Practical Advice on How to Write a Doctoral Dissertation in One Month
Ideally, you want to write a dissertation over several months, but sometimes this simply isn’t possible. Unexpected challenges or scheduling conflicts sometimes get in the way and the next thing you know you have only a month left to write a good doctoral dissertation. Here’s some practical advice for composing a great document in this short amount of time:
- First of all, start with a plan
- Conduct your academic research
- Develop an outline and thesis
- Start writing your first draft
- Revise the entire document
- Edit and proofread the work
The first thing you need to do is develop a plan. Since your time is limited you will need to break up your project into several tasks and set specific deadlines to complete each one. Leave yourself a day between each task so that you can give yourself a cushion to hand unexpected delays.
Don’t wait to get started on your research. Head to the university library and speak with a reference librarian. Find academic resources from journals and books, and be sure to take accurate and detailed notes as you go. This will save you time from having to come back and reread the content.
Take your notes and use them to develop a draft thesis statement and an outline. The outline should break up your dissertation into all of its major parts. Use different levels to structure the main content of your work. The more detailed you are the easier it will be to compose a first draft.
Now get to writing that first draft. It’s important that you do this as quickly and as efficiently as possible. Don’t stop to make corrections to your paper. This will only slow you down and you may even lose your train of thought and spend more time trying to regain momentum. Worry about making corrections later in the process.
Set your doctoral dissertation aside for a few days before coming back to revise it. It’s important you approach this phase in the process with a completely critical eye. Don’t feel overly attached to any one part of the first draft. You should always look for ways to improve your document through a thorough revision.
Finally, be sure you leave yourself ample time to edit and proofread the entire work. You should never risk submitting a document of this type without having gone through these steps. Even the best writers will make several mistakes in the first couple of drafts. You need to make sure you have made all necessary corrections.