Has your supervisor returned your bachelor's or master's thesis with nothing more than "please clarify this" in a comment? You read the same paragraph again and still do not know what to change. This is when it is easy to lose several evenings making revisions that do not solve the problem.
You do not have to rewrite the chapter straight away. First establish what the comment concerns, then turn it into a specific change. This guide covers revising a bachelor's or master's thesis after supervisor feedback: from a brief "clarify" to restructuring a chapter. It includes examples of revisions and a way to work with comments in Word. Need help with revisions? Send me your material .
Supervisor feedback: identify the problem first
A red comment in Word does not always mean that the whole passage needs to be deleted. It may point to a missing source, an unclear concept or a conclusion that goes beyond the data presented. Read the comment alongside the sentence it is attached to and the paragraphs before and after it. The comment alone, taken out of context, is often not enough.
Before you start editing, complete this sentence: "Here I need to change…". If you cannot finish the sentence, do not guess. Mark the passage for clarification. One specific question to your supervisor can save you from repeatedly reworking the same paragraph.
Content
The comment concerns an argument, source, method or interpretation. A substantive change is needed; simply polishing the sentences will not be enough.
Structure
The passage does not fit the chapter, repeats an earlier description or does not contribute to the aim of the thesis. Check the order and connections between sections.
Language and presentation
The idea is sound, but the sentence is hard to follow or the presentation is inconsistent. Editing, proofreading and making the form consistent can help here.
If the comment concerns the overall organisation of the text, start with the guide to thesis structure.
"Please clarify this" – what exactly needs revising?
Clarifying means removing ambiguity. Check whether the reader knows who or what you are writing about, under what conditions and on what basis. Words such as "often", "many", "significant" or "affects" may sound natural, but without explanation they leave too much room for interpretation.
Example: a sentence before and after revision
Suppose your survey concerned social media use while preparing for classes. It did not measure its effect on academic performance.
Before: "The thesis examined the impact of social media on students."
After: "The thesis analysed surveyed students' self-reports about their use of social media while preparing for classes."
The revised sentence makes clear what the study examined and who supplied the data. It does not promise to demonstrate an "effect" that the survey did not investigate. State the actual scope of your study in your own text; do not copy the example if you collected different information.
Do not add an arbitrary percentage, quotation or definition simply to make the sentence sound more academic. Details must come from material you actually have. If a concept is unclear, check its meaning in the literature and use it consistently. If the problem concerns scope, see the guide to the thesis aim and research questions.
Clarifying does not have to make a paragraph longer. Sometimes it is enough to remove an overly broad statement and replace it with a shorter, better-supported idea.
"Lack of coherence" or "too much description" – how do you get started?
When your supervisor points out a lack of coherence
Read just the subsection titles and the first sentence of each paragraph. Can you follow the argument? Does the theory prepare the reader for the problem you analyse later? Paragraphs may work individually yet fail to form a convincing whole.
Remove repetition, move passages to the right places and add transitions explaining the connection between ideas. Simply adding "furthermore" or "therefore" is not enough. The connection must follow from the content. If you reorder sections, also check the introduction, conclusion and references to chapters.
When there is too much description and not enough analysis
A series of publication summaries does not yet show what can be learned by considering them together. Choose one issue and compare the authors' positions: where they agree, where they differ and whether they study the same problem under similar conditions. Then explain what this comparison means for your topic. Your own commentary should follow from the sources you have read.
In the empirical section, do not stop at copying values from a chart. Explain what the finding contributes to the research question and where the limits of interpretation lie. For more on this task, see the guide to discussing research findings. Do not change the description of the method to suggest that the study was conducted differently from how it actually took place.
In what order should you revise your thesis?
Correcting commas in a chapter that is about to be restructured takes time. Start with changes that affect the rest of the text. Refine the language and document's appearance only once the content and order are settled.
- Keep the version with feedback. Work on a copy and keep the comments and earlier agreements available for comparison.
- Identify dependencies. First, the scope, aim and structure of the thesis. Then the arguments, sources and interpretation of findings. Finally, language, footnotes and formatting.
- Address one issue across the relevant sections. A comment about a definition may affect several chapters. Check every place where you use that concept.
- Compare the revision with the comment. Ask yourself: "What exactly have I resolved?" Adding half a page is not progress if it still avoids the problem.
If you have two days before submitting a chapter, start with the content issues your supervisor identified as most important. Distinguish them from minor corrections to presentation. Also ask when your supervisor can read the material again; the day you send the file is not automatically the day it is approved.
Example of one entry in a revision log
- Comment: "please clarify the scope of the study".
- Location: the sentence stating the aim in the methodology subsection and the corresponding passage in the introduction.
- Basis: the questionnaire actually used and the description of the study procedure. No grades or examination results were collected.
- Change: the stated investigation of an "effect on academic performance" was replaced with a description of an analysis of opinions on social media use while preparing for classes.
- Dependency check: the aim in the introduction, research questions and conclusion were checked. If the thesis title or agreed concept requires it, this item remains to be discussed with the supervisor.
