A thesis is a written document by a student in support of candidature for professional qualifications or academic degrees.
It presents the student’s research and findings. A thesis has its structure and presentation styles. But one may ask, how many pages is a thesis?
Furthermore, do the college, master’s, and Ph.D. projects have the same page numbers? A typical thesis paper has a title page, abstract, and table of contents. We have chapters like introduction, literature review, methodology, results, discussions, and a reference section.
How Many Pages is a General Thesis
From experience, a thesis, in general, is between 40-80 pages long, excluding the bibliography pages. This length however depends on the level of study, the type of research to be conducted, and the expectations of the institution you are presenting it to.
Also, the structure difference is attributed to the areas of study—for instance, arts, technology, social sciences, humanities, sciences, etc.
In addition, the method of analysis contributes to the increase or decrease of the page numbers. The format of your thesis is presented in three outlines:
- The first outline consists of the abstract, table of content, and introduction.
- The second outline has the methods of research you used, your findings, and your discussion of the same.
- The last outline has your research conclusions, accompanying recommendations, and your list of references.
Even though there are no set standards on the number of pages, the quality of your work precedes your quantity.
How Many Pages is a Thesis for College
A college thesis is from 40 pages and above so that it can cover the contents of the topic and research being undertaken. However, this length depends on your area of study and the teacher’s guidelines dictate the structure of your writing. Although each thesis is different, they all have common elements.
The typical outline has an abstract, an introduction, research methods, and findings, and lastly, a conclusion and a bibliography section.
To be able to have your paper have all the necessary points and required length;
- Start by arranging your paper as a logical argument before you start to write.
- Have figures that illustrate your argument
- The background of your argument is your introduction, describe the information used in your argument as the points in your observation, analyze your issues and come up with your conclusion.
- Outline the main elements in sections and subsections
- Start to write your college thesis.
How Many Pages is a Thesis for Masters or PhD
On average, a master’s thesis or a PhD dissertation is between 120 pages and 200 pages long without counting the bibliography and the appendices. However, the length of a thesis is determined by the depth of your research and the technical nature of the research being conducted.
Also, the literature review and discussion sections determine the length of the project. Always remember to write for brevity rather than length.
No matter the length of your dissertation, always remember that you need to follow the instructions and be brief. Your thesis aims to have all the necessary information discussing your work and supporting your interpretation.
A master’s thesis is close to a doctoral dissertation, but it is shorter and has a narrow focus on the topic of discussion. To understand the length of a thesis for both master’s and Ph.D., first, let’s look at the parts that carry the length.
Purpose and Significance of your Study
In chapter one, you start by outlining the purpose of your study and its significance. The significance is shown by explaining how the study adds to the theoretical knowledge and its practical significance.
For a Ph.D. thesis, students discuss how their research makes a unique contribution to the knowledge in their disciplines.
Additionally, they discuss the significance of their study to the general people.
Chapter one of your thesis should be well developed to give you a clear focus and direction for your entire thesis.
Literature Review
Chapter two discusses the literature review. Here you discuss the theoretical framework of your literature. Besides discussing what other researchers have found, you should analyze and discuss your body of knowledge.
The aim here should be to expound on what is known and what is not known on your topic of discussion. The above will assist you in writing your research question or the hypothesis.
Methodology
Chapter three expounds on your methodology. Discuss the methods you used to gather data for your thesis. In addition, you will write about how you analyzed your data.
Start by discussing the method you used to gather your raw data and why your preference was appropriate. Remember to cite the reference literature on the technique.
Although this chapter varies based on the method and analysis technique used, give a detailed procedure you used to gather and analyze your data.
The following are the subtopics of this section;
- Description of research design
- Description of population and justification for sampling method used
- Describe the method or instrument of making observations and its administration
- Description of data analysis, tests performed, and statistical analysis. Also, discuss the qualitative or historical research.
Findings
In chapter four discuss the results from your data analysis only. Do not include other research findings or the implications of your findings.
Start by explaining any descriptive analysis. For example, factory analysis or reliability tests that were conducted.
Continue to talk about the findings of your hypothesis test. Extensively, use tables and figures to represent numerical data from your findings.
The qualitative and historical research is organized by the themes found in your research.
Discussion
Lastly, chapter five shows what your findings mean concerning the theoretical knowledge of your topic. Although this chapter is somehow skimmed, it should be seen as important as it answers the question “so what…”
Start by explaining your findings concerning the theoretical passage presented in the literature review. With qualitative research, you may as well introduce new literature. Alongside,doctoral students should demonstrate the pedagogical implications of the findings to mass education.
The chapter also continues to discuss the limitations encountered in your research. Alongside, propose areas of future research. Have a solid final closure with a brief conclusion.
Factors Determining the Length of a Thesis
The following factors determine the length of your thesis
Your Area of Study
Your area of learning or the discipline dictates how long your thesis will be. The subject determines whether you will write longer literature reviews or collection of more data.
It should be noted that this will also affect the time it takes to complete your thesis because the demands of your subject will eat on your valuable time. Both lead to a longer or a shorter thesis or dissertation.
Nature of Your Project
The scope of your thesis will reflect on the length of your thesis. For example, the introduction length is dictated by the total word count of your thesis.
It should not exceed ten percent of your total word count. As an illustration, if your total words are eight thousand, your introduction should be up to 800 words.
Tips on How to Lengthen your Thesis
There are numerous ways you can use to reach the required word count or required pages. You may increase the margin of your paper, but you might anger your professor. The following are better ways of lengthening your thesis.
1. Ensure you have included Everything
Check whether you have answered all the questions required by your research. In addition, include as much background material as possible. This will give you data that you will use to increase your word count.
Finding something that you have forgotten could be the reason why your thesis is shorter.
2. Intertwine Transitional Phrases in your Writing
Using transitional phrases is a natural way of lengthening your thesis. In addition, they help your reader follow through as they can connect your thoughts. Transition phrases assist you in moving from one idea to the next clearly and concisely.
3. Use Quotations
When referring to other people’s work, you use quotation marks.
Besides spicing your thesis, you can increase the size of your thesis.
Incorporating other writers’ work strengthens your arguments.
4. Review Your Introduction and Conclusion
Ideas come to you as you reread your work. Go through your introduction again to check whether there is a point you have left behind.
Ensure you have expounded on your points, and you are sure your reader will thoroughly understand your points. Also, do the same to your conclusion.
5. Spell Out Numbers or Contractions
Instead of writing numbers in figures, write them in words. Substitute “8” by writing eight. Instead of “we’re,” write the whole word- we are. However, this is limited by the style you are required to submit your thesis on.
6. Use Break-Up Paragraphs
Your work could be comprised of long paragraphs; break them to ensure a paragraph has fewer sentences. Besides increasing your thesis pages, you will make your work more readable. People prefer reading broken-down content.
