Taming the Thesis Beast: Don’t Commit these Common Mistakes in your PhD Thesis

Writing a PhD thesis can seem threatening, but avoiding common mistakes makes it easier. Image created with DALL-E

Congratulations — you have survived the initial years of your PhD with only a moderate coffee addiction, the occasional suspicion that your lab coat is sprouting mold, and an extensive collection of half-baked manuscripts. Now the time has come to tackle the monumental task of writing up your thesis. Many bright young PhD scientists experience sweaty palms and nightmares about accidentally making rookie mistakes in their dissertation, but fear not. This guide is designed to address those anxieties, poke a little fun at common slip-ups, and ensure you don’t lose your sanity — or your sense of humor — along the way.

The Perils of the Never-Ending Outline

Around the one-year mark of your research, you might hear a small, rational voice in your mind whisper, “It’s time to outline the thesis.” Your first instinct could be to ignore it and watch cat videos or reorganize your lab bench for the 37th time. However, trust me when I say that you should not postpone getting the structure of your dissertation on paper. The wise tradition here at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (in short: FAU) and many other universities, for that matter, suggests starting the outline about one year after you began in the lab. This outline will evolve, of course, so aim at…