I was going to do.

I also tidied the desk at the end of every day, which also helped close the day mentally and stopped my brain going over and over the thesis at night.

9. Applying ruthless standards to what I included

Whether it was the lit review, or my own work, I cut anything sub-standard.

I focused only on the very best literature, saving myself a huge amount of time. It also had the result of associating my work with the very best in the field.

I only wrote about what I knew about, which made the thesis shorter, faster and easier to write, and of higher quality than if I had included everything whether I understood it or not.

Tip: You choose the syllabus, not the examiner . Only include what you can comfortably defend.

10. Taking time over details that matter

I took painstaking care over the clarity of the writing, the diagrams and the overall look of the thesis.

If a diagram took 2 hours, so be it. If I couldn’t find a high-quality image in a paper to paste in, I would re-draw it myself. Why? Because it adds so much to the feel of quality running through the thesis.

By applying obsessive focus to one detail at a time , I could make sure that I wouldn’t have to do it again. This brings me to the final point…

11. One draft

I always edit as I write, with one goal only: to make sure I’ve expressed the idea in my head clearly on the page. I don’t move on until I feel the sentence makes sense, with no ambiguity of meaning.

Clarity of thought is always the number one aim. But it is very difficult to come back to a piece of writing days or weeks later and sort out a mess of thought if you don’t clarify your writing while the thought is still fresh in your head.

This means I was constantly re-reading and revising what I’ve just written, but also means that when I submitted something to my supervisor it needed very few revisions and saved months, simply by getting as close to submittable as I could the first time round.

 Another key factor

Throughout the course of my PhD, event though a lot went wrong, I built up a lot of experience and skill in the techniques I’d been using and in the data analysis. This is one of the reasons why, when I slowed down and did experiments more carefully, I was able to analyse the results quickly.

Too often, I meet students who have left analysis to the very final months, having done virtually none throughout the course of their PhD. This is a difficult situation to be in, as you have to learn analytical skills very fast under immense pressure. Practice analysis early and don’t neglect your data!

Please Note

I’ve had some comments on this post reacting as if I completed my entire PhD in 3 months. No, I did three and a half years of research first, then wrote the thesis. I also do not claim that anyone can write that fast, as it depends on a lot of different factors. This is why the title is “How I wrote…”, not “How to write…”

What to do if you only have 3 months to finish your PhD

Your final PhD year: Moving towards completion

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PhD: An uncommon guide to research, writing & PhD life

By james hayton (2015).

PhD: an uncommon guide to research, writing & PhD life is your essential guide to the basic principles every PhD student needs to know.

Applicable to virtually any field of study, it covers everything from finding a research topic, getting to grips with the literature, planning and executing research and coping with the inevitable problems that arise, through to writing, submitting and successfully defending your thesis.

Useful links

About james hayton, phd, latest phd tips, phd coaching.

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All the text on this site (and every word of every video script) is written by me, personally, because I enjoy writing. I enjoy the challenges of thinking deeply and finding the right words to express my ideas. I do not advocate for the use of AI in academic research and writing, except for very limited use cases.

See: Why you shouldn't rely on AI for PhD research and writing

How I wrote my PhD thesis in three months

But writing my PhD thesis had to be different, I told myself when I could finally see the finish line. I couldn’t afford to procrastinate . My PhD scholarship was about to expire, I didn’t have the money for a prolonged stay in the UK, and I didn’t want to be on the island anymore. So, I decided I would leave Cardiff in three months, bought a one-way ticket back home, and then opened the folder “PhD stuff” on my laptop. It was thesis o’clock.

Was I mad? Writing a PhD thesis in three months? Others have done it, so it wasn’t impossible. But sure, X is a great writer, Y had a job waiting for him, and was there anything Z couldn’t do? I wasn’t X, Y, or Z, but I couldn’t waste a second on doubting myself. I had all the materials for my dissertation, so it was only a matter of putting everything together.

Here’s how I wrote my PhD thesis in three months (the distilled version, without the doubts, tears, desperation, frustration, panic, revision fatigue, proofreading mania, and so on). I hope you can use some of these tips to speed up your thesis writing process.

Gathered and organized all the materials

I had the literature review, two papers accepted for publication, some reports, and most of the figures , tables, and appendices that would go into my thesis. I started by organizing all the materials I had and completing the missing bits.

Created an outline

Creating an outline for my doctoral dissertation was easy, as I had had three years to think about what it would include. Once I got the outline approved by my thesis advisor, I was ready to start writing.

I could not emphasize more how important it is to create a detailed outline of a PhD thesis. Once you have it, you cannot feel lost on your thesis writing journey. So, all the time you use for creating an outline, revising it, and getting it approved by your thesis advisor will be well worth it.

Wrote the core chapters

My two peer-reviewed papers became the core of my thesis. Writing these two chapters based on my publications was relatively easy, and it gave me momentum.

The third core chapter was harder to write than the previous two. I needed to turn my research into a coherent whole, instead of simply turning a paper into a chapter.

I started by creating a detailed chapter outline. Then, I copied and pasted under each bullet point all the material I wanted to use—figures, tables, maps. Next, I summarized my ideas and then turned each one into a paragraph. Finally, I tied all the paragraphs together using transition sentences. I didn’t stop to worry about repetitions, awkward language, and typos at this point.

Wrote the two easy chapters

Completing the “Geological Setting” and “Data and Methodology” chapters was easy, as I had used this information for presentations and posters throughout my doctoral program. Writing these chapters gave me a confidence boost—the bulk of my thesis was done, or so I thought at the time.

Wrote the introduction

Based on the literature review I already had, I started drafting my introduction, perhaps the most difficult chapter of my thesis. I had too much information and it was poorly structured. But after a lot of rewriting and revising, I managed to create a chapter draft.

Wrote the discussion

No doubt, this was the hardest part of writing my PhD thesis . The discussion had to be the common thread of my three core chapters, which were pretty disconnected to begin with.

I started doing a lot of brainstorming and struggling to draw connections between otherwise disparate ideas. I had to read many papers and books again and look up new information.

At this point my stress levels soared and no place seemed quiet enough to allow me to concentrate. Working from home was out of question, as there were too many distractions (read “snacks and comfortable places to sleep on”). So, instead, I decided to arrive at the office very early and write as much as I could during the quiet hours of the morning. By noon I had usually made good progress, so I would go for a brisk walk to clear my mind. In the afternoon I focused on tasks that demanded little brain power, such as reference formatting.

