Preparing Your Thesis
For further detail and information on this topic, current students and staff may use the >> Handbook <<Link opens in a new window
This section provides some information on the PhD thesis. It focuses on the process of writing it. The Doctoral College provides further information, also more generally on the submission and examination processLink opens in a new window and has a page with FAQsLink opens in a new window.
As with many other aspects of your PhD project, your supervisor should be the main source of advice given their knowledge of your work and the subject area.
Find out more about:
- When to start
- Before writing
- During writing
- Academic integrity
- Thesis length
- Thesis style
- After writing
- Writing support
- Final deposit
When to Start
The time required to write a thesis is often under-estimated. Those who have less experience of writing mathematical material will invariably take longer than those with more experience, or those who have a natural talent for writing. Starting to write your thesis at a sufficiently early stage is therefore essential if you are going to complete the thesis in the required timescale as it will also help you to plan ahead. You do not need to have completed all the research for your thesis before you start writing it! The advice below on preparation also applies to parts of a thesis.
Before Writing
Adequate preparation before beginning to write can help greatly to obtain a logically arranged, readable thesis and to shorten both the thesis and the writing time. First, analyse the problem by answering the following questions.
- What information do I want to present?
- What background can I assume?
- What is the most sensible sequence in which to present the information?
Make a detailed outline. Identify as many subdivisions as possible. It is easier to combine subheadings, or eliminate them, than to insert new ones later. Plan tables and figures and avoid duplication of results unless there is specific justification. Consign material that would disturb the smooth flow of an argument to an appendix.
During Writing
Avoid vague and inexact terms: for instance, y increases as x increases is preferable (if appropriate) to y changes with x. Define all non-standard terms, symbols and abbreviations where first used, and stick to them. Try to develop your arguments in a logical manner, this may be quite different from the chronological order in which you performed the research.
Avoid long, meandering sentences. Good punctuation is an aid to clarity; if someone familiar with the subject has to re-read a sentence to understand it, the sentence probably needs more punctuation, or reconstruction. Go through paragraphs when you have written them, trying to put yourself in the place of the reader rather than the writer.
Scientific writing is not exempt from the rules of good grammar, spelling and punctuation. Keep a dictionary handy and use a good spell checker, but don't rely on it!
If you struggle with expressing yourself in an appealing way you can resort to AI tools. However, you need to declare what you have used for what purposes. Please consult this guidance on the implications of Artificial Intelligence on Academic Integrity.
Academic Integrity
Any material copied word for word must be indicated as appropriate, and the original source fully referenced. This principle applies to diagrams as well as text. Students are reminded that plagiarism - reproducing another person’s work as your own - is considered an academic misconduct and has serious consequences. There are other types of academic misconduct. Academic integrity is covered in University Regulation 11. For further information and support your attention is drawn to the Academic Integrity FrameworkLink opens in a new window.
Thesis Length
The thesis should be no longer than necessary to provide a succinct introduction to your research topic, to present your findings and to discuss what conclusions can be drawn from them in the context of the current knowledge of the field. These conclusions should be backed up with adequate references from the published literature. Examiners are just as critical of thesis that are too long as those that are too short. Quality is more important than quantity.
The University Regulations state that a PhD thesis shall not exceed 80,000 words excluding appendices, footnotes, tables and bibliography. This is only an upper limit and you should not feel that your thesis should be as long as this maximum. To give a rough idea, 500 words single spaces make up a typical A4 page.
Thesis Style
The general style of presentation should conform to that required for scientific papers in reputable journals. The thesis will be longer than typical research papers. It will therefore require a list of contents. Number all pages including diagrams, illustrations and tables. References should be placed at the end. LaTeX should be used to produce the thesis. More detail on the presentation of the thesis is in the Guide to examinations for higher degrees by research, section 2.
After writing
When you have completed a first draft (of a chapter, for example) put it aside for a while. Then, coming to it afresh, read it carefully again, making sure that notation and symbols are uniform throughout and consistent with what you have used in other chapters. Look out for obscurities, duplication, or omissions.
Proof read the document for typographical errors and accidental omissions. This requires the utmost care if the thesis is not to be spoiled by residual minor errors. Allow yourself enough time for this essential final stage; it cannot be hurried. You can expect your supervisor to read and comment on your first or second drafts in general terms, but not rewrite it for you.
Remember, it is YOUR thesis.
Writing Support
The Centre for Lifelong Learning and the Graduate School also run a series of one day courses (Research Student Skills Programme) over the year designed specifically for PhD students. They cover various subjects ranging from how to get started in research to writing up a thesis and preparing for a viva. They are free to attend.
Final deposit
After the examination process including the viva and (usually) some corrections, the final version of your thesis is deposited and made available by the library via the Warwick Research Archive Portal (WRAP). So there you can find the great achievements of previous PhD students.