“Nothing is original.” Austin Kleon, Steal Like an Artist (Kleon, 2012)
Use these examples to study structural choices and writing techniques. Steal Like an Artist argues that studying good work can help you develop an approach suited to your own problem and constraints. Copying the content remains unacceptable.
All three theses below use my LaTeX thesis template.
I selected these examples because they are well structured, received high grades, and delivered clear value for the company.
Modeling backbone examples
Vendor-Managed Inventory (VMI): Lisa Nonhof
Read this thesis if your work involves an optimization model with a clear business context and a strong comparison between a baseline and a proposed model. (Nonhof, 2023)
Structural elements to study:
- How the introduction narrows from context → problem → gap → contribution.
- How the model is introduced with clean notation and assumptions.
- How experiments are framed as comparisons (not as a list of results).
Multi-Objective Network Design: Danielle Turkstra
Read this one if your project involves trade-offs (cost vs. service vs. sustainability) and you need to explain choices transparently. (Turkstra, 2025)
Structural elements to study:
- How the thesis explains objectives and trade-offs in plain language first, then in math.
- How sensitivity analyses and scenario thinking support the conclusions.
- How the discussion stays honest about assumptions and limitations.
Decision-Support Tool + Model: I. J. Bakker
Read this thesis if you are building a tool around a model and must evaluate it across multiple scenarios. (Bakker, 2025)
Structural elements to study:
- How the thesis connects the tool to a concrete decision the company cares about.
- How the evaluation demonstrates robustness beyond a single case.
- How recommendations are grounded in the evidence from the experiments.
What to learn from these examples
- Formatting and readability: consistent headings, clean typography (often easier in LaTeX), and a readable table of contents.
- Content division: clear chapter purposes and smooth transitions.
- Research design clarity: the reader quickly understands the objective, research question, method, and evaluation.
- Figures and tables: high quality visuals with descriptive, self-contained captions.
A practical suggestion
Reuse structure, including chapter outlines, section order, motivating sections, and concise statements of key findings. Write the content for your own research.
Many readers are familiar with IMRaD-like structure (Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion). Even if your thesis uses a different chapter naming convention, aligning to that logic usually helps readability.
Best-thesis award winners from Bekader provide another reference point for high-quality work.