One more thing I did while I wrote my discussion chapter was not checking my email till after lunch. It’s incredible how much progress I made when I didn’t allow myself to be distracted by new-email notifications.

Wrote the conclusion and abstract

Completing these two parts of my thesis was easy once I had everything else ready.

Revised and edited my PhD thesis

Revising was far more painstaking than I had imagined. I don’t remember how many revision rounds I did, but they were quite a few.

At this point I started having doubts; I could almost picture myself failing my PhD examination. But after the editing stage, my confidence was back. It was a decent thesis, I thought, though it was far from perfect. But it had to be good enough—I was running out of time.

Proofread my PhD thesis

This stage was quite enjoyable, though not as enjoyable as writing thesis acknowledgments . I had fixed the most blatant errors during the editing stage, so proofreading was relatively easy. But as self-proofreading is not foolproof, some errors will remain in my thesis forever.

Formatted the document

I had used MS Word and had many figures and tables, so putting the document together was a hassle. My laptop kept crashing because of the size of the file, and working with styles in Word was a nightmare. Completing this stage was more time-consuming than I had expected, but when it was done it was time to celebrate.

That’s how I wrote my PhD thesis in three months, but it would have been easier if…

I used a reference manager, chose a word processor other than Word, had my thesis professionally proofread, and socialized during these three months instead of living in automaton mode. And it would have been good to know writing always takes longer than you think. Trivial tasks in particular (such as formatting tables) can become time sinks if you don’t put a cap on the number of hours you are willing to dedicate to a task. Also, knowing the law of diminishing returns helps you limit the number of revision rounds you do.

If you find none of the tips above useful, maybe you can use this one: To avoid procrastination when writing your PhD thesis, focus only on the task at hand. Worrying about how people will judge your PhD thesis slows down your progress and adds unnecessary stress to your life.

Does your PhD thesis need editing or proofreading? Send me a message at [email protected].

Related posts:

• The best academic writing books: My list
• PhD dissertation to book: Roadmap and advice for authors
• The art of writing PhD thesis acknowledgments: A guide for economics students

Last revised on 7 September 2022

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• Write Your PhD Thesis In One Month Or Less

Thesis/dissertation writing need not be a multi-month ordeal that makes you pull your hair out and roll up into a fetal position. The trick is to get a head start , set goals and deadlines, and work steadily—not feverishly—toward that ultimate satisfaction of handing your magnum opus to the graduate school. The first three sections of this article are devoted to ways that you can get way ahead of the curve from the very beginning of your graduate program—BEFORE push comes to shove.

1.) GET STARTED RIGHT AWAY— YES, REALLY .

NEWS FLASH: you can start working on your thesis or dissertation almost from the moment you decide on a lab/advisor .

In the beginning, there were papers …

The starting point for any newbie graduate student is to read boatloads of relevant papers so that you can learn your advisor’s repertoire of experimental techniques or areas of interest, what has been done so far in the field, what questions remain to be answered, and where your research will contribute.

Keep in mind that these seminal papers will be heavily integrated into your thesis or dissertation:

a) The introduction, in which you give all the pertinent background to set the stage for your research and make everyone on your committee (and beyond!) understand why it’s important

b) Data chapters, where previously published data lend validity to your findings, or are at least taken into consideration as you interpret your data

Let’s back up. How do you find these papers? Hopefully, your advisor will provide you with a few of the original papers that got the ball rolling. Find out what papers cite them . You can perform Boolean searches in Pubmed and Google Scholar (great tips explaining how to do this can be found at Boolean.pdf ).

Note that in Pubmed, you will need to go to “Advanced Search,” where the builder constructs the Boolean search for you (Figure 1). Pubmed offers another great strategy: you can set up citation alerts that notify you via e-mail every time one of these pivotal articles is cited. Pubmed has a tutorial on how to do this here: myncbi.html . You can control how often you receive these alerts, or adjust later based on how inundated your inbox becomes.

FIGURE 1.  PubMed’s Boolean Search builder.

Google scholar offers a similar citation alert service. Go to Google Scholar, http://scholar.google.com/ , and click on “Alerts” (see Figure 2). From the next screen, click “Create Alert” (Figure 3). You can set up alerts based on Boolean searches (Figure 4), or by author . Also, since many principal authors have varied interests, you can customize by using a combination Boolean/search-by-author approach (Figure 5). Enter your e-mail address, and you’re good to go.

FIGURE 2.  Setting up alerts in Google Scholar. First, click “Alerts.”

FIGURE 3.  Setting up alerts in Google Scholar, part 2. Next, click “Create Alert.”

FIGURE 4.  Setting up alerts in Google Scholar, part 3. Setting up your search criteria using Boolean operators.

FIGURE 5.  Setting up alerts in Google Scholar, part 4. The combined Author/Boolean operator search in Google Scholar.

ORGANIZING your boatloads of papers…

Let’s back up again. Realize that unless you are a genius, you will probably have to revisit these nuggets of wisdom several times during your graduate career, particularly when you have a better grasp on the research. Also, unless you are a genius, you will find yourself wondering, “What was that paper that explained________?” This is where being organized will save you TONS of time.

I am a big fan of saving paper and not printing out reams of articles to be read and then stuffed into filing cabinets . I highly recommend a citation management program, such as Endnote . Find out which program your advisor uses (see if he or she will let you install the program on your computer). Some departments even offer this software free of charge. Not only are all of the citations in your library searchable, but you can also file them into folders based on the subject matter (Figure 6).

FIGURE 6.  Filing papers in EndNote–beats a filing cabinet!

As you do your literature search, you download the citations into your citation manager. Most e-journals have a “download to citation manager” link. Google Scholar also recently added a very nice “Cite” function that lets you import citations directly into your citation manager (Figure 7).

FIGURE 7.  Google Scholar’s Cite function.

You can also search PubMed from within Endnote, which saves you several steps (Figure 8). In addition, the program has a lovely feature called Cite-While-You-Write that links with Microsoft Word. No more the parenthetical “ need citation !” statements in your text. With the CWYW feature, you can pull up all of the papers in your Endnote library that pertain to your text, and with the click of one button in Word—voilà! Citations inserted (Figure 9)! You can format the bibliography later, when your behemoth is completely written—yet another convenient, automatic feature.

