When writing a thesis or dissertation, you will need to have a specific purpose statement. A specific purpose statement provides the objectives you intend to achieve.
Read More
While every Ph.D. student hopes to experience smooth sailing throughout graduate school, the reality is that occasional rough waters are not uncommon. Once coursework has been completed and the greenlight has been given to proceed to the dissertation, many Ph.D. students find themselves feeling adrift. This is a good time to consider seeking professional guidance.
Read More
While there are no shortcuts when it comes to writing a dissertation, there are certainly strategies you can use to make the process as organized, straightforward, and painless as possible.
Read More
The moment your dissertation is accepted by your university’s graduate college is one of sweet relief. You’ve reached the end of a very long road, and the work is done. Or is it? For many academics, the siren song of pursuing publication strikes not long after the ink is dry on their diploma. The idea of seeing your name in a prestigious academic journal or emblazoned on the spine of a book is indeed tempting. However, submitting to academic journals or becoming a published author can be a lengthy journey of its own.
Read More
When it’s time to start thinking about writing your dissertation, it is vital to put together a dissertation timeline. This will help you map out the months you will be spending on your dissertation, and ensure that you’re staying on track. A specific and detailed dissertation timeline will serve as an outline to guide you, step by step, through what can be a long and challenging process.
Read More
Often when graduate students think of their dissertation, they imagine a finished product: a thick, leather-bound manuscript signifying the culmination of their education. While a great (and motivating!) visual, it doesn’t tell the whole story about what it means to write a dissertation. Before embarking on this journey, it is helpful to conceptualize it as a dissertation process, rather than a final document.
Read More
One of the most important choices that you will make about your dissertation or thesis happens before you write a single word. Choosing a thesis advisor or dissertation advisor (often referred to as a dissertation chair) will have a significant impact on your entire dissertation writing experience, and for many years to come. For many doctoral students, their thesis advisor is their single greatest influence in graduate school.
Read More
When thinking about any kind of academic publication, one of the first thoughts that comes to mind relates to peer review. While the practice is not well-understood outside of academic circles–because it doesn’t really need to be–it is highly valued within the academic community. A major goal of all academic publication endeavors is peer review, a scholarly seal of approval that most academics begin pursuing immediately after their dissertation.
Read More
Embarking on your dissertation is equal parts exhilaration and trepidation. It’s finally your turn to stake out your territory in the body of knowledge and hone your expertise. Naturally, it’s a lot of work, the evidence of which is reflected in your dissertation chapters. These chapters, which comprise the bulk of your dissertation, offer a clear snapshot of your topic, the work that has already been done by other scholars in your field, gaps in the literature, complications, your approach, and more.
Read More
While every part of a dissertation is important, some of the hardest sections to write occur at the beginning. Two early sections of the dissertation–or any scholarly project–are the abstract and the introduction. While there are some similarities between the two, the abstract and the introduction to a dissertation are distinct pieces of writing that require different approaches and perspectives.
Read More