How to Write Your Thesis at Federation University: A Practical Guide for HDR Students

Federation has a solid set of official resources for higher degree by research (HDR) candidates. The less good news is that they're spread across several pages and a 20-page PDF. This guide pulls them together in the order you'll need them, from shaping a research question to submitting the final PDF and turning chapters into journal articles. Every section links back to the official source so you can check the detail yourself.

Before you start: know which rules apply to you

Federation's HDR thesis resources are written for PhD and Master of Philosophy (MPhil) candidates. If you're writing an honours thesis or a coursework master's project, most of the writing advice still carries over, but your word limits, formatting and submission rules come from your course. Check your course or unit guide before you rely on anything below.

For HDR candidates, a few ground rules shape everything else.

There is no official template. The Graduate Research School says there's no single right way to present a Federation thesis, so it doesn't provide one. Instead, it suggests asking your supervisor to recommend a successfully examined Federation thesis from your discipline and using that as your model. Do this early. It's far easier to set up your document properly on day one than to reformat 80,000 words in your final month.

Your supervisors and discipline conventions come first. The presentation guide is general advice. Where it differs from your supervisory team, your chosen style manual, or the requirements of your School, Institute or Research Centre, those take priority.

Compliance is on you. It's the candidate's responsibility to make sure the thesis meets University and Graduate Research School requirements, along with the relevant HDR procedures and guidelines. Nobody else will check every page before examiners see it.

Stage 1: Plan your thesis

Federation splits its planning resources into three steps: finding a topic, designing a research question, and creating a thesis plan. The research question is where most of the real thinking happens, so it's worth slowing down here.

Decide what your question is for

Different research purposes produce different kinds of questions. Federation's guide groups them into six types:

Knowing your question type helps you choose a methodology that actually fits, instead of bolting on a method you're comfortable with.

Keep the question open

A question you can answer with yes or no tends to push you toward confirming something rather than investigating it. Starting with "How", "Why" or "To what extent" gives you room to explore degrees of difference and competing explanations, which is exactly the kind of analysis examiners look for.

Here's a quick illustration. "Does remote work reduce employee wellbeing?" is closed. "To what extent does remote work affect employee wellbeing in regional Victorian workplaces, and for which groups of workers?" is open, focused, and gives you something to argue about.

Test it before you commit

Federation's guidance suggests running your draft question through checks like these, ideally with your supervisors or a research group:

• Is it clear and precise?
• Does it matter to your field?
• Is it focused enough to stop you drifting into neighbouring topics?
• Does it leave room for complexity and critical analysis?
• Can you realistically answer it within an HDR candidature?
• Is there enough current literature to support it?

And if your question keeps shifting, that's normal. The University distinguishes between a guiding research question, which steers your reading and method decisions, and the final question, which may not settle until late in candidature. The HDR research question helpsheet (PDF) is a handy one-page companion.

Set up the boring things now

Two jobs are much cheaper at the planning stage than later. First, start a reference library straight away. The presentation guide strongly recommends EndNote, and it stresses keeping detailed records of every source from the beginning. Second, work out whether your project needs ethics approval, because you can't collect certain data without it.

Stage 2: Write it section by section

Federation's Write your thesis hub recommends breaking the thesis into sections and tackling one at a time. It has a dedicated page for each part of a typical thesis, plus three pages on presentation skills. Chapter structures vary by discipline, but the sample contents page in the presentation guide shows a common pattern for empirical work: Introduction, Literature review, Methodology, Results, and Discussion and conclusions. Humanities and creative theses are often organised by theme or argument instead.

Abstract

The abstract is a required preliminary page, and it must fit within two A4 pages. Most candidates write it last, once the argument has settled. If you later publish from your thesis, some journals ask for a structured abstract with fixed headings, so read Federation's page on abstracts, summaries and structured abstracts with both uses in mind.

Introduction and the research gap

Your introduction's main job is to show readers the gap your research fills. Federation's guide to introductions and research gaps describes it as a sequence of moves:

1. Set out the broad problem or debate, then narrow to your specific context.
2. Summarise the main existing approaches to that problem.
3. Identify the most promising current approach, drawing on key scholars.
4. Explain where that approach falls short. This is your gap.
5. Propose a new angle, framed as a research question or hypothesis.
6. State the aim and purpose of the thesis and preview the chapters ahead.

The division of labour is simple: the introduction points out the gap, and the literature review examines it in detail. If you can, end your introduction with a thesis statement that says what the thesis argues, not just what it aims to do. Expectations vary by discipline, so confirm this with your supervisor.

