Creating a Working Table of Contents for a Clear, Structured PhD Thesis

Every thesis or dissertation begins with the best of intentions. You might have a clear outline in mind, a sense of the literature, and an understanding of where your argument is heading. But as the writing progresses, most researchers discover that their ideas evolve in unexpected ways. Chapters expand or shrink, new sections emerge, and the structure you originally imagined no longer matches what your research demands.

This is precisely where a working table of contents (TOC) becomes indispensable. It is not merely a list of headings; it is an evolving blueprint that shapes your thinking, supports your writing and ensures that your final document is coherent and aligned with your academic goals. A working TOC keeps you grounded, focused and aware of the overall architecture of your thesis—even as individual chapters become more detailed and complex.

1. A Working TOC Keeps Your Argument Logical and Focused

One of the biggest challenges in drafting a long academic text is maintaining a clear line of argument. With tens of thousands of words and multiple chapters, it becomes remarkably easy to drift away from your research questions or repeat ideas across chapters. A working TOC provides a visual map of your entire project, showing exactly where each idea belongs and how different sections connect.

When you create a TOC early, you are forced to think about the logical sequence of your argument before you commit large amounts of time to drafting. This clarity enables you to identify gaps in your reasoning, detect chapters that overlap too much and refine the order in which ideas should appear. Instead of reacting to problems after they arise, you work proactively with a structure that supports your thought process.

The TOC also helps you avoid the common trap of overloading background chapters (such as the literature review) while underdeveloping analytical or discussion sections. Because you can see the balance of the thesis laid out in advance, you can ensure that each part contributes proportionally and meaningfully to your research objectives.

2. Begin with a Provisional Title That Clarifies Your Direction

Although your title will almost certainly evolve, the act of creating a provisional title at the beginning of your project plays an important role in focus and clarity. A good working title does not need to be elegant or final—it simply needs to reflect your main topic and research direction. Having this in place gives your TOC a thematic anchor and reduces the temptation to stray into irrelevant material.

Your initial title might be broad, such as: “Digital Narratives and Identity Construction in Contemporary Media.”

Over time, you may refine it to something more specific, such as: “Constructing Identity through Digital Self-Narration: A Multimodal Study of Contemporary Social Media Platforms.”

Even at the early stage, such a title shapes your working TOC by making the scope of the thesis visible. It influences chapter designs, helps you prioritise themes and encourages a consistent focus throughout the writing process.

3. Headings Create a Structural Framework You Can Build On

Titles alone are not enough; your TOC needs chapter and section headings that mirror the structural logic of your argument. Your headings reflect the conceptual path your thesis will follow, and they give you something tangible to work within as the project grows.

For example, most theses will include an introduction, a literature review, a methodology chapter and a conclusion. But the middle of the thesis—where your data, analysis and case studies appear—requires more careful planning. Giving these sections clear headings helps you distribute your ideas evenly, avoid repetition and ensure each chapter advances the argument.

These headings also serve as early signposts for your supervisor. They allow your supervisor to check that your structure aligns with disciplinary conventions and that you have not overlooked key components typically expected in theses of your field.

As your work progresses, you can revise these headings, rename sections or reorganise their order. What matters is that your TOC remains a living document—flexible enough to change, yet structured enough to guide your writing.

4. Annotate Your TOC to Give It Depth and Direction

A TOC becomes truly powerful when it contains more than headings. Beneath each chapter and section, add a short explanatory note describing what you intend to address. These annotations transform your TOC from a static list into an active plan. They help you clarify what belongs where and prevent you from drifting into unrelated material.

For example, under “Chapter 2: Literature Review,” you might include notes such as:

“This chapter synthesises current scholarship on digital identity, highlighting debates around authenticity, performance and narrative construction. It identifies key shortcomings in existing research and shows why a multimodal analytic framework is needed.”

This kind of annotation not only strengthens your focus but also ensures your writing remains aligned with your research questions. It also accelerates drafting: when you sit down to write the chapter, you already know the purpose and flow of your discussion.

