Te Kete Wānaka
Learning, Teaching and Library
Writing a thesis/dissertation
Writing a thesis or dissertation is a lengthy undertaking. You will spend hours drafting, rewriting and polishing. We have gathered several resources here to help you complete some of those tasks.
As you write, keep in mind you are writing for a reader with certain expectations. Knowing what the examiner expects, before you start writing, will help you decide what and how to write.
It's very important to talk to your supervisor early on about their expectations, and their perceptions of what examiners expect.
You can also read some of the recent research on what examiners are looking for. For example, Golding (2017) provides a useful summary of examiners’ expectations.
We have detailed advice for how to approach the writing of your research proposal, writing a literature review and the structure for your thesis or dissertation.
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Writing a research proposal
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Writing a literature review
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Thesis and dissertation structure
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A significant proportion of your research degree time will be spent writing. So, focusing on developing your writing skills will be time well spent.
To write a great thesis/dissertation, you will need skills in creating different kinds of texts, such as thesis/dissertation chapters, proposals, journal articles.
You will also need to be confident in using a range of academic writing skills, such as:
- synthesising literature
- creating a clear argument
- writing coherently
- developing a strong writing voice
- constructing strong sentences
- writing clearly and concisely
- using grammar and punctuation accurately
- writing productively
To help develop these skills, make the most of the workshops and appointments available.
We also have some tips and advice to strengthen your writing skills.
You can find general revising and editing tips here.
Thesis copy editing
Writing a thesis requires a high level of expertise in academic writing and English language. As the author, you are responsible for writing your thesis, but you can expect assistance and advice from a variety of sources:
- Your supervisor will provide critical comment and guidance throughout the process. This guidance, particularly at the first draft stage, is likely to include detailed advice on aspects such as overall organisation and the development of argument.
- Learning Advisors offer workshops, individual consultations and resources that will help you to develop writing and research management skills.
In some circumstances, you may use a professional copy editor. For a list of editors approved for copy-editing theses and dissertations for Lincoln University students, go to Akoraka | Learn or ask a Learning Advisor.
Copyright
It’s important to begin thinking about copyright during the writing process as it can take some time to secure approval to re-use material. For you own sanity, please don’t leave it until the last minute.
Formatting and style
You can find advice about formatting and style in the Thesis & Dissertation Style Guide.
Formatting templates
There are three templates that provide built-in formatting for text and heading styles, margin settings, section breaks and page numbering, along with place-holders for automatically generated table of contents, lists of figures, tables and plates, etc. for a Lincoln University thesis or dissertation.
If you plan to write your thesis as separate chapters, we recommend that you download a separate copy of the template for each chapter. This helps keep formatting consistent when you merge the separate chapters together.
Templates
Workshops and resources: Every semester we offer a range of introductory workshops on planning a thesis or dissertation, managing the research, and writing a thesis. We also offer more in depth sessions for those who have begun drafting their thesis, including writing workshops and writing retreats.
Individual appointments: Learning Advisors can give you feedback on drafts and show you how to improve your writing. We can also advise you on other aspects of the thesis process. You can make an appointment with a Learning Advisor at any stage of the research and writing process, but you will gain the most benefit by starting meetings early in your journey. However, if you have nearly finished your final draft, it’s still not too late for us to help; we can identify areas for improvement, show you how to make those improvements and teach you proofreading and editing techniques.
Get Individual Advice
Talk to a learning advisor or attend one of our workshops for help with your study.
