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July 2022
Thesis Structure
Academic Writing

Thesis Structure

S. Hassan Adelyar, Ph.D

Instructor of Computer Science Faculty
Kabul University

Sep. 2022
 2 Academic Writing
July 2022
Thesis Structure

 Academic writing has a long tradition & since

the first half of the 20th century, the IMRAD
(Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion)
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structure has become the dominant structure

for academic reports.
 The four elements are the main ingredients for
a scientific report & are preceded by an
abstract and followed by conclusions.
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July 2022
Thesis Structure

 The reason for its wide use and acceptance is

that the IMRAD method provides a clear &
logical structure that helps the reader to
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browse through articles & find relevant

information.
 Furthermore, papers & reports written
according to the IMRAD method contain all
required information to evaluate the quality
of the research without unnecessary details.
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Title July 2022
Thesis Structure

 Reflects the content of the report

 Informative and short (approximately 15
words at maximum).
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Abstract
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Thesis Structure
 In a research paper, a more concise abstract is
provided at beginning of your paper before the
introduction section.
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 An abstracts contains the same ingredients as

a summary, but is more concise.
 What, Why, How, What
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Key Words
July 2022
Thesis Structure
 For both research reports and papers, include a
list of at least 5 key words that are related to
your study.
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 These key words should be mentioned at the

end of the abstract.
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Introduction July 2022
Thesis Structure
 You indicate what has been studied, why it has
been studied, &, in general terms, how it has
been studied. This section contains:
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 The context, background, importance &

problem statement;
 Research question, aim of the study, or

hypothesis;
 An outline of the approach taken.
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July 2022
Thesis Structure
 Indicating a problem, argument or a
knowledge gap in the field of study.
 Establishing the desirability of the research.
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 Listing the research questions or hypotheses

 Giving a brief outline of the relevant
literature.
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Methodology July 2022
Thesis Structure
 How the study was conducted
 It describes the procedures that you have taken.
 Which materials you used to find an answer to
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your research question.

 Contains all necessary information to repeat
the study.
 You show that the data were collected in a
consistent, accurate, and accountable manner.
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Results July 2022
Thesis Structure
 Describe the main outcomes of your study
obtained according to the methods section in a
neutral.
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 Limit yourself to only those results that are

relevant to answer your research question.
 It is recommended to structure the description
of the results, for example to describe the
primary features first, and then the secondary
and tertiary features.
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11 Discussion
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Thesis Structure
 Your interpretations to the work.
 Self-Criticism
 Criticize the experiment
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 Whether your design was good enough. If

not, suggest any modifications &

improvements that could be made to the
design.
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p
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Thesis Structure
 Put your findings into the context of the
previous research.
 Do your results agree or disagree with
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previous research?
 Do the results of the previous research help
you to interpret your own findings?
 If your results are very different, why?
 Either you have uncovered something new?
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p
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Thesis Structure
 Finally, after saying all of this, you can make a
statement about whether the experiment has
contributed to knowledge in the field, or not.
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 Explaining the meaning of the results to the

reader is the purpose of the discussion section.
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14 Elements to Include in the Discussion
July 2022
Thesis Structure
 State the study’s major findings
 Explain the meaning and importance of the
findings
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 Relate the findings to those of similar studies

 Consider alternative explanations of the
findings
 Acknowledge the study’s limitations
 Acknowledge the study’s limitations
 Make suggestions for further research
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Conclusions July 2022
Thesis Structure
 Summarize the main findings and provide
answers to your research question.
 The conclusions should logically follow from
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your results and discussion.

 Do not present new facts or results that have
not been discussed in a previous section.
 Draw wider conclusions regarding the
implications for new questions that arose from
your study.
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July 2022
Thesis Structure

 In the conclusions section you summarize the

main findings and provide answers to your
research question.
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 The conclusions should logically follow from

your results and discussion.
 Do not present new facts or results that have
not been discussed in a previous section.
 Finally, draw wider conclusions regarding the
implications for new questions that arose from
your study.
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Summary July 2022
Thesis Structure
 A summary of about 1 page is provided at
the end of your thesis.
 The summary briefly summarizes the
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context, research aim or question,

research approach (methods and
materials), and main findings and
conclusions (in this particular order).
 It should inform the reader about the

highlights of your work.

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July 2022
Thesis Structure

 A summary is a short and concise

statement - written in your own words -
of the main points, ideas, concepts, facts
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or statements of another text.

 A summary contains the general idea or

main points rather than a lot of details.

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References July 2022
Thesis Structure

 At the end of the report or paper (after

the conclusions section or chapter), you
include a reference list, in which you list
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all literature, to which you have referred

to in your main text.
 All references in the reference list should

appear in the main text.

