PhD Students - Do the following before you start writing your thesis.


𝟏. 𝐔𝐬𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐱, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐌𝐒 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝: Writing a 100+ page document in MS word can become a headache. Arranging headings, tables of content, references, etc can become a challenge. So, instead of MS word, use Latex. It will take care of all such things.

𝟐. 𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐬: Before starting your thesis, identify 10-15 exemplar theses that is within your research area or the PhD is carried out in a similar fashion as yours. Skim through them especially the first chapter to understand how to structure your thesis.

𝟑. 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲: During your PhD, you work on different papers that might not be totally linked in a straightforward way. Put these different pieces in front of yourself and think about how to make them link with each other and make a smooth story.

𝟒. 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤: This chapter summarizes your whole thesis and leaves an impression on the reader/examiner. Invest the most amount of time in writing this chapter. Amongst others, clearly mention upfront the research papers you have published during your PhD.

𝟓. 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐩 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: Mention within 3-4 lines the concrete problem you have solved during your PhD. Also, examiners look for 3-4 solid contributions. Don't make them search for them. Present these contributions upfront in the Introduction chapter.

𝟔. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐚 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐞: PhD thesis is a very long document. Navigating through it can be a challenge. Include a figure in the Introduction section that shows the organization of the thesis including the various chapters. You can check my PhD thesis for such a figure.

𝟕. 𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: If you have published some of your research, mention it upfront in your thesis. This shows to reviewers that part of your research has already been peer-reviewed.

𝟖. 𝐒𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤: Manage your writing in a way that each part gets reviewed. If you are running short of time, you can send each chapter separately as it completes to your supervisors for feedback.

𝟗. 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝: One of the most common comments from thesis reviewers is to fix the typos. Proofread your entire thesis a couple of times before submission to avoid getting this comment.

𝟏𝟎. 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫: Make sure that the chapters are linked together. For example, it shouldn't appear that when the reviewer starts reading chapter 4, it is completely different from chapter 3.