How to

write your
thesis
Wenny Setiawati
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§ Clear Research Question (RQ)

§ Title of your thesis correctly
§ Chapter and subchapter
§ Typo
§ Margin
§ Quotes
Ingredients: § Sentences
§ Footnote
§ Conclusion and recommendation
§ What you need to do in
consultation with your supervisor?

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Clear Research
Question

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§ RQ is to state clearly the problem within your

thesis
§ Set the RQ by using these question: 5 W 1 H.
§ RQ 1 is to be answered in chapter 2 of your
thesis, RQ 2 is to be answered in chapter 3,
etc.
§ So, it would help you to set the RQ by doing an
#RQ = #Objectives outline of your thesis first .

= #Conclusions § Make the outline in the form of table of

contents, so it would be clear from the start on
how you are going to explain an issue in a
chapter.
§ Tip: no more RQ on how the regulation
regulates, that would be meaningless
§ Tip: remember to survive Turnitin
§ Tip: straight to the point/issue RQ

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Title

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§ Thesis title should be able to define

problem explained in the RQ.
§ So, the reader would understand what is
this thesis all about, and what would be
discuss within it just by reading the title.

”…” § Title of thesis shouldn’t be too long, just

about enough that it will describe the topic
and that will interest the reader to read the
thesis.
§ Be clear in the title!

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Chapter and
subchapter

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Guideline

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Pay attention on the guidelines
within the Red Book form
Education Bureau (Birpen).
Sub chapters need to be
structured orderly, as if you are
telling bedtime stories, you need
to be clear on the storyline of your
thesis.
What to do?
9
Chapter’s title should clearly
describe the certain topic you
would like to discuss in order to
explain the problem in the thesis,
and this must in accordance with
the RQ 1.
After the title of chapter or
subchapter, you need to explain a
bit on the purpose of this chapter
or subchapter, this served as
introduction of the explanation
after.
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After a list of items, don’t just go straight to sentence, you need to

put space in between, so the reader could differentiate of a new
issue different with the list provided on the above. Unless, the
sentence is the explanation of the list, then it is okay to not put
space in between.

Again, you need to structure your sentences like in the storyline,

what is the issue you will need to discuss first before you are going
on the explanation of the topic in the chapter or subchapter.

Style

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Typo

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Before submitting your chapter to the supervisor, please check if there is any
Check typo, or unclear sentence. (because it is irritating for us, the supervisor, to see any
typo in the draft).

Check Check if there is any missing reference on the draft.

Check If you put table or data in the draft, please check the title of the table, the source,
and the numbering.

What to do?

©Wenny Setiawati
Margin

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I like this
style

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If you write under chapter before entering subchapter, margin of the sentences
should be on the same margin as the left margin of the chapter, then, if you
entering a subchapter then you need to differentiate the placement of the title
and numbering of the subchapter, and the sentence you wrote need to be in the
same margin with the numbering margin.

This trick would be helpful for the reader, so they would understand whether
they are still reading the same subchapter or chapter or in sub-subchapter

How?

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Quotes

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If you need it badly,

If you don’t need it since it’s in foreign
Do you need quotes or badly, then you can Don’t put too much
language for example,
not? just paraphrase the quotes in your thesis
then just do the very
quote
important quotes

Remember that the

Otherwise, you’ll get max percentage for
into trouble when you I prefer 20% max for
Turnitin is 25% for Turnitin, lesser is
check your thesis’
undergraduate better
plagiarism
program

What you need to do for quotes?

©Wenny Setiawati
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Sentence

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Sentence is used to deliver

small ideas, use the guidance
of writing a sentence by
following the rules in Bahasa
or English, Subject +
Predicate + Object +
Adjunct.
Don’t write sentence too
long, the recipe for writing a
sentence is that you can spell
it in one breath for a
sentence.
Remember the storyline in
connecting one sentence to
another.

One paragraph always

consist minimum 2 sentences
with one idea you are trying
to explain. Please read it
again, if the paragraph has 2
ideas then separate it into 2
paragraphs.
And always put connecting
sentence in order to connect
ideas from a paragraph to
another. Don’t just jump into
a new paragraph because it
will lose the reader.

What and how?

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Footnote

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§ Footnote was meant to give sources as reference

to the ideas within the sentence or paragraph.
§ This is for the reader so they can search the
original sources for the idea.

§ If you quote an argument from a book or article,

in which they took it from another source, then
write it like this: What and
George R. Bermann, WTO Law and
Developing Countries, (New York:
Cambridge, 2007), p. 40, as quoted in Gary
How?
Clyde Hufbauer, Global Warming and The
World Trading System, (Washington DC:
Peterson Institute for International Economics,
2009), p. 153.

©Wenny Setiawati
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Conclusion and
Recommendation

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How to write conclusions?

Remember how many RQ you Conclusions are meant as Write it efficiently so it still
have in the thesis excerpts of the explanation in could give the ”lazy” reader a
the chapters summary of what you wrote in
the chapters

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What to do with your

supervisor?

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Remember: be polite in communication with your supervisor, we are not your subordinate. Be
polite, structure the text if you are going to contact them through text messages.

Always ask your supervisor first on how the preferable process for him/her of the supervision. It
could be differed on each person.

Please remember to always submit your draft in Microsoft document and turn on the track
changes

Please put the draft file name in the full detail of the version, example: Draft Skripsi - Wenny
Setiawati – 24032021.docx

Therefore, both of you and the supervisor will know on which revision you are both working on

Be precise and neat! This is the only recipe for success in writing thesis/report/legal opinion

Good luck!

©Wenny Setiawati