Documenting the results of years of PhD research into a single thesis can be a challenge for most PhD students. As a PhD research student, you want to quickly prepare and submit your thesis at the earliest.
This article focusses on 25 proven tips that you can use to complete your thesis at the earliest:
- Get the exact requirements of your thesis from your supervisor. You don’t want to exceed the word or page count, and then spend time editing the content.
- Prepare an outline or structure for your thesis.
- Do not delay the start of your thesis writing. Delay in thesis writing can increase your stress.
- Work on your thesis each day. Keep adding content to your thesis. On days when you don’t feel like writing, spend time on reading research material and jotting down useful notes.
- Focus on the content of your thesis and do not bother much about spellings and sentence construction in your first draft.
- Rework is an integral part of your thesis writing, so do not spend time trying to avoid it.
- You do not need to complete the chapter introduction first before moving to the body.
- Work on the easier sections of your thesis first.
- You do not need to complete a particular section before moving on to the next. Switch between sections to avoid getting stuck at any point.
- Develop a weekly plan for your thesis and break it down to manageable daily activities.
- Plan more time for the difficult part of your thesis than the easier parts.
- Even when writing on your thesis, ensure that you keep reading research material for fresh ideas and concepts.
- In addition to your thesis writing, you also need to prepare for your viva or thesis defense.
- Write the introduction section of your thesis last in order to include all your ideas.
- Do not neglect your sleep and physical well-being during thesis writing.
- Don’t spend more than a couple of hours each day on your thesis.
- Discuss your research ideas with your peers and friends.
- Maintain a checklist of important tasks and tick them off when completed.
- Remember that your Phd thesis must be rich in content, not in page count.
- Don’t treat your PhD thesis as your most important submission.
- Use a notepad or journal to jot down your research ideas.
- Maintain good relations with your supervisor.
- Remember it is your research project, so take ownership of your thesis.
- Develop your own style of writing.
- Focus more on completion than on perfection.
