How to write a bachelor thesis: a step-by-step guide

1. Pick a topic that has sources

The most common mistake is not bad writing but a topic with nothing to cite. Before you commit, verify that at least 15 to 20 relevant sources exist: academic books, peer-reviewed articles (Google Scholar, Crossref, your library catalogue). The topic should be narrow enough to cover in depth and broad enough to have a literature.

A good test: can you state in one sentence what the thesis finds out? "An analysis of marketing" is not a topic. "The influence of social media on Gen Z purchase decisions" is.

2. Outline before you write a single paragraph

The outline is the skeleton of the whole thesis, and your supervisor can review it in ten minutes, while rewriting finished chapters takes weeks. A standard structure looks like this:

• Introduction: the goal, research questions, a brief chapter overview
• Theoretical part / literature review (2 to 3 chapters): definitions, prior findings, the state of the art
• Empirical part: methodology, sample, results, discussion
• Conclusion: summary of findings, explicit answers to the research questions, limitations and recommendations
• Bibliography and appendices

Assign a page estimate to every chapter so you can see whether you fit the required length. We cover this in detail in the separate outline guide.

3. Literature review: synthesis, not summaries

The theoretical part is not a list of quotations. Examiners want to see you compare sources: where authors agree, where they contradict each other, and what that means for your empirical part. A rule that helps: end every subsection with a paragraph of your own synthesis that contains no citation.

A healthy citation density in the review is roughly 2 to 4 citations per page. Less reads like an essay, more like a compilation.

4. Empirical part: methodology decides the grade

The examiner reads the methodology first. It must make clear what you study (goal and hypotheses or research questions), on whom (the sample and how it was selected), with what (questionnaire, interviews, data analysis) and how you evaluated the data. Present results as commented tables and charts, not raw numbers.

If you run a questionnaire, plan for realistic response rates: getting 100 responses means reaching several hundred people. Analysing existing company data or public statistics is a valid alternative.

5. Cite as you write, not at the end

Adding citations "later" is the surest way to a broken reference list and originality problems. Record the source the moment you use it, including the page number. Check which citation style your university requires (APA, Harvard, ISO 690, Chicago) and stick to one. Details and examples are in our citation guide.

6. Write the introduction and conclusion last

The introduction makes promises and the conclusion proves you kept them, so both are easiest to write when everything else is done. Answer every research question from the introduction explicitly in the conclusion; committees read the two side by side.

7. Formal requirements and the pre-submission check

• Length: typically 30 to 50 pages (8,000 to 12,000 words); the exact range is set by your faculty guidelines
• Format: 12 pt font, 1.5 line spacing, margins per your university template, page numbering
• Mandatory parts: title page, declaration of originality, abstract, table of contents
• Originality: the thesis goes through plagiarism screening; paraphrase and cite honestly
• Deadlines: submission is usually 4 to 6 weeks before the defence; check your department schedule

Where AI fits in

AI tools can now generate an outline, find real academic sources, write a coherent draft of both the theoretical and the empirical part, and format the citations. AIPráce does exactly this to your university’s standards; you then edit the draft in the editor and stay responsible for the final text. The sensible split: let AI produce the structure and the first draft, and invest your own time in your data, revisions and defence preparation.