Literature review

The literature reviews for postgraduates page is the place to start. A common trap is writing a review that summarises one source after another. Examiners want an argument about the state of knowledge: which debates exist, where scholars disagree, what's been overlooked, and how all of that leads to your question. Organising by theme or debate usually works better than organising by author.

If your project is itself a systematic review, scoping review or meta-analysis, those follow stricter protocols. Read systematic reviews, scoping reviews and meta-analysis and the scoping or systematic review helpsheet (PDF).

Methodology

Explain what you did and why that approach suits your question. Your introduction can mention your methodological approach briefly, but the detail belongs in this chapter. See methodology, methods and procedure sections.

Results

Report what you found clearly and without interpretation creeping in too early. The presentation guide recommends past tense for methods and results, and it says tables and figures should add to the text rather than duplicate it. Discuss each one enough to justify including it, but don't restate every number. More on this in results sections.

Discussion

This is where you interpret your findings, tie them back to the literature and your research question, and spell out your contribution and its limits. Interpretation and analysis are usually written in present tense. See discussion sections.

Hold the argument together

A thesis is one long argument, not a stack of chapters. Three pages help with that: mapping an argument shows how minor claims should build toward your major ones, research frameworks helps you position your study theoretically, and presenting data covers getting numbers and visuals across clearly.

Get the presentation right

The Graduate Research School's How to present your thesis guide (Version 7, 2026) is worth reading twice: once before you start drafting, and again before you submit. It covers layout, formatting, citation, English expression, ethics and submission. It deliberately doesn't cover the intellectual content of your research, which sits with your supervisors.

Word limits

References and appendices don't count toward the limit. Two things people often miss: text inside figures and tables does count, and so do content footnotes that readers need to understand the main text. Notes that only hold citation details don't count.

Page set-up and formatting at a glance

How the thesis is arranged

Every thesis has three parts: preliminary pages, the main text divided into chapters, and end matter such as references and appendices.

Required preliminary pages: title page, abstract (maximum two A4 pages), signed and dated declaration, and table of contents. Include lists of figures and tables if you have them, with numbers, captions and page numbers but no references or links.

Optional preliminary pages: acknowledgements (note any Research Training Program or other funding support here), copyright statement, list of appendices, statement of contribution to jointly published papers, ethics approval statement, a short dedication, and a list of abbreviations.

The AI statement. The current guide includes a preliminary statement on artificial intelligence, describing how you used it in your research if you did. Talk with your supervisor early about what's acceptable in your field and keep notes as you go, so the statement is accurate rather than reconstructed from memory at the end.

The sample title page in the guide includes your thesis title, your name and existing qualifications, a line stating the thesis is submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements for your degree, Federation University Australia, and the month and year. Your School, Institute or Research Centre can be added as an option.

Page numbering

Use two sequences. Preliminary pages take lower-case Roman numerals (i, ii, iii), counted from the title page. The main text and end matter take Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3), starting at the first page of Chapter 1. Page numbers are conventionally hidden on the title page, blank or display pages, and any pages before the table of contents, even though those pages still count.

Headings and the "evolving" table of contents

Headings are signposts, so each heading level needs consistent formatting. You can use a different capitalisation style for each level, but never switch styles within one level. Leave more space above a heading than below it, and don't let a heading sit alone at the bottom of a page.

One of the most useful tips in the guide: generate your table of contents regularly while you write. Reading it on its own quickly shows whether headings follow a logical order, whether same-level headings are genuinely equal in rank, whether the wording is parallel, and whether something is missing. Entries must match the heading wording in the text exactly.

Figures and tables

• Refer to them by number ("see Table 3", "Figure 6.2"), never by position like "the table below", because layout shifts as you edit.
• Figure captions go below the figure. Table numbers and titles go above the table.
• Number consecutively through the thesis, or by chapter (Figure 4.2) so every number is unique.
• Credit the original source for anything copied or adapted.
• Don't split a table or figure that's shorter than a page across two pages.
• Build them within your final margins, but leave final formatting until the writing is done. Otherwise you'll redo the work every time the text moves.

Quotations

Use quotations to support your argument, not to make it for you. Transcribe them exactly. Set longer quotes apart as indented block quotations (your style guide will set the threshold). Mark omissions with an ellipsis, put any additions in square brackets, flag errors in the original with [sic], and label your own emphasis with [emphasis added].

