Tips about thesis structure

Your thesis should:

Have a logical structure, not necessarily written in the chronological order in which you conducted your research.
Make it clear why and how your results/design/analysis etc solves the problem you set out to solve.
Provide a concise outline and summary of your research.
Be clear about what you’ve discovered and why it’s important, original etc, both at the beginning and at the end.

A typical thesis will contain:

Title page: Title, name affiliation & date.
Table of contents: This should show page numbering of chapters and appendices. It is also sometimes helpful to have lists of tables and figures.
Abstract: Usually around 300 words.
Acknowledgements: Remember to acknowledge your funding body.
Introduction: It is often helpful to have one introductory chapter which outlines the thesis as a whole and indicates relevant sections where key elements of your argument may be found. You may then want a separate introduction which contains the background, literature review etc.
Substantive chapters: This is the main body of the thesis, typically a chapter for each study, but this will vary depending on the type of work you are presenting.
Discussion: You may want a separate major discussion chapter which puts the argument together and relates it back to the introduction. Your conclusion may be stated here or in a separate chapter. Don’t forget to include some discussion of the wider implications and future work
Conclusions and suggestions for further work
References/bibliography
Appendices: Your supervisor will give you guidance on what to include here, but this may contain materials used in studies, code listings etc.

Structure of substantive chapters

The structure of the substantive chapters will vary with discipline, but typical structures are as follows: