Thesis Writing Guideline

PREMIUM COLLEGE
SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES

October 2020

Addis Ababa

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 How to Write Thesis1 at Premium College

1. THESIS STRUCTURE 2. CROSSCUTTING ISSUES 3. EDITING YOUR THESIS

Title Page What We Are Looking For Copy Editing

Abstract Planning Ahead for Your Thesis Content Editing
Table of Contents Writing for an Audience Avoiding Ambiguity
List of Figures Skimming vs. Reading Final Thesis
List of Tables Order of Writing Thesis Length
Introduction Figures and Tables Writing for Audience
Literature Review Tying the Text to the Data
Methods Giving Credit
Results
Discussion
Conclusions
Recommendations
Acknowledgments
References
Appendices

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Based on Kim Kastens, Stephanie Pfirman, Martin Stute, Bill Hahn, Dallas Abbott, and Chris Scholz

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 1. THESIS STRUCTURE

Title Page
Title, author, institution, department, date of delivery, and advisor.

Abstract
• A good abstract explains in one line why the paper is important. It then goes on to give a
summary of the major results. The final sentences explain the major implications of the
work. A good abstract is concise, readable, and quantitative.
• Length should be ~ 1-2 paragraphs, approx. 300 words.
• Abstracts generally do not have citations.
• Information in title should not be repeated.
• Be explicit.
• Use numbers where appropriate.
• Answers to these questions should be found in the abstract:
1. What did you do?
2. Why did you do it? What question were you trying to answer?
3. How did you do it? State methods.
4. What did you learn? State major results.
5. Why does it matter? Point out at least one significant implication.

Table of Contents
• List all headings and subheadings with page numbers
• Indent subheadings

List of Figures
List page numbers of all figures. The list should include a short title for each figure but not the
whole caption.

List of Tables
List page numbers of all tables. The list should include a short title for each table but not the
whole caption.

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Introduction
You cannot write a good introduction until you know what the body of the paper says.
Consider writing the introductory section(s) after you have completed the rest of the paper,
rather than before. Be sure that the first statement you write are of something sufficiently
interesting to motivate your reader to read the rest of the paper, it is an important/interesting
scientific problem that your paper either solves or addresses. You should draw the reader in
and make them want to read the rest of the paper.

The next paragraphs in the introduction should cite previous research in this area. It should
cite those who had the idea or ideas first and should also cite those who have done the most
recent and relevant work. You should then go on to explain why more work was necessary
(your work, of course).

What else belongs in the introductory section(s) of your paper?

1. A statement of the goal of the paper: why the study was undertaken, or why the paper
was written. Do not repeat the abstract.
2. Sufficient background information to allow the reader to understand the context and
significance of the question you are trying to address.
3. Proper acknowledgement of the previous work on which you are building. Sufficient
references such that a reader could, by going to the library, achieve a sophisticated
understanding of the context and significance of the question.
4. The introduction should be focused on the thesis question(s). All cited work should be
directly relevant to the goals of the thesis. This is not a place to summarize everything
you have ever read on a subject.
5. Explain the scope of your work, what will and will not be included.
6. A verbal "road map" or verbal "table of contents" guiding the reader to what lies
ahead.
7. Is it obvious where introductory material ("old stuff") ends, and your contribution
("new stuff") begins?

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Remember that this is not a review paper. We are looking for original work and
interpretation/analysis by you. You can break up the introduction section into logical
segments by using subheads.

Literature Review
The literature review is not just a series of book and journal article reviews describing and
summarizing what each is about. Rather, you will need to assess what is significant to your
research and, on this basis, decide whether or not to include it.

It should include:
• A constructively critical analysis that develops a clear argument about what the published
literature indicates is known and not known about your research question.
• A justification why the topic needs to be researched further.
• A reasonably detailed, constructively critical analysis of the key literature that relates to
your research question.
• Both theoretical research and empirical research that supports and opposes your ideas.

Methods
What belongs in the "methods" section of a scientific paper?
1. Information to allow the reader to assess the believability of your results.
2. Information needed by another researcher to replicate your experiment.
3. Description of your materials, procedure, theory.
4. Calculations, technique, procedure, equipment, and calibration plots.
5. Limitations, assumptions, and range of validity.
6. Description of your analytical methods, including reference to any specialized statistical
software.

