Thesis Editing Checklist

01 How to use this

The rules below kill off the most common (and most trivial) thesis problems. Get familiar with them early — supervisors send flawed drafts straight back here.

• Read the full guide slowly and at least twice: once when you receive it, once before sending any fragment to your supervisor.
• Re-read it while you edit, not just before.
• Treat every rule as a sensible default you can question — but start from it rather than from scratch.
• If a problem isn't covered here, ask the author / your supervisor directly. No one knows everything.
• Remember the real skill: not knowing everything, but using and verifying other people's knowledge.

02 Timeline & logistics

The ideal, in-order sequence. Doing these steps fully and in sequence drops your risk of failure to near zero.

1. Seminar · first monthAgree the topic area preliminarily with your supervisor.
2. Submit a short outline (konspekt) — it doubles as a first draft of your introduction.
3. SeminarRefine the topic and lock the precise subject.
4. Define the scope of source material and language material to collect and analyse.
5. Seminar · earlyDecide the chapter structure (can change later, but commit to a starting structure).
6. Build the structure in your editor — all chapter/subchapter headings as empty headings, via the Outline/Document Map tool.
7. Write & research, syncing with your supervisor. Abroad? Keep at least e-mail contact + present at seminars regularly.
8. By END OF APRILSubmit the final version for last review (for a summer-semester exam). September exam → ready by end of August.
9. Apply last corrections, then print & bind (unless the Dean's Office accepts electronic-only).
10. Exam — after the Dean's Office closes procedures, the date is set and the committee (chair, reviewer…) confirmed. Work is registered as PDF in the APD system.

• Only send drafts that already contain a title page, table of contents, and all chapter/subchapter headings (even if empty) — never a raw fragment with no agreed structure. Exception: the very first summary/outline.
• Settle all administrative matters (study progress, submission deadlines, APD registration) directly with the Dean's Office — your supervisor only helps with the text.
• Verify separately whether the Dean's Office needs extras (signed printout, anti-plagiarism acceptance form, etc.).
• Write in a real word processor: MS Word (paid) or LibreOffice Writer (free). Preferred file format: DOC(X).
• Learn touch typing (≈2 weeks–1 month, 15 min/day) — faster, and easier on your hands.

03 Document structure

Order of components and how each is built. Use the editor's Outline / Document Map so heading levels stay consistent.

Title page

• Use the format provided by the Dean's Office. Centre everything in the header.
• Include: university, faculty, institute, department; author name; title; academic title; supervisor name; thesis type.
• State the thesis type explicitly — "praca magisterska" or "praca licencjacka", not just "praca dyplomowa".

Table of contents

• Place it first, right after the title page, starting on a new odd page.
• Generate it automatically from your formatted headings.
• Number headings consistently: 1. chapters → 1.1. subchapters → 1.1.1. sections → 1.1.1.1. subsections.
• Headings never end with a period. The only dot is between the number and the title.

Sections & page breaks

• Make every part above subchapter level its own editor section.
• Start each chapter on a new page with an Insert → Page Break, never with blank lines.
• For short subchapters, it's fine to page-break only the main (single-digit) chapters.
• Keep heading text attached to the text below it (no gap after); put the larger gap before the heading.

Introduction (Wstęp)

• First element of the actual text. A level-1 heading, not numbered (don't call it "Chapter 0").
• State: goal, research scope, reference (bibliographic) material, source (example) material.
• Describe the chapter/appendix layout, one paragraph per chapter.
• Declare your conventions: transcription used, source-data presentation, and that unattributed Japanese translations are your own.
• Also declare here: name order for Japanese names, whether you decline them, and any abbreviations/shortened links you use.

Chapters (4–5 recommended)

• Each chapter starts on a new page. Only chapters are numbered.
• A typical arc:
  • Ch.1 — the general problem, worldwide (not only Japan).
  • Ch.2 — narrows to Japanese language & culture.
  • Ch.3 — narrows to your specific aspects; comments on selected source material.
  • Ch.4 (most important) — presents the source material and your analysis.
  • Ch.5 — full summary of results + open problems & further-research directions.

