PhD Dissertation Writing Tips
Obtaining a college degree is one of the most important things many people will do in their lives. When you are going to school for your PhD you will be asked to write a dissertation. The word ‘dissertation’ alone can scare many students because they know such papers can be at least 200 to 300 pages long, depending on your course program and school. Below you’ll find tips on how to write a dissertation for your PhD.
- Create an outline that is good and solid. Good writers are aware of their readers. On your outline make sure you have good sign posts and a summary of the work. You can always go back later to modify or adjust the outline, as they are not unchangeable.
- Remember your first papers are drafts. Since they are not finished products, don’t waste all of your time on drafts. Just make sure you get your thoughts on paper and worry about corrections later.
- Write regularly as a daily discipline. To keep your momentum going and to hone in on your writing skills, make it a regular discipline. In other words, dedicate a certain amount of time each day – especially during those times you don’t want to!
- Complete your footnotes later. Leave a gap and a mention at the bottom of the page, but come back to your footnotes later. By simply writing a quick summary and continuing to write will also keep your momentum going.
- Edit and edit some more. Until you are finished and have the final signed copy turned in, your editing job is never done. In other words, when you’re working on a dissertation, you’re always working on you a dissertation. In addition, create enough distance between any points you made before. This is important because though the points may make sense to you, the reader may not understand. During your edits another important task is to remove any unnecessary information. Things to watch for are passive voice, first person, and any filler words.
- Get as many second opinions as you can. It doesn’t matter who the person is, from another student to a friend, family member, or mentor ask them to read it for you. The more opinions you can get, the more mistakes can be caught and corrections can be made.
In the end, writing your dissertation will come down to the amount of time and effort you put into the paper. Just remember that your dissertation is the most important paper you will ever write, so take it seriously and do your best!
How to Write a Solid and Interesting Dissertation
Research, Research, Research!
If you do not want to use a legitimate dissertation writing service, you can try to write a solid thesis yourself. The next step is to do some initial research, just to find out if your topic is a good one and how you’ll be able to find sources to support your position. Once you’ve done a little digging and determined that your chosen topic is, in fact a worthy pursuit, then dig as deep as you can. Go to every resource at your disposal for information, including:
- School and public libraries
- The internet (websites, blogs, online journals, news sites)
- Magazines
- Associations or organizations in your industry
- Interview professionals (both in your field or in fields that work with people in your field, for a differing perspective)
Organization
The final part of a great outline is to keep everything super organized. Make sure you either have a box and filing system or folders on your computer. Make a folder for all your research notes, possibly categorized by name or book title, or date published. Make another one for your own notes from classes that you may want to use in your dissertation. Another folder could be for texts opposite of your position, to contrast the opposing side.
Whatever organizational tool you use, just make sure that you do stay organized.
