Elizabeth Cullingford, Chair
PAR 108, Mailcode B5000, Austin, TX 78712 • 512-471-4991
Professional Skills Roundtable
January 23, 2008
Writing the Dissertation
Speaker-Participants: Dr. Kristin Cole, Dr. Jeanette Herman, Liz Jones, Dr. Carol MacKay, Dr. Matt Richardson, Dr. Trish Roberts-Miller, Dr. Frank Whigham
Getting Started Writing:
-- Get through the prospectus and first chapter as quickly as possible, as these are places where some students become stuck
-- Form a dissertation writing group with other students, in addition to or instead of a professor-led dissertation group
-- Start with small projects when working on a chapter—for example, explicate a small chunk of text
Strategies for Self-Motivation
--Set realistic goals—keep track of the amount of work you’re actually able to do, so you know what you can get done in a day, week, or month
--Use a concrete record-keeping system to track your time/progress; Liz Jones offered her blog, becomingdoctorjones.wordpress.com, as an example
--Give yourself rewards for accomplishing big goals, like completed chapters
--Remember, things will happen during your dissertation process that you have no control over—be flexible, communicate with your committee, and adapt to circumstances to do the best you can with what you have
-- Procrastinate worrying about the writing, rather than the writing itself—go ahead and write, and then worry about getting everything perfect.
-- Find your motivation—try to avoid panic as a writing motivation
--Use real-life and/or online communities to keep from isolating yourself during the writing process
-- Create enforceable deadlines for yourself. If you don’t have a dissertation group to set deadlines, use a conference presentation as a deadline, and get feedback from your colleagues as you rehearse for the conference. Aim to write a chapter a semester or a chapter a quarter.
Committees and Directors:
--Express your appreciation for the work your chair(s) do for you
--Stop by to speak with your committee members even when you don’t necessarily have something for them to read—ask them about their teaching or research expertise
--Nourish your intellectual relationship with your director the way you do other relationships
--Keep up with your dissertation director through “maintenance” emails as well as emails with completed chapters, etc.
--Turn in chapters to your director or diss. group with a cover sheet containing the info your readers will need to jog their memory about your project: Diss. title, chapter title, synopsis of diss progress so far, and particular questions you have about that chapter
--Get feedback from your committee or dissertation writing group whenever you need it, even if it’s just on a small piece of text
--Find a happy medium with your committee between communication and respect for their time
--Extend deadlines rather than giving your committee text that isn’t ready for their feedback; it is important to spell check and edit before you turn in text, and be sure to label files really clearly so that your directors are not commenting on text they’ve already seen
--Stay in contact with your dissertation director, even when you’re not writing as much as you’d like to be
January 23, 2008
Writing the Dissertation
Speaker-Participants: Dr. Kristin Cole, Dr. Jeanette Herman, Liz Jones, Dr. Carol MacKay, Dr. Matt Richardson, Dr. Trish Roberts-Miller, Dr. Frank Whigham
Getting Started Writing:
-- Get through the prospectus and first chapter as quickly as possible, as these are places where some students become stuck
-- Form a dissertation writing group with other students, in addition to or instead of a professor-led dissertation group
-- Start with small projects when working on a chapter—for example, explicate a small chunk of text
Strategies for Self-Motivation
--Set realistic goals—keep track of the amount of work you’re actually able to do, so you know what you can get done in a day, week, or month
--Use a concrete record-keeping system to track your time/progress; Liz Jones offered her blog, becomingdoctorjones.wordpress.com, as an example
--Give yourself rewards for accomplishing big goals, like completed chapters
--Remember, things will happen during your dissertation process that you have no control over—be flexible, communicate with your committee, and adapt to circumstances to do the best you can with what you have
-- Procrastinate worrying about the writing, rather than the writing itself—go ahead and write, and then worry about getting everything perfect.
-- Find your motivation—try to avoid panic as a writing motivation
--Use real-life and/or online communities to keep from isolating yourself during the writing process
-- Create enforceable deadlines for yourself. If you don’t have a dissertation group to set deadlines, use a conference presentation as a deadline, and get feedback from your colleagues as you rehearse for the conference. Aim to write a chapter a semester or a chapter a quarter.
Committees and Directors:
--Express your appreciation for the work your chair(s) do for you
--Stop by to speak with your committee members even when you don’t necessarily have something for them to read—ask them about their teaching or research expertise
--Nourish your intellectual relationship with your director the way you do other relationships
--Keep up with your dissertation director through “maintenance” emails as well as emails with completed chapters, etc.
--Turn in chapters to your director or diss. group with a cover sheet containing the info your readers will need to jog their memory about your project: Diss. title, chapter title, synopsis of diss progress so far, and particular questions you have about that chapter
--Get feedback from your committee or dissertation writing group whenever you need it, even if it’s just on a small piece of text
--Find a happy medium with your committee between communication and respect for their time
--Extend deadlines rather than giving your committee text that isn’t ready for their feedback; it is important to spell check and edit before you turn in text, and be sure to label files really clearly so that your directors are not commenting on text they’ve already seen
--Stay in contact with your dissertation director, even when you’re not writing as much as you’d like to be
