Structure Of A Chapter 1

back to Chapter 1 club

Resources:

• three examples of Chapter 1
• deconstructing typical Chapter 1s

Overview

All theses begin with a Chapter 1. While there are many ways to write a Chapter 1, most have a surprisingly similar structure. In essence, the Chapter 1 defines the research and the thesis. As we will see, this structure reflects how one should think about research. This is why we see the same structure in many places: in research proposals, in scholarship applications, in abstracts, in papers, and so on.

To do before class

Before I reveal my view of a Chapter 1, you should read and deconstruct several examples of Chapter 1's from existing theses. Do the following before you read the rest of the page and before our class discussion.

• Read several examples of Chapter 1.

  • Two of these examples are from my own students, while the third was from a student (now in our lab) who wrote this in Europe under a different supervisor. All are provided with permission.

• Find at least one other good thesis of interest to you and read its Chapter 1 as well.
• Deconstruct the structure of these chapters to see what they do in common and how they differ. Each structural component should be phrased as a short sentence or list of defining terms.

  • Don't worry about the content. This is not an exercise to understand the actual research discussed in the thesis. Rather its an exercise on how people go about describing their research.

• Section headings are a good place to start, as these usually (but not always) indicate a structural change.

  • For example, almost all chapter 1's have a section at the end that gives a chapter by chapter summary of the remainder of the thesis.

• Bring this list to class. It should be a list of (say) 5-10 words that describes the different structural elements in a chapter 1.

Structure

After you have done the above (and only after) you should go to my own deconstruction of Chapter 1's.

To do after class

Take the structure and quickly examine one or two other theses. Do they miss some of these points in their chapter 1? Does it make it better or worse? Are there other structural additions / variations that they use?