Thesis acknowledgements: how to write?

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Thesis acknowledgements: how to write?

Thesis acknowledgements: how to write?

It might have taken you years to write your thesis and then, finally, there is light at the end of the tunnel! The design of your thesis is done, and the hard work comes to an end with the words of thanks.

Writing a thesis takes a lot of time and effort, it often takes many months to years before the document is accomplished. A lot of people have supported you during this intense time. To express your gratitude and to give those people something personal, you can include them in your thesis acknowledgements. People that are often mentioned in thesis acknowledgements, are coaches, colleagues, and of course friends and family.

It is also customary to thank the people that contributed to your interviews. For example when you were at a company that enabled you to look into documents or do file research. In addition of course you thank any supervisors for useful feedback and discerning comments. In the end, it is because of them that your thesis has turned out well.

As soon as the formal part is done, you can make the thesis acknowledgements more personal. And go more deeply into thanking your family and partner. After all, they were the ones that were there for you after working hours and gave their time to support you personally. In your preface, you can also write how you came to this subject and who inspired you.

Are thesis acknowledgements mandatory?

No, writing personal thesis acknowledgements is not mandatory, but we advise you to do so. A thesis tends to be very formal and impersonal because it is written in the third person. By writing a preface and a word of thanks, you can make the document more personal. Next to that, showing how grateful you are for all the support you received, has a smart effect on the document.

You can also choose to only write a preface. It is a bit redundant to do both, because they are much the same. Thanking people beforehand and afterwards is unnecessary. In the preface, you thank the people that supported you and next to that you give additional information on the document. It is up to you which of the two suits your thesis best. It is safe to say that a word of thanks is always a nice closing of the document.

Time to simplify things. Where do you start when writing a personal word of thanks? It is important to first choose a spirited and personal start. Give readers a look through your eyes and enthuse and inspire them. People tend to feel more involved in a document when it is written in a personal way, and not too formal. Therefore, do not hesitate to turn it into a nice anecdote or a short and funny story.

Write the thesis acknowledgements in the first person (I) or the fourth person (we) for a personal touch. Address your acknowledgements directly to the reader by, for example, finishing with: I hope you enjoy reading this thesis. Next, conclude with your name, place and date.

How to start thesis acknowledgements?

Writing thesis acknowledgements requires some creativity, but as soon as you made a first draft, it is only a matter of refinement. Therefore we recommend you not to want to write every sentence perfectly at once, or to overthink your choice of words. It is easier to first write everything down that you want to say and after that, delete and complete parts. However, there are several things that you should really include in your thesis acknowledgements. The order is up to you, but we recommend you to start with the history and background of the thesis.

Regarding history, you can summarize how your thesis came about and whether or not it was for a certain client. Once this is done, you can write a short piece on your personal background. After this, you go more deeply into describing your experiences and circumstances during the research. If applicable, describe the allocation of tasks you had within a team or how the team was made up. You can also use the thesis acknowledgements to thank the team for the excellent team spirit, and write that you really enjoyed working with them. Finally you extend words of thanks to third parties that contributed to your work, such as companies and teachers. Do not make it an assessment of how the team worked together.

Thesis acknowledgements examples

Before you begin to write your thesis acknowledgements, you should look up some thesis acknowledgements examples. They give you an idea of how others handled this subject, and you can use these to come to the desired result more quickly. There are many online databases to find examples.

Would you like to know more about writing or printing a thesis? At ProefschriftMaken you will find everything you need to make your thesis.

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