Although many articles have been written about thesis assessment, none provide a comprehensive, general picture of what examiners do as they assess a thesis. To synthesise this diverse literature, we reviewed 30 articles, triangulated their conclusions and identified 11 examiner practices. Thesis examiners tend to be broadly consistent in their practices and recommendations; they expect and want a thesis to pass, but first impressions are also very important. They read with academic expectations and the expectations of a normal reader. Like any reader, thesis examiners get annoyed and distracted by presentation errors, and they want to read a work that is a coherent whole. As academic readers, examiners favour a thesis with a convincing approach that engages with the literature and the findings, but they require a thesis to be publishable research. Finally, examiners give not only a final evaluation of a thesis, but also instruction and advice to improve the thesis and further publications and research. We hope that these generalisations will demystify the often secret process of assessing a thesis, and reassure, guide and encourage students as they write their theses.

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Article-based thesis is an alternative thesis format which requires postgraduate students to write and publish articles as a fulfilment of a postgraduate degree. Therefore, knowledge of the rhetorical structure (moves and steps) of article-based thesis (AT) is crucial for the successful completion of a thesis. This study then seeks to compare the rhetorical structures and linguistic realisations of thesis introduction chapter found in the Traditional (TT) and Article-based (AT) theses. To realise the objectives, 12 purposive selected PhD thesis introductions were analysed based on Bunton's (2002) move model. Using content analysis, the moves and steps in the introduction chapters were quantified for their frequency of use and then examined qualitatively for their linguistic realisations. The data revealed that both types of theses had obligatory and optional moves and steps. It was also found that the steps of move 3 in the article-based theses were slightly different from that in the traditional theses. For the linguistic realisations, it was shown that there were variations in the different moves and steps in TT and AT. Words such as paper and article were found in move 3 in AT but were absent in TT. The results have several pedagogical implications. They provide informed input on the structures of the two types of thesis to the writing instructors and writing curriculum writers. More importantly, the findings provide knowledge to student writers on the genre of AT, specifically its rhetorical structures and linguistic realisations.

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