Writing a master’s thesis is completely possible to write a thesis within two months as long as you stay completely focused on your writing and you do a little bit every single day. I was able to write my thesis (master’s and PhD) in approximately two months – but I did have some of the sections already prepared.
To complete your master’s thesis in two months you should start by creating an outline of the sections and headings of your thesis. Then, worked diligently to fill in the gaps with data and analysis.
It would help if you create a schedule of how many sections you need to complete a day to write up in two months.
Also, it is important that you get your supervisor on board from the earliest opportunity so that they understand the urgency and their responsibility of getting any drafts back to you in a timely fashion.
How long does it take to write a master’s or graduate thesis?
Writing a graduate thesis can be a long and arduous process that can take anywhere from one month to many years.
It is essential to start writing your thesis early in your final year of graduate school, as it requires extensive research, data collection and analysis, in addition to the actual writing.
It is important that you go into the thesis writing portion of your degree with as much of the data analysis done as possible.
When you are writing you want to focus 100% on the production of words on a page.
Depending on the topic and depth of study, it can take anywhere from six weeks to two or three months just to complete the first draft.
This is followed by further revisions and edits before finalizing the dissertation.
| Week | Actions |
|---|---|
| Week 1 | Collect all of the data into one place and create a structure with all of the chapters and sections you want to write. Finish up any experiments quickly and make your data as presentable and “thesis ready” as possible. Start putting bullet points under each section so you understand what you want to write in each. |
| Week 2 | Write the introduction using your literature review from earlier in your studies and add more recent updated papers. When is ready send it off to your supervisor. |
| Week 3 | Write your methodology section by including all of the methods you have used throughout your thesis and send it off to your supervisor as soon as you have a draft. |
| Week 4 | Write your results and discussion by laying in your tables, figures and schematics and then filling out explanations of each underneath. Do this for each of the main results from your thesis. When this is ready send it to your supervisor for review. |
| Week 5 | Edit your introduction and your methodology section return from your supervisor. Start writing your conclusion section and give it to your supervisor as soon as possible. |
| Week 6 | Address all of the comments from your supervisor about your results and discussion and then start working on your abstract to go at the front of your thesis. |
| Week 7 | Bring together all of the sections and read your thesis from beginning to end making sure that it makes sense and that there are logical connections between each chapter and section. |
| Week 8 | Work through each chapter with your supervisor and make corrections as you go. Get the red pen out and refine all of your words and sentences. At the end of this week, your masters thesis should be in a position to submit. |
My 8 tips on how to write a thesis or dissertation in two months
Writing a thesis or dissertation in two months can be a daunting task, but it is certainly possible. This assumes that you have all of the data analysis done and you are literally just writing up what you have found.
Here are eight tips that can help you finish writing your thesis in 30 days:
- Start by breaking up the task into manageable chunks and set deadlines for each stage of the process. This will make it easier to stay on track and not become overwhelmed by the whole project.
- Make sure to give yourself enough time to do a thorough literature review, as this is an important part of any thesis or dissertation. Many people have already completed the literature review in the early stages of their graduate degree. Revisit and use as much of this literature review is possible and add the research from recent years.
- Write your first draft as quickly as possible; don’t worry too much about grammar and spelling right now, that comes later. It is all about getting the words out onto the page as quickly as possible.
- Set aside some time every day for writing your thesis; even if it’s only an hour or two, this will help you stay focused and motivated throughout the entire writing process. I used to work in two hour blocks. I was able to squeeze three of these in a day which meant I got a lot of writing done.
- Don’t forget to use helpful tools like Grammarly to ensure the quality of your work is at its highest level before submitting it for review.
- Take regular breaks during your writing sessions; this will help you stay fresh and focused on what needs to be done next. I used to take a break every two hours away from my screen and ensure that I refuelled with good food and caffeine.
- Seek feedback from other PhD students or experts in your field; getting constructive criticism can help you improve the quality of your thesis significantly before submitting. However, do not allow people to sit on the draft for ages. We need a quick turnaround if we are going to complete your thesis in two months.
- Finally, plan ahead and stick to deadlines; this will help keep you on track with completing your thesis in a month’s time!
If you want to know more about how to finish a masters thesis in two months check out my other video where I show you the unglamorous trues about writing a thesis.
Understanding what you are going into and what is likely to happen is half the battle.
