What is the desired page length for an excellent thesis/professional paper?

Question

I am entering grad school, and want to know what to shoot for in this requirement. I do not want to do a half-assed job nor do I want to be redundant and beat the topic to death.

Answer 1

In the humanities, Master's theses usually run between 60-100 pages, and PhD dissertations run between 200-300 pages.

But PLEASE check with the director of graduate studies in your program to be sure. Every program has its own requirements, which must be followed to the letter.

Answer 2

he APA Manual notes that you should follow the following rules
Font = 12 point
Font = Times (New) Roman, Courier, or Arial
Margins = 1″ all around
Double Space
Page numbers are required on every page: Number pages consecutively (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.)
The page header summarizes the title in a few words. The header and page number go inside the margin space, double spaced above the text, next to the right margin.
Indent paragraphs, block quotes, and hanging indents one-half inch (1.25 cm or five to seven spaces).
Justification should be to the left margin only (do not center the entire document, and leave the right margin uneven or ragged)
Abstracts are limited to 120 words (APA, 2001, p. 13).

Answer 3

There isn't a page length. I'm currently writing mine up and, in doing background research, I've seen anything from 35 to 400 pages.

Basically what it comes down to is that when you write your thesis, you have to write out every single tiny detail you've done to get to the writing part. For example, I could say that I went to the mountains in southern Arizona and took rock sample. But in my thesis, writing that sentance out was over a typed page once I put every detail in.

My suggestion, as soon as you start your thesis research, start writing out what other people have done in chronologic order. For one, it'll help you get a mental grasp on things better and two, it'll be a whole section of your thesis finished in advance.

Answer 4

It varies a lot. However, the abstract shouldn't be more than a page, the introduction more than 2 or 3, methodology and results vary a lot (big thesis implies lots of experiments implies lots of results) and conclusion and discussion should not be more than 3 or 4.

There's lots of stuff out there about it, plus once you start referencing other thesis, you'll have a better idea on how long yours should be and your supervisor should help you out on this. He/She will let you know if you're too vague or to detailed.

Good luck!

Answer 5

If they didn't put down how many pages, then be concise and complete in as few words as possible. Remember that your superiors will only read the first page (or up to the second) at the most.

Best way to is to treat it as an "Executive Summary"--all that you have to say, clearly said in as few words/paragraphs as possible.