The methods section should answer the following questions and caveats:
1. Could one accurately replicate the study (for example, all the optional and adjustable
parameters on any sensors or instruments that were used to acquire the data)?
2. Could another researcher accurately find and reoccupy the sampling stations or track
lines?

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3. Is there enough information provided about any instruments used so that a functionally
equivalent instrument could be used to repeat the experiment?
4. If the data are in the public domain, could another researcher lay his or her hands on the
identical data set?
5. Could one replicate any laboratory analyses that were used?
6. Could one replicate any statistical analyses?
7. Could another researcher approximately replicate the key algorithms of any computer
software?

Citations in this section should be limited to data sources and references of where to find
more complete descriptions of procedures. Do not include descriptions of results.

Results
• The results are actual statements of observations, including statistics, tables, and graphs.
• Indicate information on range of variation.
• Mention negative results as well as positive. Do not interpret results - save that for the
discussion.
• Lay out the case as for a jury. Present sufficient details so that others can draw their own
inferences and construct their own explanations.
• Break up your results into logical segments by using subheadings
• Key results should be stated in clear sentences at the beginning of paragraphs. Describe
the nature of the findings; do not just tell the reader whether or not they are significant.

Note: Results vs. Discussion Sections

Quarantine your observations from your interpretations. The writer must make it crystal clear
to the reader which statements are observation, and which are interpretation. In most
circumstances, this is best accomplished by physically separating statements about new
observations from statements about the meaning or significance of those observations.

How do you do this?

1. Physical separation into different sections or paragraphs.
2. Do not overlay interpretation on top of data in figures.

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3. Careful use of phrases such as "We infer that ".
4. Do not worry if "results" seem short.

Why?
1. Easier for your reader to absorb, frequent shifts of mental mode not required.
2. Ensures that your work will endure in spite of shifting paradigms.

Discussion
Start with a few sentences that summarize the most important results. The discussion section
should be a brief essay in itself, answering the following questions and caveats:

1. What are the major patterns in the observations? (Refer to spatial and temporal
variations.)
2. What are the relationships, trends, and generalizations among the results?
3. What are the exceptions to these patterns or generalizations?
4. What are the likely causes (mechanisms) underlying these patterns resulting predictions?
5. Is there agreement or disagreement with previous work?
6. Interpret results in terms of background laid out in the introduction - what is the
relationship of the present results to the original question?
7. What is the implication of the present results for other unanswered questions in earth
sciences, ecology, environmental policy, etc....?
8. Multiple hypotheses: There are usually several possible explanations for results. Be
careful to consider all of these rather than simply pushing your favorite one. If you can
eliminate all but one, that is great, but often that is not possible with the data in hand. In
that case you should give even treatment to the remaining possibilities and try to indicate
ways in which future work may lead to their discrimination.
9. Avoid bandwagons: A special case of the above. Avoid jumping a currently fashionable
point of view unless your results really do strongly support them.
10. What are the things we now know or understand that we did not know or understand
before the present work?
11. Include the evidence or line of reasoning supporting each interpretation.
12. What is the significance of the present results: why should we care?

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This section should be rich in references to similar work and background needed to interpret
results. However, interpretation/discussion section(s) are often too long and verbose. Is there
material that does not contribute to one of the elements listed above? If so, this may be
material that you will want to consider deleting or moving. Break up the section into logical
segments by using subheads.

Conclusions
• What is the strongest and most important statement that you can make from your
observations?
• If you met the reader at a meeting six months from now, what do you want them to
remember about your paper?
• Refer back to problem posed and describe the conclusions that you reached from carrying
out this investigation, summarize new observations, new interpretations, and new insights
that have resulted from the present work.
• Include the broader implications of your results.
• Do not repeat word for word the abstract, introduction, or discussion.

Recommendations
• Remedial action to solve the problem.
• Further research to fill in gaps in our understanding.
• Directions for future investigations on this or related topics.

