Writing the thesis: are you finally a graduate student and want to start thinking about the three-year thesis? Here are all the tips for drawing up a project with all the trimmings!
How to do a thesis: tips for the three-year degree course
Have you finally passed all the exams of your degree course or are you going to support the last ones? Then, the time has come to think about the three-year degree thesis! You can’t wait to graduate, but don’t you know how to write your final paper? Quiet, it is perfectly normal for you to have doubts about the realization of a job that has never happened before to face.
From the choice of the topic to that of the speaker, from the way in which to gather the sources to how to structure and write the text of the thesis, the things to know are different and before starting to throw down the first drafts it is necessary that you have all the correct information you need. For this reason, we are there to help you and we asked the Cepu experts to give us some tips to write a beautiful three-year degree thesis: here’s what they told us!
Do you want a hand instead with the study method? Do not lose:
Three-year degree thesis: what is it?
The undergraduate thesis is a thesis that the undergraduates carry out at the end of their three-year degree course in order to obtain the title of doctor. Compared to master’s degrees, the three-year theses are very short (this depends on the degree courses, but generally 50 pages are never exceeded) and are mostly compilative, although in some cases experimental thesis or projects are welcome. especially with regards to more technical faculties, such as engineering.
Remember that the subject of the degree thesis must be agreed with your supervisor: the best advice we can give you is to think about the subject and the professor with whom you would like to write the thesis and elaborate some proposals to be made to the teacher. However, know that not all professors work in the same way: some may or may not accept your proposals, give you a free theme or assign them a topic.
Once the topic has been agreed with the speaker, he begins to search for bibliographic material, consulting libraries (not only university ones, but also national ones), archives or buying the materials you need. Pay attention to the selection of the website. Consult, however, always with the professor who can direct you towards the right choice of material.
Before starting to write the thesis, read all the material and start to select the parts that you consider important and try to throw down an index that you will have to show to the professor. Only after receiving your ok, you can start writing the text.
Write a three-year thesis: the structure
Once you are ready to write your bachelor’s thesis, remember that this type of work always has the same rigorous structure to follow.
Frontispiece: contains the University logo, the degree course attended, the academic year, the title of the thesis, your name and that of the speaker. Despite occupying the first page, it is the last part to be realized, when you have decided the final title of the thesis.
Index: each thesis must contain the index with chapters and page numbers, as if it were a real textbook.
Introduction: the paper must include an introduction in which you briefly explain the topic you will talk about, the reason why you chose it, the method used in writing the thesis and a brief summary of each chapter. The introduction is always written at the end, after you have the complete text and therefore also the correct division into chapters with the right contents.
Chapters divided into paragraphs and subparagraphs: at this point, we move on to the actual text.
A three-year thesis is generally divided into 2-3 chapters, each of which in turn is structured in paragraphs and subparagraphs to make the contents clearer and more readable. Each page must also contain the bibliographic footnotes for each time you directly or indirectly mention authors in your bibliography.
Conclusion: at the end of the thesis, you will have to write another 2-3 pages in which you will express your personal opinions on the topic, also suggesting which further information could be done on the issue.
the end of the thesis, you will have to write another 2-3 pages in which you will express your personal opinions on the topic, also suggesting which further information could be done on the issue.
Bibliography and websites: it is essential that each thesis has a complete bibliography and sitography, so remember to write down all the texts, newspaper articles / magazines, books, essays and websites you used in writing the thesis.
Acknowledgments (optional): before the introduction or end of your thesis, you can insert personal thanks to the teacher, your friends, family, boyfriend / s or whoever you think was important in writing the thesis and supporting you during the university course.
How to write a three-year thesis on Word: style and layout
Finally, let’s see together what are some precautions to use when writing the thesis on Word.
The writing style. As for the style of writing, remember that the thesis must be objective (separate conclusions) and must contain a formal language appropriate to the subject matter.
The style of paragraphs, fonts, bold and italics. The degree thesis must be presented as an orderly and stylistically clear and easily legible work. This means that you have to choose only one font that you will use for all the text. This must be clearly legible (eg. Arial, Calibri, Verdana …), while particular fonts, italics and Gothic characters to be used only in creative and informal contexts must be avoided. It is also important that you choose a single style for the titles of the chapters, one for those in the paragraphs and one for those in the sub-paragraphs. Regarding the formatting of the paragraphs, generally the line spacing 1.5 and the justified are required.
Footnotes and number of pages.
To create a thesis, it is necessary to create the footnotes in which you will insert all the notes referring to the text. To create them, just go to the Word menu bar, to “Insert” and then “Footnotes”. The same applies to the page number.
Edges and margins. Another thing to watch out for is the margins: consider that you will have to leave some space in the margin for the binding. Many faculties establish precise rules in this regard, dictating what are the marginal measures to be used in preparing the thesis.
Two-sided printing. Another point to be clarified, at the time of printing, is whether this must be front / back or not. Universities often impose their own rules: in general, however, double-sided printing is not recommended.
