Comments on: Dissertation Writing

By: Tom

Tom — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:48:30 +0000

Thanks for the good advice. I am taking my last exam before I start writing my proposal in a few weeks and am about to enter the sea of dissertation writing.

By: Kris

Kris — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 08:14:27 +0000

Hi. I’m a newbie (new ABD, new to blogging culture, etc.) Does anyone have advice on the best bibliographic software (compatible with a Mac) for dissertations writers from the Engl Dept?

By: Rise

Rise — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 15:39:32 +0000

This is really a good list for ABDs (All but dissertation). Sound advice, though for other departments the plan will be a little different (like algorithm development, experimentations etc.) but this list covers the basics and is very very useful.

By: eye-of-horus

eye-of-horus — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 00:20:40 +0000

the humanities Ph.D. dissertation

1. be able to put your argumentative structure on the back of a postcard

2. write from a carefully crafted 25-30 page outline

3. use the word processor, get good bibliographic software. [no pen and paper!!!]
4. output is total number of words, not hours spent
5. write 600 words per day 5 days a week (3,000 words/week; 50,000 words of draft 1 in 3 months)
6. then, edit / rewrite / add

7. aim to produce 3-4 publishable chapters
8. create a publishable chapter? send it in and get it published

9. no dissertation committee will “dis” you if you’ve already published!

10. even if you know what you’re talking about expect 8 months of full-time effort to produce a 50,000 word dissertation from outline to bound volumes submitted for committee review.

current writer has 2 humanities PhDs
philosophy, the university of virginia
history of science, cambridge university, england

By: dave

dave — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 19:08:21 +0000

Thanks everyone for adding in your comments. Especially rmagere, for I agree that writing is ultimately an individual process, and each author needs to find her own way. I am intrigued to know that some people still write their dissertations long hand. Someone who recently received a tenure track job at a good institution (he has always atteneded top flight schools) said he found it strange how little the programs he has attended talk about the process of writing. As if “magic goes here” applies, as if writing in the humanities especially is that process which occurs in a dark room of which no one speaks. Anyway I think the more you can hear what others have done, the better equipped you are to discover which one works for you.

By: Todd

Todd — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 04:56:48 +0000

@Gregory Z: Boice is good stuff. I am reading his “Professors as Writers” as I needed it to give me a jump start after a writing stump. It’s working great. What I like about Boice is that his methods and techniques are based on research, not just an unexamined belief. I look forward to reading his other stuff.

Great advice on writing the dissertation. Having finished my dissertation about 9 months ago, I can honestly say I did all of these recommendations, except “get a life.”

By: pollian

pollian — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 21:56:38 +0000

From someone who finished his dissertation in an English department a few years back and has moved half-a-step up the academic ladder, a piece of advice that I wish I had gotten several years ago: a dissertation is not a book. It doesn’t have to be as polished as a book. It doesn’t have to be as far-reaching as a book. It can contain 3 or 4–rather than 6 or 7–chapters. It can contain material that you don’t really think belongs but that you spent so much time researching you can’t bear to part with.

Above everything else, a dissertation is an exercise designed to do two things: 1) teach you what patterns of thought and activity are required to write a book; 2) provide you with a writing sample for the job market.

By: rmagere

rmagere — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 12:55:23 +0000

Ultimately writing a thesis is a very individual experience and effort so advices will only help people so far.
Two things that helped me where:
a) Write with pen and paper (at least initially) and not on a computer.
The main reason is that on a computer it is very easy to change and modify what you have written and the temptation of writing “the perfect sentence/paragraph” can overcome the need to actually write the thesis. With pen and paper corrections are more painful and so rather than going back you are forced to carry on and edit your work at a later date
b) Change location.
Writing a thesis is very very very boring: where you are writing doesn’t have to be. Some days it is worth finding the quiet of the library, others the noise of a coffee place (sometimes even just having your notepad while on a golf course)

By: Writing the thesis... « peregrina historiae

Writing the thesis... « peregrina historiae — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 21:05:49 +0000

[...] I came across some good advice by Dave at academhack today: [...]

By: Michael Pitkowsky

Michael Pitkowsky — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 12:45:51 +0000

Thanks for the advice.