Writing a thesis is as important as defending it. The goal is not only to present one of the largest papers you ever worked on throughout the university years but also to build a strategy and create a presentation that answers all questions the audience might have.
Of course, today, this task is largely facilitated by modern technologies. PowerPoint and other programs let you create a perfect background for your defense. It helps you stay in control of the whole presentation and also includes all the important numbers and facts for the audience.
Creating a presentation for a thesis is not a piece of cake. Many students would say that they’d rather write a paper than work on a PowerPoint presentation. Since it’s academic, it also has its requirements and specifics. Of course, companies where you buy college essays can help you with pptx files as well. Yet, knowing all dos and don’ts to add your own voice to the presentation can help you ace your defense.
That’s why we decided to analyze a few structure and content tips to help you author your thesis defense presentation and make sure you get a high grade. But let’s discuss best presentation-making practices first.
What Should You Know About Presentation Making?
Before you start working on a presentation, you have to understand the level and the needs of your audience. If we talk about a thesis defense presentation, you will present your research to people knowledgeable in your field. There is no need to translate terminology in this case.
Remember that your presentations should be simple and easy to read. If you basically copy-paste the text from your thesis to the slides, you’ll create a wall of words. This brings zero value. Instead, you should make every slide look engaging. This can be achieved if you set to add only key facts there.
There is a golden rule for presentation making. Create no more than 10 slides, take no more than 20 min, and use a font size of no less than 30 points. If you follow it for every academic work you need a presentation for, you’ll most likely get a high grade.
How to Structure Your Presentation and What Content to Include?
Here are some slide guidelines that you can consider for thesis defense presentations:
1. Title Slide
The title page starts the whole presentation. It gives the audience an idea about the thesis and the course. Make it simple but appealing to highlight your scientific goals while following best academic practices.
A regular title slide page includes the thesis title, your name, university, and course details. Sometimes, it’s recommended to mention your advisor’s name on the title page as well. A title slide for a thesis presentation typically fits in one single slide.
2. Introduction of the Presentation
There is no surprise that your presentation will repeat the structure of your thesis to a certain extent. That means you’ll have to include a proper introduction into your presentation as well.
On that slide, you’ll need to mention the topic once again to keep the audience focused. Also, you’ll be giving more details about the questions and goals of your research. Your audience has to understand the purpose of the paper that is in front of them. You have to make it clear for them what things you are investigating in particular.
3. Acknowledgements Slide
Say Thank you to your collaborators for their help in putting this presentation together. You would also like to thank the teachers and professors who have helped you during the preparation of the thesis. Here is the place to do it. The acknowledgments slide can be added at the beginning of your presentation, or at the end.
4. Literature Review Slide
This slide is not a requirement. However, if you want to render literature sources that you used for your research based on certain criteria, this is the right place to do it. You can provide your audience with a brief understanding of the resources you relied on.
First of all, you can specify the theories that you consider in your research. Secondly, you can highlight weaknesses that exist in current research. In certain cases, it can help you avoid some uncomfortable questions throughout your defense.
5. Methodology Slide
Every thesis paper is written with its own methodology. It’s better to define the tools and methods right away to add a framework to your paper.
This part helps you narrow down your thesis, actually. This is a good thing because you won’t be asked questions pertaining to methods and information not used within your research.
How many slides you need to dedicate for the Methods content? The total number of slides will depend on the case, but typically you can consider from one to three slides. Slide 1 for Study Design, Slide 2 for Measures and Slide 3 for the Sample.
6. Presentation of Results
A few slides that show results should be one of the most comprehensive parts of your presentation. We highly advise you to check this section for all relevant numbers and findings to make it informative.
The thing is that thesis papers crafted by companies where you can order cheap essay online may not include formulas or calculations for diagrams and charts. Nevertheless, you’ll have to include infographics in your presentation.
