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5 Tips to Expressing Yourself Through Your Dissertation

I really didn’t have a topic for my dissertation as I finished my coursework. I knew that teaching was one of my strengths, but research was not. I had earned my teaching certification as an undergraduate. Then during seminary I found myself gravitating to topics relate to education, human development, and spiritual development, but I just wasn’t sure the direction I should go for my research.

Then it happened—fatherhood! When I found out that we were expecting I began that 9-month process of reading everything my hands could find related to parenting. My life started to take shape as a parent-to-be. Suddenly it clicked. I would research Christian parenting theories and how they impact faith and childhood development. This was perfect for me, bringing together my past studies and experience along with my current life situation. Becoming a parent was the thing that brought focus to my life and to my research.

In doing so I found my voice. I was living this search for the best parenting theory in my personal life and in my research. This topic was almost too personal at times, but it was definitely me, through and through. Life experience had led me to this place. But is this for everyone? If so, how can you express your voice and passion in finding the right topic for your dissertation?

Look at your experience. You will probably find yourself working in your areas of interest long before graduate school. Think of what interests you and turn your attention and studies in that direction. Your experience and interests are part of your passion, who you truly are, and hopefully can become part of your dissertation.

Consider your strengths and weaknesses. You do not want to work on a dissertation that requires skills you do not possess. You may find that you can do so for a small time, but this effort will wear on your passion as well as the rest of you. You can talk with your professors honestly about your strengths and weaknesses and trust their guidance.

Meet others with similar writing, work, and research. Place yourself in similar situations with those who are writing and researching projects that interest you. Ask yourself if you would you be happy examining that topic for months or years. That is the reality of what you will do, so do not pick a topic or scope that is so difficult that you cannot stand to work on it every day.

It’s OK to switch directions. If you are heading down the wrong path, it can be devastating. Putting work, time, and money into research that proves wrong for you and your project is frustrating. Taking stock of your research whether changing scope or completely changing plans is OK. You will not be the first to do it. Better to find your sweet spot early in the process than to do so later.

Find the happy medium between passion and obsession. Be able to distance yourself from your research and disassociate criticisms of your project from your personal feelings. Not being able to do so is setting you up for many difficulties along the way. A healthy passion means that your work inspires you to action and motivates you, but that you can step back and examine your work when needed. Inability to stop and step away from your work will interfere with daily life and should serve as a warning sign to gain perspective.

#dissertation #dissertation editing #dissertation writing #dissertation advice #dissertation help

12 Tips to Prepare for your Dissertation Defense

It has been 8 years now, but I still remember my dissertation defense like it was yesterday. I had almost three months between the end of writing my dissertation and when I defended it. There was plenty of time to think … and to worry! Here are some do’s and don’ts I learned that I hope will, in turn, benefit you.

· Put down your dissertation for a designated period of time, at least a week or two. Step away from it. Spend time with family or friends. Take a vacation. Attend your favorite sporting event or fine art performance. Then come back to it and read it again with as fresh a pair of eyes as possible. Look for honest areas of strength and weakness.

· Have another fresh pair of eyes read your dissertation. Ask her not only to look for weaknesses but obvious questions that come to mind: Why did you decide to go into this direction and not another? Why didn’t you do this? What could have done better? These are all helpful questions that you may be asked at your defense.

· Think of responses to questions that professors may ask. You may go as far as prepare notes, outlines, and scripts to answer these questions. This will give you the basis for a response in your defense.

· Identify and think about what a next logical research project would be. I know you are tired and don’t want to think of what’s next. But every study has its limitations and has to bracket some questions. Think about what Volume 2 of your study would be!

· Attend other defenses to see what yours might be like. Talk with your major professor about what she envisions the defense to be like, what questions folks may ask, and other information she is willing to reveal.

· Be confident that your professors have a lot invested in the time and energy they spent with you along the way. The defense is also a time of celebration and accomplishment!

Don’t

· Don’t let your fears get the best of you. You will be anxious. You will have worries, but don’t focus on them. Focus on your preparation and actively working toward your oral examination.

· Don’t assume you know what is going to be asked. Professors will surprise you. Be ready to say, “I don’t know!” to some questions even after all your research and writing. In the same way, be willing to ask for clarification if questions seem vague or you need clarification. That’s always OK and can give you more time to formulate your answer.

· Don’t hesitate to ask someone to take you through a practice defense, whether other students, a trusted professor, or your spouse. Ask them to practice all the questions you have prepared and some you have not!

· Don’t be defensive. Professors will ask tough questions. Some may disagree with your findings and methods of research. Some will critique aspects of your writing. Be able to separate your work from your person. This is difficult to do when you have poured your life and soul into a dissertation, but it will show that you know how to have a scholarly debate and take critique constructively.