FIGURE 8.  Searching for papers from within EndNote.

FIGURE 8.  EndNote’s Cite While You Write function.

2) Intermediate documents: the thesis/dissertation proposal and grant applications

Think of your thesis or dissertation proposal and any grant applications as being a big first step toward the first chapter of your final document: the introduction. Preparation of these documents entails a thorough review of pertinent literature to set the stage and explain the rationale for the research you are proposing. So by this logic, you should have taken a very large bite out of the first chapter of your thesis or dissertation by the time you take your preliminary exams.

3) Methods: you do them every day, why not take the time to write them up?

In the STEM fields, theses and dissertations require a chapter devoted to methods. You have your own set of experimental and/or statistical techniques that you presumably learn from your advisor, then troubleshoot and tweak based on your specific needs. You know how you write detailed notes on the conditions of each experiment every time you do them in your lab notebook? (RIGHT?!) This is all information that you can take even an hour per week to write up in your thesis document. Check out the previous papers from your advisor to get ideas on wording, and then re-work it so it’s your own (citing relevant papers, of course). By the time you actually for-real start writing your thesis or dissertation, your methods chapter can be practically done already!

4) After the greenlight…careful planning and sticking to a schedule!

You’ve received the greenlight to “start” writing your thesis or dissertation from your committee. Now what? Well, you have a good chunk of the intro done already, right? Your chapter 2 is practically done as well! Be sure to check out the deadlines not only for getting your document to your committee, but also for depositing it with the graduate school. Wouldn’t it stink to defend your thesis in April, but not graduate until December because you missed the deadline?

Now, I will tell you a huge time-saving tip . Before you start (well, continue) writing, find a colleague who has recently turned in their thesis or dissertation and still has their final word document kicking around . Ask your colleague for permission to use their document in the following way: you are not going to copy anything in that document… EXCEPT THE FORMATTING.

You know the part where the clerk at the grad school pulls out the ruler and measures your margins, page number position and other random stuff while you hold your breath? All of that will already be in your colleague’s word document. Why re-invent the wheel? Just use the document as a template—delete ALL of the text and leave the margins and other formatting alone. (Of course, check over everything carefully before you deposit your document!) Anything you’ve written up to this point can easily be pasted into the template.

Next, agree upon deadlines : “I’ll have chapter 1 to you by________.” If you have been working ahead on your document and your reference library as described above, it should take you about a week to finish up chapter 1 (your introduction) and chapter 2 (methods). Can you do a chapter per week for each of the remaining chapters? Put the deadline in your calendar, and stick to it. Then, based on how much time you are still expected to spend in the lab, decide a set number of hours per day that you will spend on nothing but writing.

I would suggest asking your advisor for blocks of time to hole up at the library, or wherever it is that you do your best work . Then do it. You will be working weekends, no doubt, but try to work steadily and avoid all-nighters. Adjust as necessary—you may need to have an additional meeting with your advisor to request more time away from lab.

Do have a colleague read your document installments before you give them to your advisor . Run spell check and do all the basics before you offer up your baby to the red pen of death. If you really struggle with writing, or if you are not a native English speaker, there are services out there that will clean up your document on a by-the-hour basis. Spare your advisor the frustration of correcting simple errors.

Now, a caveat.

Just because you have a deadline that you are sticking to like an embedded tick does not mean that your advisor will adhere to similar deadlines in getting you edits and feedback . Many advisors, bless their hearts, are procrastinators (erm…busy with grant deadlines, writing their own papers, editing, and other important stuff that advisors do). Don’t sweat it… the ball is now in your advisor’s court, and you will now move steadily on to the next installment.

Which is due by __________in your calendar.

3) BACKUP, BACKUP, BACKUP!

And this time I do mean “backup”—as in your document. There is NO excuse for losing your thesis or dissertation . You should have MULTIPLE copies saved: on your computer, in Dropbox, on an external hard drive, etc. These copies should be clearly marked with dates in case you have to revert back to a prior version. They should also be marked after being edited by your advisor or others.

4) The final weeks

This will be a stressful time unless you are extremely lucky. It usually goes something like this: “Move this section to page 89.” Then two days later: “Put it back where it was.” Your advisor is stressed too—so try to take everything in stride.

If at all possible, try to get your thesis printed off for your committee a day or two in advance . This allows a cushion for the inevitable printer meltdown or copier jam. In my case, I got my final edits at 11 pm the night before my dissertation was due. Luckily, there weren’t a lot of changes to make, and there were no printer fiascos. I finished the edits by midnight and had the whole thing printed off by about 2 in the morning. Although I won’t say that I wasn’t completely stressed out and about to melt down myself…

You want your dissertation to look nice for your committee and to be easy for them to handle and write in . I’m a fan of bindings—I used three ring binders with pockets so that I could also include a CD with a copy of the document. But that’s not for everybody. Spiral bindings are just as good, but again, require planning because you’ll have to take your stack of documents somewhere like FedEx Kinkos. Even though it can be like herding cats to track down all the members of your committee, try to personally deliver your documents to them—not only for security’s sake, but to remind them of who you are.

I kid. Sort of.

5) After the defense

You may have loads of changes to make to your thesis or dissertation based on your committee members’ comments . You feel elated and relieved to have your defense over with. After the effects of the all-night post-defense bender have worn off, try to work diligently on the edits so that you don’t run up against the grad school’s deposit deadline. Make an appointment for a pre-check of your document to catch any formatting errors well in advance of the deadline.

Once you have deposited your thesis or dissertation with the graduate school (congratulations!), investigate how many bound copies you need. Most departments require a bound copy, as will your advisor. Then you need one, of course, and then there’s your parents…

University towns usually have at least one book bindery in addition to services on campus. There are online services as well—but be careful to check their ratings. You generally have to figure up the number of color-copy and high-resolution pages you have versus regular black and white. You send this estimate along with a digital copy of your dissertation and your selections for binding color, lettering, etc. There is something deeply satisfying about finally holding that beautifully bound book—that YOU wrote—in your hands at last.

In summary, it is possible to write your thesis or dissertation in under a month with good preparation, organization, and planning . The end result makes it all worthwhile. Keep in mind that if you move on to a postdoc or any other position that requires writing papers and grants, these same strategies apply.