Conclusion & appendices

• Conclusion (Zakończenie) and Appendices (Dodatki) are level-1 headings but not numbered.
• Appendices may hold: an index of Japanese names (transcription + original) and a glossary (romanisation in italics, alphabetical; original Japanese; translation in 'single quotes').
• Same citation/quotation/translation rules apply inside tables and indexes as in normal text.

Annexes (Aneksy) — for bulky originals

• Open each annex with an intro paragraph describing its content & presentation.
• Use for large original-text fragments + translations — never raw scans without a source citation.
• Number fragments in Roman numerals, titled in caps: FRAGMENT I, FRAGMENT II…
• Tag language parts: JAP/JP, POL/PL, ENG/EN; number sentences in Arabic numerals.
• Reference any sentence unambiguously, e.g. II.POL.3 = sentence 3 of the Polish text in annex II.

04 Bibliography (Wykorzystane źródła)

Goes after the headings/chapters, before the summaries. Title it Wykorzystane źródła.

• Order alphabetically by author surname — therefore do not number entries.
• Add a comma after the surname only when the surname follows the first name (i.e. not for Japanese-order names).
• For Japanese works, add the original script (author + publisher, separated by Japanese spaces, no commas) in parentheses before the final period.
• Translated source → add Tłum. Imię Nazwisko after the title; put a Polish title translation in [square brackets], lower-case, before the period after the original title.
• Encyclopaedias/dictionaries → cite by editor (redaktor) surname (unless an entry has its own author).
• Multi-volume → note tom 1-3; when citing, give volume + page (Jabłoński 2021 t.1: 387).
• Articles in collections/journals → give the page range of the article.
• Same-author same-year works → disambiguate with letters: 2007, 2007a, 2007b.

Internet sources

• Prefer folding them into the one alphabetical bibliography (a separate "web" section is dated).
• Give the full link + access date: YOUTUBE 2020. https://… , Dostęp 2020.09.04.
• Many links from one domain → number them and cite short in text: Youtube [9]; explain the scheme in your introduction.

05 In-text citations & references

• Never repeat bibliography data in text. Give only surname + year, page after a colon.
• Put references in parentheses, e.g. (Yamada 1980: 15), ranges (Wierzbicka 2007: 15-17), onward (2007: 15 i nast.).
• Every quotation needs a reference — an unreferenced quote is plagiarism.
• Do NOT put source references in footnotes. Footnotes are for side content only, never for bibliographic citation.
• Non-independent sources → year only, no pages.
• Repeat reference → optionally tamże (ibid.).
• Field/own data → label it: źródło własne, or "zasłyszane w trakcie badań terenowych w Japonii…".
• Keep titles out of the text. Write "one general-linguistics source defines it as […]" then (Bańczerowski i in. 1982: 54).
• Skip biographical fluff ("the famous professor…"). To engage with content, do it after the quote: "X argues that […] (Miodek 1997: 89)".

Quotation formatting

• Short quotes: always in „double quotes", no italics, inline.
• Long quotes: separate paragraph, small indent both sides, optional smaller font, „double quotes", no italics.

Footnotes

• Use them only for content that connects to but doesn't belong in the main flow.
• Full orthography (capital start, period, justified). Place them at the bottom of the page, not at chapter ends.

06 Japanese transcription (Hepburn)

Use Hepburn consistently: macrons for long vowels, noun particles after spaces (no hyphens). You're a Japanologist — these errors are the ones that irritate readers most.

Citing terms & examples

• Cited alphabetic terms → italics. Ideographic script → no italics, with its transcription in italics.
• First occurrence: transcription → original → Polish gloss in 'single quotes', e.g. keiyōdōshi 形容動詞 'przymiotniki niepredykatywne'.
• Language examples always include the original script; same convention in tables & indexes.
• Source quotations without special terms may stay Polish-only, in „double quotes", no original/transcription.
• Don't put foreign-script terms in headings — use the Polish term (introduced earlier with its Japanese equivalent).

07 Formatting & typography

• Fonts: Times New Roman (Polish) + MS Mincho (MS明朝, Japanese). Body text ≤ 12 pt.
• Justify text on both sides from the start. Keep formatting minimal — avoid needless bold/underline.
• Page numbers: centred, at the bottom, hidden on the first page.
• Number examples by chapter + sequential index after a hyphen: 3rd example in §4.4 of ch.2 → 3.4.4-2; its sentences → 3.4.4-2a.
• Tables & figures use capitals: Tabela 3.4.2-2, Rysunek 3.4.2-2. The caption goes under the element, with a short source ref if borrowed.