This is why you have to request these calculations and formulas from your writers or ask them to work on the presentation as well. The point is that you have to know the depth of your research before you start defending it. These details are a part of your grade.
7. Discussion
The discussion part of your thesis presentation should focus on major findings from your research with regard to the discipline program and the goals of this study. You need to explain why you believe these findings are relevant and that much significant. Also, you may provide a few ideas on how your findings relate to what others found in the past. In addition, this is the part where you explain outstanding data or unusual results.
Remember that you are not limited by the number of slides in this section. However, you should keep in mind that only the most important ideas should go into the presentation.
8. Conclusions
To finalize your presentation, you must end it with a proper conclusion. Again, the best practices of presentation making suggest that you should include only key ideas in your slide. You need to convey the rest in a verbal message. This is a bit hard to do when it comes to the conclusion.
However, the goal is to answer the questions you set at the beginning. If you can prove or debunk your thesis statement, consider you have fulfilled your research mission.
9. Future Works or Future Directions slide
In order to make the most of this thesis presentation, future work will involve a number of different people. Some of these people will be responsible for creating the slides and videos that are used in the presentation, while others will be responsible for making sure that all the materials are up-to-date and error-free.
A timeline for this future work can be included in a future work slide, but what to include on this slide will depends on a variety of factors. In this slide, you can present the audience how you envision the future work of your research, who will be doing it, what resources are required, and the different milestones. Typically, a timeline slide design can be used in this section, but you can also use a multi-step slide to describe a list of points. This can be a final slide of presentation unless you want to give space for questions and answer section (Q&A).
Takeaway
Building your thesis is already a tough task. Presentation is considered an add-on that has recently become a must. That is why you should take it seriously and make sure you follow the tips above to ace your defense and wow everyone with your research.
FAQs
How many slides should a thesis defense have? ›
During your defense you will typically have 10-15 minutes for your presentation. There are approximately 9-12 slides. They have read the study, so focus more on findings and implications, less on literature.
What should be included in final defense PPT? ›- Title Slide. The title page starts the whole presentation. ...
- Introduction of the Presentation. ...
- Acknowledgements Slide. ...
- Literature Review Slide. ...
- Methodology Slide. ...
- Presentation of Results. ...
- Discussion. ...
- Conclusions.
The presentation should be 20-30 minutes in length. It should not be interrupted by questions. Ask each member of the Examination Committee, in turn, to question the candidate. The Research Supervisor should be called upon last.
What should you avoid during thesis defense? ›During the thesis defense, speak on the essence of the chosen topic; it is not a good idea to use general phrases when presenting a scientific work; Forget that you do not know something - there may be situations when commission members ask a question; in this case, you should not keep silent and answer at random.
Is it possible to fail a thesis defense? ›There are two cases in which a student can fail: If a student's defense is found to be unacceptable on their second attempt; If the external examiner and the committee agree unanimously that the student should fail.
How many slides is a 45 minute presentation? ›So, how many slides for a 45 minute presentation? Following the previous advices, plus the 10/20/30 rule, if a presentation of 20 minutes takes 10 slides, a 45 minute presentation would take between 20 and 25 slides.
What should be included in a 3 minute thesis presentation? ›- Write for your audience. The judges will look for evidence that you can explain your research to a non-specialist audience. ...
- Tell a story.
- Have a clear outcome in mind.
- Revise.
- Rules.
- Suggestions.
- Practice, practice, practice. ...
- Vocal range.
Each template includes basic course elements: a title slide, a table of contents, chapters, a timeline, and info slides. Organize them in the order you prefer, populate them with your texts and images, and your presentation is ready to go.
What should the major 3 parts of structure of your presentation contain? ›Just like other forms of academic writing, a presentation can be divided into three parts: an introduction detailing the purpose and structure of the talk; a body covering the main points; and a conclusion summarising and highlighting the significance of your talk.