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How to Write a PhD Thesis: 13 Tips For PhD Thesis Writing 

Completing a successful PhD research thesis is extremely challenging, and how to write a PhD thesis is often a question in students’ minds. Fret not, there are many ways to make the process of PhD thesis writing less bumpy. This article will provide some PhD thesis writing tips to simplify the writing process and help you complete your thesis on time, while keeping your sanity mostly intact. 

Only about 50% of students enrolled in a PhD program ever complete it 1 . They drop out at many different points during the process for many different reasons. Some leave because the course work is too difficult or time consuming. Some leave for personal or financial reasons. One common cause of non-completion, or late completion, is the daunting spectre of PhD thesis writing. 

PhD thesis writing tips: How to overcome the challenge of writing your PhD thesis

First, remember that although writing a PhD thesis is difficult, this can be accomplished. Here are some things to consider that will increase your confidence and make the task of PhD thesis writing a bit less scary. 

• Create an outline before you start writing – The most effective way to keep your work organized is to first create an outline based on the PhD thesis structure required by your university. Using an outline for your PhD paper writing has tremendous benefits. It creates a handy space to keep and organize all the little snippets of information and questions you will have during your preparation. It allows you to effectively plan your work and manage your time and makes the actual writing much easier. A thesis is shaped more than written, and an outline provides it the required PhD thesis structure. 
• Follow all university guides – Be careful to ensure that you are meeting all the requirements of your university. This includes everything from topic selection to structure to writing style. It is extremely frustrating to spend a lot of time and effort on a section only to have to do it over because you didn’t follow the proper guidelines. Read all relevant material from your university over and over until you have it memorized. Then, check it again. 
• Section order – It is usually best not to do your PhD thesis writing in chronological order. For researchers, the easiest parts to write are usually the Method and Results. So, gain some confidence first and write the Introduction and Conclusion last to tie it all together. 
• Work extensively with your supervisor – Don’t forget that in the process of PhD thesis writing, help is right there when you ask for it. Do not hesitate to ask for guidance from your supervisor, advisors, or other committee members when you get stuck. Clear and regular communication with these important resources can save you untold heartache during the PhD research and thesis writing processes. This should not be a solo exercise; they have all been where you are now. 
• Plan carefully, create rough drafts, and refine 2 – This is so important and basic to all academic research that it bears repeating. You will not write the final PhD thesis on your first try. Do not become frustrated, trust the process. 
• Produce quality writing – Make sure your ideas flow easily and are clear and easy to read. This is not a strong skill for most beginning researchers, but it’s a skill that can be learned with a lot of practice. Therefore, edit, edit, and edit some more. If you need it, there are many places to get PhD thesis writing help and assistance. 
• Details matter – Pay attention to the small things, especially with the document formatting. If you start out using the proper format, you will be saving a tremendous amount of time and grief later. 
• Avoid plagiarism – Quote accurately, otherwise paraphrase. There is no excuse for being a lazy writer. Consider using a smart tool or service to check for plagiarism during your PhD thesis editing process to make sure you did not unintentionally copy any material. 
• Rein in the references – Use a database, such as EndNote or Mendeley, to keep them organized and under control; check and double check citations and references with the bibliography to ensure they all match. Don’t forget to use the PhD thesis style required by your university. 
• Keep it simple – Remember, this is only the start of your career, not your ultimate work 3 ; perfectionism can be a disaster. 
• Make consistent progress – Try to write at least a little every day; check quotations and references when writing seems too difficult. 3  
• Keep your reader in mind – As with all writing, your PhD thesis is meant to be read, so be considerate of those who read it; be concise, include all necessary data/information to support your argument but nothing extra. Strive to be understood and avoid unnecessary words. 
• Be persistent and eager – Writing a doctoral thesis becomes easier if you are consistent and dedicated. All other things being equal, your attitude will ultimately determine your success. Have patience and work hard. Create work you will be proud of for a lifetime. 
• Cassuto, L. Ph.D. attrition: How much is too much? The Chronicle of Higher Education.    https://www.chronicle.com/article/ph-d-attrition-how-much-is-too-much/?cid=gen_sign_in [Accessed 20 July 2022]
• Curl, I. 10 tips for writing a PhD thesis. Times Higher Education. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/blog/10-tips-writing-phd-thesis [Accessed 20 July 2022]
• Thomas, K. Finishing your PhD thesis: 15 top tips from those in the know. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/blog/2014/aug/27/finishing-phd-thesis-top-tips-experts-advice [Accessed 20 July 2022]

A PhD thesis includes several key components, that are essential for the work to be considered seriously. These may vary depending on the research field and specific requirements of the institution, but generally include: ·         an introduction that presents the research question and context, ·         a literature review that surveys existing knowledge and research, ·         a methodology section describing the research design and methods employed, ·         a presentation of findings or results, ·         a discussion section interpreting the results and their implications, and ·         a conclusion that summarizes the main findings and contributions. Additionally, appendices may contain supplementary materials such as data, charts, or technical details.  

The time required for writing a PhD thesis can vary significantly depending on factors such as the research topic, the individual’s research progress, the specific requirements of the institution, and the researcher’s writing process. On average, it can take several months to a few years to complete a PhD thesis. The research, data collection, and analysis stages can span several years, with the PhD thesis writing phase itself often lasting several months. Here, AI writing assistants like Paperpal, designed for academics, can help you write better. Explore Paperpal and see the difference for yourself!

To select a suitable topic for your PhD thesis, start by identifying your research interests and areas of expertise. Consider the gaps or unresolved questions in your field of study and explore potential research avenues and read extensively in your area of interest. Consult with your advisor or mentors, who can offer guidance and help narrow down your options. Once you have a tentative topic, conduct a literature review to ensure its novelty and feasibility. It’s important to choose a topic that aligns with your passion, has potential for meaningful contribution, and is feasible given available resources and time constraints.

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How to write a PhD thesis: a step-by-step guide

A draft isn’t a perfect, finished product; it is your opportunity to start getting words down on paper, writes Kelly Louise Preece

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Congratulations; you’ve finished your research! Time to write your PhD thesis. This resource will take you through an eight-step plan for drafting your chapters and your thesis as a whole. 