· Don’t be afraid to show emotion. Your passion for your dissertation should show as well as your ability to thoughtfully discuss the topic at times without emotion. But your work becomes a big part of your life. Professors like to see someone who truly cares about his work but also who has the ability to talk about it in a scholarly manner.

· Don’t be afraid to invite your family, friends, and fellow students to your defense. You will amaze most people at your depth of knowledge and ability to discuss topics beyond the everyday conversations most people have. They will want to be part of this important event and celebrate with you! Plus you may just need some honest feedback and debriefing.

#dissertation #dissertation defense #graduate school #doctoral candidate #dissertation editing #dissertation editing service

11 Point Plan to Achieve Clarity in Academic Writing

Nothing is a bigger enemy of good writing than fuzzy thinking. Nothing can quite replace putting appropriate time and thought into your writing to make your points and word choice clear and concise! Take the following steps.

Picture your audience. Name a member of your audience. Give him an age, name, and face if necessary. Think of him as you write. Think about how your writing will interest him and help him achieve what you want him to accomplish after reading your work.

Review your assignment. If you see your audience and know what you want the end consumer to get out of it, then the next step is to examine the requirements to get across your message. Have all requirements squared away from the beginning: word count, purpose, goal, technique, etc. Leave nothing to chance.

Set up your document. Create your word processing file. Set up your document preferences: proper margins, font, font size, tabs, and other settings so that you don’t have to go back and redo anything.

Write a thesis statement or hypothesis. Keep that statement in focus for your entire research. If a statement does not help you get across your thesis, or help evaluate your hypothesis, then delete it.

Outline your argument and the steps you will take. Have a plan for your writing and provide this sketch before you fill in the details. This will help you, especially if you are a writer who typically starts writing first and shaping later.

Ask at least 3 people to read your writing. The more eyes you have on your writing, the more problems you are likely to catch on the front end. Be willing to take the critique of others. Allow people to correct everything from the details (like grammar and punctuation) to the big picture ideas and assumptions you make (to keep from incorrect assumptions and faulty logic).

Write your first draft. Write it freely. You can self-edit as you go if you wish. Sometimes it’s great just to get the ideas out. After you have your first draft, let it sit for at least a day. Leaving this time after your first draft will help you gain some perspective and help your read it fresh.

Read it again. Look at it from a big picture point of view, seeing if it makes sense or if anything needs more attention.

Do a final edit. Read it, editing all the details. Trim to the word count and cut out unnecessary words and phrases.

Run spell and grammar check. This can help your writing more than you know. Spell check finds those nasty misspelled words. Grammar check can find any pesky subject-verb agreement issues or help you find that easy-to-miss passive voice that may sound correct to your ear.

Ask one other person you trust to read it again. You can never get too much feedback. Sometimes your professor will offer to do this for you if you can finish your writing early.

Turn it in and reward yourself!

#academic writing #writing advice #writing help

8 Lessons I Learned In Writing my Dissertation

I have found myself writing about my dissertation and writing processes in several blog posts lately. Sometimes it is difficult to think about the long, arduous writing process without thinking about poor decisions along the way. I thought this list might help you avoid similar mistakes as you complete your dissertation.

I would have started thinking about my dissertation from day one. If I had started choosing classes and putting together pieces of my dissertation along the way, I would have been much better prepared to write. Instead my two years of classes and two years of studying for comprehensive exams led to basically having to start fresh on my dissertation.

I would have started talking to older graduate students about how they chose their topics (and would have learned from their mistakes). There were students who finished the program quickly, writing their dissertation in a year or less. There were others who started in a direction that they could not finish and left the program without completing it. There were lots of others, like me, who made a few mistakes that caused bumps in the road along the way. It took me four years to write my dissertation, and I could have easily done it in half the time with a good mentor to guide me.

I would have communicated better every step of the way in the dissertation writing process. Professors are there to help. They are vested in your success and want you to finish. Don’t sit and worry about what they think about you and your ability. Honestly ask questions, admit weaknesses, and, above all, take their help when they offer.

I would have chosen a topic less near and dear to my heart. You definitely want to be passionate about your topic. However, I chose one that turned out to be controversial in the community, with strong feelings for and against. Writing on a topic that is emotionally charged can drain you rather than empower you, especially if you know those you care about disagree with you.

I would have agonized less about what people thought and moved quicker to the task of writing. This one is part and parcel of the last two points. If people disagree, don’t be afraid to talk it out with them. You will either see holes in your argument or it will make your argument stronger. Sitting around worrying what others might think is a recipe for delays.

