how to write a thesis uq

Thesis writing tips
Information and services
Higher Degree by Research
HDR candidature support
How to write a thesis

Use these tips to help you improve your thesis writing skills for your HDR program.

Before you begin writing your thesis, make sure you've read our advice on thesis preparation for information on the requirements you'll need to meet.

Once you understand the requirements, here are some tips to help you get started:

Structure your ideas

Write as you go, be aware of examiner expectations, provide evidence for personal experience, learn from others, check for logic and clarity, ask for feedback, proofread your work.

If you're struggling with how to structure your ideas, it can help to create a concept map – this way you don't have to worry about the order of your work while you brainstorm. Once you've finished your map, you can put your ideas into a logical order.

You may also want to read our general advice on how to structure your thesis .

It takes time and effort to write a thesis, so it's best to spread your writing out over the length of your research degree, rather than trying to rush it all at the end – writing as you go gives you time to refine the structure and content.

As you start to write, you may discover gaps in your reasoning or things you need to consider further. Use this as an exercise to focus on your ideas – it's better to find problems earlier rather than later.

If you're struggling to work out what you want to say, try:

explaining yourself aloud or to a friend – this can help you discover why you're having problems
writing dot points on key ideas – this gives you something to work from
free writing – write whatever pops into your head without worrying about grammar, punctuation, complete sentences or a logical flow.

Don't worry about your writing being perfect: once you have something to work with you can identify how to improve it.

When reading your thesis, your examiners will be looking for:

a coherent, well-written argument
logical, reasonable links between theoretical perspectives
a solid understanding of the theory
original, creative and clever work
confidence in your own work.

Overall, your examiners will expect your thesis to demonstrate:

advanced knowledge of the research methods and principles relating to your discipline
work that engages with the literature and work of others
for PhD theses , a significant and original contribution to knowledge
for MPhil theses , originality in the application of knowledge.

Relevant personal experience, such as extensive experience working in a government agency or as a practitioner in a field, may help you to describe what motivated you to pursue a certain line of research.

While it's okay to refer to your personal experience, remember that statements without any supporting evidence or arguments are unacceptable – you'll need to be able to describe your experience and back up your observations with research.

Reading other theses can help you understand what you're expected to produce. You can search for UQ theses on the Library website. For prime examples, search for theses that received commendations from their examiners.

When reviewing others' theses, pay attention to:

how they introduce and link ideas
how they structure their arguments
how they indicate their level of confidence in the conclusions they draw from their evidence
what sort of questions they address in different sections.

It can be helpful to build up a collection of standard phrases for your writing, such as:

"these results suggest that"
"a second approach to addressing the problem of X is to do Y".

Ensure that there is a logical flow of ideas in your writing and that your arguments are clear.

To help you check your logic, you can:

create an outline – either when you are initially planning, or when you have started structuring your ideas
plan out your paragraphs in a logical sequence of questions that need answering
create a flow chart of your main ideas to see how they link together.

You can also ask someone to read your thesis to check for a logical flow and to make sure you are explaining your research clearly.

All writers can benefit from feedback on their writing. To get useful feedback on your thesis, ask your advisor specific questions, such as:

Do you think the structure is okay?
Are my explanations clear?
Is the argument in this section convincing enough?
Do you think I need more supporting data in this section?

Make sure you clarify any feedback you don't understand and continue to ask for feedback as you progress through your thesis.

You should always proofread your work to look for spelling and grammatical errors. Proofreading requires close, careful reading.

To help you thoroughly proofread your thesis:

work from a paper copy rather than on a screen – it's can be easier to find errors this way
read your work aloud – reading aloud helps you to focus on every word
look out for sentences that sound odd, incomplete or are awkward to say – this can help identify grammatical problems.

You should always proofread your work last, after other structural changes have been made, so you haven't wasted time proofreading sections that may be removed later.

Structuring your thesis

Learning Advisers

Our advisers can help undergraduate and postgraduate students in all programs clarify ideas from workshops, help you develop skills and give feedback on assignments.

How a Learning Adviser can help

How to format and submit a thesis
Current students
How to enrol in your thesis or final year project

Submitting a thesis in a course administered by the School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering? Follow these instructions.

Have a question? Get in touch with the student administration team [email protected] .