Referencing

There's no single correct referencing system, but disciplines have preferences, so check with your supervisor. The guide outlines the main options:

• Author-date (Harvard, APA): common in social sciences, education and commerce.
• Documentary note (Oxford, Chicago notes and bibliography): common in arts, history and literature.
• Vancouver: numbered citations, used in medicine, allied health and the physical sciences.
• MLA: favoured in parts of the humanities, particularly literature and linguistics.

At HDR level you're expected to follow the most recent edition of your chosen style, and to apply it with total consistency. In author-date systems, every in-text citation must appear in the reference list and every reference-list entry must be cited in the text. Extra reading goes in a separate bibliography. Check tricky entries against the Library's FedCite examples.

English expression

Set Word to English (Australian) for spelling and grammar, and avoid American spellings unless your field uses them. Keep one developed idea per paragraph, and if a paragraph runs a full page, split it. Vary sentence length, and read tricky passages aloud to catch clumsy rhythm and missing punctuation. Passive voice is acceptable, but clarity wins. As a general tense rule, describe methods and past findings in past tense, and your interpretations and established facts in present tense.

Ethics approval: sort it out early

If your research gathers information from or about people, animals or organisations, assume you'll need ethics approval until you're told otherwise. The presentation guide lists common triggers, including interviews, surveys and questionnaires, audio or video recording, photographing people, archived data where individuals can be identified, access to personal documents, and research into illegal activities. It also flags approval as relevant if you plan to publish findings in peer-reviewed journals or conference proceedings.

This isn't a formality. Collecting data without approval can lead to disciplinary action and, in serious cases, termination of enrolment. Any approval you receive must be noted in your thesis.

If you're unsure whether you need clearance, contact the Ethics Officer on 03 5327 6094 or at [email protected].

Check the current National Statement. The presentation guide refers to the 2023 National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research. NHMRC has since released a 2025 edition, which replaced the 2023 version from 23 June 2026. Read the current version on the NHMRC website and confirm with the Ethics Office which requirements apply to your application.

Stage 3: Finish, edit and submit

Federation's Finish your thesis section and its page on the final stages of a PhD focus on the last six months or so of candidature. This is where good theses become examinable ones.

Check that the thesis flows

Fluency works at four levels: chapters, paragraphs, sentences and the overall argument. A simple test for chapter flow is to write the main idea of each chapter on its own card and lay them out in order. Could someone outside your field follow the logic from one card to the next? If two cards feel like they belong to different theses, you've found your problem.

Edit first, proofread last

Editing and proofreading are different jobs. Editing runs through the whole project and looks at argument, structure, cohesion and layout. Proofreading is a final sweep for small errors, done on the penultimate draft so new mistakes don't slip in while you're still making changes.

Federation's advice is to edit forwards and proofread backwards. Reading from the last line to the first stops your eye skimming over familiar sentences. Listening to the text with Word's Read Aloud function is another good way to catch errors.

It helps to split editing into two passes:

• Macro-editing: layout of every page, title page details, preliminary lists, heading and font consistency, figure and table placement and captions, and a full cross-check of in-text citations against the reference list.
• Micro-editing: whether each chapter does what its introduction promises, links between paragraphs, vague words (calling something "significant" without saying why), repetition, ambiguity, acronyms defined on first use, grammar, spelling and punctuation. Don't trust a spell checker to catch words that are spelled correctly but wrong in context.

The Editing your writing helpsheet (PDF) and Abbreviations in academic writing helpsheet (PDF) are both worth keeping open during this stage.

Allow real time for proofreading

Federation notes that giving proofreading several months isn't unusual. That surprises most candidates, so build it into your timeline now rather than discovering it in your final term.

Choosing a professional proofreader

The University highly recommends paying for a proofreader, and says it's essential if English isn't your first language. Ask your supervisor whether your School offers funding or an allowance. When choosing someone, look at their track record with doctoral work, whether they'll commit to your deadline, their qualifications, membership of the Institute of Professional Editors (IPEd), and recommendations from supervisors and past candidates.

One firm boundary: University rules limit what an editor can contribute. Their work must never become ghostwriting. The thesis has to be yours, and professional editorial help is acknowledged in your preliminary pages.

Compile and submit

Word's master document and sub-document feature makes it easier to assemble chapters, keep cross-references accurate and build a single table of contents. When you're ready to submit, the process set out in the presentation guide is:

1. Lodge the Intention to Submit form at least four weeks before your planned submission date.
2. Prepare the Release of Thesis form.
3. Include a statement of originality acknowledging others' contributions, editorial assistance, copyright matters, required summaries and relevant approvals.
4. Email the thesis in PDF with the required form to the Graduate Research School at [email protected].