I would have written a little bit every day. I could not make myself accomplish this because of how long it took me to get down to the task of writing. I was distracted by an unclean house, bills to be paid, and the Weather Channel—you name it, I was distracted by it! It forced me to take large chunks of time to write. I am so thankful to my family and workplace for letting me do this. Otherwise I may never have gotten it written. However, it is still more desirable to write daily and keep the topic fresh in your mind.

I would have asked more people to read my dissertation as I wrote. I asked lots of people to read but only once the entire product was finished. That’s a lot of pressure! As a result, readers cleaned up rather than challenging places that just did not work. I probably should have hired a good dissertation editing service also. A few embarrassing errors slipped through even my most careful proofreading efforts.

I would have started attending dissertation defenses early in the process to see that students really do finish their programs! The stress and pressure is overwhelming enough for a student. But to have a fear lurking that somehow I might be rejected in a defense after all that work is enough to consume a student at times. So go see others succeed and celebrate with them! This might be the place to meet a mentor to help you get to the same place of success.

#dissertation #dissertation editing #academic editing #graduate school #graduate student

How to Edit Academic Texts

Overview of Editing Process

Do you have an academic text, such as a scholarly journal article, a thesis, or a dissertation that needs editing? Check out our comprehensive method of editing your work. No other editing service can match our method, diligence and rigor. We publish this method for the world to see knowing that--just a gourmet chef is unconcerned about people stealing his recipes--our process is so demanding and painstaking very few other editing services would be able to follow it even if they tried. Excellence isn't easy because few people are willing to put in the hard work and time to achieve it. Our editors are excellent because they do put in the hard work and time in editing every academic text we are honored to receive.

#editing service #dissertation #thesis #academic editor #academic editing

3 Steps to Avoid Plagiarism

Knowing when to quote and when to paraphrase is quite an art. Basically, you don’t want to string a whole bunch of long quotes together, with a few of your own sentences connecting them, and call it a researched essay. You want to use quotes sparingly, to support your points. Paraphrasing is useful, but be careful that you don’t find yourself endlessly paraphrasing and not writing much of your own thoughts and words either. When you do paraphrase, you often need to give a citation as well.

The guiding principle: Is it your prior knowledge or not?

You must cite even material you’ve paraphrased if that paraphrased passage—whether it’s a sentence or several paragraphs—is not your knowledge. The concept of ‘your’ knowledge is very important. It’s an honor system in which you acknowledge that as you are writing you are immediately referring to the material at hand. In other words, if you have to look back and forth from an article or book to the computer screen as you are working to put a passage in your own words, then you must cite it. But if you read something days before, and studied it, so that when you’re writing your essay you’re able to do so without looking at those notes or that article, then it’s become your knowledge and you need not cite it.

There’s one exception to that, however. And that’s if what you’re writing is an original idea or thesis. You must give credit to those who have influenced your thinking. For example, take the following sentence. “The Tubes was an early-punk rock band from the 70’s and 80’s.” That’s a fact and you need not cite your source.

However, take this sentence: “All punk rock originated with the Tubes.” That’s a thesis, an idea, someone’s opinion. In that case, you have to cite your source, giving credit to the person who’s making that claim.

Learn more so you can quote less

So…how do you avoid an overreliance upon quoting and paraphrasing? Don't ask an editing service to do that for you. That's cheating. Do your own research, reading, and studying to become knowledgeable in the subject, so that when you sit down to write, a lot of the material comes from you, from inside, and not from your notes and sources. You need to KNOW the subject well enough so that the words you type are YOUR words, your ideas…your knowledge.

Thus, that underscores the importance of really doing your homework… literally. Read and study the subject. Make yourself a legitimate expert in the subject. Then you’ll have something to say that’s your ideas, your words, not just the ideas and words of your sources.

Give credit where credit is due

Of course, to be truly professional you must meticulously document your sources. Why? To give credit where credit is due. To protect yourself against charges of academic dishonesty. To enhance your own credibility. And to provide your readers with the source information should they care to read more about the subject.

#plagiarism

50 Great Dissertation Resources

Here is a terrific resource for graduate students and doctoral candidates: http://www.onlinephdprograms.com/50-places-to-find-dissertation-support-online/

#dissertation editing #dissertation advice #dissertation help #doctoral candidates

Write a Great Dissertation

What would make a good dissertation topic?

In a perfect scholarly world where all research and writing is done by intelligent, diligent, inspired and inspiring people, a dissertation would be a) a great read about b) a very important topic that c) has been rigorously and thoroughly researched and d) thoughtfully and brilliantly developed to e) instruct, edify and inspire a wide-ranging audience into f) action that thereby solves or, at least, moves in a positive direction toward solving a major problem or issue in the world or field about which the doctoral candidate has studied and with which he/she has engaged.

