Writing a Thesis
Zosia Chrzanowska-Lightowlers
Postgraduate Tutor - IAH
MRes – Curriculum Chair, Director for Admissions and Recruitment
Faculty of Medical Sciences
Newcastle University
6th February, 2015
Where to start ?
Find the relevant guidelines for your thesis
Examination procedures and forms
Types of thesis
• Standard
– Divided into chapters with results and interpretations
• By publication
 Only for staff candidates
• Need to make a prima facie case for the submission
 A series of ≥4 related papers in period of registration
• All authors must agree you were the major contributor
 ≥10,000 word introduction
• Potentially publishable as a review
 Can be difficult to examine as papers have already satisfied
external referees!
 Please see:
http://www.ncl.ac.uk/regulations/docs/2003/rscdoctor.html
How to start ?
• Read the information
Read the information
1 page
READ these
documents
do not ask
your
supervisor
How do I write a book ?
One journey of a thousand miles ?
How to start ?
• Read the information
• Talk to your supervisor – make a plan,
- structure your thesis
- plot completion dates
Preparation is key
• Read the information
• Talk to your supervisor – make a plan,
- structure your thesis
- plot completion dates
• Daunting prospect
• Divide your thesis into many smaller sections
• Many short journeys with each taking less time seems more
achievable !
• This requires good planning or you will produce lots of small
pieces of text that do not link together
Preparation is key
• Read the information
• Talk to your supervisor
• Graduate School – long documents course
Formatting a huge document…
Attend the courses
these can be
done on-line
(ask Richy H)
Help is at hand
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Read the information
Talk to your supervisor
Graduate School – long documents course
Writing development centre
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http://www.ncl.ac.uk/combined/current/help/writingdev.htm
one to one sessions
lectures and workshops throughout the academic year
Help is at hand
• Writing development centre
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http://www.ncl.ac.uk/combined/current/help/writingdev.htm
lectures and workshops throughout the academic year
understanding assignment and examination questions
planning, structuring and revising assignments
using reading sources without plagiarism
developing an argument
writing critically
using an appropriate authorial voice
writing different types of assignment (e.g. essays, reports, reviews,
reflective pieces)
writing theses and dissertations
answering examination questions
using grammar and punctuation accurately and effectively
using appropriate vocabulary and style
learning from feedback on previous assignments
A word of caution
• Read the information
• Talk to your supervisor
• Graduate School – long documents course
Be careful who you ask for advise
• Former students / postdocs
• Friends
• Parents
A word of caution
Plagiarism
You will submit an electronic form
of your thesis in parallel with the 2 paper copies
http://www.ncl.ac.uk/right-cite/
http://mbbs-tutorials.ncl.ac.uk/plag/
Another word of caution
Looking at other theses
• Your supervisor’s shelf
– Often groups evolve a “house style” that may not suit you
• The library
– Will have a wide range of theses similar to your field
• BE CAUTIOUS ! - it is your thesis
– No one else has your project, your intro and discussions must be
tailored to your research
– If you feel strongly about a particular format, discuss it with your
supervisor first and agree on the strategy before starting work
A example of a typical thesis layout
plans can vary by subject area
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Title page (what is your title!)
Abstract (one page; 300 words)
Table of contents
List of Figures and Tables
Abbreviations
Acknowledgements
A example of a typical thesis layout
• Introduction
• Materials + Methods
• Results chapter(s)
– Typically have one per aim
– Often have separate mini introductions and specific
discussions
• Concluding discussion chapter
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–
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Context with literature
Strengths, weaknesses,
How far through your original aims did you get ?
future work
• Bibliography
What is the point of a thesis ?
• Prove you have developed the skills to be an
independent, competent scientist
What is the point of a thesis ?
• Prove you have developed the skills of an
independent, competent scientist
• Criteria – all theses
– Authentic
– Scholarly
– Professional
– Well-structured, written and presented
MPhil candidates
• Should
– Demonstrate advanced knowledge
– Have good knowledge of literature
• Theses need not, but often do
– Contain material worthy of publication
PhD/MD candidates
• Should
– Provide evidence of adequate industry
– Demonstrate training in the scientific process
– Demonstrate ability for originality
– Understand relationship with wider field
– Thesis should contain material worthy of publication
Getting down to business
Most importantly
BEFRIEND YOUR READER
Getting down to business
First impressions are important
BEFRIEND YOUR READER
How to BEFRIEND your reader
Plan, plan, plan
• What are your chapters?
• What is the story ?
• Do you have the data ?
• Get the flow right
Plan, plan, plan
• Get your chapters in order –
3rd year report – but be flexible
• Follow the story NOT the calendar
• Make a time plan, what written by when
Table of contents
1
Introduction
1.1 History of problem
1.2 First issue
1.2.1 sub issue 1
1.2.2 sub issue 2
1.3 Second issue
1.3.1 sub issue 1
1.3.2 sub issue 2
1.3.3 sub issue 3
1.3.4 sub issue 4
1.4 Third issue
1.4.1 sub issue 1
1.4.1.a sub sub issue 1
1.4.1.b sub sub issue 2
1.4.2 sub issue 2
1.5 Fourth issue
1.6 Fifth issue
1.6.1
etc, etc…
Page
1
1
2
4
5
7
8
12
14
15
16
18
20
25
Plan, plan, plan
• Get your chapters in order
What are the easy bits ?
•Abbreviations
•Materials and methods
• product code, source, concentration
• manufacturer’s protocol ? or modified ?
