No doubt you are a student in academia at the moment, or you may even be a parent researching exactly what you son/daughter will be doing for their thesis. An academic thesis is a study that represents individual (or sometimes group) research, which is then concluded and grounded around written evidence, by the individual student; it is submitted in partial fulfillment of a degree at a recognised university.

There are many different subjects that the student can choose to conduct their research, but will include both secondary and primary research, with the latter encompassing investigation and experimentation with a research sample. The research thesis paper will be measured for originality and it findings, as well as other aspects that have been identified by the school it is submitted to.

The research is considered the main part of the thesis and will start a long time before the student begins to think about a hypothesis. A plan is an important step to ensure that everything will be covered in the research process, and the student should plan the different aspects of their research project to meet the submission deadline.

This research stage of the course, which is when the thesis project is undertaken, is generally towards the end of the course, and on many postgraduate degree courses is the final element. For undergraduates, it will cover the final year of their course and will count heavily to their final degree grade.

Masters’ degrees do require all student to submit a thesis that will contribute between 3% and 18% to the final grading. It will generally take place over the summer term and last some 4 to 5 months. If the student chooses not to complete the thesis then they will not be able to receive a master’s degree.

Therefore, the thesis is an important part of any degree course and should be considered highly valuable to your final degree grade. There are strict guidelines to submission, other than the deadline, and these should be followed, as they are often more stringent than that of an essay.

Production of a thesis may require the student to put up a plausible defense in-front of the awarding panel, at their institution. Generally, only a few people will be chosen, and in some cases none, when they are submitting a thesis on an undergraduate degree or masters degree course. It is usually at this point where a defense is only seen for doctoral theses.

However, the student should be aware that they may be called upon to defend their writing and research, as well as opinions, view and conclusions of their paper. Keeping in mind here, that it is often best to provide tangible examples when referring to what you have written in your actual paper.