Acknowledgments
Advisor(s) and anyone who helped you:
1. technically (including materials, supplies)
2. intellectually (assistance, advice)
3. financially (for example, departmental support, travel grants)

References
• cite all ideas, concepts, text, data that are not your own
• if you make a statement, back it up with your own data or a reference
• all references cited in the text must be listed

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• cite single-author references by the surname of the author (followed by date of the
publication in parenthesis)
o ... according to Hays (1994)
o ... population growth is one of the greatest environmental concerns facing future
generations (Hays, 1994).
• cite double-author references by the surnames of both authors (followed by date of the
publication in parenthesis)
o e.g. Simpson and Hays (1994)
• cite more than double-author references by the surname of the first author followed by et
al. and then the date of the publication
o e.g. Pfirman, Simpson and Hays would be:
o Pfirman et al. (1994)
• do not use footnotes
• list all references cited in the text in alphabetical order using the following format for
different types of material

Appendices
• Include all your data in the appendix.
• Reference data/materials not easily available (theses are used as a resource by the
department and other students).
• Tables (where more than 1-2 pages).
• Calculations (where more than 1-2 pages).
• You may include a key article as appendix.
• If you consulted a large number of references but did not cite all of them, you might want
to include a list of additional resource material, etc.
• List of equipment used for an experiment or details of complicated procedures.
Note: Figures and tables, including captions, should be embedded in the text and not in an
appendix, unless they are more than 1-2 pages and are not critical to your argument.

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 2. CROSSCUTTING ISSUES

What Are We Looking For?

We are looking for a critical analysis. We want you to answer a scientific question or
hypothesis. We would like you to gather evidence -- from various sources -- to allow you to
make interpretations and judgments. Your approach/methods should be carefully designed to
come to closure. Your results should be clearly defined and discussed in the context of your
topic. Relevant literature should be cited. You should place your analysis in a broader context,
and highlight the implications (regional, global, etc.) of your work. We are looking for a well-
reasoned line of argument, from your initial question, compilation of relevant evidence,
setting data in a general/universal context, and finally making a judgment based on your
analysis. Your thesis should be clearly written and, in the format, described below.

Planning Ahead for Your Thesis

If possible, start your thesis research starting from the beginning of your second year - or even
earlier - then work on filling in background material during the first so that you're prepared to
write and present your research during the second semester. The best strategy is to pick a
project that you are interested in, but also that a faculty member or other professional is
working on. This person will become your research mentor, and this gives you someone to
talk with and get background material from. If you are unsure about the selection of a project,
let us know and we will try to connect you with someone.

Writing for an Audience

Who is your audience?
1. Researchers working in analogous field areas elsewhere in the world.
2. Researchers working in your field area, but with different techniques.
3. All other researchers using the same technique you have used.
4. If your study encompasses an active process, researchers working on the same process in
the ancient record.

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5. Conversely, if your study is based on the rock record, people studying modem analogs.
6. People writing a synthesis paper on important new developments in your field.
7. Potential reviewers of your manuscript or your thesis committee.

Skimming vs. Reading

Because of the literature explosion, papers more skimmed than read. Skimming involves
reading the abstract and looking at the figures and figure captions. Therefore, you should
construct your paper so that it can be understood by skimming, i.e., the conclusions, as written
in your abstract, can be understood by study of the figures and captions. The text fills out the
details for the more interested reader.

Order of Writing
Your thesis is not written in the same order as it is presented in. The following gives you one
idea how to proceed.

1. first organize your paper as a logical argument before you begin writing
2. make your figures to illustrate your argument (think skimming)
3. the main sections are: background to the argument (intro); describing the information to
be used in the argument, and making points about them (observations), connecting the
points regarding the info (analysis), summing up (conclusions).
4. outline the main elements: sections, and subsections
5. begin writing, choosing options in the following hierarchy - paragraphs, sentences, and
words.

Here is another approach.

1. Write up a preliminary version of the background section first. This will serve as the basis
for the introduction in your final paper.
2. As you collect data, write up the methods section. It is much easier to do this right after
you have collected the data. Be sure to include a description of the research equipment
and relevant calibration plots.
3. When you have some data, start making plots and tables of the data. These will help you
to visualize the data and to see gaps in your data collection. If time permits, you should go

