Structuring your thesis

This resource provides advice for writing the structural elements of your thesis. It includes activities to help you apply tips to your own context and reflect on your learning, and should take you 15-20 minutes to complete. Check out the further resources at the bottom of each section and references on the last page for more information on this topic.

This page introduces you to the macro and micro structures that thesis writers use to clearly convey the value and importance of their research to their readers (Dunleavy, 2003, p. 50). The structure of a thesis should be guided by what readers will expect, what the discipline requires, and what makes sense for the research.

Macro Structure

The macro structure consists of three parts. Note that the lead-in and lead-out sections will include your introduction and conclusion respectively but may include other material as well.

1) Lead-in material 

  • Two chapters at most
  • Gives your reader a broad overview of the thesis
  • Provides background information, usually in the form of a literature review
  • Helps readers contextualise your research
  • Highlights the contribution your research makes
  • Describes the motivation for your research.

2) Core material

  • Around five chapters
  • Focuses on your own work
  • Presents your research question and hypothesis
  • Works through your data, cases and primary sources
  • Shows the findings of your analysis.

3) Lead-out material

  • One or two chapters
  • Responds to the research question and hypothesis
  • Addresses the impacts of your results for your field.

This basic structure should help you envision your thesis as a whole. (Adapted from Dunleavy, 2003, p. 50)

Micro structure

The micro structure consists of chapters and the sub-headings within an individual chapter. What constitutes a chapter will vary by discipline, but typical chapters include a brief chapter introduction followed by relevant sections and a chapter conclusion.

1) Chapters

  • Plan for the introduction and conclusion chapters to comprise roughly 20% of your thesis (10% each)
  • Consider that core chapter length can vary, but 8,000-12,000 words is considered a good guideline
  • Justify the length of any chapters that are noticeably longer or shorter than others.

2) Sub-headings

  • Break chapters into sub-topics
  • Use informative and substantive headings and sub-headings
  • Make sure your heading reflects the key argument of the section.

Watch this video to see examples of Macro and Micro structures in theses.

Identifying macro and micro structures

Tips

  • Keep chapter introductions short
  • Relate each chapter to the research question and hypothesis
  • Conclude chapters by both summing up and looking ahead.

Identify structural elements in a thesis

This activity will help you to plan your own thesis structure.

  1. Go to University of Melbourne Library and follow links to the University's Institutional Repository.

    From the Library home page, choose 'more' from the main navigation. Select 'Institutional Repository' from the options.
  2. Find a thesis from your discipline.
  3. Identify the macro and micro parts of its structure.
    • How does it compare to the examples here?
    • If you have a draft or portion of your thesis written, how does its structure compare to others from your field?
  4. Take note of the differences and keep those in mind as you plan your own thesis structure.

Use the side menu to go the next section: Introducing your research, where we discuss writing an introduction.