ConclusionsThese three cuts on the macro-structure of your thesis each
matter a great deal. Putting them together often entails making
quite complex judgements, which can be hard to resolve. There
is never just ‘one best way’ of organizing a long text. One
consideration may pull you in a particular direction, and
another in a divergent fashion. When you do settle on a pattern
for your work, there will alwaysbe at least one other viable alter-
native structure that you could use, and some debate in your
own mind about whether to switch over. Welcome then to the
world of permanent authoring dilemmas, of which this is only
the first. Some of the same issues recur at the micro-level
of organizing individual chapters or papers, albeit in a more
manageable way.
PLANNING AN INTEGRATED THESIS◆ 75