Writing A Bachelor Thesis: Tips On Finding A Topic, Structuring And Working Out

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You have all credit points together, the necessary events have been attended. Now all you need to finish your bachelor’s degree is writing – and depending on the university, defending your bachelor thesis. This is usually the longest academic paper you have had to write to date. Depending on the university, this is around 40 pages of continuous text. That sounds like a lot of work at first. But at the same time you get the opportunity to study a topic of your choice in depth and to show what you have learned. We’ll give you useful tips to make your thesis a complete success and to make writing fun.content

Bachelor thesis: The last thesis to be completed

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The terms “bachelor thesis” and “bachelor thesis” are synonymous. They designate the thesis, which not only makes up part of your final grade, but may also be the last scientific work in your life. For many students, they go straight to work after completing their bachelor’s thesis. It is not uncommon for employers to ask in the job interview what the topic and grade of the thesis was.

The bachelor thesis is suitable for really stepping on the gas again and improving your editing. The motivation here is higher than with other study achievements and exams. It’s the last chance and a great feeling when you can be proud of your bachelor thesis at the end of the day. For this reason, many students have them printed not only for the university but also for themselves.

Finding a topic for the bachelor thesis

Find a topic that interests you. After all, you have to deal with it for a few weeks. Think about it: What questions did you always ask yourself during your studies? You could pursue this in your work. Which era, direction, which research area did you enjoy working with, for which seminar or internship were you hooked? Read through a few articles from reference books about it and research library databases and catalogs to see if there is any literature on your question.

When doing your research, make sure that you concentrate on a sub-area early on. Ask yourself whether you can deal with the topic in the time you have and within the given number of pages. First of all, inquire about the formal requirements for your subject (font size, font, number of pages).

Don’t forget to take notes

Discuss your topic and your question with your supervisor. You should be familiar with the topic by the time you go to the consultation. This will help you get the most out of the conversation. Don’t be afraid to ask questions during or afterwards. Also follow up on vague literature recommendations and write down the title and author. Generally, take notes during the conversation.

Formulate theses and questions in writing. Adjust these again and again if your level of knowledge of the topic changes and you realize that a different formulation would be better. It helps to talk to others about it. These can also be non-specialists. The questions from others can help to clarify the research question or open a view of what is actually of interest to you in the topic that you have envisaged.

Clustering makes it easier to focus the question

Writing a bachelor thesis: Clustering in preparation

Concentrate on a question within your topic by clustering. This technique from the field of creative writing comes from Gabriele L. Rico. It lets creativity and analytical thinking work together. It also allows you to concentrate better on a certain sub-area. Associatively associated words are thought out and written down on the basis of a key word. The relationship of the words to one another is marked by lines that circled words. Decide what interests you most and based on that, make associations again. After a few steps, write a text about your clustering.

Ask yourself what fascinates you about your topic and what irritates you. An interesting question can also develop from these points. But test through literature research whether the answer to the question can realistically be mastered in a bachelor thesis.

The following method can help you to find a question based on your topic:


The three-step method according to Kate L. Turabian (2007): This allows you to find out what you want to write about while you are writing.

  1. Formulate your topic, i.e. what you are writing about. Start the sentence with: “I am working on / investigating / writing about …”
  2. Add a question, i.e. what you want to find out in the work:


    Complete the above sentence with the words: “… because I want to find out / understand / understand …”
  3. Now define the goal of your investigation. Why do you want to know what you described above?


    Continue the sentence again: “… to consider / determine / check …”

Convert the question formulated in the second point to a question phrase.


Convert the goal written down under point three into a statement, which you introduce as follows: “The goal of my work is …”. From this you can derive your working hypothesis. Start with: “I assume that …”.

Structure of the bachelor thesis

To create an outline for your bachelor thesis, you should already have developed a problem-oriented question. Because this is the best way to come up with an argument with which you want to answer it.

If you have already got an overview of the literature on your question using standard works, internet research and an initial bibliography: Make a list with the aspects that you have already found out. In a second step, group them and think about which topics belong together, have to be dealt with one after the other in a structure or explained in the introduction. Arrange the literature that could help you with your argument under the (sub) headings of your outline.

One way, after reading a basic work on the subject, can be to only read through texts that support your line of argument. This saves time and saves you from constantly finding new aspects that are certainly very interesting, but only distract you from your question. Also calculate how you want to weight your work and consider how many pages you will need for each sub-item. In this way you can set yourself small work goals for the development phase and achieve interim successes that further motivate you.

Writing A Bachelor Thesis

Elaboration of the bachelor thesis

Gradually fill in your outline with text. But make sure that you write through one after the other and ideally also in one go, so that the argumentation process of the work remains fluid and you avoid repetitions. To stay tuned, you can first write a rough draft and revise it in a second round. You should also divide the revision process: first comes the content, then the language and style, and finally the form. If you want to do everything at once, you won’t get anywhere.

Write the main part before the introduction

The order of the parts is as follows: First write the main part, then the introduction and finally the conclusion. Only when the main part is finished will you know what you are getting the reader into with the introduction. In addition, the introduction should be particularly handy so that it makes you want to continue reading. In addition, someone who just skips the work will definitely read the introduction and the end. So in these parts, the work should make a particularly good impression and be very informative.

Your bachelor thesis should show the following: You can independently work on a question in your subject using scientific methods within a limited period of time. This period varies between six and twelve weeks, depending on the subject. So make yourself a schedule. When you have registered the work, you will be given a fixed submission date. But even if you haven’t already done so, you should set yourself a deadline. This helps you to work consistently on the progress of your work and gives you the necessary discipline. You can also argue better when others want to use you for leisure activities and favors, or when your best friend has acute lovesickness again. “I have to finish my theoretical part today” sounds more convincing than: “I have to learn”. You plan half the time you have for writing the rough draft. A quarter of it for correction and revision.

Read More

Writing A Master’s Thesis: Tips On Finding A Topic, Structuring And Working Out

Writing Arguments in 6 Steps + Examples

Hypothesis: 4 Types + Interpretation Hypothesis Explained In 3 Steps

Morning letters to resolve blockages

Promote your thinking because thinking and writing are closely related. So that you can express what you are thinking more directly, use the exercise on the morning pages: Just write down what comes to mind by hand for half an hour every day. If you can’t think of anything, write that down too. Over time, writing down your own thoughts will become more fluid and writing your scientific text will also be easier for you.

Let others proofread the bachelor thesis, preferably several people. You could also give them different tasks, like having someone review the content and the other reviewing the language. Make appointments with the reviewers in advance. This will help you stick to the schedule. Allow the others enough time for the correction and also remember that you have to incorporate the corrections afterwards, which can also take time.

Careful scientific work is mandatory

Who said what It is essential to present this clearly in scientific work. This makes it clear that you have informed yourself about the relevant literature and what you have to say about it. Differentiate and mark the following text elements in the bachelor thesis:

  • Direct quotations are highlighted by layout or quotation marks, depending on their length.
  • Indirect quotations can be identified with formulations such as: “Meyer’s approach says that …”
  • You make paraphrases as such clear by describing the author’s position in your own words and naming the author or by prefixing “cf.” or “cf.” for “compare” in the following reference.
  • Mark your own statements by introducing “in my opinion …” or “in my opinion …” accordingly in the text.

When dealing with other academic texts, you should not freeze in awe. Through your bachelor thesis, you enter into a scientific conversation with others who have researched on this topic. Summarize what others have written in your own words. Most of the time, the content is easier to remember. Take a position on this. That takes courage. Because you are already familiar with your topic, you are (also) an expert in it and you can allow yourself to take your own position.