PLAN AND W

RITE YO

UR

THESIS - H

ASS

K E L L Y P R E E C E

R E S E A R C H E R D E V E L O P M E N T P R O G R A M M E M A N A G E R ( P G R S )

THIS SESSION WILL ADDRESS:

The role of writing in your researchPlanning to write throughout your studiesPreparing to writeWriting as a practiceRequirements of academic writingDrafting and structuring your writingDealing with writer’s block

BY THE END OF THIS COURSE YOU WILL BE ABLE TO:Approach your writing in a positive, pro-active

and structured wayReflect on the factors that affect your progress in

writing Identify areas to improve in your writing practiceCritically appraise your future writingDevelop a writing strategy

PADLET

http://padlet.com/UofE_RD/planandwriteyourthesisHASS4_7_2016

PART 1: THE ROLE OF WRITING IN YOUR PHD

WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO DO TO GET A PHD?

You have to write a thesis!

WHAT DO EXAMINERS LOOK FOR?

EXAMINERS LOOK FOR:(a) evidence that it forms a distinct contribution to the knowledge of the subject

(b) evidence of originality

(c) evidence of the candidate's ability to relate the subject matter of the thesis to the existing body of knowledge within the field, and

(d) a satisfactory level of literary presentation

From: Code of Good Practice: Boards of Examiners for Degrees by Research, p.11

PART 2: PLANNING TO WRITE

‘Writing up should not be left until the last six months, but is best done all the way through your research, with the final period focused on editing rather than producing new material.’

(Vitae, 2015)

Why?

Writing is a skill that needs to be practised. The more you write the easier it will become.

Writing helps you to think through what you are doing and forces you to analyse and make connections.

A doctoral thesis is a long document and better tackled in small chunks.

(Vitae, 2015)

What can you write?

Research proposalsLiterature surveyReports for your supervisor

Summaries of data collection and analysis

Published or submitted journal articles, including reviewers’ comments

Posters and conference presentations

A personal journal or laboratory notebook

Methodology chaptersArticle summaries/notesEarly drafts of other chapters

(Vitae, 2015)

KEEPING TRACK OF YOUR WRITING

Start thinking about your thesis structure Develop a filing system to keep track of

relevant results and relevant bits of writing for each chapter

Keep track of your references and your associated notes, ideally by using a reference manager

Back up your work regularlyCopy key parts of manual records, logbooks

or diaries, ideally by creating a digital backup

(Vitae, 2015)

PART 3: PREPARING TO WRITE

IMPORTANCE OF PLANNING

Use your plan to help prompt your writing when you get stuck, and to develop clarity in your writing

This chapter will argue that…This section illustrates that…This paragraph provides evidence that…

MIND MAPPING

Use a mind map to:Visualise your dataRoughly map (in crude form) your entire thesisSet out your chapterReflect on what you haveBuild up a picture

Find a place to start

‘You can do some heavy thinking about your thesis with a diagram. Ideas are much easier to move around and the ‘helicopter view’ a diagram affords helps you see how different pieces of writing and information might fit together. ’

(The Thesis Whisperer, 2013)

APPROACHES TO MINDMAPPING

APPROACHES TO MINDMAPPING

APPROACHES TO MINDMAPPING

?

1)

2)

APPROACHES TO MINDMAPPING

SOFTWARE FOR MINDMAPPING

Pen and paper!

But for the more digitally inclined…• Freemind • Mind Node

TASK

Develop a mind map of your concerns about academic writing

PART 4: WRITING AS A PRACTICE

PREPARING TO READ

Prepare your workspaceScope the reading projectCollect materialsNo interruptions!

PREPARING TO WRITE

Prepare your workspacePlan your piece of writingCollect materials you will need e.g.

article, notesNo interruptions!

STRATEGIES AND APPROACHES

Limit your writing time. Write for a maximum of 2 hours a day. Every day.

Write 1000 words a day.

Write a blog.

POMODORO TECHNIQUEDecide on the task to be doneSet the pomodoro timer to n minutes

(traditionally 25)Work on the task until the timer rings; record

with an xTake a short break (3–5 minutes)After four pomodoros, take a longer break

(15–30 minutes)

JUST WRITE

Write whatever comes to mind for 10 minutes.

Keep going…

PART 5: ACADEMIC

WRITING

HOW DOES ACADEMIC WRITING DIFFER FROM OTHER FORMS OF WRITING?

There are form and style conventionsYou must use concepts and theories in your

writingYou must acknowledge when you use other

people’s ideas (and your own!)

HOW DOES ACADEMIC WRITING DIFFER FROM OTHER FORMS OF WRITING?

Provides critical commentary on the literatureHighlights the ‘gaps’ in knowledgePositions your research in relation to what has

previously been discoveredMakes substantiated arguments

EXAMINERS LOOK FOR:(a) evidence that it forms a distinct contribution to the knowledge of the subject

(b) evidence of originality

(c) evidence of the candidate's ability to relate the subject matter of the thesis to the existing body of knowledge within the field, and

(d) a satisfactory level of literary presentation

From: Code of Good Practice: Boards of Examiners for Degrees by Research, p.11

THEREFORE

These criteria need to guide your approach to your writing

YOUR WRITING NEEDS TO:Articulate your contribution to knowledge clearlyArticulate why it is original/distinct Draw overt links between ideas/theories in literature and your own researchDemonstrate original thinking – don’t just

reiterate the theories and ideas of others

Have a perspective or critical view on key theories and ideas

Discuss implications of your work on existing knowledge

Be written and presented clearly, and to an appropriate standard

TO WRITE CRITICALLY YOU SHOULD:Present logical arguments which lead into

your conclusionsProvide sound evidence to support your

argumentEvaluate, select, organise and categorise

(Ridley, 2012: 142)