That's a perfect world dissertation, anyway.

Sadly, it's been my (vast) experience that few dissertations achieve those admittedly lofty goals. Most of the 4000+ dissertations I've seen are good, but not great. Adequate but not outstanding. Worthy but not noteworthy. Good enough but not enough to do any good.

Pick an important topic, if you're a serious doctoral student that is.

This is very serious, folks. No less than the future of higher education rests--in a very large sense--on the seriousness, scope, and importance of the research, arguments, and conclusions of this generation's doctoral students. I say to this current legion of doctoral students: don't settle for writing tripe. Pick a big and crucial subject. Do your dissertation diligence as if your life and the future of humanity, the world or at least your field depends on it.

Write a great dissertation, I challenge you.

As a PhD and owner of one of the world's most experienced dissertation editing services (having edited over 4000 of them since 1999), I am an authority on this subject. I hereby challenge all universities and all doctoral candidates to raise the bar far higher than it is now. Raise it to Olympian heights. Demand of students and of yourselves to tackle the world's problems with your research and writing. Make your dissertation make a difference. Don't settle for merely obtaining your PhD with it. Make it so good it can be turned into a book that everyone should read.

Now that's a worthy goal. You can do it, you doctoral candidates. You can make a difference. You can write a great dissertation that might even change the world. All that's stopping you is yourself.

#dissertation #dissertation editing #graduate school

100 Ways to Market Your Book

Check our comprehensive list of methods for promoting your book. We've included a wide array of initiatives so that, if you encounter one of these methods in your own research, you will have insight into how effective we believe it to be. Self-Marketing Guide for Self-Published Authors

#book markting #self-publishing

7 Tips on Writing Concisely

Working on magazines for several years now, the most common complaint I hear from new writers is how short magazine articles are. Some actually complain at the word count, as if we might suddenly double it just for them. The truth is that it is much harder to write more concisely and takes skill to do so. If you don’t have a good editing service to help out, here are a few tips you can use for writing concisely. They’ll help no matter if you are working on a magazine article or dissertation.

Identify the major components of your work.

Too often people just start writing without taking stock of what direction to take. For magazine articles, this is usually not only the main body of the article but also sidebars and pull quotes. Other types of writing have similar extras. Your dissertation has footnotes, bibliography, and appendices. Pay attention to details such as source materials along the way. If you focus on these things from the beginning, you will better be able to handle your task without having to go back later.

Outline your project.

Your outline is the skeleton of your writing. It holds it together and supports all the details. For a magazine, it is your title, deck, subheads, and sidebar titles. For your dissertation, subheadings are not that different from the subheads in a magazine article, just multiplied in length, number, and level of complexity.

Cut out unnecessary details.

For magazine articles you may have to cut extra illustrations beyond what is necessary to communicate your point. For any writing, there are extra idioms and phrases that become colloquial habits but are not necessary. Any illustrations that are perceived as extra will be cut first by an editor, so you might as well edit them out early in your writing process.

Limit the scope.

When you write for a magazine, you certainly can’t expect the article to be an exhaustive coverage of a topic. The same is true even for a dissertation. For dissertations, there will be extra research that is good but might be outside the scope of your current project. Knowing how to bracket writing scope and even save extras for later is a skill any writer can use.

Keep the main thing the main thing.

Establish your thesis statement and filter every detail, every argument, and every illustration through the thesis of your paper. It will help you stay on track, keeping a check and balance on the things of lesser importance. If need be, post your thesis statement somewhere prominent so that it is a visual reminder to you to write accordingly.

Focus on the audience.

What you write is largely dependent upon for whom you are writing. Don’t miss this important detail to help your illustrations and explanation hit right on target.

Watch the grammar.

Sometimes writers are too wordy because they use words that don’t really matter. Watch words that repeat and trim out the unnecessary ones. Some common problems are words like that and very. Read your work aloud and you will find extra verbiage you can cut and make your writing more concise. That’s our job here. So if you feel you do need help, consider using our editing service to give your writing that extra assist.

#writing advice #academic writing

5 Keys to Loving Your Dissertation

Look at your experience.

You will probably find yourself working in your areas of interest long before graduate school. Think of what interests you and turn your attention and studies in that direction. Your experience and interests are part of your passion, who you truly are, and hopefully can become part of your dissertation.

Consider your strengths and weaknesses.

You do not want to work on a dissertation that requires skills you do not possess. You may find that you can do so for a small time, but this effort will wear on your passion as well as the rest of you. You can talk with your professors honestly about your strengths and weaknesses and trust their guidance.