What is the rule for PowerPoint content? ›To avoid tiring (and boring) your audience, stick to the 5/5/5 rule. That means allowing no more than five words per text line, having no more than five lines of text per slide, and never having more than five text-heavy slides in a row. More than anything, you want your slides to be as readable as possible.
How do you prepare for a thesis defense presentation? ›
- Find out your institutional requirements.
- Talk to your advisor well in advance about what to expect and prepare.
- Attend defenses of other students to see what they are like.
- Prepare your presentation early so you can rehearse it.
- Rehearse your presentation with a timer.
The defense typically lasts about two hours and may be open to the public. The defense aims to accomplish two goals. First, it will provide an occasion for the presentation and recognition of the completed doctoral work. Second, it will furnish the opportunity for discussion and formal evaluation of the dissertation.
What is the structure of a thesis defense? ›Defenses consist of four parts: first, the candidate introduces themselves, then presents a summary of their work, interrupted and followed by questions from the committee. Finally, the committee meets in private to discuss the presentation and dissertation.
Can I write my thesis in 3 days? ›dissertation in three days is approach it without some kind of plan, or outline. While you may have only had 3 days to complete this assignment, taking the time to plan out your thoughts before entering them onto paper will pay off tenfold in the long run.
Can you finish a thesis in 3 weeks? ›It's doable. Even make it 500 words a day. If you start with three weeks to go, you can write 10,000 words in twenty days. But some days you will write more than others and your word count will be more like 15,000 by deadline day.
What are three things a thesis statement should not be? ›- Thesis statements should not be more than one sentence long.
- Thesis statements should not be questions.
- Thesis statements should not state mere facts.
- Thesis statements should not be too broad.
- Thesis statements should not be too narrow.
- Thesis statements should not be announcements of what you will do.
If you're not sure you understood the question, rephrase it. If appropriate, you might explain why your dissertation research didn't address the specific point, that the posed question could lead to further research, and you might improvise what a project designed to answer the question might look like.
Is it okay to have notes during a thesis defense? ›Examiners may make suggestions about revisions to your thesis. Many students are tempted to take notes when this happens. This isn't necessary. You will be provided with lists of suggested and required revisions from the examiners after the defense.
Can you still graduate if you fail thesis? ›If you fail your undergraduate dissertation, you can still graduate as long as you have enough credits, although this may be with an ordinary degree. However, if you fail your master's dissertation or PhD thesis resubmission, you will not be allowed to graduate. The topic of failure is quite daunting for most students.
How many people fail their PhD thesis? ›Getting a doctorate could be one of your biggest life achievements—provided you can make it to the finish line. Drop out rates vary by discipline, but as many as 50 percent of students don't complete their doctorate.
What happens if your thesis statement is weak? ›
A weak thesis statement is vague (identifies a topic but does not specify an argument), offers plot summary or is a statement of fact, is un-provable, or does not give the reader a sense of why the argument is important.
What is the 10 20 30 rule in PowerPoint? ›To save the venture capital community from death-by-PowerPoint, he evangelized the 10/20/30 rule for presentations which states that “a presentation should have ten slides, last no more than twenty minutes, and contain no font smaller than thirty points.”
What is the 6 by 6 rule for a presentation? ›In the land of optimal slide text, a more minimal guideline is the 6×6 rule. The recommendation for the 6×6 rule is a maximum of six bullet points per slide with a maximum of six words per bullet. There is a school of thought that there should only be one word per bullet or 6 words per slide total.
What are the three 3 main parts of a thesis? ›Structure of the thesis
Bachelor's and master's theses usually have the following three parts: the first part introduces the topic, the body contains a description of the implementation of the research, and the last part lists the information connected with the work.
- Title page. First impressions are very important. ...
- Introduction. Right after your title page, include an introduction slide to provide more details about your topic. ...
- Literature review. ...
- Methodology. ...
- Slide with a table. ...
- Results. ...
- Discussion slide.