Organise your material

Before you start, it’s important to get organised. Take a step back and look at the data you have, then reorganise your research. Which parts of it are central to your thesis and which bits need putting to one side? Label and organise everything using logical folders – make it easy for yourself! Academic and blogger Pat Thomson calls this  “Clean up to get clearer” . Thomson suggests these questions to ask yourself before you start writing:

• What data do you have? You might find it useful to write out a list of types of data (your supervisor will find this list useful too.) This list is also an audit document that can go in your thesis. Do you have any for the “cutting room floor”? Take a deep breath and put it in a separate non-thesis file. You can easily retrieve it if it turns out you need it.
• What do you have already written? What chunks of material have you written so far that could form the basis of pieces of the thesis text? They will most likely need to be revised but they are useful starting points. Do you have any holding text? That is material you already know has to be rewritten but contains information that will be the basis of a new piece of text.
• What have you read and what do you still need to read? Are there new texts that you need to consult now after your analysis? What readings can you now put to one side, knowing that they aren’t useful for this thesis – although they might be useful at another time?
• What goes with what? Can you create chunks or themes of materials that are going to form the basis of some chunks of your text, perhaps even chapters?

Once you have assessed and sorted what you have collected and generated you will be in much better shape to approach the big task of composing the dissertation. 

Decide on a key message

A key message is a summary of new information communicated in your thesis. You should have started to map this out already in the section on argument and contribution – an overarching argument with building blocks that you will flesh out in individual chapters.

You have already mapped your argument visually, now you need to begin writing it in prose. Following another of Pat Thomson’s exercises, write a “tiny text” thesis abstract. This doesn’t have to be elegant, or indeed the finished product, but it will help you articulate the argument you want your thesis to make. You create a tiny text using a five-paragraph structure:

• The first sentence addresses the broad context. This locates the study in a policy, practice or research field.
• The second sentence establishes a problem related to the broad context you have set out. It often starts with “But”, “Yet” or “However”.
• The third sentence says what specific research has been done. This often starts with “This research” or “I report…”
• The fourth sentence reports the results. Don’t try to be too tricky here, just start with something like: “This study shows,” or “Analysis of the data suggests that…”
• The fifth and final sentence addresses the “So What?” question and makes clear the claim to contribution.

Here’s an example that Thomson provides:

Secondary school arts are in trouble, as the fall in enrolments in arts subjects dramatically attests. However, there is patchy evidence about the benefits of studying arts subjects at school and this makes it hard to argue why the drop in arts enrolments matters. This thesis reports on research which attempts to provide some answers to this problem – a longitudinal study which followed two groups of senior secondary students, one group enrolled in arts subjects and the other not, for three years. The results of the study demonstrate the benefits of young people’s engagement in arts activities, both in and out of school, as well as the connections between the two. The study not only adds to what is known about the benefits of both formal and informal arts education but also provides robust evidence for policymakers and practitioners arguing for the benefits of the arts. You can  find out more about tiny texts and thesis abstracts on Thomson’s blog.

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Write a plan

You might not be a planner when it comes to writing. You might prefer to sit, type and think through ideas as you go. That’s OK. Everybody works differently. But one of the benefits of planning your writing is that your plan can help you when you get stuck. It can help with writer’s block (more on this shortly!) but also maintain clarity of intention and purpose in your writing.

You can do this by creating a  thesis skeleton or storyboard , planning the order of your chapters, thinking of potential titles (which may change at a later stage), noting down what each chapter/section will cover and considering how many words you will dedicate to each chapter (make sure the total doesn’t exceed the maximum word limit allowed).

Use your plan to help prompt your writing when you get stuck and to develop clarity in your writing.

Some starting points include:

• This chapter will argue that…
• This section illustrates that…
• This paragraph provides evidence that…

Of course, we wish it werethat easy. But you need to approach your first draft as exactly that: a draft. It isn’t a perfect, finished product; it is your opportunity to start getting words down on paper. Start with whichever chapter you feel you want to write first; you don’t necessarily have to write the introduction first. Depending on your research, you may find it easier to begin with your empirical/data chapters.

Vitae advocates for the “three draft approach” to help with this and to stop you from focusing on finding exactly the right word or transition as part of your first draft.

This resource originally appeared on Researcher Development .

Kelly Louse Preece is head of educator development at the University of Exeter.

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Rule of Three: advice on writing a PhD thesis

PhD students sometimes get the same bad advice on writing their thesis. I call this advice the Rule of Three . Typically, they get told that their thesis:

• Will take 3 months to write
• Should have 3 results chapters
• Should be 300 pages

These bits of advice have one thing in common: they are all wrong.

• If you have been organised (see below), it should not take 3 months to write a PhD thesis. It certainly shouldn’t involve leaving the lab 3 months before your hand-in date to write up.
• Theses can have one results chapter or they can have more. How many chapters depends on your project, and your results. Trying to make three results chapters out of one chapter ends up in a weak or overlong thesis.
• A thesis is like a piece of string and it will be as long as it needs to be. Aim for brevity and not producing a magnus opus (see below).

Disclaimer: what follows is some different advice. As with all “advice”, your mileage will vary. It is written for the people in my lab but likely applies to UK PhD students doing biomedical research.

Rule 1: aim for a thesis that is good enough

Who will read your thesis? Two people. Your examiners. OK, some parts – such as the Methods section – will be useful to future lab members (although with electronic lab notebooks this function is becoming redundant). Maybe your thesis will be downloaded by someone from the repository, but essentially, it will only be read by your examiners.

How long does an examiner spend reading your thesis? A few hours. One day maximum. They simply have no more time. Do you really want to spend three months of your life writing something that will be read for just a few hours by two people?

It’s for these reasons that spending too much effort writing a perfect thesis is a waste of time. It just needs to be good enough.

As well as being just good enough, it only needs to be long enough . A big mistake students make is to produce a really long thesis because they think that that is what theses should be (rule of 3). What happens is the examiner will receive the thesis, look at how many pages there are, subtract the bibliography, and their heart will sink if it is too long.

You might now be wondering: is writing a thesis a waste of time?

No, because you have to do it to get your PhD.

No, because you learn important writing skills. You also learn how to assemble a large document (it’s often how students learn to use Word properly or up their LaTeX game). It’s good training for writing papers and other technical documents down the line. Employers know this when they hire you.

