Workshop on
HOW TO WRITE A GOOD MSc/PhD THESIS
​​​
(Contact trainer for in-house or online training)
​
"I found lots of errors in my thesis that still need to be improved after listening to this talk."
"The course highlighted very important information that I didn't notice before"
- sample comments from previous workshop participants​
​
Synopsis​
​
Many postgraduate students find the writing of a thesis the most stressful and, perhaps, daunting, time of their entire postgraduate life. Many of them end up writing and submitting a thesis without knowing in-depth what makes up a good thesis that is acceptable to examiners. In this two-day online training workshop, participants will learn how to write a good quality thesis that meets the minimum standard set by most universities, as well as learn how to defend their thesis during the viva-voce examination.
Participants are advised to bring along their complete thesis draft or at least the following materials for effective learning: Title, abstract, chapter 1 and list of references. Students who have just embarked on their MSc/PhD journey will also benefit from this workshop.
​
How will I benefit?​
​
-
Know the reasons why a thesis requires major correction or re-submission
-
Know the reasons why a student fails his MSc/PhD
-
Know how to gauge whether your work is sufficient for an MSc/PhD degree
-
Know the difference between problem statement and knowledge gap
-
Know the difference between originality, novelty and contribution
-
Learn how to write objectives based on problem statement and knowledge gap
-
Learn how to select a good title for your thesis that reflects novelty of your research
-
Learn how to write the scope of your work clearly
-
Learn what are the six key elements in a good abstract
-
Learn how to write a good Introduction chapter
-
Learn how to write a good literature review chapter
-
Learn how to write methodology that aims at achieving your objectives
-
Learn how to discuss the results and highlight your novel contribution
-
Learn how to write a good conclusion and thesis contribution
-
Learn how to defend your work during the viva-voce examination
​
Course content:
​
Day 1:
Objective of workshop
What is a thesis?
Why a thesis requires major correction, re-submission, or is rejected?
What do examiners expect?
Difference between MSc and PhD theses
Is your work sufficient for an MSc/PhD degree?
Is your publication evidence that your work is sufficient?
Order of writing a thesis and thesis format
Writing a good title that reflects novelty
Writing a good abstract with the six key elements
Writing the Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology, Results & Discussion and Conclusion chapters
Activity 1: Decide your own scale!
Activity 2: Plan for your graduation
Activity 3: Identify the problem statement, knowledge gap, objective, novelty and contribution
Activity 3: Choose a title for your thesis, and identify keywords that reflect novelty
Activity 4: Improve the given titles
Activity 5: Identify the six elements in the abstracts given
Activity 6: Improve your own thesis abstract
​
Day 2:
​
Referencing and citation issues
Appendices, nomenclature and formatting
Revising, editing and proof reading the thesis
Purpose of the viva-voce examination
How to prepare for the viva?
How to prepare PowerPoint slides for presentation during viva?
How do examiners assess a candidate during the viva?
How to defend your thesis during the viva?
The viva-voce examination process
How to respond to examiner’s comments and suggestions?
How to avoid major correction, re-submission or rejection of your thesis?
How to avoiding plagiarism and paraphrasing?
Ethical issues in thesis writing
Common mistakes made by MSc/PhD students.
​Activity 7: Review the objectives and suggest improvements.
Activity 8: Improve the scope of study given
Activity 9: Correct errors in references section of thesis.
Activity 10: Prepare PowerPoint slides for presentation during viva
​
Course duration: 12 hours (over two days) (9.30 am to 5.30 pm)
​
Fee: Contact trainer for quotation​​
​​​
Who should attend: This workshop is targeted towards MSc/PhD students undertaking a postgraduate degree by research in any field of engineering. Young supervisors and anyone interested in knowing how to write a good thesis are welcome to join. You can assess yourself whether you need to attend this workshop by answering the questions in this simple quiz.