Unless approved otherwise by the Course Coordinator, your thesis must be typed and formatted to print on A4 paper, using a font size of 12 points for the main text. It is strongly recommended that you use a standard font: Arial, Calibri or Times New Roman.

Margins are to be: top 20mm, bottom 20mm, left-hand side 20mm, and right-hand side 20mm.

Headers and footers are to be within these margins.

Title page and submission letter

Your thesis must include the required front matter (i.e. the title page and a submission letter).

Download the relevant front matter for your thesis using one of the links below.

1. Non-confidential thesis front matter

Complete the details required (title, author etc) in the Title Page and Submission Letter.

Download non-confidential submission template (DOCX, 47.7 KB)

2. Confidential thesis front matter

If your thesis is to be confidential, complete the details required (title, author etc) in the Title Page and Submission Letter.

Please also provide, or ask your industry supervisor to provide, a copy of the confidentiality agreement (including the number of years for which the thesis is not to be made available for distribution) which you have signed.

Further instructions on preparing an agreement for confidential theses can be found on the thesis enrolment page .

Download confidential submission template (DOCX, 53.9 KB)

Thesis submission

Refer to the Electronic Course Profile for submission instructions.

Search my.UQ to find your course profile

OHS and risk management for thesis students
Past thesis

Additional resources

EAIT Project Database

Support and resources for Higher Degree by Research students

Use the Library as a HDR
ORCID IDs and scholarly identifiers
Software for research
Data management
Research integrity
Literature and systematic reviews
Artificial intelligence (AI)

Writing and formatting

Academic and scientific writing resources, proofreading and editing, ithenticate.

Scholarly publishing
Metrics, impact and engagement
Further support and training

The best way to understand the requirements for a successful thesis is to study some examples of recent theses from your discipline. Use the instructions for finding UQ theses to locate theses in the Library Search.

Workshops

Word: Creating a Structured Thesis (CAST) teaches you how to format efficiently in Microsoft Word. Find upcoming sessions on the training page .
Writing workshops and online courses offered by the Graduate school.
Student Support’s workshops on research writing, presentations and peer writing support .

Guides

Machine translation guide
Copyright and your thesis
Research and writing skills for academic and graduate researchers by RMIT University Library Publication Date: 2022 These modules are for academic and higher degree researchers who want to develop and extend the skills required in the contemporary research environment.
How writing works: A field guide to effective writing by Roslyn Petelin Publication Date: 2022 The book offers writing and editing advice as well as how to adapt to write for new media, in particular social media and online publications.
Thesis and dissertation writing in a second language: A handbook for students and their supervisors by Brian Paltridge Publication Date: 2019
Academic writing for international students of science by Jane Bottomley Publication Date: 2022
ACS guide to scholarly communication by Gregory Bank et al
How to write and publish a scientific paper by Barbara Gastel and Robert A. Day Publication Date: 2019
Designing science presentations: A visual guide to figures, papers, slides, posters, and more by Matt Carter Publication Date: 2020
Better posters: Plan, design and present a better academic poster by Ben Faulkes Publication Date: 2021
The thesis whisperer Blog written by Professor Inger Mewburn, Director of Research Development at The Australian National University. Includes advice about writing and other aspects of the HDR journey.
Presentation skills A step-by-step guide to help you to write, design and deliver presentations, provided by UQ Student Services.
LinkedIn Learning provides a range of videos about presentation skills.

Learn how to review your writing to ensure consistency and accuracy in grammar, spelling, punctuation and formatting.

Proofreading is the final stage of the editing process of your work, to ensure no errors remain. These errors may be factual or stylistic and detract from the professionalism of your work.

Student Support has tips on editing and proofreading .
Use a text-to-speech tool to hear your writing read out loud. This can help you identify problems.

Find a proofreader or editor

Find a proofreader UQ student Union
Find an editor Institute of Professional Editors (Australia/New Zealand)

iThenticate is a plagiarism detection tool to check your written work before publication.

Use iThenticate to check the academic integrity of your work for milestone submissions and publication. It must be used in preparation for your thesis’ final examination and for submission to UQ eSpace .

Learn more about iThenticate

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Last Updated: Oct 16, 2024 1:05 PM
URL: https://guides.library.uq.edu.au/for-researchers/support-higher-degree-research-students