But that is about it. So you just need to write something that is good enough to pass.

Rule 2: prioritise papers and the thesis will follow

Papers are the priority. They are more useful to you and to your PI. But this advice isn’t motivated by self-interest. If you go into the viva and the work in your thesis is already peer reviewed and published, it’s harder for the examiners to criticise it. At least, they will not approach your thesis with the question: is this work publishable? This is one criteria for passing your PhD, so demonstrating that it is publishable means you are (almost) there.

This was the one bit of advice I received when doing my PhD and it is still true today. OK, it is harder these days to get a first author paper published before you submit your thesis. However a preprint on bioRxiv before you begin writing will help you to prepare your thesis and will still tick the publishable box.

How long should it take to write your thesis?

There is tension here because you are at your most useful in the lab as you near the end of your PhD. One week of labwork now is worth one month (or more) earlier in your PhD. You are most valuable to your lab/PI/science/career at this point and keeping working in the lab will yield more rewards. But it won’t get your thesis written.

The first bit of writing is busywork and can be done around lab work. “Deep writing” and reading does need time away for most students.

If you have only collected data in the lab and not analysed it, if you’ve not presented your work very often, if you are disorganised… yes, it will take you a full three months to write your thesis.

All the folks in my lab are encouraged to get figures ready, analyse as they go and they also give regular talks. It should not take anyone in this position three months away from the lab to write their thesis.

Agreeing a timeline with your PI for when you begin writing is really important. Regular deadlines and a commitment to timely feedback from your supervisor make thesis writing easier. The discussion needs to be based on facts though. Often students want to budget a lot of time to writing, because of the rule of 3 or because they believe they are “bad at writing”. It helps to see some evidence. Writing draft chapters earlier in the PhD – which is a requirement at some universities – can reveal difficulties and weaknesses.

Reality check

If you hear the rule of 3 from everyone and your supervisor is giving you different advice. It might be time for a reality check. Have a look at past theses from the lab. How long were they? How many chapters? Information is good.

You can see that all theses are fewer than 300 pages in length, many substantially so. Four have three chapters and two have two. Although looking closer, two of the theses with three chapters use a results chapter as an expanded methods chapter.

Ultimately, the thesis is your work but you will get input from your supervisor. Regardless of what is written here or how many people tell you about the rule of 3, your supervisor will have their own ideas about how your thesis should be. Agreeing a sensible plan with them is the way to get started productively.

Getting started

This is not a comprehensive guide but in order to write a good enough thesis, you first need a plan.

• Make a figure list. This should be every single figure you can think of. You can cross off ones you don’t need later if they don’t fit or are insignificant.
• Plan the narrative. There is usually more than one way to put together the figures to make a thesis. Be prepared for this to change after you start writing! Sometimes the writing process reveals ways in which the narrative should be rearranged.
• How many results chapters? Start with the idea that you will have one. Does it need dividing? If yes, then what are the titles of the two chapters? If you have difficulty titling them you may need to split to a 3rd.

Now you have a plan. It’s time to get going.

Set some goals – but make them small. Having a goal of “I am going to complete my thesis” is too demoralising. You need to feel like you are making progress constantly to stay motivated. Break it down into smaller chunks. “I will finish this chapter by next Friday”. “I will write the cloning section this morning and then go for a walk”.

Write the materials and methods first . It’s the easiest bit to write because it is all technical writing with little wordcraft required. You can fit it around labwork. In fact, it is easier to write whilst in the lab because you can look up all the stuff you need. Importantly, it gets over the “blank page syndrome”.

Next get your figures together . This should already be done if you have been organised.

Then write the figure legends . You already have the title for each figure from your plan. All you need to do is describe each panel. Again, quite low energy writing required for this task.

Now write the results sections ! This is the same way that we put papers together. The results parts of the thesis are more extended but in principle you will guide the reader though the figures that you’ve made. Remember, you already have the legends written. So you are already partly on your way.

Time to regroup . At this point you can refine your plan for the introduction and check the rest of your plan still makes sense. Now is the time for some deep writing and reading.

The post title comes from “Rule of Three” by The Lemonheads.

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Is it possible to draft a thesis in 3 months?

I have just returned from maternity leave and have been informed that I need to submit my thesis by April 15th. I have about 40-50 percent of it written but not in good shape. I also have a part-time (two days a week) work commitment and two kids.

To me it seems physically impossible to finish it on time given my circumstances but I was curious to see if anyone was able to draft there thesis in a few months.

UPDATE : I just wanted to say thank you so much everyone for taking the time to respond and for all the great advice! I am definitely taking it all on board. I've spoken to my thesis supervisor and have decided to give it a shot! He'll be able to give me feedback regularly. I know it will probably be hell for the next few months, but I hope to be able to tame this beast!

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How to write a PhD thesis in three months? [closed]

I am planning to write a thesis in three months. How to be more organised towards writing and get the first draft ready in three months? Has anyone written the first draft of the thesis in three months or so?

I have some writing done already as I have published some conference and workshop papers.

• 4 Consider using the early hours of the morning, so that you don't get distracted by family, friends, text messages etc etc Some find 5.30AM to 7.30AM tend to be worth about 4 hours of time later in the day due to distractions... –  Solar Mike Commented Jan 6, 2019 at 13:55
• 3 Well, it worked for a couple of my students last semester and a long time ago for me (and I am no morning person :) )... So best of luck then! –  Solar Mike Commented Jan 6, 2019 at 14:23
• 1 There’s no one-size-fits-all answer; it’s totally dependent on your specific circumstances, psychology, and work habits. If you’re typically good at working fast under pressure, and have already done most of the research for the thesis, then it’s definitely possible (I wrote almost all my thesis in the last 3 weeks before the deadline, following 6 months of complete writer’s block). If you’re not so experienced at writing quickly under pressure, or if the research isn’t sufficiently prepared, then this is a bit of a gamble and will need more discipline. But in any case, best of luck! –  PLL Commented Jan 6, 2019 at 15:22
• 1 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique might help –  Eric Duminil Commented Jan 6, 2019 at 15:30
• 1 If you are in CS, then you might be able to do it in a few weeks if you can just staple together your pubs and smooth out the transitions between chapters. –  Austin Henley Commented Jan 6, 2019 at 21:04

4 Answers 4

Make an outline and a schedule, then follow the schedule. Include time for revision and feedback in your schedule.

