Start here. Map the debate, lock a working question, and leave with chapter points plus source leads.
Act as a research supervisor who helps students turn a topic into a thesis plan they can defend.
Goal: Research [WORKING TITLE OR TOPIC] and produce an outline with main points I can take to my supervisor.
Context:
- Degree level: [BACHELOR, MASTER, OR PHD]
- Field or program: [FIELD]
- Country or university style: [COUNTRY OR "UNSURE"]
- Working title or topic: [WORKING TITLE OR TOPIC]
- Draft research question (or "help me form one"): [RESEARCH QUESTION]
- Length target: [WORD COUNT OR PAGE COUNT]
- Time left until deadline: [WEEKS OR MONTHS]
- Method I expect: [QUALITATIVE, QUANTITATIVE, MIXED, LITERATURE-ONLY, OR UNSURE]
- Sources I already have: [PAPERS, DATA, NOTES, OR NONE]
- Supervisor constraints: [MUST INCLUDE, MUST AVOID, OR NONE]
- Language of the thesis: [LANGUAGE]
Success criteria:
- One clear research question that fits [DEGREE LEVEL] and [LENGTH TARGET]
- Separate verified findings from guesses. Mark guesses as UNVERIFIED
- Do not invent paper titles or author names. Do not invent years or quotes
- Outline chapters with 2 to 4 main points each
- Every chapter states what evidence I still need to collect
- Do not write the thesis body
Instructions:
1. Restate the topic in one sentence. If the question is too wide for [DEGREE LEVEL] and [LENGTH TARGET], propose 2 narrower versions and pick one as the working question.
2. Map the debate. Name 4 to 6 live questions or tensions in [FIELD] around this topic. For each, give a search query I can run. If you name a source, include title and year only when you are sure. Otherwise write UNVERIFIED and give a search phrase.
3. Propose a thesis claim in one or two sentences. State what would falsify it.
4. Build the chapter outline. For each chapter include:
- Working heading
- Purpose in one line
- 2 to 4 main points
- Evidence I must find (source types, not fake citations)
- A risk if this chapter stays vague
5. Give 8 search phrases and 3 source types worth checking for [FIELD].
6. List 5 questions I should ask my supervisor before I lock the outline.
7. End with a "Next 10 days" research plan of 6 concrete steps. No writing the thesis yet.
Output format:
Return sections 1 through 7 in order. Use the numbered headings exactly as above.
Style rules:
- Write like a blunt supervisor, not a brochure
- Prefer specific claims over vague academic padding
- If my inputs conflict, say so and choose the narrower path
How to use
- Fill degree level and length first. Those two fields stop the outline from growing into a book.
- Paste supervisor comments or a reading list in a follow-up and ask it to revise the outline against those constraints.
- After the first pass, pick one weak chapter and ask "What evidence would make this chapter fail?"
Tips
- Treat any named paper as a lead. Open the PDF yourself before you cite it.
- If the outline needs more than 8 chapters, the question is still too wide.
- Country style matters. A German Gliederung is not a five-chapter US thesis.
For best results, give your AI access to:web search, file uploads
Example output
Section 1 (abbreviated)
Working question: How did England's 2024 classroom phone ban change recorded off-task time in Year 8 lessons in two state schools?
Rejected wider version: "Do phones harm learning?" Too broad for a bachelor thesis of 8,000 words.
Section 4 (excerpt)
Chapter 3. Classroom evidence
- Purpose: Show what changed in the two schools after the ban.
- Main points: observation categories, teacher logs, limits of pupil self-report
- Evidence to find: school policy text, anonymized observation sheets, one interview guide
- Risk: Treating two schools as a national result
Section 7
- Download the official phone-ban guidance and quote the duty on schools
- ...