Dissertation Writing: Preparation Phase

When you headed off to graduate school, you felt like the king or queen of the world. A college graduate and a future PhD to boot! Life is looking good, right? Until dissertation season that is. Seventy-five pages? No big deal! If you put that into the number of words, however, which will probably reach around at least 10,000, that is when you will start to panic.

Did we forget to mention that you will be going through dozens of books, research papers, and former dissertations as well? That means you will be reading over a hundred thousand words in the period that you write your dissertation.

Now, how in the world are you going to write that in time for your approval, revision, and defense? If you find yourself asking the question, “Should I pay someone to write my dissertation?”, You can play with the idea to buy dissertation online from one of the dissertation services around the web.

However, if you are planning to do it on your own, you need to consider what you are getting into. So what is the answer to the question above? Preparation. It is the key to your passing or even extraordinary grade and it is what will get you through the tedious process of putting those 10,000 words together. Here is what you should prepare for:

  1. Study how to handle disagreeable advisors.

These types of advisors are known for being perfectionists. Unless you can beat their own dissertations, they will never be satisfied with what you have done. Take comfort in the fact that they will not be judging you during your defense. However, if they do, make sure that you adapt to whatever it is they want you to be and however they expect your dissertation to be critiqued.

  1. Be prepared for the peer and familial pressure.

Oh, you’re writing a dissertation? How lovely! It is until someone starts hounding you about finishing it, making it shine, and comparing it to their own work. Families can be a bit overbearing when it comes to coursework like this. Of course, they are because it is the be-all and end-all of your graduate school career. Friends, on the other hand, do not realize that they are putting pressure on you by continuously telling you that they are expecting a great dissertation out of you.

  1. Do not waste time explaining your dissertation to people who do not care.

People will ask you what your dissertation is about. It is not there so try to avoid talking about it in full detail and just excuse yourself politely so you can finish your dissertation. Shop talk is a norm, but in order to excel, you have to stray from the traditional niceties that are required of a graduate student. You can always make connections in the future. If you must, discuss your dissertation with members of the committee so you can get productive input instead.

  1. Do not compare your work with your friends’ or classmates’.

Avoid your co-dissertation workers at all costs, unless you need their help. If you must be exposed to your classmates, try to avoid talking about what their dissertation contains. If they ask the same from you, respect their decision as well. Comparing each other’s work will only lead to more pressure and less productivity.