​​​
​
Available for order (in-print only)
Presenter profile
Dr. Mani Maran Ratnam obtained his B.Eng. degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of Malaya in 1985 and a Ph.D. from Polytechnic of Wales (UK) in 1991. He retired as professor from Universiti Sains Malaysia in 2021, after serving for 26 years. While at USM, he served as deputy dean of research and postgraduate study over six years, chaired many MSc and PhD viva-voce examinations, and supervised numerous MSc and PhD students. He is also a HRD Corp accredited trainer (Trainer ID: 9057), Ministry of Human Resources, and founder of MMR Training and Consulting.
Student feedback from previous face-to-face workshop (unedited)
​
“Hye Prof. Dr Mani Maran Ratnam,
I just finished my viva last January (26/1/2018).
Your writing lesson help me a lot during writing. My thesis also have been nominated for the best thesis award 2018.
Thank you for your sharing knowledge and help.
Regards,
Siti Aminah Zakaria
Msc Student
School of Material and Mineral Resources
Universiti Sains Malaysia”
​
“Prof. I really thank you so much for the seminar and materials on How to write a good phd thesis. Your presentation is one of best i have attended.
Prof. i would also like to attend the concluding part.
Thanks Prof.
Yours faithfully,
ROBINSON JACKSON GENZA
SCHOOL OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING."
​
​
Anonymous feedback from recent online workshops (unedited)
​
concise and crisp and a very great class!
I enjoyed the presentation and I am better informed about how to write a great thesis and defend it. Thank you
Fruitful presentation. Thank you very much Dr. I would love to join related workshop in future.
A fruitful workshop. For me this presentation is totally new. A good introduction to the research and writing.
I think this workshop presented by you is perfect same like previous workshop. I'm looking forward with your next workshop. Surely I will join it :).
Maybe Prof may distribute the slide first so that we can print before the workshop begin. By doing that we can write additional notes during hearing your talk. :)
Thanks a lot for the initiative... The workshop is affordably priced and helpful..
I find this workshop very useful which gave me a better understanding on preparing myself to complete and graduate my Master's studies. The contents of the presentation was very clear and brief. Now I can really keep track on my process of completing a good thesis and also have an expectation on how to be more prepared for my viva. I've gain my motivation through this workshop. Hope to join more workshop in the future. Thank you.
​
I am thankful to Dr. Mani for organizing this workshop, I learned new things about PhD thesis and its different components. Very helpful.
More time is needed of course
Need further one to one coaching for strengthening the understanding
I found lots of errors in my thesis that still need to be improved after listening to this talk.
Perhaps splitting it into two days would be better
Good to have two days workshop.
can have long session for writing certain chapter and guide students to choose good source of journal/paper and write it down
Thank you prof...we get many new information today regarding the thesis writing.
In-house training held at School of Electrical & Electronics Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia
(20&21 March 2023)
Anonymous response to the question 'What did you like most about the course?'
Clear explanation
Examiner's point of view
Prof Mani Maran is very knowledgeable and helpful.
The kind attitude and good knowledge sharing of the presenter
The presentation was interesting.
The down to earth explanation by the resource person
The course highlighted very important information that I didn't notice before
The composer and gentle presentation by the trainer was superb.
Literature review section, and problem Statement writing
The presented very clear
The trainer is extremely knowledgeable I the topic he presented. The training is very interactive, fun, and engaging.
I was well engage and carried along through out the training exercise
The course was so concised and informative
Engaging the participants by the facilitator in excercise to enhance their studies ability and simplified English used in the explanation.
Easy to follow and understand
The understanding of the instructor on topics discussed is superb.
I like the presenter view his knowledge
Writing the Abstract with six key elements
understand how examiners work
The presentation skill and flow of Prof Mani is of top notch, clear and audible. He shared a lot of details and nuances about thesis writing from his 26-year experience in USM.
The clarity of the course materials and off course the presentation
The detailed and careful explanation by the presenter
The presentation style and format is superb
The way the tutor rendered the sessions
Supporting material (handout note)
Everything was good. It was a great workshop to attend
The way the professor present the training workshop amazing