Punctuation spacing

• Comma & most marks: space after, none before.
• Opening brackets: space before, none after.
• Dash separating clauses: spaces both sides. Hyphen in compounds (japońsko-polski): no spaces.
• Use Polish comma rules — not English ones.

Final proofreading

• Leave time between editing and the final read; better still, have a careful friend proofread.
• Hunt down: typos, leftover editing notes, accidentally pasted phrases, repeated/dropped words.
• Fix technical defects: double spaces, wrong/missing commas, font-size mismatches, uneven indents, orphan/widow lines.

Abbreviations

• Avoid non-standard abbreviations unless frequency justifies them; then define at first use and list them in an appendix.
• Frequent titles → e.g. Sarashina nikki → SN; technical/coined terms → CAPS (e.g. PO, PN), announced in the introduction.

08 Language & style

• Keep an impersonal, content-first tone — argue the point, don't emote (model it on the guide's own style).
• Don't write about "Japończycy"; write about "the Japanese communicative environment" and typical behaviours in it.
• Avoid repeating relative clauses (który, że, jaki); on a second że, switch to iż.
• Don't use words (especially loanwords) whose meaning you're unsure of — check a dictionary first (cite the paper edition).
• Foreign terms shouldn't stand alone as declinable Polish words: write "komiksy anime", not "anime" declined; "sylabariusz katakana", not "katakanie".
• If not italicised, apply Polish spelling: gejsza (not geisha) — and only such forms may be declined.
• Introduce examples in standard order: transcription → original → 'translation', no commas between them.
• Define every specialist term, after stating the field/subfield you work in.

09 Methodology

• Locate your field/subfield and pick representative sources; default to a (broadly understood) linguistics framing. Don't pull from many unrelated fields without justification.
• Wikipedia/encyclopaedias/dictionaries: fine for the basic terminological stage only — analysis needs specialist sources (ask your supervisor for them).
• In the intro/first chapters, set out theses to prove and questions to answer, in a few clear points; in the conclusion, report on whether you met them.
• Finalise the intro and chapter 1 last — they shift as the research develops.
• Choose sources early for how well they support your theses; move from general → specific.
• Tie every argument back to your stated theses to avoid rhetorical dead-ends.
• Repetition is not proof — back claims with concrete evidence + bibliography.
• Don't over-generalise phenomena as "uniquely Japanese"; relate facts to Polish equivalents where you can.
• Don't contrast Japan with a monolithic "the West" or "Asia" (they don't exist); cite specific countries. Drop poeticisms like "Kraj Kwitnącej Wiśni".
• Verify suspect claims — any source can be wrong, tendentious, or orientalist. "Truths known only inside Japan" are a red flag.
• Write for a Polish reader: explain basics of the writing system/grammar and give dates for eras & figures; assume no prior knowledge of Japan.
• Use visuals sparingly and only where they aid understanding; sound/visual sources need Polish transcription + Japanese translation + original script.
• Never present claims without a source — no whims, jokes-as-hypotheses, or hyperbole. Flag any genuinely personal view openly.
• Don't build on a single source; ground analysis in many specialist works (studying one text as material is different — justify it openly).
• State personal/field research (contact with creators, users, site visits) openly in the intro — don't leave the reader guessing.
• Prefer clear tables over long prose: columns L→R = original Japanese · transcription (italics) · 'translation' · commentary. Give each a title & number.
• Set the final title last (≈2 months before the exam; some boards pre-approve it), agreed with your supervisor.

10 Working with your supervisor

• Ask early — no question is stupid. Your supervisor isn't omniscient but will happily help.
• The supervisor exists to be contacted; don't dodge them or hide a lack of progress. Only the truth helps.
• It's not their job to chase you — finishing the thesis and dealing with the Dean's Office is your adult responsibility.
• Dissatisfaction with progress is about the work, not you; treat feedback as goodwill toward a shared, scholarly result.
• Got objections or concerns? Start by raising them with your supervisor.