Deciding on your structure

Eventually any thesis would have a structure that is easily recognised but there is no prescribed format for it. For example, the University of Queensland specifies that the format is:

the title page;
a signed statement of sources;
an abstract;
a table of contents;
a list of all illustrations and diagrams (if more than 10);
the main text;
bibliography;
appendices.

As you can see, the most important part of your thesis, the main text, is left for you to decide how to arrange. For this, you need to think in terms of the type of thesis you are writing, the thesis you are proposing, and the argument you are running and proving throughout your dissertation.

If yours is an experimental thesis, you are likely to have standard sections: introduction (including aims), literature review, materials and methods, results, discussion. If yours is a theoretical thesis, challenging theoretical assumptions or common beliefs, or examining broad issues, your thesis would more likely be written as a series of chapters each one addressing a specific notion or issue. There are, of course, other types of theses. Regardless of the type of thesis you are writing, you have to devise and use the arrangement which suits your purpose best.

Seeing the plot emerge
It is when you've done some analysis of your data that you start to have the feeling for where your thesis is going, The plot on which the whole thesis hangs becomes clearer. You start testing your plot against the data you are analysing and then adjusting your plot accordingly. You begin to get a hint of what is there and begin to see possibilities more clearly. Sometimes of course this triggers the need for more investigation in a specific area, but you are now working with something which is beginning to have an identifiable shape.

The realisation of what the plot is could hit you like a thunderbolt. Or you could need to do more coaxing of the plot out of the material you've gathered. You should be on the lookout for this plot all the time asking integrating questions, such as "What do I know about x by now?", "How is it shaping up?","How can I explain why such and such happens, doesn't happen, is accepted, is not accepted?", " Why, after all these trials, do I think that the model I am going to recommend is the best?" That is, you interrogate your data to reveal the plot.

Later you will need specific questions to back up your ideas, to marshal the evidence, and to weigh it all up so you can eventually support your main thesis claim.

Developing a picture of the thesis as a whole
Once you have the idea of what the plot is, you need to go further with it and build up a story of the whole thesis. This will be very useful for when you are writing. You could get the story by talking yourself through the process of putting it all together:

O.K., in my introduction, I will have to justify the selection of the question. This could be linked to the literature review where I will show that this research had to be done for such and such reasons and that it's important because ……. This, in turn, would make my aims clear to the reader. Once I've got my aims stated, I can show in the next chapter that my methodology is best suited to my aims because …. In the next several chapters, I will use all my findings to argue, to prove, to challenge x, y, z. In doing so, I will make sure I show that I did indeed achieve the aims of my research. I will also show that my findings relate to the research within this specific field of knowledge in …ways, and I will show how my work makes its contribution. In my conclusions, I will draw out and state clearly what the findings imply (theoretically, methodologically, substantively). If applicable, I will recommend that … be done, and I will point to a, b, and c as worthwhile lines of research.

Preparing an outline
Basically, when you are preparing an outline of whatever level of detail you feel comfortable with, it is important not to lose the story, that is the big picture, with all its links. Otherwise, it is like doing a jigsaw puzzle where you might have all of the pieces but be unable to put it together because you lack a picture of what you're building.

Even a 'perfect' outline is only a tool to help you. It has to be flexible to be useful. Too specific an outline could be more of a hindrance than a help. It could prevent you recognising the relations between different parts. And it could upset the balance as you try to write to the proportions it prescribes.

You therefore first need a general outline. This would give you an idea of how many chapters you would have and what each chapter would contain. Then, when you write section by section, the general outline would help you to fit each section to the whole. If necessary, you will produce more detailed outlines for smaller sections as you need them.

	Developing a picture of the thesis as a whole.
	Seeing the plot emerge.
	Achieving unity in your thesis.
	Writing an abstract.
	Revising and editing.
	Revision.
	Editing.
	Tackling the writing of drafts.
	I've gathered lots of data, finished the experiments, explored the literature. What do I do with it now and how do I put it together?
	Is there a particular thesis structure I have to follow?
	When do I start writing?
	Is it necessary to have a really detailed outline for the thesis?