Meet others with similar writing, work, and research.

Place yourself in similar situations with those who are writing and researching projects that interest you. Ask yourself if you would you be happy examining that topic for months or years. That is the reality of what you will do, so do not pick a topic or scope that is so difficult that you cannot stand to work on it every day.

It’s OK to switch directions.

If you are heading down the wrong path, it can be devastating. Putting work, time, and money into research that proves wrong for you and your project is frustrating. Taking stock of your research whether changing scope or completely changing plans is OK. You will not be the first to do it. Better to find your sweet spot early in the process than to do so later.

Find the happy medium between passion and obsession.

Be able to distance yourself from your research and disassociate criticisms of your project from your personal feelings. Not being able to do so is setting you up for many difficulties along the way. A healthy passion means that your work inspires you to action and motivates you, but that you can step back and examine your work when needed. Inability to stop and step away from your work will interfere with daily life and should serve as a warning sign to gain perspective.

#dissertation #dissertation editor #dissertation editing #graduate student #graduate school #academic writinmg #academic editing

4 Tips for Great Academic Writing

All scholarly genres are not the same. Let’s dismiss at the outset the fantasy that a dissertation is basically no different than a monograph. Both require many of the same skills, but the variables of voice, audience, and purpose diverge radically. To offer only one example, the immediate audience for approval of a dissertation is one’s supervising committee of three or four professors, whereas in the case of a publishable book it encompasses a more numerous and far-flung cohort of specialists, not all of whom will be receptive to your project’s conceptual orientation.

That variance admitted, certain qualities are bedrock in all academic prose. At the risk of reducing them to a perhaps familiar litany, I’ll enumerate four of them.

Ditch the gobbledygook

The sterility of “dissertationese” is deadly. This caveat includes the penchant for anthropomophisms and jargon, absolutely lethal when combined (e.g., “My study argues that the essentialism of this author’s reconstructionist agenda, which defies the strictures of Edward Said’s cautions about the phenomenon of Orientalism, unintentionally reverses the subaltern’s plight in neocolonialist and post-Ghandi India, thereby inscribing a rhetoric of retrenchment”). No one communicates this way. You shouldn’t indulge in such gobbledygook either. If you're not sure of your work, seek the assistance of a good dissertation editing service.

Don’t depersonalize yourself

Avoid like cholera the crippling poses of depersonalization. Such artifices as “The author proposes,” unfortunately rampant in the social sciences, and its disguise through clumsy use of subjunctive verbs and the passive voice always raise red flags. The first-person pronoun “I” is permissible, if not overused, in scholarly discourse. Don’t try to efface yourself as author by becoming a textual cipher or ghost.

Be precise, engaging, and direct

Nothing is more annoying than academic writing that proclaims repeatedly, as though it were a badge of honor, its intention to “tease out” or “problematize” its subject. Cut to the chase. While doing so, however, try to project a lively style that avoids a mind-numbing repetition of key words. Listen to your diction. Along the same lines, don’t lard your introductory paragraphs with extensive quotations. Apprise your readers of a significant gap in the relevant field of research and take it from there.

Conclude Succinctly

Wrap it all up with a precise but succinct conclusion. Nothing is more wearisome than a ploddingly summative coda that rehashes already established points. Draw out genuine inferences from what you have demonstrated rather than resorting to the lame formula that “Further research is needed.” Moreover, as we urge entry-level students, be sure to answer the “So what?” question. In this as in all dimensions of effective academic discourse, eschew the narrowly conventional or prescriptive.

It all comes down to what we look for in any piece of well written exposition: clarity, concision, and lucidity. The fogs of trendy scholarly fashion notwithstanding, I doubt whether these modest proposals will steer any prospective academician wrong. If you're not absolutely certain of your work's quality, seek the help of a good dissertation editor.

#writing #essays writing #academic writing

12 Ingredients of a Great Persuasive Essay, Argument, or Blog

#1 Make a Fabulous Claim

You can’t write about the whole world in 1000 words, which is about the right length for a crisp essay or blog. So focus in on a fantastic thesis. Make a really strong statement, such as this: “President Obama is the worst (or best) President in history.” Or this: “The U.S. is still (or no longer) the greatest country in the world.” Get the gist? Why bother to write if you don’t stake a strong position? Your powerful claim will announce to the world that you’re a player in the debate, grabbing everyone’s attention from the get go. A force to be reckoned with.

#2 Gather Your Evidence

Think like a judge or lawyer: you’ve got no case without evidence, aka facts. So inventory your facts. Go through the somewhat painful process of listing every single point you can come up with that supports your thesis. If you have no facts at all to support your thesis, not only will your argument be weak, you may not have an argument at all.