A thesis statement generally consists of two parts: your topic, and then the analysis, explanation(s), or assertion(s) that you're making about the topic. The kind of thesis statement you write will depend on what kind of paper you're writing.
What is the 5 golden rule of PowerPoint presentation? ›Follow the 5/5/5 rule
To keep your audience from feeling overwhelmed, you should keep the text on each slide short and to the point. Some experts suggest using the 5/5/5 rule: no more than five words per line of text, five lines of text per slide, or five text-heavy slides in a row.
Follow the “Seven-by-Seven rule”
Use no more than 7 words per line and no more than 7 lines per visual. b. If you need more words, make sub-points below the main point.
The 7x7 rule is simple: For every slide, use no more than seven lines of text — or seven bullet points — and no more than seven words per line.
What are the 4 key elements of presentation? ›There are four keys that will help your audience follow along and remember your presentation: content, audience, structure, and consistency.
What are the 3 S's that make a presentation effective? ›
It's called the 3 S's - structure, story and self. Without these, there will be facts without flow and substance, visual effect without impact and an audience without interest. Structure Most things in life have a beginning, middle and end, except bad presentations.
What are the rules of 3 in presentation? ›The Rule of Three is a classic writing principle that may also be slightly imbued with magic. It states that ideas or stories presented in threes are more memorable to the listener. Think of things in our culture that utilize this: “stop, drop, and roll,” “9-1-1,” and even “beginning, middle, and end” in storytelling.
What should be avoided during PowerPoint presentation? ›- Common mistakes to avoid when making a. PowerPoint presentation.
- Too much text.
- It is easy to see why people make this mistake so often. They want to tell the full story and they end up putting too much text on the slide. ...
- Bad color schemes.
- Unreadable Text.
- Too many elements.
- Slide Transitions.
What is the 7x7 Rule for PowerPoint? The 7x7 Rule says that, for each slide in your presentation, you should use no more than: 7 lines (or bullets) per slide. 7 (or fewer) words per line.
What is the 2 4 8 rule PowerPoint? ›The rule of 2-4-8
The 2-4-8 rule states a presentation must give 2 minutes per slide, and it should have four bullet points per slide and eight words for every bullet point.
- Define your signature idea.
- Know your audience.
- Keep each slide focused on one point.
- Less is more.
- Carefully consider your typography.
- Dial down your data.
- Consistency is key.
- 12 Free presentation templates for a Thesis Defense.
A proper presentation helps you with your thesis defense because it helps you to capture the panels attention and give you cues and reminders on what to say as well. It also helps keep your data organized, while visually looking good and provides a flow structure for the rest of your presentation.
What is usually asked in thesis defense? ›During the defense, the committee could ask for further elaboration on the research methods employed in the study; question your findings, conclusions and contributions; and/or ask you to elaborate on the relevance of your study to your profession and society at large.
What is the 3 second rule when presenting? ›After displaying a slide, if your friend cannot understand it in 3 seconds or less, it is too complex. Rethink, retweak, rework. A slide is a visual aid that supports your presentation and message. And, pictures are a great graphic tool to connect emotionally with the crowd.
What is the 10 second rule in presentation? ›What's the 10-second rule? Simple – whatever you put on your slide, a person should be able to fully comprehend it in 10 seconds or less, according to Dewett. And it is a simple rule to adhere to, as all you have to do is look at your slides one-by-one for 10 seconds each, and see if you can fully comprehend each one.
What is the 10 40 rule presentation? ›
The 10-40 Rule.
Simply put, the 10-40 rule states that the first ten slides of your presentation should contain no more than forty words. It's easier said than done. But when it's done well, it can be incredibly powerful. In order to follow the rule, you will have to learn to tell stories instead.
The presentation should be 20-30 minutes in length. It should not be interrupted by questions. Ask each member of the Examination Committee, in turn, to question the candidate. The Research Supervisor should be called upon last.
What is a good thesis statement structure? ›A strong thesis statement is specific.