If you know all the content already, the writing can be done much faster than that. In my field, it is only necessary to write about 90 generously spaced pages, so three months is less than a page a day. In more verbose fields, your thesis need not be more than 500 pages, so that's an achievable 6 pages a day.

The real problem is when you do not know the content you need to write - that part we cannot help with here.

• 1 I can't imagine writing a 90 page math paper. My dissertation was <40 pages. –  Matt Samuel Commented Jan 6, 2019 at 16:55
• 1 @MattSamuel I'm in math and I am working with some coauthors on a paper we are considering splitting because it is going above the ~100 pages mark.. (lots of technical lemmas needed for the interesting results :)) –  Denis Nardin Commented Jan 6, 2019 at 17:00

I wrote my thesis in 10 days. Granted, I was well published before, so 3/4 of it was a cut and paste.

This was 90s so I had to use lab computer for typing. Went in at night and typed. Then did a morning run, ate breakfast and slept. Avoided distractions from lab group.

Avoided complicated LaTex and just did it old school. Even xeroxed in figures versus fancier drafting program. Did individual chapters to correspond to papers. Picked easiest endnote system (by chapter). I think I even did individual files by chapter because Word got complicated trying to do multichapter work.

At the end of the day, it's pass fail. Just get it done.

• 2 Thanks, I really like when you said "it's pass fail. Just get it done.". It took a lot of pressure off. It's admirable that you managed to write the thesis in 10 days. –  ffl Commented Jan 6, 2019 at 15:13
• 1 At the end of the day, it's pass fail. – Some PhD theses are graded. –  Wrzlprmft ♦ Commented Jan 6, 2019 at 16:49
• 2 @chepner: Depending on your country, field, grading system, employer, and the grade difference, it might. For example, if I were to higher people with a PhD in my field from Germany and they got the lowest or second-lowest passing grade for their thesis, this would at least make for a question in the job interview. –  Wrzlprmft ♦ Commented Jan 6, 2019 at 17:58
• 1 Make sure that you know and understand the required formatting. A big time waster is writing a large chunk and then finding out it's in the wrong format. –  D Duck Commented Jan 6, 2019 at 20:42
• 2 @DDuck using sensible document preparation practices, differences of basic format should be a complete non-issue to address. In LaTeX, it's a matter of changing some header declarations to denote a different desired arrangement. In Word, it's a matter of using page and text styles in a disciplined manner, rather than manually doing things like bolding and centering each heading. –  Phil Miller Commented Jan 6, 2019 at 20:45

Having done this myself, one thing I did was work at certain desks in the stacks at my college library that happened to have metal walls. This acted as a Faraday cage, blocking all wifi and cell phone signals. It was very helpful for focus, while a the same time allowing me to easily access the internet if I needed to look up a paper simply by standing up and walking out of the work area. You may not have something similar, but the key issue of removing easy distractions like phones and especially the internet is very important.

Similarly, I would suggest not using your personal laptop to do this--it's another way for distractions to creep in. You'll want something that can download papers, compile TeX, and pretty much nothing else. You may be able to get a loaner laptop from your department for work purposes or get an old used laptop for cheap.

I also heavily relied on copy and paste from my previous papers, and even some of my advisor's papers. Obviously the sections from my advisor's papers had to be rewritten, but it gave me a complete draft, which was a big change psychologically. Having a complete document that needs lots of revisions is way different from having an incomplete document, even if the amount of work left to do is similar.

One last thing--keep a regular sleep schedule that gets 8 hours of sleep and involves waking up before 8. This is something grad students are notoriously bad at, but you'd be amazed at how much better you feel.

• Thanks. I think getting the first draft by copy and pasting the papers is a great idea. At least, this will give a big picture and then revising them to smooth out the transitions between chapters will get the whole thing in a good shape. Initially, I was thinking to go chapter by chapter, but now I think I will get the first draft by copypasting and then revising chapter by chapter. Thanks eyeballfrog and Austin for the suggestion. –  ffl Commented Jan 7, 2019 at 9:29

I found spending at least some time (a few hours/week) with a 'writing group' of people similarly in need of a focus on writing to be very helpful. We booked a conference room, took turns bringing in coffee and snacks to share, and set a common timer for when we'd take breaks. Even without any mutual accountability (we were all in totally separate fields, working on our own theses and papers), the shared goal was a strong force to keep us focused and averse to our own distractions.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged thesis writing .

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How to Write a PhD Thesis in Three Months

How much time does it take to complete writing a thesis? A year or two? Right, it might take your entire last year to complete one. From deciding the topic, conducting the research and asking for PhD Thesis Statistics Help from your seniors or professors to writing down your thesis, takes a lot of time, energy and hardwork. 

What if we say that you can write your thesis in just three months? You might get shocked and many questions must have started running in your mind, isn’t it? But, yes you can definitely complete writing your PhD thesis in three months. There are two ways to achieve this goal. First, reaching out to PhD Thesis Writing Services and ask for assistance and the second way is just you need to follow the steps listed in this article.

The goal might look easy after reading the entire article, but it all depends on how dedicated and how you can take help of your colleagues in topic deciding or Phd Thesis Statistics Help. 

Do not try to steer through a jungle of challenges.

Restrict yourself, frame a boundary and be determined. Determine the steps you will take to gather data and prepare a draft of the thesis within 5-6weeks. For this, deadlines should be set up, sticking to those deadlines will be beneficial. And the most important thing, you need to take care of is avoiding stuff which might set you back from achieving your deadlines such as social media. 

Here’s what you need to do, to achieve your goal

Follow this steps to complete your Thesis Writing in Three Months

• Step #1: Don't doubt your abilities, tell yourself you can do this. Your perception and opinion might not match with your near ones. Therefore, it is recommended not to share with your near ones,because you might get a feeling of peer pressure. You don't need any approval or feedback from anyone, just focus on your goal. 

Step #2: Prepare a short to do list of a paper. Jot down tasks you are going to do in the entire day. Work for an hour and take a 15mins break. If you are working 6hours in a day, plan your tasks accordingly in that to-do list. And stick to that strictly, there should be no exceptions.

