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Steps of Writing a Thesis
1st step | Planning when writing thesis
The first step in writing a thesis is to find a topic. Depending on the faculty, you may be given a topic, but more often you can choose freely. On the one hand, your career goals play a role. On the other hand, you should not forget your personal interests. After all, you will work on your thesis for a long time, and interest is the best motivation!
This also connected to the choice of the supervisor, because they must be professionally suitable to supervise the writing of the thesis. But you should also get along with them on a personal level. Ideally, you should have already attended courses of your potential supervisor.
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Most of the time, supervisors ask for an exposé for the thesis in order to get an idea of what you have planned. However, such a preliminary draft is also an important working tool for you, which serves as an orientation in the work process.
Step 2 | The preliminary work for writing the thesis
Before the writing process, you have to do a literature search, i.e. you have to review relevant literature (if necessary, this can also include expert interviews or similar). You should plan a lot of time for this step, because problems, for example, with the literature procurement or a postponed expert interview, can lead to delays.
Before getting started, think about how to organize your research results and sources while writing your thesis. After all, even after 3 months, you still need to know where you found which citation. Structuring the found material is already an important preliminary stage for the subsequent writing process.
Orientate your research on the synopsis that you prepared before writing the thesis. This will make it easier for you to keep your research question in mind.
Step 3 | The writing process
After you have decided on the topic, it's time to start writing your thesis.
The "fear of the white sheet" is often the biggest challenge. Against this, it helps to just write! The first sentence does not have to be perfect, and you can also start with chapter 5 first, for example. If you still have problems with the scientific language, text modules can make it easier to get started.
A productive atmosphere, for example in a library, can also help. In some university libraries, you can even reserve a "work booth" for writing your master's thesis. Others, however, prefer to write at home. Though there is a risk that you will distract yourself from writing with other activities. A work plan can help here. It should be planned in such a way that it can be easily implemented. This will keep you motivated and well on schedule. It's best to plan your intermediate steps using the SMART method.
Components of a thesis
The table of contents of the thesis is followed by the introduction, in which you give an overview of your topic. The following main part can be structured individually. This is followed by the conclusion. In addition, there are components that are required by the examination regulations. These include, for example, a cover sheet for the thesis and an affidavit.
Editing phase
The writing of the thesis is finished - but there is one step you should not skip now: the editing. Typos or missing footnotes, for example, are easy to overlook. It is therefore best to have your thesis proofread by someone else. Even better is a professional proofreading, because the content of your thesis often lacks distance to your own text. Unclear formulations or gaps in the argumentation can be quickly detected.
Formatting is often a headache when writing a thesis, because many faculties have precise ideas about what it should look like.
Step 5 | The submission
After writing your thesis, your text is now edited and looks good. However, there is still one more issue to deal with: Printing and binding. Because even in the digital age, theses have to be submitted in paper form. You are often free to choose how you want your work on the bound, e.g. with an elegant hardcover or a simple adhesive binding. However, it is important that you use a PDF file for printing. That way, nothing can slip when you open the file in the copy store.