Thesis and papers
Tips & support
Good academic writing skills are essential for the successful completion of your study programme. Learn about the best ways to write and how you can motivate yourself to write well.
Using generative AI (GenAI)
The use of generative AI programmes (GenAI) can be a valuable aid when completing academic assignments, but it also carries certain risks. It is important that you use GenAI in a responsible and authorised manner.
Follow the rules of your course or study programme
Whether you are allowed to use GenAI tools, and how, may vary depending on the course or study programme you are following. You can find out more in Brightspace or on your faculty/study programme tab.
General rules and warnings
In addition to any course or programme-specific rules, there are also general rules and risks that you must take into consideration.
Don’t commit plagiarism: be transparent
In your academic work you must always cite your sources. This also applies when using GenAI. If you present an AI-generated text as your own work, you are committing plagiarism. Even if you rewrite or translate the text. It doesn’t matter whether you do this intentionally or unintentionally.
Plagiarism is a form of fraud. The university monitors this strictly and there are serious penalties in place. In the worst-case scenario, you may be barred from taking tests and examinations for a period of one year.
So be transparent about the sources of your texts at all times. And always follow the guidelines of your lecturers and the Regulations on plagiarism.
Unreliable results: be critical
GenAI often produces texts that are incomplete and inaccurate. It can also ‘make up’ sources and quotations. As a result, a text might appear to be academically sound when this isn’t the case.
There are also indications that GenAI produces results that are based on biases, for example regarding ethnicity or gender.
It is therefore very important to take a critical look at all GenAI output. Always check whether the claims in the text are accurate and whether the sources are reliable.
Share data responsibly: think about what you are entering
Whatever you include in your prompts becomes part of the database that GenAI draws on and is therefore available to everyone. Never enter data that is sensitive in terms of privacy, or that may not be made publicly available due to copyright, intellectual property, security, or other considerations.
Sustainability: avoid waste
GenAI uses a lot of electricity and water. By using it as little as possible, you can avoid waste. Always ask yourself whether using GenAI is really necessary.
Why it is so important to use GenAI responsibly
Academic integrity
The above-mentioned risks and drawbacks of GenAI are a problem because they run counter to the principles of academic integrity: honesty, scrupulousness, transparency, independence and responsibility. As a member of the academic community, it is essential that you are aware of these issues and deal with them appropriately.
Your academic development
The reason you are studying is to gain skills and knowledge. If you use GenAI to avoid making an effort or challenging yourself, you are doing a disservice to your own development. Always ask yourself: what am I learning from this? Your learning process is far more important to your lecturers than the result you hand in. And it should be just as important to you.
Astronomy thesis writing
All Astronomy Bachelor Research projects will be concluded with a thesis written in English. A thesis typically contains the following elements in the given order:
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Sections describing the work and methods
- Discussion
- Conclusion
- References
- Appendices (optional)
Abstract
The abstract summarizes the main message of the thesis. It should not be too long with a maximum of 50% of a page at a 11 pt font.
Introduction
The introduction provides the background science with references, introduces the problem which is addressed by the paper, and can also briefly explain the structure of the paper. For example: In section 2 we define the sample, in sections 3-5 we present the analysis, a discussion is found in section 6 and the conclusions are presented in section 7.
Figures
All figures should be clear and have unambiguous captions. In general, figure captions explain the content of the figure, state units presented in the figure and provide the most important scientific conclusion from the figure. The goal is that people can understand the science of the paper by just looking at the figures and their captions. Hence it is generally not enough to just write "Figure 1 shows the size of a planet against its age". It should add "Young planets are larger than old ones".
Story line
It is important to have a clear structure and story line to your thesis. First define the figures, then the abstract, and then write the thesis as a story around the figures. The figures should be the figures you show in a talk. If you have many more figures to highlight details, consider to put them in an appendix. (e.g., if you have 30 objects to show, show 2 typical ones in the paper, and the rest in an appendix). Another helpful trick can be to first define a 30-minute talk: make the slides, with science introduction and conclusions etc; make sure the story line is clear; practice a few times; then write up your thesis as if you are giving the talk (but now in a "paper" format - the language is somewhat different but the overall story line can be the same).
Know your readers
Realize that most people don't read papers or theses fully. Play into this. They first look at the title, then look at the authors (be clear on that), then they read the abstract, look at (some) figures and maybe read the conclusion (or part of it).
Plagiarism
The writings and ideas of others form an important part of academic work. The work of others, however, must be clearly identifiable and distinguished from your original writings and ideas. Failure to properly acknowledge the work of others is plagiarism, whether or not you intended to represent the work as your own. All Astronomy master's theses will be checked for plagiarism. Make sure you carefully read the University's regulations on plagiarism.
How to avoid plagiarising the writings of others?
To avoid any possible allegation of plagiarism being made about your thesis it is important to learn how to represent the writings of another person properly. A short section of text that is taken from another’s work and is unchanged must appear within quotation marks with an acknowledgement being given to the original work. A larger section of text that is quoted should also be indented. An acknowledgement should appear either as a footnote or by the addition of the author’s name and the year of the publication in the text, with the full citation being referenced. References should be detailed enough to allow anyone reading the thesis to locate the original work to the exact page/paragraph where it appears. If you do not reference adequately you may intentionally, or unintentionally (inadequate note taking of text referred to is no excuse!), be seen to be 'passing off' another person’s writings as your own, which is a breach of the laws governing copyright, the University regulations and academic practice.
Improve your academic writing skills
Learn about the best ways to write and how you can motivate yourself to write well. Take a loot at our ten tips for good academic writing and learn about opportunities for thesis writing workshops.
10 tips for good academic writing