Several years of research have culminated in your thesis, which serves as the culmination of your PhD studies. You will receive the best dissertation guidance from your supervisor, committee, and fellow graduate students; nonetheless, here are a few pointers to get you started:
1. Establish a timetable.
Specify when you want to complete each chapter or part, as well as the number of pages you need to write each day in order to fulfil those deadlines. Then attempt to establish a writing regimen for yourself. Choose work hours that correlate to the times of day when you believe you are at your most productive. If you are a morning person, get your writing done first thing in the morning. Similarly, if you really hit your stride during the evening shift, you should adjust your hours so that you may complete the majority of your writing during your peak period.
2. Just Get Started With Your Writing
Following your writing outline, it’s time to begin to work on the actual writing. The more you put it off, the more difficult it will get! While you may definitely come up with a million reasons to put off writing (e.g., “I need to do more research/readings/experiments”), you won’t know whether or not these are valid until you actually start writing. When working on your argument, the most effective method is to actually put your argument down on paper.
3. The first draft does not necessarily represent the final draught.
The most important thing to remember when embarking on a project of this scope is that your first draught is not your final draught. It is not necessary for the language to be flawless or the argument to be flawless on the first attempt. Throughout the writing process, rewriting and revising are essential steps. Simply begin writing and revise your work in the subsequent draught to make it more polished.
4. Be willing to change your mind.
Writer’s block occurs to the best of us at some point in our lives, and it may cause you to miss one of your deadlines. If you miss a deadline, simply adjust your schedule to accommodate the missed deadline and continue writing. Another piece of advice: if you set all of your deadlines a little sooner than you think you will need to, you will allow yourself a little breathing room in case you have to push any of them back.
5. Finish writing the introductions last.
It’s easy to get caught on the introduction, so skip it if you want to save time. First, draught the main body of the chapter. You’ll have a better understanding of what you’re actually introducing and will have more time to collect your thoughts once you’re through. This guidance applies to the opening to the dissertation as well, especially because it is likely to change as you work on it over the course of several months.
6. Get Up and Move Around
A comparable approach is to move on from a section of a chapter if you find yourself stuck on it and come back to it later. You can easily skip a tough piece of a chapter if you have already sketched your thesis and method for the chapter. This will allow you to use your time more efficiently to write a straightforward section. After making progress on a “easy” piece, you will be more confidence when returning to the more difficult paragraphs of the paper.
7. Get Feedback As Soon As Possible
If you follow this recommendation, it will be partially dependent on your supervisor and their tastes. If at all possible, share your work with them as early and frequently as possible. They can help you identify problems earlier and work through any challenging areas more efficiently. Additionally, making little adjustments along the road will prevent you from having to rewrite a full chapter closer to the due date of your assignment.
8. Take Good Care of Yourself
Because you are dissertating, this does not imply that you should neglect your overall health. Being in good physical and mental health makes it easier to write when you’re not feeling sick. Remember to eat healthfully, get adequate sleep, and maintain an active lifestyle. Even a short walk around the neighbourhood will raise your heart rate and allow you to empty your head of thoughts.
9. Take Breaks from Time to Time
You’ll be writing for the majority of the time when you’re working on your thesis; however, this does not imply that you have to write all of the time. If you labour in excess of your customary hours on a frequent basis, you will eventually exhaust yourself. Take breaks when you feel like you need to recharge your batteries. At the same time, don’t be afraid to decline invitations to social events if you feel it’s necessary. Your friends will understand if you miss out on some social events, especially if you are too stressed to genuinely enjoy yourself at those activities.
10. Make use of a Reference Management System
It is not uncommon for dissertations to contain hundreds of references, and you do not want to be scrambling at the end of the project to track them all out. Using a reference manager, such as Endnote or Zotero, can help you keep track of all the papers and books you may need to mention in the future, and it will make inserting citations in any format simple.