Annotations can also include reminders about sources to consult, methodological approaches that need to be mentioned or examples you intend to use. Over time, these notes become the scaffolding from which your chapters grow naturally.

5. Using Your Working TOC as a Writing Template

One of the most practical benefits of a working TOC is that you can use it as a writing template. Instead of opening a blank document—a scenario that many writers find paralysing—you start with a structured outline already containing section headings and explanatory notes. This framework provides immediate direction, reducing uncertainty and allowing you to draft in manageable segments.

When you insert your TOC into your main thesis file, each heading becomes a space waiting to be filled. You can draft two paragraphs under one heading, then move to another if inspiration strikes elsewhere. This flexibility allows you to write non-linearly while maintaining overarching structure.

Writing directly into the TOC template also helps you track your progress. As pages accumulate under each heading, you can see your thesis taking shape. When you notice that one section is expanding too quickly, your TOC alerts you to adjust length or redistribute content across chapters. If one heading remains empty for too long, the TOC flags a need for further research or conceptual development.

6. Use the TOC to Control Word Count (for an 85,000-Word PhD Thesis)

PhD theses often have strict word limits, and 85,000 words is a common maximum across many universities. Without careful planning, chapters can easily become unbalanced—some too short to explore ideas fully, others dangerously long and in need of major rewriting. A working TOC allows you to prevent these problems by assigning realistic word-count targets to each chapter before you begin drafting.

A typical distribution for an 85K thesis might look like this:

• Introduction — 5,000 to 7,000 words
• Literature Review — 15,000 to 20,000 words
• Theoretical Framework — 8,000 to 12,000 words
• Methodology — 8,000 to 10,000 words
• Analysis / Findings — 25,000 to 30,000 words across 2–4 chapters
• Discussion — 8,000 to 10,000 words
• Conclusion — 5,000 to 7,000 words

These ranges are flexible, but the act of planning your word count in advance is essential. It helps you maintain proportionality, avoid bloated chapters and ensure that each part of your thesis receives the attention it deserves. Word-count planning also improves time management by giving you clear goals for each chapter.

7. Refine and Adjust Your TOC as Your Thesis Evolves

A working TOC is not a static document. As you conduct research, read more widely and develop your argument, your structure will inevitably shift. New sections may appear, while others become less central. Your methodology may grow more complex, or your theoretical framework may need restructuring based on insights gained during analysis.

Regularly updating your TOC keeps your structure aligned with your intellectual development. Instead of viewing changes as a setback, you can integrate them smoothly into your evolving blueprint. This dynamic approach allows your thesis to grow organically while remaining coherent and well-organised.

8. Use Your TOC to Guide Supervisor Discussions

Your working TOC is also a valuable communication tool. Sharing it with your supervisor early (and updating them as it evolves) helps them understand how you are conceptualising your thesis. It also enables them to catch potential structural issues long before they become serious problems.

A well-constructed TOC allows your supervisor to comment on chapter balance, logical flow, research alignment and disciplinary expectations. This feedback becomes far more targeted than general discussion because both of you are looking at a concrete, structured plan.

9. Turning Your Working TOC into the Final TOC

One of the greatest advantages of a working TOC is that it eventually transforms into your final table of contents. When your drafting is complete, simply remove the annotations, tidy the headings, ensure consistency and add page numbers.

To avoid losing important planning notes, save a separate version of your TOC before converting it into the final version. This allows you to preserve your working outline as a record of your development and ensures you always have a backup if changes are required later.

Conclusion

A working table of contents is far more than a planning tool—it is a strategic framework that supports clarity, coherence and efficiency throughout the process of writing an 85,000-word PhD thesis. By giving your project structure from the start, guiding your drafting, managing your word count and strengthening communication with your supervisor, a TOC acts as both compass and roadmap.

When used effectively, a working TOC helps you move confidently from initial ideas to a polished, professionally structured dissertation. It evolves as you evolve, ensuring your thesis remains organised, compelling and aligned with your academic goals.