HOW TO WRITE A
THESIS FOR CE400
Dr. Tanvir Ahmed
Assistant Professor,
Dept of Civil Engineering, BUET
Style and Structure
Follow a certain convention to facilitate the writing process
and make your dissertation readable.
It is useful to look at other dissertation and get an idea
about the approach that people adopt to present their
findings and arguments.
Do not wait for your supervisor to tell you what fonts, size
and spacing you should use.
Sample dissertations are available from BUET library (1st
floor), CE library (CE thesis only)
Typical Font, Spacing, Margin
The preferred typeface is Times Roman (11 or 12 points).
Use 1.5 or double-line spacing for the dissertation text.
Each page must have a left margin of 3.7 cm to allow for
binding.
The top, bottom and right margin shall all be 2.5 cm.
Justify all your text in the dissertation body.
Figures and Tables
Figures inserted in the dissertation should appear close to
where they are referenced in the text.
The usual convention of the figure followed by the figure
title shall be followed.
Use the Chapter/Figure number convention to label the
figures in the dissertation. For example, Figure 1.2 refers
to the second figure of chapter 1.
A List of Figures and Tables must be included after the
content page of dissertation
Order of Contents
Title Page
Acknowledgments
(A brief thank you)
Abstract
Table of Contents
List of Figures
List of Tables
Content of Dissertation
References
Appendices
Ch 1: Introduction
Ch 2: Literature Review
Ch 3: Methodology
Ch 4: Results and Discussion
Ch 5: Conclusion and
Recommendations
Introduction
Background and present state of the problem objectives
of the research methodology scope and limitations of
the study thesis organization
Keep introduction short and focused
May be rewritten/revised after the body of the thesis is
written
Likely to contain a lot of reference citations - put your
thesis in context of existing work
Literature Review
It is a review of what has been published on that topic so
that you do not duplicate someone elses work.
Conduct a thorough literature search before designing
your methodology and collecting your data.
The literature review should provide context and clarify
the relationship between your topic and previous work in
that area.
When writing the literature review, present major themes,
theories, and ideas that have been published in the area,
and the findings of related studies.
Conclude the review of the literature with a short section
that describes your topic, highlighting why it is important
to address the problem you have investigated.
Literature Review (ctd)
When reading a technical paper, jot down the key points
and make a note of the journal or technical publication
where the paper was published.
Make sure that you have read and understood cited work
Organize your content according to ideas instead of
individual publications.
Do not simply quote or paraphrase the contents of
published articles. Weave the information into focused
views. Demonstrate your deeper understanding of the
topic.
Do not be tempted to summarize everything you have
read; only include those relevant to your main points.
Methodology
This chapter describes exactly the steps that you took to
investigate your research problem.
Explains your research design
the methodology that you selected (survey, interviews,
historical research, document analysis or extended
literature review for example),
the instruments that you used and how they were
developed, the sample that you selected, and the
description of your data collection process.
Copies of correspondence, instruments if you used any
(questionnaires or interview scripts), raw data if
appropriate and other items relating to the methodology
are included as appendices
Results/Findings
Just the facts, presented as tables, figures, interview
summaries and/or descriptions of what you found that is
important and noteworthy.
The objective is to present a simple, clear and complete
account of the results of your research.
Draft your figures carefully first, captions should be
standalone, write the text around your figures.
Discussions
Relate your findings to your original statement of the
problem and your literature review.
Begin by briefly summarizing the previous chapters, then
discuss what you found.
Ask yourself why the results were what they were, and then
try to provide meaningful answers to the question.
Feel free to interpret objectively and subjectively and to
make references to what others have said on the subject.
Make sure that every conclusion you draw is defensible and
not just your own personal opinion.
Conclusions and
Recommendations
Summarize your conclusions from the discussion chapter.
Note the limitations of your study.
Show that you are aware of the methodological limitations of
your study, for example the small size of your sample, or the
fact that you set out to examine only one part of a bigger
problem.
Make recommendations relating to the problem that you
investigated, for example by making practical suggestions on
how to improve the situation in the organization in which
your research took place.
Make recommendations for areas that require further study.
The Nested Hourglass Model
The whole thesis
Each section,
subsection
Most paragraphs
Broad focus at
beginning, end;
specifics/narrow
focus in middle
Abstract
Write this LAST!
Abstracts should be 1-2 pages and should be self-
contained
Written to attract readers to your article or thesis,
gives a good initial impression
Summary of the contents of the thesis
Brief but contains sufficient detail
motivation for the work (problem statement)
project objectives
techniques employed
main results and conclusions
Tools for your Research and
Writing
Spreadsheets, analysis tools
Plotting programs
Graphics programs
ENDNOTE
Writing resources
Start learning these before you collect the data (e.g.,
during the thesis proposal process)
References
All references cited, including those in Tables and
Figure captions. No more, no less.
Choose a style, be consistent throughout (e.g. et al.
OR and others, not both)
Use ENDNOTE or other suitable program (start NOW
building your library database)
Final Remarks
Shed light on your subject: clarity is everything
Avoid convoluted writing
Avoid ornate language, words you dont really
understand
It may just be a draft, but proofread it first. A
spell-check is not enough
Have confidence that you know more about
your project than anyone else does, you just
need to convey that knowledge