If you want to know more about how long a Masters’s thesis and PhD dissertation is you can check out my other articles:
What are the common structures of a Masters’s thesis?
The common structure of a thesis or dissertation usually includes:
- the main text,
- abstract,
- literature review,
- methodology,
- results and discussions
- conclusions
- references
Depending on the school and field of study, there may be additional elements such as appendices.
Generally speaking, the first step in writing a thesis or dissertation is to create a literature review that assesses relevant academic sources related to the topic at hand. This is typically done in the early stages of your research project so you can reuse many parts of your literature review in your thesis. Just make sure you update it with new information.
Then, the methodology section outlines how research was conducted and what methods were used.
The main text presents your findings and conclusions based on your research and the final part of the thesis is to summarise everything you have just written in an abstract.
Each section must be written with clarity and accuracy in order to be accepted by graduate school. However, initially you only have to worry about getting your ideas out onto the page – you can refine them for clarity and accuracy in the editing stage.
Here are all of the sections of a typical master’s thesis and how to write them quickly.
Introduction/literature review
The introduction and literature review are an important part of any academic paper. It outlines the topic, provides background information, and introduces the research question.
The introduction is typically the first section of a paper and should explain the general context and importance of the research being undertaken.
The literature review follows the introduction and provides an overview of relevant previous studies, theories, or debates related to the paper’s research question.
This section may include summaries of key articles or books that have been published on the topic, as well as alternative perspectives and arguments.
A strong literature review will provide a comprehensive summary of prior work while also identifying gaps in knowledge that can be addressed by the current study.
Reuse your literature review from the early stages of your project and update it with more recent publications.
Methodology in a thesis
this is the part of the thesis which details the methods used in researching and writing the paper.
The methodology should include information on how data was collected, analyzed, and interpreted.
I quite often like to start with the methodology because it feels like I am making a lot of progress whilst it being a relatively easy to write.
Feel free to look at other people’s theses that have used the same techniques and follow a similar format that they used. It is common for research groups to share their methodology sections with each other including any schematics required to describe your research process.
You can republish these as long as you reference the appropriate studies and people.
It can also explain why certain methods were chosen over others and provide justification for any assumptions made during the research process.
Results and discussion
Results and discussion provide a platform to present the findings of a research study.
They are essential components of any research paper as they provide an opportunity to analyze and interpret the data collected during the study.
Results typically include descriptive statistics, tables, figures, or graphs that display the main outcomes of the research.
These are what you should place under the headings first.
Create a story with the figures and tables you have already created throughout your research. If you haven’t done them already, create the figures and tables that display your data before writing.
The discussion section should explain how these results relate to prior studies and answer the original research question posed in the introduction.
It should also discuss any limitations or unexpected findings that emerged from the study, as well as potential implications for future research.
Conclusions in a thesis
Conclusions in a thesis are important because they provide readers with a final summary of the main points and themes discussed throughout the thesis.
The conclusion should not introduce any new information, but rather draw on existing evidence to summarize the overall argument presented in the thesis.
It should also reiterate the main points of the paper and include implications for further study or action that could be taken based on the findings.
Conclusions should be written in clear language, using strong arguments and evidence to support their claims.
It is really important to avoid making broad generalizations or unsubstantiated statements in one’s conclusions as this could weaken an otherwise sound argument.
The abstract of a thesis
The abstract of a thesis is a concise summary of the contents of the entire thesis.
And it should be written as one of the last parts of your thesis.
It should give an overview of all the major aspects discussed in the thesis, such as the research question, methodology, findings and conclusions.
The aim of an abstract is to give potential readers a clear idea of what the full dissertation contains without having to read it word for word.
An effective abstract should be concise and self-contained; it should be able to stand alone without needing any explanation or clarification from outside sources.
It should provide enough detail so that readers can determine whether they have an interest in reading the full dissertation.
Writing motivation
If you want to know more about how to increase your writing motivation check out my other video below.
Wrapping up
this article has been through everything you need to know about if you can write a Masters thesis in two months.
It is completely doable as long as you have all of the appropriate data and figures ready and you are committed to writing consistently throughout the two months.
Another really important part of completing your master’s thesis on time is getting buy in from your supervisors so that they return any drafts as quickly as possible.
Work diligently and consistently and in no doubt that you will be able to finish your master’s thesis in two months.
