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how-to-write-a-masters-thesis [2021/12/13 10:25]
strakova [The Content] |
how-to-write-a-masters-thesis [2021/12/13 12:59]
strakova [The Content] article |
| - Master's state final examinations (''státnice'' in Czech): requires [[https://is.mff.cuni.cz/|registering]] for the examination in the required [[https://www.mff.cuni.cz/en/students/academic-calendar/|deadline]] and showing up for the examination. Also more on the examination later. | - Master's state final examinations (''státnice'' in Czech): requires [[https://is.mff.cuni.cz/|registering]] for the examination in the required [[https://www.mff.cuni.cz/en/students/academic-calendar/|deadline]] and showing up for the examination. Also more on the examination later. |
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| So each of both parts is offered separately in the [[https://is.mff.cuni.cz/|Study Information System (SIS)]], each of them must be enrolled in the required [[https://www.mff.cuni.cz/en/students/academic-calendar/|deadline]] and they can be taken jointly or separately in three possible terms throughout the year: ''summer'' (June), ''autumn'' (September) and ''winter'' (February). Please note that the deadline for registration differs for each of the terms. Actually, there is a preferred way, when everything went well, and that is the summer final examination after the 2nd year's summer semester, taking both the defence and examination, which places the registration for both examinations and the submission of the thesis somewhere to **[[https://www.mff.cuni.cz/en/students/academic-calendar/|May]]**. | So each of both parts is offered separately in the [[https://is.mff.cuni.cz/|Study Information System (SIS)]], each of them must be enrolled in the required [[https://www.mff.cuni.cz/en/students/academic-calendar/|deadline]] and they can be taken jointly or separately in three possible terms throughout the year: ''summer'' (June), ''autumn'' (September) and ''winter'' (February). Please note that the deadline for registration differs for each of the terms. There is a preferred way, when everything went well, and that is the summer final examination after the 2nd year's summer semester, taking both the defence and examination, which places the registration for both examinations and the submission of the thesis somewhere to **[[https://www.mff.cuni.cz/en/students/academic-calendar/|May]]**. |
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| ==== Survivor Advice: ==== | ==== Survivor Advice: ==== |
| The very fist question I usually get is ''"How much do I have to write?"''. As far as I know, there is no official number anywehere, so I'm just going to speak from experience: A master's thesis most probably non-rejectable on the basis of ''"too few text"'' if it consists of absolute minimum of 40-50 A4 pages of content, not including the front page, acknowledgements, table of contents, bibliography & appendices. That is, the Conclusion Section should appear on page 40-50. | The very fist question I usually get is ''"How much do I have to write?"''. As far as I know, there is no official number anywehere, so I'm just going to speak from experience: A master's thesis most probably non-rejectable on the basis of ''"too few text"'' if it consists of absolute minimum of 40-50 A4 pages of content, not including the front page, acknowledgements, table of contents, bibliography & appendices. That is, the Conclusion Section should appear on page 40-50. |
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| ==== Me or We aka Pluralis Majestatis ==== | ==== Me or We==== |
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| | Most scientific contributions were achieved in a team and it is therefore customary to write publications in plural, as in ''"We present"'', ''"We implemented"'' and ''"We conclude that..."''. If you are a single author of the work, though, opinions differ on the choice of singular (''"I"'') and plural (''"We"''). Some even say a third person should be used as in ''"The researcher found out that..."'' It is generally advisable to avoid the singular/plural choice wherever you can by using impersonal passive voice, such as ''"The research shows that..."'', ''"The findings suggest that..."''. The active voice singular (''"I"'') would then be kept for sentences in which you underscore your particular contribution: ''"I implemented"'', ''"I measured"''. Even the use of ''"We"'' throughout the thesis in all places where you are clearly referring to you as a single author, is acceptable. Using a plural ''"we"'' instead of singular ''"I"'' in scientific writings is supposedly called [[https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autorsk%C3%BD_plur%C3%A1l|''pluralis auctoris'']] and Wikipedia says it is more common towards the East (hence the Wiki page is only in a few languages, including Czech, but excluding English). That being said, the choice is really yours. |
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| Most scientific contributions were achieved in a team and it is therefore customary to write in plural, as in ''"we present"'', ''"we implemented"'' and ''"we conclude that..."''. Writing in plural is so widespread in scientific writing that one is expected to use ''"we"'' even when being the single author of the work, although one may feel a little pompous. | |
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| ==== The Content ==== | ==== The Content ==== |
| An typical experimental NLP thesis usually consists of these parts: | An typical experimental NLP thesis usually consists of these parts: |
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| * Oficially required formalities such as front page, declaration of independent work, dedication, etc. Must be part of the thesis, must appear in the correct order and must look like EXACTLY like prescribed by the [[https://www.mff.cuni.cz/en/students/bachelor-and-master-thesis/guidelines-for-writing-a-master-thesis|Guidelines for Writing a Master Thesis]]. The good news is that if you downloaded the [[https://www.mff.cuni.cz/en/students/bachelor-and-master-thesis/guidelines-for-writing-a-master-thesis|official LaTeX template]], all these have already been sorted out for you as part of the template. You only have to fill in the blank fields. | * Oficially required formalities such as front page, declaration of independent work, dedication, abstract, etc. |
| * Introduction | * Introduction |
| * Theoretical Background/Related Work | * Theoretical Background/Related Work |
| * Appendices | * Appendices |
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| I describe [[how-to-write-a-masters-thesis-content|each section content]] in detail on separate page. | I describe [[how-to-write-a-masters-thesis-content|each section]] in detail on a separate page. |
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| * Read the official [[https://www.mff.cuni.cz/en/students/bachelor-and-master-thesis/guidelines-for-writing-a-master-thesis|Guidelines for Writing a Master Thesis]]. | * Read the official [[https://www.mff.cuni.cz/en/students/bachelor-and-master-thesis/guidelines-for-writing-a-master-thesis|Guidelines for Writing a Master Thesis]]. |
| * Download the official [[http://www.mff.cuni.cz/studium/bcmgr/prace/vzor-dp.zip|LaTeX template]] and take this as an opportunity to learn LaTeX (or brush up your LaTeX skills). Please please be it LaTeX and not a WYSIWYG editor (Word, Libreoffice, ...). It's just so easy to get beautifully typesetted text and mathematical formulas with LaTeX and so easy to ruin things otherwise. Also, get BibTeX for managing your references. You'll find yourself having to resist less urge to through it all away when you have to reindex your references in Word for the 50th time. Your future self will thank your current self if you put just a little work into setting up your thesis in LaTeX. | * Download the [[http://www.mff.cuni.cz/studium/bcmgr/prace/vzor-dp.zip|official LaTeX template]] and take this as an opportunity to learn LaTeX (or brush up your LaTeX skills). Please please be it LaTeX and not a WYSIWYG editor (Word, Libreoffice, ...). It's just so easy to get beautifully typesetted text and mathematical formulas with LaTeX and so easy to ruin things otherwise. Also, get BibTeX for managing your references. You'll find yourself having to resist less urge to through it all away when you have to reindex your references in Word for the 50th time. Your future self will thank your current self if you put just a little work into setting up your thesis in LaTeX. |
| * Read my [[how-to-write-a-masters-thesis-typesetting|advice on typesetting]], with good practices and frequent errors. | * Read my [[how-to-write-a-masters-thesis-typesetting|advice on typesetting]], with good practices and frequent errors. |
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