STRATEGIES FOR WRITING CRITICALLYComparing and contrasting Strategic and selective referencing Synthesising and reformulating arguments Agreeing with, confirming and defending Highlighting strengths and weaknessesRejecting a point of view with a rationale

(Ridley, 2012: 143)

FOREGROUND YOUR OWN VOICE

The organisation of the textMaking your own assertions, supported by

relevant referencesMaking explicit connections between theories

and conceptsSummarising and evaluating source material

Providing summaries at the end of sections/chapters

The use of personal pronounsExpressing a point of

view/agreement/disagreement(Ridley, 2012: 159-174)

STORYTELLING IN YOUR PHD

Your thesis should tell the story of your research

Unlike a novel, a PhD shouldn’t have ‘dramatic revelations’

COMMUNICATE YOUR STRUCTURE IN YOUR WRITING‘…say what you are going to say, say it, say

what you’ve just said.’ (Marshall and Green, 2010: 85 )

In other words “I’m going to tell you a story…”“This is the story of…”“I’ve told you the story of”

SIGNPOSTS

A detailed contents pageAbstractIntroduction and conclusionChaptersSub-headingsSummary paragraphsIn text, signposts, such as ‘and now it will be argued that…’

WRITING RESOURCES

Manchester’s Academic Phrasebank http://www.phrasebank.manchester.ac.uk/

PART 6: DRAFTING AND STRUCTURING YOUR WRITING

WRITING STYLES

Serialists – see writing as a sequential process in which the words are corrected as they are written and who plan their writing in detail before beginning to write

Holists – who can only think as the write and compose a succession of complete drafts

Phillips and Pugh (1989)

WHAT IS YOUR WRITING STYLE?Discuss in pairs how you currently approach

your writing.

DRAFTING

Typically the first stab at expressing something in written form is overly verbose.

The process of drafting and redrafting will allow you to cut the jargon, the flab, and become more concise.

7 POINT PROCESS

7 Point Plan

1. Organise

your material 2. Decide

on the key

message

3. Write an outline plan

and first draft 5. Stop and reflect

6. Clarify& edit your

drafts

7. Proofread, re-draft final copy

SUBMIT

THREE DRAFT APPROACH

1. Get the big ideas down2. Structure and fill in the gaps3. Proof

(Vitae, 2009)

TACKLING A MESSY FIRST DRAFT• provide context, provide background• clarify, define, specify• connect the topic to wider knowledges, referring to the

literatures, policy or practice• report, provide an audit trail of what you did• illustrate, exemplify, support, provide evidence, prove• complicate, anticipate counter argument, provide nuance• extend, draw out implications

(Pat Thomson, 2016)

TASKWith this is mind, develop a 50 word

statement that describes your research using the three draft approach

Share with your partner

How do you structure your writing?

STRATEGIES TO IDENTIFY YOUR STRUCTUREDiscuss the structure with a colleague,

explaining it as a continuous story you're trying to write 

Use visual techniques like mind-mappingCreate a storyboard for your writing. This tells

the ‘story' in a small number of panels that mix text and pictures

Sort index cards with key ideas into a coherent structure

Use post-it notes with key ideas on a whiteboard to make connections with lines and colours

(Vitae, 2015)

ANALYSING EXISTING THESES

Macro level:• Structure:

•How many sections?•How long is each section?•How has the writer organised the material (thematically, chronologically, methodologically…)?

• Signposting

Mid level:• Linking between sections• Repetition

Micro level:• Paragraph structure• Sentence structure• Choice of words

(adapted from Vitae, 2009 and 2015)

ANALYSING EXISTING THESES – KEY ISSUES

• how the gap in knowledge is shown?• how is the research contextualised within

the wider scholarly field?• how has the writer rationalised their choice

of literature(s)?• how is the writer’s voice shown?

(adapted from Vitae, 2009)

PART 7: DEALING WITH WRITER’S BLOCK

Free writing - spend 15 minutes just writing about your chapter, or the material that you are stuck with

Return to your key message - to clarify the direction of your writing

Concept mapping - make an ordered map of your material, looking for logical links and coherence

Read - key papers in your field, work that is similar to your own and other PhDs from the library. Other researchers will have faced similar challenges.

Talk - explain your chapter or thesis to a friend in detail. Highlight your block and try to ‘think it out’ verbally

Do something else – especially something physical. Clean. Exercise. Go for a walk. Take your mind off your writing by keeping your body busy.

FINAL THOUGHTS

10 WAYS TO WRITE EVERY DAY

Write on a blank pageLine-edit something you have already writtenRestructure a paper that you have been

working onPull together pieces of older documents you

have written into a new paper

10 WAYS TO WRITE EVERY DAY

Check references and footnotes for accuracyOutline or mind-map a new projectSummarize or take notes on something you

have read recently that might be relevant to present or future research projects

10 WAYS TO WRITE EVERY DAY

Make a revision plan for a rejected article or a “revise and resubmit”

Make tables, figures, graphs, or images to represent visually concepts or trends in a paper

Create an After-the-fact or Reverse Outline

PLAN TO WRITE

Building writing in to your time/daily scheduleDon’t duck out of it - • Set outlook tasks/reminders• Create a spreadsheet to ‘tick off’ when you

have achieved your writing goal for the day

Find what works for you and do it!

THANK YOU!

researcherdevelopment@exeter.ac.uk

www.exeter.ac.uk/as/rdp

@UofE_RD