How to write a thesis: a step-by-step guide with examples
Updated 18 October 2026 · overminder
A thesis is written better in small regular steps than in a few long nights. Here is a method that works for bachelor’s, master’s and PhD theses.
1. The stages
- Topic and research question. A precise question beats a broad theme: not “sustainable mobility” but “how much did the 30 km/h zone in Bologna reduce traffic in its first year?”.
- Starting bibliography. Ten to fifteen solid sources, noted straight away with author, year and page.
- Draft table of contents agreed with your supervisor.
- First draft chapter by chapter, without polishing every sentence.
- Revision of content, then of style, citations and layout.
- Submission: PDF (often PDF/A), printing and binding.
2. A sample schedule (16 weeks)
| Weeks | Goal |
|---|---|
| 1–2 | Research question, first sources, draft contents |
| 3–6 | Literature review |
| 7–9 | Method and data collection |
| 10–12 | Results and discussion |
| 13 | Introduction and conclusion (written last) |
| 14–15 | Revision, bibliography, layout |
| 16 | Submission and defence preparation |
At 500 words a day, five days a week, you reach 20,000 words in eight weeks — a typical bachelor’s thesis.
3. A typical table of contents
Introduction 1. Literature review 1.1 Definitions 1.2 Previous studies 2. Methodology 3. Results 4. Discussion Conclusion References Appendices
4. Mistakes to avoid
- Copying quotations without noting the page: finding it later takes hours.
- Renumbering chapters and cross-references (“see section 3.2”) by hand.
- Leaving layout and bibliography to the last week.
- Keeping only one copy of your file.
How Gradus helps
In Gradus you drag chapters and they renumber themselves, cross-references stay correct, statistics show how many words you really write each day and autosave always keeps a backup copy.