Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Some points on "How to write a good thesis?"

Some interesting points I got after attending a seminar on "How to Write a Good Thesis"

2 stages in reading a paper:
The first stage of reading is to learn fundamental knowledge
The second is to find faults - by being critical, we will get new ideas and problems

Abstract:
1 - 2 paragraphs
It is a summary of our research work

Table of content:
A section of equal importance
List headings and subheadings together with page numbers
"From here, the reviewer can see what you have done and how well you organize it."

Introduction Chapter:
includes:
-motivation
-contribution
-outline main contents of each chapter
"Put in the HOOK at the beginning of the intro to motivate the examiner to read on."
the HOOK is a word/phrase/sentence that can catch the reader's attention

Literature Review (LR):
"A good LR makes a good survey paper."
Discuss related literature in conjunction with our own ideas.
"Focus on how it (the paper) relates to your ideas and fit into your framework."
It is "like a tutorial".
"Write this chapter after you have finished all other chapters. The intro chapter is the 2nd last, then LR chapter."

Main work and result chapters (Chapter 3 - 7):
Provide answers to questions posed in the introduction chapter.
Give reasoning, proof, simulation & experimental results.

Conclusion:
Summarize what was learnt and how it can be applied .
Mention the possibilities for some further research work - this is "must have" coz examiners are interested.

References:
List all references cited in the text in alphabetical order.

"Learn to write a good (journal/conference) paper to write a good thesis"

Identity 2.0 presentation

Here's an extremely interesting presentation, which I am putting here for my future references. Who knows, I might just give a presentation as cool as this ;)