#3 Assume Your Audience Disagrees With You

Most people are jaded and skeptical—probably due to having been exposed to so many lies and liars in their lifetime. As a result, they often refuse to believe even concrete, supported, absolute facts that in some way dispute or are at odds with their own beliefs.

#4 Face the Facts: It’s a War Between Knowledge & Ignorance

Merely presenting what you know to be facts—no matter how solid they are and how much support you offer for them—will not convince an audience that’ been brainwashed, indoctrinated, fooled, misled, or otherwise convinced that their views are, themselves, facts—even though you know in your heart and mind you’re right and they’re wrong. I’m regularly confronted by people whose views are completely unsubstantiated and utterly disproven by the facts of reality, and yet they cling to those false beliefs, staunchly denying the absolute facts I present to them. It’s partly sheer ignorance, partly stubbornness, partly embarrassment at being proven wrong, and partly a “me against you” attitude. You know what I’m talking about. It’s happened to us all.

#5 Now Turn the Guns on Yourself: What Do You Know?

Now that we’ve put the audience in their place, so to speak, let’s put ourselves in our place. We, the writers, don’t know that much either. It’s important not to be seduced by hubris, or pride in our knowledge or positions. If you think you know it all, you’ll write an essay or blog that exposes your arrogant, absolutist point of view. And you’ll fail to construct a sound argument. And fail to persuade your audience.

#6 Perform Some Self-Analysis

So analyze your opinions. Tear apart your thesis. Rip into yourself as if you’re the opposition. Why do you believe your thesis is correct? Have you considered the opposite thesis? Why do you have your ideas and opinions? Where did they come from? Do you believe them simply because they’re yours and you’re comfortable with them? Is there a socio-economic or otherwise vested interest in arguing your thesis? Really probe your own underlying assumptions, beliefs, and values. Examine your reasoning. Look for flaws in your own logic and gaps in your evidence.

#7 Improve Your Knowledge Through Research

Open up your mind to the full spectrum of viewpoints on the subject. Read everything you can find. Try to get outside your own paradigm and evaluate the various positions as objectively as possible. Play the devil’s advocate. Don’t become complacent or self-satisfied. Really know not just what you’re talking about, but why.

#8 Get Rhetorical: Logos, Ethos, Pathos

Construct your argument like the Greeks did 2500 years ago—with logos, ethos, and pathos. Logos = being logical in supporting your thesis clearly and directly. Ethos = being ethical: honest and authoritative. Establish your credibility by being fair to the opposition. Build bridges to the audience by stressing shared values. Be measured in tone and don’t exaggerate. Pathos = the emotional element. Put a human face on the issue. Give the audience a reason for caring. Let them know what’s in it for them.

#9 Get Organized

Lead strong: state your thesis in the first paragraph. Then give the audience whatever necessary background information that they need to understand the subject. Follow that up with your case, your evidence, either starting with the most compelling or ending with the most compelling. Make an outline and decide how best to build your case before writing. However, don’t become so rigid that you can’t allow your writing to flow naturally. The organic approach is best: allow your points to grow out of each other naturally, as you write. You will only discover that natural order by and during writing.

#10 Note and Refute Opposing Views

Strategically, it’s a sign of strength to mention and quickly rebut the opposition’s key points. Decide what aspects of the counterargument to simply ignore, which ones to summarize and refute by showing their weaknesses, and which ones, if any, to concede as being valid, perhaps suggesting compromise and reconciliation. At all times, follow the principle of charity: be fair and honest about the opposition. The best place for this refutation of opposing points is in the second paragraph—before you launch into your case—or the second to last paragraph, before you give your concluding summation.

#11 Your Conclusion Should Conclude

In your conclusion, you should reach a conclusion, not merely a summary of what you’ve already said. You could, perhaps, play your ace in the hole in your last paragraph. Or you might explain why this is such an important issue, by noting its broader implications and possible consequences. Perhaps you could relate it to other or larger issues, suggesting the implications for humanity or the future of civilization. Be dramatic, but not melodramatic: always ground your statements in facts and reality.

#12 Hire a Good Academic Editor

Don't hesitate to seek the help of a good editing service. Whether you need a dissertation editor, a thesis editor, or a book editor, an editing service like www.edit911.com stands ready to help.

#writing #writing advice #argumentation #blog writing #essay writing

4 Essential Factors in Choosing Your Dissertation Committee

One of the most important decisions you will make as a graduate student is choosing your dissertation committee. There are many factors that you should take into consideration when requesting faculty members to sit on your dissertation committee.

Can you work well with them?

