Thesis cartoon images

They are less than pleased when thesis illustrations, as they are sometimes called, are poorly judged additions. Here’s some examples of thesis images that don’t work: the photo is pretty but adds nothing. The reader could get what they need to know just from text.

While a diagram, table or graph should always be contextualised in a thesis text, (the convention is: figure 1 shows, table 2 demonstrates… ) it should also be its own little self-contained nugget of information. The image that accompanies this text for example can be read and partially understood just as it is.

If a thesis/dissertation is revised for publication, waivers or permissions from the copyright holder (s) of the images and non-textual materials must be obtained. Best practices also apply to materials found on the internet and on social media, and, properly speaking, require identification, citation, and clearance of permissions, as relevant.

Low grade clip art is used to create poor quality images and diagrams. The photographs are grainy and poorly cropped. The examiner is left wondering why the writer used such amateurish material in their thesis. What did they think their examiner would conclude from a poor choice of image?