Thesis writing

1. Thesis Writing
Khalid Mahmood, PhD
Professor
University of the Punjab
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2.  Professor of Information Management at University
of the Punjab, Pakistan
 Post-doctoral research fellow at University of
California, Los Angeles, USA
 150+ publications
 Supervised many doctoral, M.Phil. and master
theses
 Worked for many research journals as editor,
reviewer and editorial board member
 Conducted many trainings on research writing and
publishing
About me
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3. Acknowledgment
 I have prepared this presentation
with the help of many books,
presentations and Websites.
 I pay my sincere gratitude to all
authors, professors and experts for
their efforts and contributions.
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4. Revising your thesis
 Reading by your supervisor
 Taking feedback from your friends
 Reading by yourself – put it aside for
a while before reading
 You may use a checklist
 You may use a commercial service
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5. Levels of revision
 Organisational level
 Based on table of contents
 Chapters and sections
 Content level
 Preview, smooth, review
 Section by section
 Targeted revision
 Spelling, grammar and punctuation

6. Common proof-reading symbols
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7. Practical tips for revising
 Make time for checking
 Work from a hard copy
 Follow the ‘reading aloud’ check
 Map your work to obtain an overview
 Check for relevance
 Check for consistency
 Check for factual accuracy
 Stick to your word limit
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8. Things to consider in revising
 Cover page
 Preliminary pages
 Font
 Margins
 Line spacing
 Heading levels
 Paragraph indentation
 Tables and figures
 Quoting numbers in text
 References
 Appendices
 Page numbers
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9. Preparing for your viva
 Read through your thesis to virtually memorize
it
 Identify weaknesses and prepare a rebuttal
 Identify points that might invite requests for
clarification and prepare your response
 Write notes on the margins of a copy in your
hands
 Prepare a presentation
 Arrange a mock viva with your supervisor
 Prepare yourself psychologically
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10. Possible questions
 Can you explain a little bit about what motivated your
study?
 What was your rationale for doing X in the way you did?
 Have you read X’s article on . . .? Given your findings,
how would you respond to the questions she raises
concerning . . .?
 Did you consider using a different approach/
methodology? Why did you decide not to adopt that
approach/ methodology?
 Can you explain what you mean by xxx on page 000?
 What, in your view, is the relationship between A and B?
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11. Possible questions…
 I’m unclear how you . . . Can you explain further?
 If you were to conduct this research again, how might
you do it differently?
 Do you have any plans to build on this research? If so,
how?
 How do your findings compare with those of . . .?
 Can you summarize what your study has contributed to
our understanding of . . .?
 What do you think are some of the practical applications
of your findings?
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12. The outcome
 Pass
 Pass with changes
 Fail
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Best of luck for your
research endeavors!