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July 2022
Thesis Structure

 The reference list is not a chapter, so it is

not numbered.
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 Just as the summary, the reference list is

ordered in alphabetical order.

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Appendices July 2022
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 An appendix contains materials that

would obscure the structure and message
of the text if it is included in the main
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text.
 Examples include tables of all

quantitative research results, examples of

field observation forms, or computer
code.
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July 2022
Thesis Structure

 Each Appendix must be cited (referred

to) in the body of the text, for example:
‘details of the questionnaire are given in
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Appendix B [on page 23]’.

 Each Appendix must have the following

structure and formats:

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Thesis Structure

 Each must have a heading entitled

APPENDIX, which is written in capital
letters followed by a letter or number
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(e.g. APPENDIX A; APPENDIX 1).

 The heading must be placed in the

Centre of the page, and formatted in

Bold.
 Each appendix must begin on a new

page.
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July 2022
Thesis Structure

 Appendices (if used) must be listed in the

table of contents.
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 The page number(s) of any and each

appendix will follow on from the body of

the text.
 Appendices may precede or follow the

reference list.
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July 2022
Thesis Structure

 An appendix contains materials that would

obscure the structure and message of the text
if it is included in the main text.
Academic Writing

 Examples include tables of all quantitative

research results, examples of field
observation forms, or computer code.
 All appendices should be given an
appropriate title and numbered
consecutively.
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Page numbering July 2022
Thesis Structure

 Always insert page numbers in your

document.
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 For the entire document, use consecutive

page numbers in Arabic numerals at the

bottom of the page.
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Table of contents July 2022
Thesis Structure

 A table of contents comes at the beginning of

your report.
 Contains a list of all chapters and sections,
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and if applicable subsections.

 The chapter and section titles should be short
and each title should cover the contents of the
item concerned.
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July 2022
Thesis Structure

 A table of contents comes at the

beginning of your report.
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 Contains a list of all chapters & sections,

and if applicable subsections.

 The chapter & section titles should be

short & each title should cover the

contents of the item concerned.
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July 2022
Thesis Structure
 The table of contents reflects the logical
order of the chapters & section & for
each item, the table of contents refers to
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the respective page in the report where this

item starts.
 Furthermore, a complete list of figures &

tables & a list of appendices is included

with reference to the pages they appear.
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July 2022
Thesis Structure

 Both tables and figures are numbered

consecutively (do not use Roman
numerals).
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 In research reports or theses it is also

allowed to number the tables and figures

consecutively per chapter (e.g. Figure
1.1, 1.2 or Table 3.1, 3.2, .3.3, 3.4).
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Summary or Abstract July 2022
Thesis Structure
 A summary of about 1 page is provided at the
end of your thesis.
 The summary briefly summarizes the context,
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research aim or question, research approach

and main findings and conclusions (in this
particular order).
 It should inform the reader about the
highlights of your work.
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July 2022
Thesis Structure

 In a research paper, a more concise abstract

is provided at beginning of your paper before
the introduction section.
Academic Writing

 An abstracts contains the same ingredients

(and, ideally, the same information) as a
summary, but is more concise.
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Thesis Checklist
July 2022
Thesis Structure

 Clear Objective, Thesis, and Focus

 ____ Thesis is clear
____ Thesis has no errors
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 ____ Thesis has point of view

 ____ Purpose of paper is clear
 ____ Thesis answers research question
 ____ Every paragraph relates to thesis
 ____ Every paragraph supports thesis
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July 2022
Thesis Structure

 Organization/Cohesion
 ____ Clear introduction, body, conclusion
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 ____ Clear, logical order of paragraphs

 ____ Connections between paragraphs

 ____ All sentences connect to each other

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July 2022
Thesis Structure
 Introduction
 ____ Knob sentence catches attention
 ____ No too general statements
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 ____ Enough background info about topic

 ____ Section ideas explained in introduction
 ____ Thesis statement is easy to find
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July 2022
Thesis Structure
 Conclusion
 ____ Connects to last body paragraph
 ____ Summarizes thesis and main points
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 ____ No new or superfluous information

 ____ Shows importance of topic
 ____ Effective closing statement
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July 2022
Thesis Structure

 Body
 ____ Each paragraph has only one point
____ Support is explained/analyzed
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 ____ Logical, convincing points support thesis

____ Balanced source info and own ideas
 ____ Topic sentences in every paragraph
 ____ Each paragraph explains “why/how”
 ____ Topic sentences relate to thesis
 ____ Specific explanations
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July 2022
Thesis Structure

 ____ No repetition of ideas

 ____ No irrelevant ideas or information
____ Supporting points are in logical order
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____ Appropriate concluding sentences

End of Chapter 5

Any Question?