Demonstrating originality and strength of claim

In highlighting your original contribution, the language you use in your thesis should convey your critical awareness and use of disciplinary conventions and terminology, even when you aim to deviate from these.

Originality checklist

There are many ways in which a thesis can be original. Consult the originality checklist below. What box(es) does your thesis tick?

  • You do empirical work that has not been done before
  • You synthesise things that have not been put together before
  • You make a new interpretation of someone else’s material/ideas
  • You do something in a country that has only previously been done elsewhere
  • You take an existing technique and apply it to a new area
  • You work across disciplines, using different methodologies
  • You look at topics that people in your discipline have not looked at
  • You test existing knowledge in an original way
  • You add to knowledge in a way that has not been done before (e.g., a new theory/framework/model/solution)
  • You write down a new piece of information for the first time
  • You give a good exposition of someone else’s idea
  • You continue an original piece of work.

(Adapted from Murray, 2017, p. 69)

Strength of claim

When expressing your claim:

  • Use language that conveys your confidence about your research and its importance as appropriate to the strength of your evidence
  • Use a balanced tone to state both the contributions and limitations of others’ research and your own
  • Avoid absolute terms, for example, ‘perfect’ or ‘prove’, unless your evidence is absolute.

Explore an example

In thesis writing, well-chosen verbs and adjectives can help send a strong message about the original contribution of the work.

In the following activity, you will analyse excerpts from an example thesis to better understand how to do this.

  • Read excerpt 1 and excerpt 2, below.
  • Click to highlight any verbs or adjectives that indicate the significance or implications of this thesis.
    • Remember: verbs are often actions (e.g. write, explore, fulfil) while adjectives are  descriptive (e.g. important, difficult, broken)

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Adapted from Mody, 2018, p. 231
Adapted from Mody 2018, p. 231

The example statement above, with its well-selected verbs and adjectives, establishes the implications/significance of the research.

It shows the writer’s disciplinary expertise by connecting the research to the field, using its language and exceeding its current knowledge.

This statement also shows the originality of the thesis, at least in two ways:

  • synthesising things that have not been put together before
  • adding to knowledge in a way that has not been done before

(Murray, 2017)

Write your statement of original contribution

Use the following prompts to help you reflect on your expertise and contribution in your field. Give yourself 5-10 minutes to free-write, then review your statement to fit your thesis.

Summarise

What’s your original contribution in a phrase? (Think about the title of your thesis)

Elaborate

"My work is/will be original in the sense that…"

Final tip

If you treat writing not as an isolated task, but a tool to help you learn and integrate your readings and research into a cohesive whole, you have the best chance of producing a quality thesis.

Write to think through ideas, test and connect them, increase the precision of your expression, and find your writer’s voice and originality.

For more information and support in your writing,Explore: Academic Skills Graduate Research services

  • Mewburn, I. (2019, February 13). The uneven U. The Thesis Whisperer. https://thesiswhisperer.com/2019/02/13/the-uneven-u/

    Mody, F. (2018). Doctors down under: European medical migrants in Victoria (Australia), 1930-60 [PhD thesis, University of Melbourne]. http://hdl.handle.net/11343/221550

    Murray, R. (2017). How to write a thesis. Open University Press. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/unimelb/reader.action?docID=6212212

    Raamsdonk, J. (2018). Mechanisms underlying longevity: A genetic switch model of aging. Experimental Gerontology, 107, 136–139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exger.2017.08.005

    Southern aurora. (2023). Our Tasmania. http://www.ourtasmania.com.au/southern-aurora.html

    Thomson, P., & Kamler, B. (2013). Writing for peer reviewed journals: Strategies for getting published. Routledge. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/unimelb/reader.action?docID=1092713

    Whittle, I., Midgley, S., Georges, H., Pringle, A.-M., & Taylor, R. (2005). Patient perceptions of ‘“awake”’ brain tumour surgery. Acta Neurochir (Wien), 147, 275–277. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00701-004-0445-7