Research shows that five strategies correlate with the successful completion of a dissertation:·Establishing a consistent writing routine·Working with a support group·Consulting your advisor·Understanding your committee’s expectations·Setting a realistic and timely scheduleBuilding on these insights, this book is for anyone who needs help in preparing for, organizing, planning, scheduling, and writing the longest sustained writing project they have encountered, particularly if he or she is not receiving sufficient guidance about the process, but also for anyone looking to boost his or her writing productivity.The author uncovers much tacit knowledge, provides advice on working with dissertation advisors and committee members, presents proven techniques for the prewriting and writing stages of the dissertation, sets out a system for keeping on schedule, and advocates enlisting peer support. As Peg Boyle Single states, “my goal is quite simple and straightforward: for you to experience greater efficiency and enjoyment while writing. If you experience anxiety, blocking, impatience, perfectionism or procrastination when you write, then this system is for you. I want you to be able to complete your writing so that you can move on with the rest of your life.” Few scholars, let alone graduate students, have been taught habits of writing fluency and productivity. The writing skills imparted by this book will not only help the reader through the dissertation writing process, but will serve her or him in whatever career she or he embarks on, given the paramount importance of written communication, especially in the academy. This book presents a system of straightforward and proven techniques that are used by productive writers, and applies them to the dissertation process. In particular, it promotes the concept of writing networks – whether writing partners or groups – to ensure that writing does not become an isolated and tortured process, while not hiding the need for persistence and sustained effort.This book is intended for graduate students and their advisers in the social sciences, the humanities, and professional fields. It can further serve as a textbook for either informal writing groups led by students or for formal writing seminars offered by departments or graduate colleges. The techniques described will help new faculty advice their students more effectively and even achieve greater fluency in their own writing.
Peg Boyle Single is an academic writing coach who works with doctoral students and faculty members, and a consultant who offers workshops on writing and mentoring programs. She and has been conducting writing seminars and providing writing coaching for over 15 years. Prior to becoming an independent consultant, she was Director of the Faculty Mentoring Program and a Research Associate Professor at the University of Vermont. Richard M. Reis is the Executive Director of the Alliance for Innovative Manufacturing (AIM) at Stanford and Co-Exeuctive Director of the Stanford Research Communication Program. A Lecturer in the Stanford Mechanical Engineering department, he teaches an introductory seminar for all incoming Electrical Engineering graduate students. He is also editor of the Tomorrow's Professor eNewsletter.
Table of Contents
1 The Single System for Academic Writing 1.1. Developing Habits of Fluent Writing 1.2. Using Demystifying Dissertation Writing as a Guide for Writing Groups and Seminars 1.3. Data on Ph.D. Completion Rates 1.4. The Single System and Prewriting 1.5. Keeping Perspective on Your Dissertation Project 2 Choosing a Topic and an Adviser 2.1. A Set of Constraints 2.2. Choosing a Dissertation Topic and an Adviser 2.3. Additional Constraints to Consider 2.4. Entering the Conversation: Subject Matter 2.5. Examples of Dissertation Topics 2.6. Entering the Conversation: Theories and Methods 2.7. Managing Your Adviser and Your Dissertation Committee Members 2.8. Group Exercises for Choosing a Topic and an Adviser 3 Interactive Reading and Note Taking 3.1. Scholarly Reading Is the Foundation of Your Dissertation 3.2. Reading Is a Privilege 3.3. Collect Notes, Not Articles or Books 3.4. Interactive Reading in Practice3.5. Using a Bibliographic Program to Record Interactive Notes 3.6. Rules for Recording Quotations 3.7. Plagiarism and Copyright Infringement 3.8. Group Exercises for Interactive Reading and Note Taking 4 Citeable Notes 4.1. Recording Citeable Notes and Building Your Literature Review 4.2. Group Exercises for Creating Citeable Notes and Identifying Categories 5 Focusing on Focus Statements 5.1. Useful Focus Statements Are Clear, Concise, and Compelling 5.2. Elements of a Useful Focus Statement 5.3. Providing Useful Feedback 5.4. Group Exercises That Focus on Focus Statements 6 Transforming a Focus Statement Into a One-Page Outline 6.1. The Role and Elements of the One-Page Outline 6.2. Formats for the Dissertation 6.3. Group Exercises That Transform Focus Statements Into One-Page Outlines 6.4. Using the Table of Contents Feature as an Efficiency Tool 7 Long Outline With References 7.1. Multiple Purposes of the Long Outline 7.2. Transforming a One-Page Outline Into a Long Outline 7.3. Inserting Citeable Notes Into Your Long Outline 7.4. Planning and Organizing Your Scholarship and Research 7.5. Getting a Format Check by Your Graduate College 7.6. A Group Exercise for Sharing and Reviewing Long Outlines With References 8 Developing a Regular Writing Routine 8.1. A Regular Writing Routine 8.2. The Importance of a Designated Writing Space 8.3. Developing a Writing Network 8.4. What a Regular Writing Routine Looks Like in Practice 8.5. Group Exercises for Establishing a Regular Writing Routine 9 Overcoming Writer’s Block 9.1. Perfectionism 9.2. Procrastination 9.3. Impatience 9.4. Depression and Dysphoria 9.5. Group Exercises for Overcoming Writer’s Block 10 The Role of Revision 10.1. Revision at the Organizational Level 10.2. Revision at the Content Level 10.3. Group Exercises for Revision Epilogue and Enjoying the Journey