• Step #3: Hang a bit note on your calendar of the writing task beginning date. Be excited and determined for the date to arrive and focus on your goal accomplishment.

Step #4: Give sufficient time to topic selection. The accomplishment of your three months writing task depends majorly on this. To find out a topic quickly, sit and have a brainstorming session with yourself or people into research for a week, you might also connect to a few PhD Thesis Writing Services who will help you get a topic of your interest. If you fail in choosing your topic in the alloted time, the result may be delayed as well.

• Step #5: Given below are some points which should be present in your outline that you’ll prepare. If you have something more to add, add it.
• You must be having some ideas and points related to your thesis, note it down.

Create a frame of your supporting paragraphs and arguments.

• Take snaps of your bibliography and sources, let digital applications do some work (wasting time in writing them down is not acceptable at this moment).

There must be few areas of your research that you definitely don’t want to miss out, list down those ‘must’ cover areas of your research.

• Analytical findings and final conclusions should also be written down, it is always advisable to go for a PhD Thesis Statistics Help rather than taking time to conduct the analytics part.

And lastly, while doing all this list down various other ideas that cross your mind.

Once you are done preparing the outline, you are almost there. Hardly 15-20 days away from your writing down thesis task. This step might help you cover up your speed and help you give time to things which might have taken more time than the deadline. But you still can’t rest. Writing part should occupy half of your day until completed.

Step #6: The best way to complete your thesis writing work in three months is to have your data in digital form. It makes referring and using the data quite simple and easy. You can jump on the piece of data you require at that moment. You don't have to search for it. For this purpose research needs to be carried out well in advance, once you have the data in hand your writing work becomes much easier.

Step #7: At some point of time, being a human you might feel like having a walk along a beachside, grab some coffee and chill out with friends and family. You can surely do that, provided you have been loyal to your work till date, and have completed every task as per your outline and deadlines. If you are strictly following your outline you are 50% done with your task. Feel free to reward yourself.

Step #8: Time alloted to writing your thesis must be followed. Dedicate the last 12-15 days to writing your thesis and you are almost through.

Step #9: Appoint an eminent Phd Thesis Statistics Help Professional, to have a thorough check of your analytics.

Step #10: Finally hire an esteemed PhD Thesis Writing Services and go for an editing, and then submit it after the changes made. Sit back, relax and pat yourself on the back. You have completed your thesis in just three months.

For any PhD Thesis Writing Services help:  Contact us.

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Know How to Structure Your PhD Thesis

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In your academic career, few projects are more important than your PhD thesis. Unfortunately, many university professors and advisors assume that their students know how to structure a PhD. Books have literally been written on the subject, but there’s no need to read a book in order to know about PhD thesis paper format and structure. With that said, however, it’s important to understand that your PhD thesis format requirement may not be the same as another student’s. The bottom line is that how to structure a PhD thesis often depends on your university and department guidelines.

But, let’s take a look at a general PhD thesis format. We’ll look at the main sections, and how to connect them to each other. We’ll also examine different hints and tips for each of the sections. As you read through this toolkit, compare it to published PhD theses in your area of study to see how a real-life example looks.

Main Sections of a PhD Thesis

In almost every PhD thesis or dissertation, there are standard sections. Of course, some of these may differ, depending on your university or department requirements, as well as your topic of study, but this will give you a good idea of the basic components of a PhD thesis format.

• Abstract : The abstract is a brief summary that quickly outlines your research, touches on each of the main sections of your thesis, and clearly outlines your contribution to the field by way of your PhD thesis. Even though the abstract is very short, similar to what you’ve seen in published research articles, its impact shouldn’t be underestimated. The abstract is there to answer the most important question to the reviewer. “Why is this important?”
• Introduction : In this section, you help the reviewer understand your entire dissertation, including what your paper is about, why it’s important to the field, a brief description of your methodology, and how your research and the thesis are laid out. Think of your introduction as an expansion of your abstract.
• Literature Review : Within the literature review, you are making a case for your new research by telling the story of the work that’s already been done. You’ll cover a bit about the history of the topic at hand, and how your study fits into the present and future.
• Theory Framework : Here, you explain assumptions related to your study. Here you’re explaining to the review what theoretical concepts you might have used in your research, how it relates to existing knowledge and ideas.
• Methods : This section of a PhD thesis is typically the most detailed and descriptive, depending of course on your research design. Here you’ll discuss the specific techniques you used to get the information you were looking for, in addition to how those methods are relevant and appropriate, as well as how you specifically used each method described.
• Results : Here you present your empirical findings. This section is sometimes also called the “empiracles” chapter. This section is usually pretty straightforward and technical, and full of details. Don’t shortcut this chapter.
• Discussion : This can be a tricky chapter, because it’s where you want to show the reviewer that you know what you’re talking about. You need to speak as a PhD versus a student. The discussion chapter is similar to the empirical/results chapter, but you’re building on those results to push the new information that you learned, prior to making your conclusion.
• Conclusion : Here, you take a step back and reflect on what your original goals and intentions for the research were. You’ll outline them in context of your new findings and expertise.

Tips for your PhD Thesis Format

As you put together your PhD thesis, it’s easy to get a little overwhelmed. Here are some tips that might keep you on track.

• Don’t try to write your PhD as a first-draft. Every great masterwork has typically been edited, and edited, and…edited.
• Work with your thesis supervisor to plan the structure and format of your PhD thesis. Be prepared to rewrite each section, as you work out rough drafts. Don’t get discouraged by this process. It’s typical.
• Make your writing interesting. Academic writing has a reputation of being very dry.
• You don’t have to necessarily work on the chapters and sections outlined above in chronological order. Work on each section as things come up, and while your work on that section is relevant to what you’re doing.
• Don’t rush things. Write a first draft, and leave it for a few days, so you can come back to it with a more critical take. Look at it objectively and carefully grammatical errors, clarity, logic and flow.
• Know what style your references need to be in, and utilize tools out there to organize them in the required format.
• It’s easier to accidentally plagiarize than you think. Make sure you’re referencing appropriately, and check your document for inadvertent plagiarism throughout your writing process.

PhD Thesis Editing Plus

Want some support during your PhD writing process? Our PhD Thesis Editing Plus service includes extensive and detailed editing of your thesis to improve the flow and quality of your writing. Unlimited editing support for guaranteed results. Learn more here , and get started today!

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