PhD Dissertation Writing Tutorial: Learn the Easiest Way to Complete Your Paper

If you are writing a PhD dissertation, look over this writing tutorial to pick upon the easiest ways to complete your paper.

Remember that part of the writing process begins with proper planning, research, and note taking. When you research, you want to write down key facts or ideas that pop into your head. As you write down quotes or information, make sure you fully cite the sources, including the page number, in case you end up incorporating it into your assignment. You want to be flexible when reviewing information so that you can identify material relevant to your thesis.

• When you sit down to write, you want to bear in mind that getting started is the most difficult part. In fact, you may not know what you want to write until you write it down. Sometimes just putting pen to paper can enable you to clarify and develop your ideas early on.
• You may not be able to fully communicate the argument until you start writing. And once you start writing you might find that there are gaps in your argument, which you need to clear up. Writing should be a constructive and active process, not just a neutral recording of your ideas. You should start the writing process knowing that you are going to make revisions. The first thing you write will never be your final version.
• As you are writing, remember to develop your ideas. If you have an idea written down that you think is negative, do not cross it out or delete it. Save it for later. It can be very helpful for you to maintain a scrap document, wherein anything that you cut and paste is put into the scrap document and saved for when you are editing or in need of more information. You never know what bit of information you might want at a later date. In fact, what starts out as a “bad” idea may turn into something positive and great after a bit of rewriting or reordering of the text.

As you are writing, your goal is to maintain a structure that can support your argument. The structure needs to be clear and strong, so as to present the best possible argument. Underpinning your structure is the core thesis. This is what makes up the foundation of your paper.