Bachelor thesis tips: the complete guide

Bachelor thesis tips: from choosing a topic to submission

The key tips in brief: narrow your topic down to a single research question that you can put in one sentence ending with a question mark. Clarify the citation style and formatting rules before you write the first sentence, not after the last. Plan your working time in four blocks (research, first draft, revision, buffer) and keep at least one fifth of the time in reserve. Write the first draft without polishing it, and start with the chapter you have the most material for. Create your reference entries while you write. Before you submit, read the text in three separate passes: logic, style, and spelling and layout.

1. Choose a topic you can actually answer

A good topic has one object, one period or field, and one perspective. "Social media and marketing" is a field, not a topic. A question such as how influencer collaborations affect brand perception at sporting goods manufacturers is narrow enough to answer in a bachelor thesis. Run a quick test before you commit: find 10 to 15 citable titles in your library catalogue and in a database. If you cannot find them, the topic is too narrow or too new. If you find hundreds, it is too broad.

2. Plan your time with a buffer

For a thesis of three months, a sensible split is about three weeks for research and outlining, six weeks for the first draft, two weeks for revision, and the rest as a buffer for corrections and formatting. Expect two to three pages of raw text on a good working day, so a 40-page text needs roughly 20 writing days. An 8-page chapter comes to about 2,200 words. Note down your word count each day. If one phase slips, cut a subchapter rather than the buffer.

3. Outline, red thread and style

Every subchapter must help to answer your research question. If it does not, shorten it or drop it. In academic style, avoid unsupported judgements ("naturally", "obviously"), first-person narration, direct questions to the reader, filler words and long noun chains. Keep technical terms consistent instead of varying them with synonyms: in a thesis, a changed word suggests a changed concept. Link chapters with a two-sentence transition (what was shown, what follows) and refer to chapter numbers.

4. Formalities and citation

Ask your chair which citation style is mandatory. At German universities this might be footnote citation in the German style, APA or Harvard (see our guides to the German citation style, APA 7 and Harvard referencing). Set margins, font, line spacing and page numbers once in a template. Record every source in a reference manager such as Zotero or Citavi, with page number and access date. The three most common mistakes are incomplete references, a gap between the text and the bibliography, and mixed citation styles. For details, see citing in a bachelor thesis and how to cite.

5. The final stretch

Reserve at least one week for the final edit and work in three passes:

• Content: read the start and end of every chapter and check that they lead to your research question.
• Language: look for long sentences, filler words and noun chains.
• Formal: check numbers, figure and table numbers, update all fields, and check headers.

Read the text aloud, read it on paper or a tablet, read the chapters in reverse order, and ask a layperson to read your introduction. Plan time for the final formatting and read-through too. Remember that the signed declaration of authorship goes into every copy. If you plan to use an external text check, read your examination regulations first and talk to your department and supervisor.

6. Common mistakes

These problems come up again and again: the introduction has no clear aim, the theory section lists definitions that are never used later, the method is not justified, results are repeated instead of interpreted, and the conclusion does not answer the research question. A simple test is to read your introduction and conclusion one after the other. Then compare your draft with the grading criteria of your department.