Each day we send a short, thought-provoking email that will make you think differently about what it means to be a PhD student. Each is designed to be read in thirty seconds and thought about all day.
Then, work through the boxes one by one. You may want to leave the abstract and acknowledgements to last. You may also want to work on the introduction last. That’s fine. Work in the way that suits you.
To save space, use bullet points, but make sure you carefully think about and respond to each point.
Start with the ‘Aims and Objectives’ box, where you will list down the core headlines of the entire thesis. This is the big-picture stuff. You should have this completed and refined before you move on. Without solid answers to these questions, the thesis will be disjointed and unclear.
How do I write a PhD using the template?
The PhD Writing Template is a way for you to visualise your PhD on one page. It guides you through creating a synopsis for each chapter and an overall outline of the thesis using simple questions to structure and guide your thinking. If you haven’t already download it for free now.
Answer on Post-it notes. One for each box. That way you can change your answers over time.
But aren’t Post-it notes too small? No! Small is good here. It means you have to be clear and concise. If you can’t fit your answers onto a Post-it note, you need to refine them.
Our PhD Writing Template is a way to visualise every element of your PhD on one page. Once you have filled it in you will have an overview of each section of the thesis and an executive summary of the thesis as a whole. It’ll show you how to write a PhD. If you haven’t already download it for free now and then come back to this post.
2. The theoretical perspective you will use when you design and conduct your research
3. When describing the approach you will take, you present more detailed information. The goal here is to talk in very precise terms about how your research will address these gaps, the implications of these choices and your expected findings.
4. Proposed month-by-month timetable (this can also be an appendix). The purpose of this timetable is to show that you understand every stage required and how long each stage takes relative to others.
2. When discussing the research context in section two, you provide a little more background. The goal here is to introduce the reader to the literature and highlight the gaps.
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Above all though, it is about showcasing your passion for your discipline. A PhD is a hard, long journey. The admissions tutor want to know that you have both the skills and the resilience required.
This isn’t the place for lots of explanatory detail. You don’t need to justify particular design decisions in the introduction, just state what they are. The justification comes later.
You take the brief research design statements you made in the introduction and go into much more detail. You need to be relating your design decisions back to the literature and context discussion in the previous section.
3. Why you have chosen this approach over others and what implications this choice has for your methods and the robustness of the study
At the end, I’ll tell you about an email based course I’ve put together that will teach you how to plan, structure and write your thesis. It goes into a lot more detail than I’ve presented here, so check it out if you’d like to learn more.
Each day we send a short, thought-provoking email that will make you think differently about what it means to be a PhD student. It is designed to be read in thirty seconds and thought about all day.
Use our free PhD Structure Template to quickly visualise every element of your thesis.
Imagine you’re making a new model of mobile phone. You’d need to look at old models to see how other people are designing them (and so you know how yours will differ) and to see how they are made. You’ll need to look for their flaws, and get an idea of where they can be improved.
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I’ve read those books, proofread hundreds of PhDs and coached dozens of students and want to take what I know and run you through a basic introduction to structuring your PhD thesis .
The reader should be able to understand the whole thesis just by reading the introduction. It should tell them all they need to know about:
That’s because you can’t make something new if you don’t know what the old one looks like.
1. An introduction which should state in clear terms which program you are applying for.
There is a need to know if you’re truly qualified to do a Ph.D. while writing an application to a school, so the motivation letter is the perfect insight into who you really are and they expect you to do it justice.
Saying that your undergraduate days in Marketing was very interesting is too vague to fit into a motivational letter, it sounds like something that should rather be written to a pen friend. You should be more specific about the courses you took as an undergraduate, why you love them and what you learned from them.
For Example, it is very common to see people write
Top Things to Be Included in a Ph.D. Motivation Letter:
Ph.D. applications are not just sorted out in the same way as any other random application. There are processes involved without which your chances of getting in might be truncated.
It is equally very important to avoid being vague while writing your motivation letter. The reason why you’re required to write a motivation letter is that someone or some people have to know, if not you wouldn’t have to attempt one.
While writing a motivational letter, it is very important to concisely include how much skill and/or working experience you possess. A Ph.D. is about more than just a sequel to your past academic endeavors, it is a true test of education and education is more than just owning degrees.
Feel free to also list your GCSEs, A-Levels or other relevant academic qualifications if applicable to the field you are applying to, however, this isn’t necessary, and most supervisors will not ask for them. The exception to this is if your university degree is not directly related to the project you are applying for, but your previous qualifications are. In these cases, include them to help demonstrate the suitability of your academic background.
Two of the referees should be academic, with most students choosing their personal tutor and their final year’s dissertation project supervisor. It can be other staff members, but the essential requirement is that it is someone who knows you well enough to be able to substantiate your abilities and character.
- Contact Information
- Research Interests / Personal Profile
- Education
- Research and Work Experience
- Teaching Experience
- Relevant Skills and Experience
- Publications and Conferences
- Professional Memberships
- Referees / References
A PhD CV is all about academic achievements and qualifications, so your education section should be given high importance and form the bulk of your CV, especially as it will be used to determine if have the core skills required for the position.
4. Research and Work Experience
Working in reverse chronological order, provide a breakdown of your current academic qualifications. For most of you, this will be an undergraduate Bachelor’s degree and a postgraduate Master’s degree.
When listing your qualifications, provide the full name of the degree, the degree type, and the duration in terms of its start and end year. You do not need to limit this to your past qualifications
Your PhD application should specify the number of referees you should include, but if it does not, try to include at least two, but ideally three.
Strictly speaking, your research proposal isn’t part of your PhD. Instead it’s normally part of the PhD application process.
The MPhil (Master of Philosophy) is also a research degree, but its scope is more limited than a PhD (Doctor of Philosophy). And no, just like a PhD, an MPhil isn’t necessarily a Philosophy qualification. You can find out more about MPhil degrees in our guide.
This doesn’t mean you’ll never read another academic article or consult someone else’s data again. Far from it. You’ll stay up to date with any new developments in your field and incorporate these into your literature review as necessary.
You’ll then sit down with your supervisor and someone else from your department (familiar with your field, but unrelated to your project). They’ll offer feedback on the quality of your work and ask questions about your findings.
PhD publications
The literature review is normally the first thing you’ll tackle after beginning your PhD and having an initial meeting with your supervisor.
The research proposal sets out the aims and objectives for your PhD: the original topic you plan to study and / or the questions you’ll set out to answer.
This is a formal procedure, during which you ‘defend’ your thesis in front of appointed examiners, each of whom will have read your dissertation thoroughly in advance.