This is one of the two most important questions to ask yourself before inviting somebody to sit on your committee. While you do, of course, want people on your committee who can challenge you intellectually, you don’t want hand grenade throwers. You want a committee member who will be honest, challenging, and respectful. You also want people who obey the cardinal rule of reviewing somebody else’s work: comments are to be about the writing, not the writer. If you have to choose between somebody who knows your subject incredibly well and who has a reputation for hostility or being a prima donna and a faculty member who isn’t a subject matter expert but likes you, choose the latter. Here’s a quick checklist of positive attributes to look for:

They like people.

They’re prompt.

They’re generally friendly.

They can see the other side of the coin.

They’re consistent.

Can your committee members work well with each other?

This is the other most important question. Be very careful here. Professors, like everybody else, have agendas. There’s nothing wrong with this fact. Political, ideological, and intellectual agendas can make people interesting. However, while both the Frankfurt School Marxist and your institution’s local free-market guru are probably fun to have coffee with, would you want them working together evaluating your dissertation? Remember that each committee member can ask for revisions. Do you want to invite radically opposed kinds of comments? Yes, the chair of your committee can go to bat for you or try to over-rule somebody, but everybody has to sign off on your work. How do they feel about your using a dissertation editor or dissertation editing service of some sort? Do they want you to, insist you do, or forbid you from doing so? Don’t set yourself up for needless conflicts.

Is your advisor a full professor?

This may seem petty to talk about. But academic departments are often very political. Generally, departments do not allow untenured assistant professors to serve as advisors. Departments do, however, allow associate professors to advise. Often, one will be intellectually attracted to younger, energetic faculty members. However, while these associate professors are tenured, they do have to worry about making full professor. Thus, if your advisor is an associate professor and other members of your committee are full professors, your advisor may not feel comfortable challenging people who are going to vote on whether or not to promote him or her. Full professors, at least theoretically, sit at the top of the food chain and will speak their minds and defend their students.

Is the potential committee member enthusiastic about your dissertation idea?

You don’t need somebody who thinks your idea is the greatest thing since sliced bread, but you do need someone who thinks that your subject matter is intellectually worthwhile.

These are some of the most important things to look for when choosing your committee. If you follow this advice, you’ll have smooth sailing. If you're having trouble, don't hesitate to hire a good dissertation editing service to help you out.

#dissertation #graduate school #doctoral candidate

6 Motivational Tactics for Writing a Dissertation

The biggest lesson I learned while I was a doctoral student? Find out what motivates you. Here are 6 “motivators” I stuck on signs over my desk when I was in the throes of my doctoral dissertation:

#1: The best dissertation is a done dissertation

So many people in my graduate cohort spent endless hours and endless angst searching for the perfect research question, the perfect theory, the perfect sources for their lit review, and the perfect turn of phrase guaranteed to take their masterpiece to a level sure to earn them a place in academic history. That wasn’t me. I picked a topic I found interesting; came up with an appropriate research question, backed into a serviceable theory, got decent sources for the lit review, and finished in a reasonable amount of time. Did I set the bar too low? Is there a doctor in the house? By all means, get help from a good dissertation editor or dissertation editing service if you need it.

#2: Do something every day

Starting a dissertation is like starting an exercise program. The experts say that three to four times a week is fine. What these same experts don’t tell you is that the people who “stick with” an exercise program exercise every day. It may be just 10 or 15 minutes but if you do it every day it becomes a lifelong habit—one you’ll have long after the three-times-a week-folks are trying to offload their treadmill on Craig’s list or looking for another juice bar so they don’t run into their personal trainer who believes they have the slowest healing hamstring pull on record. Do the same with a dissertation—do something every day. Some days all you can do is read a short article; some days even that’s too much and you settle for an online search for articles on one of your sub-sub categories. The group in my cohort who did something every day finished their (our) dissertations first.

#3: Just say “no”

I remember asking a friend in the cohort before ours to have coffee. She said she was saying “no” to everything until she finished her dissertation. She was only doing what she absolutely had to do—everything else would have to wait. I was frankly a little miffed, that is until I began my own dissertation and realized I needed to do the same thing if I was ever going to finish what I started referring to as “that damn dissertation.” Forget multi-tasking, forget even uni-tasking if there is such a thing. A dissertation takes 24/7 focus—it’s that big a beast. Again, the people in my cohort who finished first, in fact finished at all, learned how to say “no.”

#4: Stay healthy

It doesn’t seem like a dissertation should be so physically demanding but it is. It sometimes seems to suck the very life out of you. The only way to stay sane is to take the very time you don’t have and make sure you exercise daily (or twice a day if you need a break), eat right, get enough sleep, and try not to rely on what one cohort member referred to as “better living through chemistry.”

