When students write music theses, they often do so as part of a larger course of study that also involves music performance and possibly music composition. Therefore, a music thesis should be a project that adds to and supports the other areas of one's study within the discipline. . . . .

A literature review paper contains several key elements, including an introduction, summary, analysis of the work of literature, and a conclusion. The analysis is by far the most important part of any literature review paper, because the goal of a literature review is to prove the value of a work of literature to people who have not yet read it. Therefore, students who are writing literature review papers should spend the majority of their papers discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the work. . . . .

A research literature review is a summary and critique of a work of literature that reports the research of a given field. Students who are working on thesis projects may need to write several formal or informal research literature reviews in the course of determining whose work is the most integral and informative to the subject at hand. . . . .

A senior thesis is a large project that one completes before receiving a bachelor's degree. Usually this project will reflect one's area of keenest interest within the academic discipline. For example, if an English literature student has loved William Faulkner more than any other English language writer, he or she will probably consider writing a senior thesis on one of Faulkner's literary works. . . . .

One writes a Ph D thesis as the crowning project before receiving a doctoral degree, and it usually represents the most strenuous, the deepest, and the most significant work of one's academic career. Because of the depth of research and thought necessary to produce a good Ph D thesis, one becomes an expert in that subject and often goes on to teach that subject at the university level. . . . .

In a synthesis essay, one performs research on a selected topic and writes an essay that weaves the research sources together to form a coherent unit of thought. Synthesis essays may or may not make a persuasive argument; in either case, their primary goal is to show the writer's ability to read many different research sources and to fit them together to present the reader with a unique body of information. . . . .

Literature reviews provide an invaluable service for academia because they perform the function of the peer review, in which one expert in the field analyzes the work of another expert and evaluates the validity and reputability of that work. This function allows people who know less about the field to feel comfortable trusting or ignoring major works of literature based on the reviewer's educated, disinterested opinion. . . . .

A research paper thesis discusses a selected topic in a highly detailed, highly informed way. Research paper theses require the strongest research that a student has ever conducted; they are the culmination of a college career of learning to conduct research, to determine the value of research sources, and to synthesize that information in writing. . . . .

The literature review serves an indispensable purpose in the academic world. Because no one can read every work of literature in the world, the literature reviews tell potential readers whether or not they should read the work. The literature reviews serve, in effect, as an information exchange in which the review writer tells the review reader what the work of literature accomplishes, and if the reader believes the analysis of the writer, he or she decides accordingly whether or not to read the work. Therefore, the literature review writer should form his or her opinions carefully and should argue them adeptly in the review. . . . .

In a history thesis, the thesis writer attempts to make a contribution to the academic study of history. In order to achieve this goal, the writer usually either offers a new interpretation or perspective on a historical figure, event, or series of events; conducts new research into the topic and releases it to the public; or draws new lines of cause and effect for historical issues. . . . .