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Want to Get Started Writing That Dissertation
I do not want to minimize the size of the task entailed by writing a dissertation. It is a rite of passage. As such it needs to be big enough to push your limits, cause you some pain, force you to learn endurance, so that you will be glad to celebrate your success and accomplishment on the other end. Anyone who has earned her doctorate will tell you that these things are part of the journey. Without the extremity of the challenge we would not become peers with all the great people before us who have also been Doctors. That is the point of the journey.
On the other hand many others have gone before you. And they leave the a wide highway that is well paved as to how to get there. All you have to do is follow their lead to get started on a path that will lead you to success. The first hurdle that you must cross is one of organization. A common mistake is that students do not know how big a task a dissertation is compared to other writing they have done. When you start you may be tempted to take the requirements and write it up like it is every other paper you have turned in and then think you are done. The results will likely be sadness, unhappiness, and frustration when your doctoral adviser sends back your first set of comments. A recent student told me, “When I got over the tears I got on it and now am on my way – thanks for the feedback.” Much of this can be avoided by understanding ahead of time how big a task you are taking on, and then preparing yourself for it. You would not climb Mount Everest in shorts and your tennis shoes.
This article assumes that as a doctoral student you have been developing an idea of what it is you want to research, and the addition that you want to make to your field. Now it is time to get started writing. I recommend you start by gathering a few good tools:
The Doctoral Student, the Advisor, the Advisory Committee, & the Academic Editor – Part 6
This article concludes a series of 6 articles. I’ve spoken much about who is involved in the doctoral process and that the academic editor is one of possibly 8 people. To conclude the series, a good look at what can be expected of an academic editor. What is a copy edit and what is a content edit?
Lack of clarity about the different editing focuses and what can be expected.
Copy edits
The Doctoral Student, the Advisor, the Advisory Committee, & the Academic Editor – Part 5
So why is it that perfectly intelligent doctoral students can expect academic editors to be miracle workers?
From experience there seem to be a number of reasons. Here are some that we see quite often.
The lazy student
Writing is a dynamic process, ever-changing, and hopefully ever-improving. A student who just wants a quick fix, with a let’s produce-a-product approach, wants someone else to do much of the work. Who better than the academic editor? And when their quick-fix approach backfires, who better to blame than the editor.
The insecure student
