Writing a PhD Thesis: General Rules You Should Follow


A thesis is one of the most important papers in your life, so you must be sure that it is as perfect as you can make it. You can employ the services of a professional writing company to help you work on this extremely difficult piece of academic writing. They will be invaluable at the formatting and editing stages of your work.

Since a thesis is a very formal paper, it must meet numerous requirements that you will need to discuss with your advisor. Do not be afraid to ask the professor for clarifications on anything you do not understand perfectly. There is no such thing as too much knowledge when it comes to writing a thesis.

The most important rules you need to keep in mind when working on this type of paper are:

  • Your writing must be good.
  • It is essential that your dissertation not only presents valuable research, but does so with solid professional writing. However, do not forget that no amount of writing skills can compensate for weak content.

  • Use precise definitions and be consistent with your terms.
  • When you introduce a term in the thesis, its definition must be clear and precise. You also have to use this term in the same way throughout the whole paper. Consistency and precision make the writing seem professional, and help you present your ideas in a way that will be easy for the readers to understand.

  • Avoid using puns and jokes.
  • These tools may be welcome in less formal types of academic papers, but there is no place for them when writing a thesis. This whole paper must maintain an impeccable style.

  • Do not be judgmental.
  • A scientific paper does not judge, but rather introduces the facts and draws logical conclusions. You do not have to get emotional to prove your point to the reader, as your evidence should be able to do this. You need to create a paper that will lead the audience to the only possible conclusion by providing solid evidence and inarguable connections between the facts.

  • Be precise with everything, especially time.
  • There should not be any estimations like “soon” in a thesis. If you need to refer to a certain time period, you must define it as closely as possible by using the current facts. If you cannot do this, avoid using time references at all. They only make the paper look vague, and give off the idea that you are uncertain about your own views.

  • Avoid using passive constructions.
  • Active voice makes the paper more “alive” and professional.