A PhD is the ultimate degree.
Getting a doctorate is a matter of honour, as it reflects your knowledge, perseverance and hard work. While there is glory to a PhD, the road to it is not easy. In fact, the long years of research and bringing together the thesis is not everyone’s cup of tea. It takes a lot of determination to brave through all the challenges not only while researching but also while writing your thesis. Here we present to you 5 tips that you should keep in mind while writing your PhD thesis.
- Have a Good Plan: No project can be successful without a proper plan. It takes years to put together a PhD thesis, and without a proper plan, you can get lost easily. Although a plan can change over the years, having one would help you focus on the job at hand. It would also prevent you from procrastinating, as you clearly know what you have to do to reach your final goal.
- Make a Note of References and Sources: While researching for your thesis, you are likely to read loads of reference books and journals. It is extremely important to ensure that you make a note of the references and sources that you found useful for your own thesis. Even if you do not use them, noting them down would save you lot of time and effort at the end. Bibliography is an integral part of every PhD thesis and without providing accurate information on your reference sources (as per the house style), your thesis would not be accepted. If you have borrowed an idea from another book, you need to mention the name of the writer, the name of the book and the date of publication.
- Have a Good Support Group: Thesis writing can be a lonely process, but you do not need to isolate yourself. On the other hand, having a good support system is extremely crucial. If you are lucky enough to have a good supervisor or mentor, he or she would ensure that your thesis is write on track. However, if this is not the case, you should work towards creating a support team for yourself. Get in touch with peers and recent graduates who have gone through the process of writing the thesis and can guide you through the practical details of writing one. They can also help you when you are stuck or need motivation to move ahead.
- Get Ready to Write and Re-Write: Writing a PhD thesis is not simple or straightforward. In fact, you would have to write and re-write your thesis innumerable times, until it is perfect. To make it a bit easier, experts suggest that you write as you go. Do not just focus on the research and push writing to the end, when you have all the resources you need. This can make the process of writing the thesis long and difficult. Rather, it is better to start writing from the beginning itself. Your write-up does not need to be in the right order; you can rearrange and bring together all the parts at the end. Remember rewriting is inevitable when it comes to your PhD thesis.
- Grammar and Spellings are Important: When it comes to a PhD thesis, the content and the results of your research are the focus. However, this does not mean that you can ignore grammar and spelling errors. Grammatical errors and spelling mistakes can ruin the flow of the content, making it unreadable. Hence, it is crucial to spend a good amount of time editing and proofreading your content. Have a lookout for subject-verb disagreements, dangling modifiers, passive voice, repetitive phrases or words, etc. Also, when it comes to spellings, you should either follow British English or American English, as per your house style.
Conclusion
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