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 back and fill in the gaps. You are finished when you have a set of plots that show a
definite trend (or lack of a trend). Be sure to make adequate statistical tests of your
results.
4. Once you have a complete set of plots and statistical tests, arrange the plots and tables in a
logical order. Write figure captions for the plots and tables. As much as possible, the
captions should stand alone in explaining the plots and tables. Many scientists read only
the abstract, figures, figure captions, tables, table captions, and conclusions of a paper. Be
sure that your figures, tables, and captions are well labeled and well documented.
5. Once your plots and tables are complete, write the results section. Writing this section
requires extreme discipline. You must describe your results, but you must NOT interpret
them. (If good ideas occur to you at this time, save them at the bottom of the page for the
discussion section.) Be factual and orderly in this section but try not to be too dry.
6. Once you have written the results section, you can move on to the discussion section. This
is usually fun to write, because now you can talk about your ideas about the data. If you
can come up with a good cartoon/schematic showing your ideas, do so. Many papers are
cited in the literature because they have a good cartoon that subsequent authors would like
to use or modify.
7. In writing the discussion session, be sure to adequately discuss the work of other authors
who collected data on the same or related scientific questions. Be sure to discuss how their
work is relevant to your work. If there were flaws in their methodology, this is the place to
discuss it.
8. After you have discussed the data, you can write the conclusions section. In this section,
you take the ideas that were mentioned in the discussion section and try to come to some
closure. If some hypothesis can be ruled out because of your work, say so. If more work is
needed for a definitive answer, say that.
9. The final section in the paper is a recommendation section. This is really the end of the
conclusion section in a scientific paper. Make recommendations for further research or
policy actions in this section. If you can make predictions about what will be found if X is
true, then do so. You will get credit from later researchers for this.
10. After you have finished the recommendation section, look back at your original
introduction. Your introduction should set the stage for the conclusions of the paper by

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 laying out the ideas that you will test in the paper. Now that you know where the paper is
leading, you will probably need to rewrite the introduction.
11. You must write your abstract last.

Figures and Tables

• The actual figures and tables should be embedded/inserted in the text, generally on the
page following the page where the figure/table is first cited in the text.
• All figures and tables should be numbered and cited consecutively in the text.
• Include a caption for each figure and table, citing how it was constructed (reference
citations, data sources, etc.) and highlighting the key findings (think skimming). Include
an index figure (map) showing and naming all locations discussed in paper.
• You are encouraged to make your own figures, including cartoons, schematics or sketches
that illustrate the processes that you discuss. Examine your figures with these questions in
mind:
1. Is the figure self-explanatory?
2. Are your axes labeled and are the units indicated?
3. Show the uncertainty in your data with error bars.
4. If the data are fit by a curve, indicate the goodness of fit.
5. Could chart junk be eliminated?
6. Could non-data ink be eliminated?
7. Could redundant data ink be eliminated?
8. Could data density be increased by eliminating non-data bearing space?
9. Is this a sparse data set that could better be expressed as a table?
10. Does the figure distort the data in any way?
11. Are the data presented in context?
12. Does the figure caption guide the reader's eye to the "take-home lesson" of the figure?

Figures should be oriented vertically, in portrait mode, wherever possible. If you must
orient them horizontally, in landscape mode, orient them so that you can read them from
the right, not from the left, where the binding will be.

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Tying the Text to the Data
"Show them, don't just tell them…" Ideally, every result claimed in the text should be
documented with data, usually data presented in tables or figures. If there are no data provided
to support a given statement of result or observation, consider adding more data, or deleting
the unsupported "observation." Examine figure(s) or table(s) pertaining to the result(s).

Assess whether:
1. the data support the textual statement;
2. the data contradict the textual statement;
3. the data are insufficient to prove or refute the textual statement; and
4. the data may support the textual statement but are not presented in such a way that you
can be sure you are seeing the same phenomenon in the data that the author claims to have
seen.

Giving Credit
How does one fairly and accurately indicate who has made what contributions towards the
results and interpretations presented in your paper: by referencing, authorship, and
acknowledgements?

Different types of errors:

1. direct quotes or illustrations without quotation marks, without attribution;
2. direct quotes without quotation marks, with attribution;
3. concepts/ideas without attribution;
4. concepts/ideas with sloppy attribution; and
5. omitting or fabricating data or results.

Check references carefully and reread reference works prior to publication.

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 3. EDITING YOUR THESIS

Even a rough draft should be edited.

Copy Editing
1. Proofread your thesis a few times;
2. Check your spelling: spellcheckers are useful for initial checking, but don't catch
homonyms (e.g., hear, here), so you need to do the final check by eye;
3. Make sure that you use complete sentences;
4. Check your grammar: punctuation, sentence structure, subject-verb agreement (plural or
singular), tense consistency, etc.; and
5. Give it to others to read and comment.