Without these materials in place, the thesis won't be released for examination. Also check with your supervisor whether soft or hard binding is expected.

Start thinking about publishing before you finish

Federation's academic publishing page makes a point many candidates learn too late: writing a thesis doesn't automatically prepare you to write for journals. A thesis chapter won't simply become a paper, and theses rarely turn into successful books without heavy reworking. The page describes most thesis-based books as "warmed up PhDs" that don't sell well.

Three myths to drop

You don't need to have read every piece of literature before you publish, since that task never truly ends. You don't need cutting-edge results either, because plenty of published work isn't based on new data. And you don't need to wait until your PhD is accepted. Capable candidates often publish during candidature, and in the sciences it's close to expected. Publishing is also one of the ways you find your place in the literature.

Find your angle

What gets papers accepted is an angle: a new idea, a fresh take on an established one, or a new contribution to a live debate. The page uses philosopher Edmund Gettier as an example. His three-page 1963 paper challenged a long-accepted definition of knowledge with simple counterexamples and sparked a large body of follow-up work. Not radical, but it changed how people saw the problem. That level of contribution is achievable.

Why it's worth the effort

Publications shape academic hiring, promotion and tenure decisions, and a publication track record is close to essential for competitive grants such as those from the Australian Research Council. The skills also transfer outside universities, into report writing, policy briefs and industry roles. And a published paper actually gets read, which most theses sitting on library shelves don't.

Where to start and how the process works

Book notes and book reviews are good low-pressure first publications. From there, candidates typically move on to conference papers and peer-reviewed journal articles. Watch out for predatory journals that publish for a fee without genuine review. In health sciences, systematic reviews often go through dedicated bodies such as Cochrane and JBI.

For a journal article, the path looks roughly like this:

1. Target the right journal. Read its aims and scope. Sending a qualitative study to a journal that mostly publishes empirical work is a fast rejection.
2. Follow the author guidelines exactly. Word limit, spelling convention, referencing style, abstract format and anonymised files all matter. Journals are strict about this.
3. Submit through the journal's portal, usually with a de-identified copy for reviewers.
4. Expect several review stages: an administrative check, editor screening, an associate editor's assessment, and usually several blind peer reviewers. Rejection is common, and major or minor revisions are normal outcomes.
5. Revise and respond. When resubmitting, include a document explaining how you addressed each reviewer comment.

If papers you've co-authored end up in your thesis, add a statement of your contribution to the preliminary pages. Once your work is out there, promoting yourself as an academic covers the next step.

Pre-submission checklist

• My research question is open, focused and matches my final argument.
• The introduction clearly states the gap, and the literature review explores it.
• Word count is within the limit for my degree, excluding references and appendices.
• Pages are A4 with mirrored margins of 3.18 cm inside and 2.54 cm outside.
• Font, line spacing and paragraph style are consistent throughout.
• Required preliminary pages are included, plus an AI statement if AI was used.
• Roman numerals run through the prelims and Arabic numerals from Chapter 1.
• Table of contents entries match headings word for word.
• Every figure and table is numbered, captioned, sourced and referred to by number.
• In-text citations and the reference list match exactly, in the latest edition of my style.
• Ethics approval is noted in the thesis, where required.
• Editing is finished, and the penultimate draft has been professionally proofread.
• Editorial assistance is acknowledged, and no one else has written any part of the thesis.
• Intention to Submit form lodged at least four weeks before submission.
• Release of Thesis form and statement of originality are ready to send with the PDF.

Where to get help at Federation

You don't have to work through this alone. Federation's learning skills advisors hold PhDs and have published themselves, so they understand both thesis writing and publishing. The Graduate Research School handles HDR requirements and submission, and runs the HDR Skills Development Program. The Library supports referencing through FedCite and can help you track down successful Federation theses to use as models.

And your supervisors remain your first stop for anything discipline-specific, from chapter structure to referencing style to what counts as acceptable AI use.

Final word

Writing a thesis is a long project, but most of what trips candidates up is predictable: a question that stays too broad, a literature review that summarises instead of argues, formatting left until the last week, and proofreading squeezed into days instead of months. Read the presentation guide early, work through the Write your thesis pages one section at a time, and keep the academic publishing advice in mind from the start. Your thesis and your future papers will both be stronger for it.