Errors in the diploma are not only about the design or volume. Teachers do not tell you how to write a thesis correctly, and so graduates figure everything out by experience. Students often have to redo their theses due to incomplete disclosure or too high a level of plagiarism. Collected the mistakes that are most common in theses and dissertations.
Unsuccessful choice of topic
The most serious mistake is the choice of an irrelevant thesis topic. The problem is not even that with an irrelevant topic, your thesis will have no scientific value. You are unlikely to be able to finish it if you do not have authoritative sources. And if you choose an unsuccessful topic for the diploma, you will not have scientific papers to rely on. So get best essay help to receive an advice. It’s even worse if the topic is relevant, but not interesting to you. With all the possibilities of writing a great diploma, you are unlikely to sit down to work on time. If possible, try to choose a topic of work on which you will enjoy looking for information.
Few sources
Too small a list of references used is a direct consequence of a poorly chosen topic. The correct number of sources is 25-30 titles. Even if you took the main information of the thesis from two or three publications, be sure to add quotations from other sources. This way you can both cover the topic from different points of view, and increase the list of references used.
High level of plagiarism
Any student’s work is now checked for uniqueness and plagiarism level. Therefore, it is not recommended to take pieces of other people’s work and, without reworking, insert them into your diploma. Even the most relevant information is worth rewritten in his own words.
By the way, this also includes a large number of quotations. They are not taken into account when checking for plagiarism. But if the basis of the text of the thesis is a direct quotation of other sources, rather than your research and conclusions, the text is likely to be returned for revision.
Excessive focus on secondary issues
Distracting from the main topic and paying a lot of attention to secondary issues is a very common mistake. Try not to pay much attention to unnecessary details, do not forget your main topic of work. If to understand the main theme it is necessary to give explanations on other issues, make sure that the amount of information was proportionate.
Such a mistake can be a consequence not only of the wrong plan but also of the small number of sources. If it is difficult to gain the volume of the thesis at the expense of the main topic, many students feel it is right to give more information on secondary issues. Don’t be like that. The volume, of course, will appear, but the topic of the diploma will remain unexplored.
Few own thoughts and conclusions
It is not enough just to find the material and properly submit it. The GCR is, first and foremost, the future graduate’s work. Yes, the theoretical part is based on someone else’s scientific work. But the introduction, goals and objectives, the practical part, and the conclusion should consist entirely of their research and conclusions.
However, the reverse situation is also not encouraged. Too many of your observations may be inappropriate in the theoretical part of the thesis on the exact sciences. Only by relying on the works of recognized experts, the student will be able to draw his or her conclusions.
Inconsistency between the theoretical and practical parts
There may be several cases in which the theoretical and practical parts do not correspond to each other:
- the student is poorly versed in the topic of his diploma and incorrectly selected theoretical materials;
- did not find the necessary amount of theoretical information and decided to add to the volume at the expense of third-party topics;
- too much unnecessary information in the theory part because of the lack of a clear plan;
- the theoretical part didn’t describe the methods or formulas that were used in practice.
Be sure to check whether all sections of the theoretical part correspond to practical research. Do not insert into the first part of the diploma chapters that have little to do with your research. There is a high chance that you will have to throw that piece away and redo your work. On the contrary, if you have prepared the practice first, and then write the theoretical part to it, make sure that you include all the necessary information. The supervisor and the committee should not have any questions about how you conducted practical research and on what basis you concluded.
Incorrect structure
“The conclusions drawn don’t match the objectives”-familiar with this observation? If you rarely write research papers, you can get lost, compose unstructured text and get away from the topic. It is no coincidence that the guidelines for writing a thesis begin with a clear plan for each section. If you think in advance about the structure of the thesis and each section, the chance of an error becomes very low. Of course, to make a correct plan, you must understand the topic of your thesis. You can ask the supervisor: he is also interested in ensuring that his mentees hand in their diplomas as quickly as possible, without remarks.
It is worth mentioning such a sensitive issue as a review. No supervisor will not tell you how to properly write a review on your thesis – in fact, strictly speaking, it should write another teacher of the university or a specialist on your topic. But it happens that all the professors are busy with their graduates, and students have to write a review for the thesis on their own. In this case, you just need to describe the relevance and objectives of the diploma, comment on the choice of sources and explain your agreement with the conclusions drawn.
Too big or too small volume
A good thesis is between 40 and 100 pages including an introduction and a conclusion. Appendix and additional materials are not included in the volume of the diploma. So what could be the problem?
A thesis that is too small gives the impression of being “incomplete.” Even if you had a very narrow topic that you covered as thoroughly as possible. Try to find more material to get to the minimum volume of 40-45 pages.
Perhaps the reason the volume is not enough is that the topics are not fully covered. Carefully check the theoretical and practical parts – perhaps they are missing important materials.
Too much of the thesis is most likely provided by unnecessary materials. A diploma thesis of 120-150 pages gives the feeling that it consists of someone else’s editions without any revision. In addition, the committee is unlikely to review it in its entirety. Try to reduce your thesis materials to at least a hundred pages.
Ask your supervisor for a sample thesis from last year’s graduating class. This will make it easier for you to understand the rules of structure and design. Perhaps in this way, you will learn new information and additional sources of literature. Do not hesitate to ask for opinions and questions of your tutor. The supervisor also wants students to write good final papers, and he is unlikely to refuse advice if he has free time.