- Status: "text revised, scope awaiting confirmation" describes the situation more accurately than simply "done".
This demonstrates a way to document a revision, referring to the earlier example. In your own log, state the actual location and material. Distinguish making a revision from its subsequent approval by your supervisor.
How can you revise your thesis in Word and stay in control?
Track Changes lets you compare the earlier text with the revised version. In Word, you will find it on the Review tab. Before you begin, agree whether your supervisor wants a document with visible changes, a clean version or both files. This will save you from preparing the document again just before sending it.
Review revisions one by one and make a conscious decision to accept or reject each. The "No Markup" option only hides the markup; it does not remove stored changes from the file. A comment is also different from a revision to the text. Marking it as resolved does not automatically change the sentence it refers to.
Two versions make review easier. Keep a file with tracked changes for review and a separate version for easy reading. Give them clear names with a date rather than creating more files called "final_final_revised".
After changing the chapter structure, update the table of contents, numbering and cross-references. Also open the PDF if you are sending one. Moving a paragraph may change the page breaks, and a table caption may become separated from the table itself. Read more about this stage in the guide to formatting a thesis in Word.
How do you ask your supervisor about an unclear comment?
Instead of writing "I don't understand the revisions", identify the location, explain your interpretation and ask about a specific choice. It is easier for a supervisor to respond to one passage than to a general request to explain the whole thesis again.
Example message:
"In subsection 2.2, the second paragraph has the comment 'please clarify this'. I understand this as a need to explain what the concept of engagement means here and how I identify it in the study. Is that the scope you mean, or should I also narrow down the group described?"
After a substantial round of revisions, include a brief note on what you changed and identify points that need a decision. Do not say that you have addressed all comments if some remain open. I also discuss how to prepare for this conversation in the guide to a thesis plan and a meeting with your supervisor.
Your revised thesis: check it before sending
After several hours of editing, it is easy to stop noticing obvious errors. Before sending the file, return to the original comments and check the whole document, including places you did not revise directly.
- Comments: each has been addressed or clearly marked as a point requiring agreement.
- Coherence: the aim, terminology, study description and conclusions still fit together.
- Sources: new citations have corresponding entries in the bibliography; deleted passages have not left unnecessary entries behind.
- File: the table of contents and cross-references are up to date, and the version sent to the supervisor presents changes in the agreed way.
You do not have to do everything alone. For feedback on language and coherence, consider the service "Bachelor’s and master’s thesis proofreading and editing". If you do not know why the material as a whole is being questioned, a starting point may be the service "Thesis review". I tailor the support to your thesis and the actual comments. For changes to content, structure and several chapters: Explore help with revisions based on your supervisor's feedback .
Frequently asked questions about supervisor feedback
Can you help me address my thesis supervisor's feedback?
Yes. Send the document with comments, the message from the supervisor, or a list of required changes. We can organise the comments and determine which corrections to make first: in the structure, methodology, sources, results, or the language of the thesis.
If a comment is general, e.g. "lack of coherence", "weak methodology", or "rewrite the text", we assess the indicated sections and propose specific actions. We define the scope based on the material and the supervisor's requirements.
What should I send if I already have feedback from my supervisor?
Send the current version of the thesis, the supervisor's comments, guidelines, and the deadline. If the comments concern a specific chapter or results, highlight those sections. Based on this, I will define the scope of changes, the price, and the possible completion date.
What is the difference between proofreading and editing?
Proofreading focuses on language accuracy, spelling and punctuation. Editing also addresses sentence structure, style, paragraph organisation, flow and the logic of your argument. We tailor the scope to the condition of your text and the changes it needs.
We offer both proofreading and editing for bachelor's and master's theses, coursework, reports, other academic papers and presentations.
Can I see the edits with Track Changes?
Yes, if the client requires it, corrections can be prepared in Track Changes mode in Word. This allows you to see which sections were changed, corrected, edited, or removed.
This is useful for proofreading, editing, revising footnotes and references, or addressing your supervisor's feedback.
What should I change when my supervisor says there is too much description and not enough analysis?
Check if you are only summarising successive publications. Choose a common issue and compare how authors define it, what material they work with, and what conclusions they reach. Explain similarities, differences, and the limitations of the comparison, then show their significance for your topic. Do not add evaluations without justification in the sources. For a general comment, ask the supervisor to point to one section where you can practise the change.
Bibliography and basis of the guide
- Sirojć Z., Przygotowanie pracy dyplomowej. Poradnik dla studentów i promotorów, Uczelnia Warszawska im. Marii Skłodowskiej-Curie, Warszawa 2009, ISBN 978-83-923588-8-6. Publication made available as Technika pisania pracy dyplomowej.
- Wolański A., Edycja tekstów. Praktyczny poradnik, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 2008.
- Microsoft Support, Polish-language documentation: Śledzenie zmian w programie Word and Akceptowanie lub odrzucanie prześledzonych zmian w Word, accessed 13.10.2026.
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