Content Editing
1. logic
2. repetition, relevance
3. style

Avoiding Ambiguity
1. Do not allow run-on sentences to sneak into your writing; try semicolons.
2. Avoid nested clauses/phrases.
3. Avoid clauses or phrases with more than two ideas in them.
4. Do not use double negatives.
5. Do not use dangling participles (i.e. phrases with an "-ing" verb, in sentences where the
agent performing the action of the "-ing" verb is not specified: “After standing in boiling
water for two hours, examine the flask.").
6. Make sure that the antecedent for every pronoun (it, these, those, that, this, one) is crystal
clear. If in doubt, use the noun rather than the pronoun, even if the resulting sentence
seems a little bit redundant.
7. Ensure that subject and verb agree in number (singular versus plural).
8. Be especially careful with compound subjects. Be especially careful with subject/verb
agreement within clauses.

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9. Avoid qualitative adjectives when describing concepts that are quantifiable ("The water is
deep." "Plate convergence is fast." "Our algorithm is better.") Instead, quantify. ("Water
depths exceed 5 km.")
10. Avoid noun strings ("acoustic noise source location technique").
11. Do not use unexplained acronyms. Spell out all acronyms the first time that you use them.

Final Thesis
• Make 3 final copies: 1 to advisor and 2 to department, so that we can have 2 readers.
• Final thesis should be bound.
• Printed cleanly on white paper.
• Margins of 1.2 inches on the left (for binding) and 1.0 inch each on the right, top and
bottom of the page.
• A font of 12 points (Times New Roman), upper-case letters and centered for chapter titles.
• Chapter headings of the text are numbered with Arabic numerals starting from 1 for the
“Introduction” and ending with the “Appendices”.
• Each of the components of the preliminaries, each of the Chapters start on a new page.
• The second and third order titles (sub-headings) of the text are numbered consecutively
with fractions of the Arabic numeral of their respective chapters (e.g., 1.1., 1.2., etc. or
1.1.1., 1.2.1., etc.) and are written in bold title case letters (that is, only the first letter of all
major words of the heading written in upper case letters), flushed to left and should not
run with text.
• No titles or headings of any division and headings (captions) of either Tables or Figures
are under-lined, punctuated or italicized
• All the text, sub-headings, sub-division headings and the captions of tables and figures are
in 12 points of “Times New Roman” font.
• The spacing between the lines in text is 1.5 and between two paragraphs is always a two-
line space
• Include page numbers.

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Thesis Length
Write for brevity rather than length. The goal is the shortest possible paper that contains all
information necessary to describe the work and support the interpretation. Avoid unnecessary
repetition and irrelevant tangents. Necessary repetition: the main theme should be developed
in the introduction as a motivation or working hypothesis. It is then developed in the main
body of the paper, and mentioned again in the discussion section (and, of course, in the
abstract and conclusions).

Some suggestions on how to shorten your paper:

1. Use tables for repetitive information;
2. Include only sufficient background material to permit the reader to understand your story,
not every paper ever written on the subject;
3. Use figure captions effectively;
4. Do not describe the contents of the figures and/or tables in the text item-by-item. Instead,
use the text to point out the most significant patterns, items or trends in the figures and
tables;
5. Delete "observations" or "results" that are mentioned in the text for which you have not
shown data;
6. Delete "conclusions" that are not directly supported by your observations or results;
7. Delete "interpretation" or "discussion" sections that are inconclusive;
8. Delete "interpretation" or "discussion" sections that are only peripherally related to your
new results or observations; and
9. Scrutinize adjectives! adverbs and prepositional phrases.

Although it varies considerably from project to project, average thesis length is about 30
pages of text plus figures. This total page count includes all your text as well as the list of
references, but it does not include any appendices. If you have any questions about whether
your project is of sufficient scope, consult one of us early on.

Writing for Audience

1. Put as much information as possible into figures and tables. In particular, try to find a way
to put your conclusions into a figure, perhaps a flowchart or a cartoon;
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2. Do not assume that readers are familiar with the geography or the stratigraphy of your
field area;
3. Consider including a location map, either as a separate figure or as an inset to another
figure. If your paper involves stratigraphy, consider including a summary stratigraphic
column--in effect, a location map in time;
4. Use shorter sentences. Avoid nested clauses or phrases; and
5. Avoid idioms. Favor usages that can be looked up in an ordinary dictionary. "Take the
beaker out of the oven immediately..." rather than "Take the beaker out of the oven right
away..."

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