How to Write a Doctoral Dissertation/Thesis—Part Three

Writing and Editing the Draft

Don't be afraid to draft numerous versions of
your dissertation. The more you revise and edit,
the better the finished product will be!

In the two previous installments of "How to Write a Doctoral Dissertation," we discussed the objective of the PhD, the format of PhD programs, the selection of a thesis topic, and the formulation of a dissertation literature review. In Part Three, we discuss the mechanics of writing, editing, and proofreading in greater detail.

Save yourself from future headaches

Start organized to stay organized

Maintaining a coherent system of organization for your research data, literature references, and preliminary drafts is critical when writing, editing, and proofreading your thesis. To minimize the frustrations associated with lost, misplaced, or scattered files, we suggest organizing your computer desktop according to specific research questions/experiments. If you are using the thesis-by-chapter format, create discrete folders for each chapter. You may want to use this system from the very beginning of your research program, even if the subject matter of the research chapters has only been tentatively decided. For example, in the dissertation literature review chapter, you could create a folder for drafts of the literature review and other folders for electronic copies of research papers arranged by subject. In the folders corresponding to research chapters, create sub-folders for data, notes, and drafts.

Reference management software might be helpful

Over the course of several years, you will likely accumulate a large quantity of literature in electronic format, as journals are increasingly shifting to electronic publishing. Reference management software is available to keep your literature organized, and good reference management software should also be capable of formatting in-text citations and references according to specific documentation styles.

Choose a style

Your department may dictate the format and writing style that you will follow in writing/formatting your thesis. Several style guides are currently in use, including Turabian, Harvard, Modern Language Association of America (MLA), and American Psychological Association (APA). Want to save substantial time when it comes to reviewing your document? Know the style you intend to use before you start writing. For a guide to the rules of English writing, The Chicago Manual of Style is a comprehensive reference.

Writing the first draft

If at all possible, it would be advisable to begin writing, editing, and proofreading your thesis as early as you can during the PhD program. Of the two thesis formats, the thesis-by-chapter format is probably the most conducive to this strategy. An added benefit of following this format is the possibility of publishing chapters of your dissertation in professional journals prior to the completion of the entire body of work. During the oral defense of your thesis, examination committees may look more favorably on the components of a dissertation that have already been published in peer-reviewed journals.

One of the challenges of academic writing is walking the fine line between sufficient explanation and unnecessary exposition. Though the thesis should be viewed as a self-contained body of work, for the sake of brevity it is necessary to assume that readers will have a rudimentary understanding of background material. When discussing the results of other authors' research, include only the information that is necessary for the reader to understand the context in which you are conducting your research and to comprehend the implications of your work relative to existing knowledge.

Clarity is paramount when determining the structure/layout of your dissertation. In that respect, the thesis-by-chapter format may be advantageous, particularly for students pursuing a PhD in the natural sciences, where the research content of a thesis consists of many discrete experiments.

To sum things up…

The summary or conclusion will likely be the most difficult section in your dissertation to write. We recommend:

• highlighting some of your most important results/conclusions,
• illustrating how, or in what way, your research has impacted the current state of knowledge in your field, and
• discussing the research questions that are raised as a result of your findings.  

Fundamentals of editing and proofreading your thesis

Editing and proofreading your thesis will require more time than you might anticipate, and there are a number of issues you should consider:

• Language: Within the same language, subtle regional/national variations may exist with respect to spelling and grammar (e.g., British versus American English). Ask your supervisor which variant you should follow.
• Consistency: Be consistent with respect to your use of abbreviations, styles of citation/referencing, use of terms, formatting, and tense.
• Progression of ideas: Avoid logical leaps. Your work should be internally coherent and provide the reader with sufficient detail to comprehend your inferences and conclusions.     

Editing your thesis is a multi-step process. It begins following the writing of the first draft and ends when you integrate the suggestions and requested revisions of your committee. You would be well-advised to personally edit the first draft at least once prior to submitting it to your supervisor or committee. However, given the level of familiarity you will have with the work, it may be of benefit to have an external editor review and provide commentary on the draft prior to submission. After all, your supervisor/committee may be more able to point out conceptual flaws and provide constructive suggestions if issues relating to grammar, spelling, and formatting have been resolved. To that end, Scribendi.com provides a wide range of services, from comprehensive editing to proofreading to formatting—and all for a price that even PhD students can afford!