Plan a thesis on one board you can share with your advisor

How the board is laid out

Everything on the board is an editable card or list, and nothing on it is a photo.

• A start-here card says the thesis is invented and how the board is meant to be used.
• Six lists across the top: core argument, then chapters 1 to 5. Each chapter list has six cards, for example problem, research question, scope and contribution under the introduction, or design, sample, measures, analysis plan, ethics and risk under methods.
• Five captioned arrows join neighbouring lists: answered by, fills, produces, supports and complicates. They stay attached when you move a card or a list.
• Literature clusters (six cards) group papers by theme and say how many are saved in the reference manager. The papers themselves live in the manager, not on the board.
• Advisor feedback (five checkbox cards) keeps each comment with its date and what you will do about it. This month (four checkbox cards) is the short list.

On the board, the results chapter holds a figures and tables card that lists the figures. The image files stay outside the board, because a free board takes 3 images and 1 file.

Using it with an advisor or co-author

Set Share to "Anyone with the link can edit" (new boards start view-only), send the link and ask your advisor to sign in free to write. Anyone who only wants to read can open the link without an account. The board counts as 1 of their 5 free boards, and cards they add count toward their own 150 items.

1. 1Give the advisor their own list. The advisor feedback list is the place for their comments. Two people typing in the same card merge keystroke by keystroke with no lock, so separate cards keep each person's words apart.
2. 2Turn each comment into a card with a checkbox and a line on what you will change. Tick it when the chapter list has changed.
3. 3Move the card, don't retype it. When a comment leads to a new section, drag the card into the chapter list.
4. 4Keep a "core argument" list that never gets longer than one screen. If a chapter card doesn't connect to the claim or one of its points, it is a candidate to cut.

What others say about mapping a thesis

All of these were read in full on November 11, 2026, and each is one author's or one commenter's view.

• A Happy PhD (January 16, 2021) proposes a diagram of key obstacles, milestones and the everyday fuel that gets you past them, with Google Drawings and Jamboard templates, and suggests using it sparingly, for example at the start of the PhD or once a semester.
• The University of Melbourne's graduate research page "Planning your thesis including publications" points to a thesis map template and a publication map template, in Word format, and says a publication is usually one chapter. If your university has its own thesis map, start from that.
• Raul Pacheco-Vega (October 6, 2018) plans a thesis with a Gantt chart and by working backwards from the defence date. That is a calendar job, which this board doesn't do.
• r/GradSchool (November 16, 2018, 7 comments) is a student whose advisor asked for a concept map of a dissertation. One commenter found concept maps unwieldy on their own and used a critical-reading framework from a book instead; another writes a one-page review of each key paper and maps on large A1 sheets. Treat each as one person's way of working.

When something else is the better choice

These lines come from each tool's own page, read on November 11, 2026.

• You need a timeline or a Gantt chart. Notion's thesis template category listed 57 templates when read. Use one, or a calendar, for dates. Our board has no date axis.
• You need to collect and cite sources. Zotero is a free reference manager. Its groups let you share a library with a class or colleagues, and it says there is no limit on how many members may join. Our cards can say "six saved in my manager" and nothing more.
• You write in LaTeX and share the draft. Overleaf's Free plan allows 1 collaborator per project, Standard ($16.75 a month billed yearly, $199 a year) 10, and Pro ($33.25 a month billed yearly, $399 a year) unlimited. Share links have Viewer, Reviewer and Editor levels. Our board has no manuscript.
• You write a long draft in a writing app. Scrivener runs on macOS, Windows and iOS and is built for long documents. Your word processor is the right place for the thesis itself.
• You keep your notes as linked files. Obsidian is free without limits and needs no sign-up. Its Sync add-on costs $4 a month billed annually and is what shares a vault. Our board shows the structure on one screen and doesn't link notes.
• Your program gives you a template. Use the thesis map from your university or department, and treat ours as a practice shape.

What this board doesn't do

• No date axis, Gantt chart or reminders. The "backward plan from defence date" card only says to put the dates in your calendar.
• No citations, bibliography or reference manager. Papers are named in cards.
• No word count and no manuscript. The cards are plans, not text.
• The free plan: 5 boards and 150 items per account (cards, lists, images and text boxes count; pen strokes and arrows don't), 3 images and 1 file per board. The ready board leaves 89 items free. A card per paragraph or per paper will pass 150 on a long thesis, so keep cards to sections and clusters.
• Pro ($5 a month billed yearly, $59.99, or $7.99 monthly) has no image limit.
• Writing needs a free sign-in. Anyone with the link can view.
• Written for adult learners. Instaboard's terms say users are not minors.

Questions