Coming Up With a Thesis-Useful Guide for Beginners

A thesis is a development of an argument and not an answer to a question or a statement of fact, which a reader cannot disagree with. You must define the purpose and aim of your thesis in a thesis statement or abstract at the beginning, which states the aim and how you will develop the argument, you want to address. This will be limited to perhaps 200 words and the word count should not be exceeded. This is because search engines may reject a lengthy statement.

Argue your case

Following a logical progression you must argue the case with detailed references, which convince the reader. You must quote sources and their relevance for the case in hand. You should consider the case from all angles and by skilled logical progression convince the reader. You need to develop an individual focus on the facts, which the reader will identify with.

Manage your sources

Sources should be carefully selected and must support and be relevant to the thesis. They have to be credible which means careful research. The thesis must avoid generalizations and always provide convincing supporting evidence for your statements and address opposing points of view.

Contents list and appendix

Provide a contents list, which shows all headings and subheadings and figures used in the thesis. All data and citations used in the text which are not your own must be listed in the appendix.

Back up your arguments

Your statements must be backed up by sources, which you use to argue your case . The purpose is to stir debate because not everyone will agree with you but that is the purpose of the thesis. It is develop your skills for presenting arguments and considering them from different angles. You have to win the argument and present your case and this requires considerable research. Distinguish clearly between observations and interpretations and state clearly which is which and keep them separate in different paragraphs in the Thesis.

The making of your career

Many authors and historians have established their careers on the strength of their early thesis, which has gained authority and perhaps some distinguished awards. Give your thesis to others to read and your tutor and mentor. make sure you check your text a number of times for spelling , punctuation and grammar. It may be the most important document you ever write.