A thesis statement should show exactly what your paper will be about, and will help you keep your paper to a manageable topic. For example, if you're writing a seven-to-ten page paper on hunger, you might say: World hunger has many causes and effects.
How do you Introduce a Thesis Defense? Start by greeting the audience and introducing yourself. Then give the topic of your discussion. Next, justify the topic then give an outline of the presentation.
What should be the font size for PPT in thesis defense? ›All slides should use a minimum font size of 24 points. The document should utilize recommended fonts, e.g., Palatino, Georgia, Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, and Helvetica. If color is used to emphasize the importance of selected text or convey other meaning, an alternate method (such as bold text) should also be used.
How do you write an effective thesis presentation? ›- Properly structure your slide deck. ...
- Choose which ideas to illustrate. ...
- Define your presentation's theme. ...
- Design simple and focused slides. ...
- Include data visualizations. ...
- Practice makes perfect.
It is usually very tough to do, even if the argument doesn't have to be formalized. Many students make the mistake of picking this kind of thesis to defend. It requires serious experimental evidence to defend, unless your real thesis is of the previous form, i.e., only process X is possible.
How long does it take to make thesis defense presentation? ›In general, a thesis defense may take only 20 minutes, but it may also take two hours or more. This also depends on how much time is allocated to the presentation and questioning part. We will talk more about the different parts of a thesis defense below.
Can you bring notes to thesis defense? ›You should bring notes, but plan to “talk” rather than “read” this response. Don't repeat your thesis in detail–since everyone has read it–but try to summarize your contribution succinctly. The main purpose of these introductory remarks is to loosen you up and get you talking.
What is the best introduction for the thesis presentation? ›- state the general topic and give some background.
- provide a review of the literature related to the topic.
- define the terms and scope of the topic.
- outline the current situation.
- evaluate the current situation (advantages/ disadvantages) and identify the gap.
What is a good opening sentence for a thesis statement? ›
For these, we recommend using one of the following sentence starters to write your thesis with: In this essay, I will … [Subject] is interesting/relevant/my favorite because … Through my research, I learned that …
What is the common question in thesis defense? ›The most common starting questions are “what is your research about?" and “what was your motivation behind choosing this topic?” Later on, the committee asks you more detailed questions on research methodology, literature review, study variables, research findings, recommendations, and areas of further research.
What is best font for PowerPoint presentation? ›Some of the best fonts for presentations include Lato, Roboto, Bentham, Fira Sans, Montserrat, Open Sans, Dosis, Libre-Baskerville and more. This list will help you find the best font for your next presentation, regardless if you're using PowerPoint, Google Slides, Keynote or any other tool to create it.
How many lines of text should appear on a slide? ›Don't make your audience read the slides either. Keep text to a minimum (6-8 lines per slide, no more than 30 words per slide). The bullet points should be headlines, not news articles. Write in sentence fragments using key words, and keep your font size 24 or bigger.
Why should you keep text to a minimum on slides? ›To make sure the audience can read everything you have to tell them.
How do you write a 5 minute thesis presentation? ›When creating a five minute presentation, plan to present a slide per minute. The five slides, in order, include a Title/Author/Affiliation slide, an Outline slide, a Problem Description/Motivation slide, a Proposed Approach/Alternative slide, and a Summary/Conclusion slide.
How do you write a 3 minute thesis presentation? ›- Write for your audience. The judges will look for evidence that you can explain your research to a non-specialist audience. ...
- Tell a story.
- Have a clear outcome in mind.
- Revise.
- Rules.
- Suggestions.
- Practice, practice, practice. ...
- Vocal range.
- Summarize the key points. Choose three or four points from the presentation and reiterate them. ...
- Echo the core message. ...
- Present a call to action. ...
- Use a powerful quote. ...
- Ask a rhetorical question. ...
- Tell a story. ...
- Give a visual image. ...
- Acknowledge others.