Thesis outline: [Working title]

[Your name] · [Degree and program]

Advisor

Second reader

Citation style

Length limit

Submission

How to use this template

  1. Write the research question and your main claim first. While you plan, the claim is your best provisional answer; revise it as the evidence comes in.

  2. Write after each label. The numbered list is your table of contents: its numbers update themselves when you add, move or delete a section.

  3. Bring the outline to each advisor meeting, and log what you agree at the end.

  4. This outline suits empirical theses. For humanities or theoretical work, rename, merge or drop chapters to fit your field.

  5. Before you hand it in, go through the checklist at the end, then delete it with this box and the advisor meetings.

Question and claim

Research question:

Main claim:

Gap:

Scope:

Leaves out:

Front matter

  • Title page

  • Copyright page, if your school includes one

  • Abstract, within your school's word limit and written last

  • Dedication, acknowledgments or preface (optional)

  • Table of contents

  • Lists of tables, figures and abbreviations, if you use them

Chapters

  1. Introduction

    1. Background:

    2. Problem and gap:

    3. Research question and aims:

    4. Significance:

    5. Structure of the thesis:

  2. Literature review

    1. Debate or theme 1:

    2. Debate or theme 2:

    3. Debate or theme 3:

    4. Framework:

  3. Methodology

    1. Research design:

    2. Data or sources:

    3. Procedure:

    4. Analysis:

    5. Ethics:

    6. Limitations of the method:

  4. Results

    1. Finding 1:

    2. Finding 2:

    3. Finding 3:

    4. Unexpected results:

  5. Discussion

    1. What the findings mean:

    2. Against the literature:

    3. Implications:

    4. Limitations:

  6. Conclusion

    1. Summary:

    2. Contribution:

    3. Further research:

Back matter

  • References or bibliography:

  • Appendices:

Writing plan

Chapter

Target pages

Draft to advisor

Status

1. Introduction

2. Literature review

3. Methodology

4. Results

5. Discussion

6. Conclusion

Abstract and front matter

Advisor meetings

To raise next time

Meeting log

Date

What we agreed

My next steps

Before you hand it in

  • The research question reads the same here and in Chapter 1, and Chapters 5 and 6 answer it directly

  • The main claim says what your evidence now supports

  • Every source cited in the text is in the references

  • Length, margins and citation style follow your department's handbook

  • The working title, your name and every label are filled in

  • The how-to box, the advisor meetings and this checklist are deleted