Kinetics of homopolyesterification between methyl hydroquinone diacetate (MHQDA) and 1,4-naphthalene dicarboxylic acid (1,4-NDCA) in the melt were analyzed using three different rate models. The three different techniques used to evaluate the kinetic parameters for the homopolymerization reaction were as follows: simple second-order textbook equation, a simple second-order kinetic model, and Mathew's model. A simple second-order reaction mechanism previously reported by Mathew et al. is found to summarize the catalyzed and uncatalyzed reactions between MHQDA and 1,4-NDCA. Close comparison was obtained between the experimental and theoretical data by using the Mathew's model. Mathew's model was found to perfectly fit the experimental data. The kinetic analysis of the studied system reveals the implicit simplicity of complex systems. The percentage error for the fit was found to be <5% for the Mathew's model. These novel homopolymers were analyzed for their thermal properties by using a differential scanning calorimeter. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.