#5: Cut yourself some slack

I had a dissertation schedule. I’m a schedule kind of gal. Unfortunately, dissertations aren’t always schedulable. (I think I spent so much time with words ending in ology and istic—ontology, epistemology, methodology, statistic, positivistic—that I’ve created a whole new vocabulary just to rebel.) Perhaps my most important motivator was “cut yourself some slack.” Some days, weeks even, it’s just too hard. Life gets away from you. The people and things you’ve been ignoring for so long need your attention. You can’t remember if you had lunch, made lunch, went out for lunch, or if you had lunch for breakfast because you can’t remember what day or time it is. Cut yourself some slack.

#6: Better dead than ABD

Okay, maybe that’s a little harsh but for me that’s what it came down to. I didn’t think I could live with myself (nor did I think anyone else could live with me!) if I put in all that time and money and anxiety and sacrifice only to stop short of the finish line. Equally important is that I felt I would be letting down the very people who supported and tolerated me if I didn’t finish. Besides, after a certain amount of time, ABD is worse than never starting. Show me someone ABD more than three or four years after comps and I’ll show you someone with a long-list of excuses targeted at whoever is asking—even when they’re not asking! That ABD should have found herself a dissertation editing company to help out.

3 Tips for Success in Graduate School

DR. WILLIAM SAYS: Expect lots of reading and writing

You may read a book per week per class, and have to discuss it in depth, or even turn in a paper each week.

Learn the basics of how to dissect a book’s content and get a quick overview of its thesis.

My history professor wheeled a cart full of books into class one day, a different book for each student in class. He handed out the books and announced, “At the end of this hour, I want you to turn in a one page book report on this book!”

Talk about a crash course in how to get into the content of a book without actually reading it.

This is what I learned from that experience:

Read the basics first

Start with the summary on the back cover

Peruse the table of contents and chapter titles

Scan chapter titles and subheads

Read the forward and introduction

Then move into reading chapter one or the first page of each chapter.

You’ll be amazed how much you can learn about a book and its thesis from these basics.

……………………..

DR. DAN SAYS: There’s a veritable litany of suggestions people will give:

Work hard

Make good use of your time

Socialize

Find a balance

Find a really good coffee shop/Indian restaurant that delivers, etc. etc. etc.

These are all excellent pieces of advice, and I encourage you to take them all to heart.

That said, though, I would recommend treating grad school like college (unless you had one of those “Four-year-house-party-with-a-$50,000-cover-charge” kind of experiences) in that you should get involved.

It can be tempting to see grad school as your first entry into the ivory tower, calling you to countless hours in the library/lab, but your experience will be richer if you embrace the fullness of where you study.

Depending on your role, you will be a teacher, a student, and a researcher. In this trinity, recognize that your identity and the expectations leveled at you will be fragmented.

Sequestering yourself in one role alone can result in a soul-sucking experience.

…………………………

DR. SANDY SAYS: Just Do It!

I have yet to meet any person thrilled with the dissertation process. It is one of the most frustrating endeavors we go through to earn our credentials. And to some extent, it is designed that way! The best way to handle it is to just do it!

My dissertation topic was on professional development for educators, a relatively new specialization at that time. I was the coordinator for such programs in my school district and hoped to use my dissertation to help my colleagues throughout the state benefit more from the new state requirements for professional development.

As with many new things in one’s field, most of my professors, including my advisor, didn’t really understand what I was trying to do. The old notions of what constituted professional development were too embedded. No matter how much research I presented on the various theories and principles that formed the basis for effective professional development, that old concept of the speaker on the first day of school and workshops on nothing particularly related to the classroom needs of teachers colored his understanding of my design.

I had reached the point of deciding to be an ABD when my superintendent came to my office for a chat. “It’s an exercise,” he reminded me. “Forget trying to break new ground. Forget everything except meeting the expectations of your advisor and committee and just do it!”

I ruminated on that for a few days before acknowledging the truth of his statements. Then I resubmitted my original proposal, tweaked the way my advisor wanted it, and within two weeks it was approved and I was on my way. Six months later, I received that coveted letter from the dean’s office acknowledging that I had fulfilled all requirements for my doctorate.

So when you’re frustrated with rewriting your proposal for the umpteenth time, when you can’t make your advisor understand what you’re trying to do, when your desire to make breakthrough contributions to your field get the better of you, remember that this is all an academic exercise. It is your admission ticket so that you can do what you really want to do in your chosen field. It is the beginning of the next phase of your career, not your ultimate contribution.

If you decide to seek help, find a good dissertation editing service to advise you.

Then, take a deep breath, refocus on the goal—earning your doctorate—and JUST DO IT!

#graduate school #doctoral candidates #dissertation #editing service

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