Plan, plan, plan
• Get the easier sections
• Abbreviations
• Materials and methods
can you reference, did you modify ?
Plan, plan, plan
• Get the easier sections
• Abbreviations
• Materials and methods
are they accurate ?
Volumes are NOT
useful without
Stock
concentrations !
Abstract
• Concise
• Comprehensive
• Clear
• Context
Plan, plan, plan
Introduction - What are you trying to do with this ?
General area
AIMS
Language
• Accurate
• Scientifically stringent
• Grammatically correct
• Avoid colloquial phrasing
Language
• Accurate
• Scientifically stringent
• Grammatically correct
• Avoid colloquial phrasing
• “In the technical sense, it was much
easier to use cell extracts or isolated
enzymes alone with RNA templates.”
• “We chose to use…….”
• “It was significantly different……”
• “Each and every primer…..”
• “About 3ug RNA…”
Results chapters
• Introduction – more defined
• Methods – does it need a section ?
• Results – are the data good enough ?
• Discussion – conclude points from this section of work
Results chapters
• Results – are the data good enough ?
Results chapters
• Results – are the data good enough ?
- What form to present it ?
Results chapters
• Results – are the data good enough ?
- What size to present it ?
Results chapters
• Results – are the data good enough ?
- What form/size to present it ?
- Keep it near the relevant text !!!!!!!!
Results chapters
• Results – are the data good enough ?
- What form to present it ?
- Keep it near the relevant text !!!!!!!!
Results chapters
• Results – are the data good enough ?
- What form to present it ?
- Keep it near the relevant text !!!!!!!
- Make figures clear
How easy is this to understand ?
0.5 what ?
0.5 what ? And where ?
ng template
What are we to learn from this ?
ng template
What did we expect to see ?
ng template
Good figures should be a freestanding story
ng template
Title and legend
ng template
Figure 3.5. Fluorescent MPAT RNA14 products separated on a 10% denaturing gel.
Title and legend
ng template
Figure 3.5. Fluorescent MPAT RNA14 products separated on a 10% denaturing gel.
Figure 3.5. Assessing various PCR conditions for the fluorescent MPAT.
Results chapters
• Results – are the data good enough ?
- What form/size to present it ?
- Keep it near the relevant text !!!
- Have a discussion section
Final discussion chapter
Aims – how far did your work get in answering
the original questions ?
Results – bring a general overview and
connection between all the chapters
Future work – IF the project were to continue
what would be the key experiments
Finale – make a strong concluding statement
References
• The university recommends the “Harvard”
format (and supplies an appropriate Endnote
format!)
– So, in the main text use:
• (Kirby et al., 2010)
– rather than
• [278]
• Ask your supervisors for advice as Institutes
might suggest alternatives
Appendix
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Publications
In prep
Plasmid maps
Antibody tables (Company/cat. no./dilution)
Primer tables (name/seq/position/acc number)
Tips
• Make sure you cite references as you go, or
else you might forget which goes where
• Use text boxes for graphics – keep them in
place
• Appendices – use them
• Backup, Backup, Backup!
Finished ?
• Get friends and family to proofread
• If English is not your first language, it can be helpful
to employ a proof-reader
– Lists are available in the Student’s Union.
– The cost is quite reasonable
– The proof-reader will (must!) only alter English and not
the concept you are trying to express.
• Remember – your supervisor will focus mainly on
your science rather than your English.
Finished ?
CHECK
 Are your figure and tables consecutively labelled ?
 Are they referred to correctly in the text ?
 Are your subsections in the right order ?
 Are they referred to correctly ?
 Understand what you have written
 If it is in there, the examiners can ask you
 Be sure you can defend the content
Do – make your life easier
• Make sure you do enough expt repeats at the time
• Make sure they are of good enough standard
• Save high resolution JPEG/TIFFS
• Try and make them into figures as you go along for your lab book
• Keep good records, (electronic images and lab books)
• Backup your data
• Backup your writing (save by date)
Do – make your life easier
• Make a bibliography as you go
Add notes to the Endnote entries
 Good ref for assembly factors
 Contradicts Bloggs et al.
 Had primers for PCR
• The university recommends the “Harvard” format
(and supplies an appropriate Endnote format!)
Remember, in the main text use: (Kirby et al., 2010)
• Make sure you know when to use which reference
 Seminal or most recent ?
Do NOT
Write the lot before showing it to your
supervisor !!
• Repeat yourself !
• Waffle
• Keep changing tense
• Use different abbreviations or spelling options
• Use 10 µl, 10µl, 10ul
• Have section 1.2.2.3.4.5
• Have 8 panel figures
Do NOT
• Have figures you don’t refer to
• Put in data that you don’t believe
• Overextrapolate !!!!!!!!
• Say anything you cannot defend
• Use ‘significant’ if it is not statistically valid
• Put in things you don’t understand
• Tell them ‘because my supervisor said to’
• Tell them it was too hard
• Say it was too expensive
• Say I didn’t know how
Before you are Finished
• Liaise with your supervisors
– nominate examiners well in advance of submission
Before you are Finished
• Liaise with your supervisors
– nominate examiners well in advance of submission
FINAL Title – what is your title!
Abstract – 1 page, 300 words
Finished ?
• Liaise with your supervisors
– nominate examiners well in advance of submission
• Final printing takes much longer than you think !
– Colour toner?
– Enough paper?
– Correct quality paper ?
• Binding
– Soft binding first (Library)
REMEMBER
This is a report of YOUR project
Every PhD project is different
So EVERY thesis is DIFFERENT
Good Luck!
Prepare well for
your viva