

How to Write a Master’s Thesis
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this comprehensive and engaging course, you will be able to:
- Review graduate student dropout rates during the Master’s Thesis writing process and how it impacts long-term earning potential
- Create an effective writing plan and overcome procrastination to complete your Master’s Thesis on time
- Format and style your Master’s Thesis properly
- Adapt and re-use content from your Master’s Thesis proposal
- Prepare key Front Matter materials for your Master’s Thesis (incl. title and approval pages, acknowledgements, table of contents, list of tables and figures, list of appendices, glossary, and Abstract)
- Step-by-step write a successful Introduction chapter for your Master’s Thesis
- Step-by-step write a successful Literature Review chapter for your Master’s Thesis
- Step-by-step write a successful Methods chapter for your Master’s Thesis
- Step-by-step write a successful Results chapter (incl. tables and figures) for your Master’s Thesis
- Step-by-step write a successful Discussion chapter for your Master’s Thesis
- Step-by-step write a successful Conclusion chapter for your Master’s Thesis
- Prepare key Back Matter materials for your Master’s Thesis (incl. references and appendices)
- Successfully handle 5 alternative Master’s Thesis structures (incl. multiple studies, publications, and monographs)
- Discuss differences in how to write Master’s Thesis content for the sciences vs. the humanities
- List final tasks to complete after completing your Master’s Thesis before you submit
- Complete required forms to submit your Master’s Thesis
- Avoid the 10 most common mistakes made when writing a Master’s Thesis
Instructor

Sarah M. Coyne, PhD is Mary Lou Fulton Professor of Human Development in the School of Family Life at Brigham Young University. She received her BSc in Psychology from Utah State University and her PhD in Psychology from the University of Central Lancashire. Dr. Coyne is a popular speaker at both national as well as international conferences and has over 100 peer-reviewed publications on topics including media, aggression, gender, and child development. Dr. Coyne currently serves as an Editorial Board Member for Psychology of Popular Media Culture as well as Developmental Psychology, and she is former Associate Editor of Aggressive Behavior. Her research has been supported by grants from leading funding bodies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).