Theses

Researching and writing a PhD thesis is probably the most extensive and in-depth piece of academic work you will have attempted. It is an exciting opportunity to research a topic that you have chosen and believe to be worth investigating. At the end of your research, you will be the expert in your specialism.

However, working on a thesis can seem a daunting prospect - three years or more of work, often on your own and without any imposed structure to your time, and the prospect of writing perhaps 90,000 words at the end.

This is your project, and you will be expected to make your own decisions (with advice from your supervisor) or how to proceed. However, if you would like to discuss your ideas with someone else, or have any concerns about the process or your study practices generally, come and talk to a Study Adviser. We usually arrange longer appointments for PhD students (up to an hour) so do mention this when you make the appointment.

This guide has some suggestions to help you with writing your thesis. They are divided into different stages:

Getting started

Midway through

Getting it finished

Getting started

Start writing now! – It is never too early. Your thinking only develops if you write your ideas down and see how they fit together. It is far easier to refine your ideas when you have something on paper, and what you write now will evolve into your chapters later. Start by writing a section or paragraph that interests you and build from there. At this stage it doesn't matter how formal or well written it is, as you will come back and revise it later.

Skim read other theses – They give you an idea of the structure, layout, and appropriate academic writing style expected. Past theses are usually kept in your university library.

Use headings to organise your reading – If you are in the middle of your background reading and can't see how you can organise your literature review, start by trying to group the articles and books you have read under relevant headings. These headings are usually sub-sections of your topic or sub-questions that you are investigating. Have one sheet of paper per heading to brainstorm your thoughts.

For more on writing a literature review, see Royal Literary Fund guide to writing a literature review.

Have a chapter-by-chapter filing system – Your chapters will be the main units of your thesis, so it helps to organise all your information chapter-by-chapter. A box file is great for keeping together all the articles, notes, and drafts relevant to that chapter. You can also use colour coding to help distinguish information relevant to each chapter when taking notes or reading.

In the middle of your thesis

Keep an up-to-date contents list – Your contents list acts like an overview or plan of your thesis, so it is good to keep it in sight or pinned up on your wall. Start drafting out an outline of your thesis contents early on, and keep altering it as you refine your ideas.

Manage your back ups and bibliography – Avoid every PhD student's nightmare of losing your thesis by keeping multiple back ups in different places (on your computer, a memory stick, and a print out). Have a clear way of distinguishing between different drafts, like putting the date in the file name and footer. Also keep your bibliography up to date. Software like EndNote or Zotero can help you manage your references.

Write first for overall structure, edit later – First write to get all your ideas and supporting evidence organised and the overall structure of your chapters in place. Your drafts help you lay the foundations and framework of your thesis. You can always come back and fill in gaps and add details later. Leave the finicky editing of sentences and choice of exact words to the final draft.

Write at the appropriate level for your audience – As a PhD student, you are a member of your research community, and your writing should be aimed at your audience of fellow academics working in your field. Your thesis should be of a high standard of formal academic writing. When reading journal articles, pay attention to the style of writing as well as the content, and use opportunities at conferences to get to know the level of detail and knowledge your audience expects.

Think about how to link chapters – Although your chapters are units of your thesis, they all have to contribute to your overall message. The paragraphs at the beginnings and endings of your chapters are important as they hold it together. Think about whether you need to refer back to previous chapters, important background literature, themes raised in your introduction? It is likely that your chapters will contain cross-references to other parts of your thesis in order to keep bringing up the main themes or messages of your argument. Think about the kinds of signposting and recaps of information that your audience will need.

Getting it finished

Factor in time for revisions – A common pattern is: You finish a draft chapter and give it to your supervisor; they return it with feedback and you make those changes; then you move on to the next chapter. This doesn't mean that your chapter is now complete – you will have to revise it a few times once you have finished all your chapters. Over the course of writing up, your ideas will change and the overall message of your thesis will shift. Build enough time in your plan for revising your chapters as a whole and making changes so they fit together – this can take longer than you think.

Edit meticulously - Examiners expect a high quality of work in a thesis. Spend time checking thoroughly. Pay particular attention to the abstract, contents pages, diagrams, and beginnings and ends of chapters, as examiners often look at these first. Making a good first impression counts.

Discovering information too late – No thesis is perfect or totally up-to-date. If you find relevant new research late on in your writing process, consult with your supervisor. It may be you only need to add a paragraph in your introduction or literature review to acknowledge it. If it is too late for this, don't worry. Make sure you are familiar with the new research and how it fits with your thesis, so you can defend any questions about it in your viva.

It just has to be good enough! By the time you come to the end of your PhD you should have learned to evaluate your own work and be able to judge when it is good enough to stop. However it can be difficult to have the confidence to stop, so your supervisor may be able to give you guidance. Look back over your plan and research questions – if you have addressed all of them, that is good enough. As your thesis comes to an end, set yourself increasingly tight deadlines to help keep up your momentum and to prevent you from over-editing and tweaking.