About the workshop
Writing a doctoral thesis is, for many people, the largest writing project they will ever undertake. Approached correctly, you can plan and write your thesis efficiently while creating a document of which you can be justly proud. This workshop gives you the opportunity to consider the function of a thesis within your discipline and how you can write yours to maximise success. It explores how to manage thesis-writing so as to make the best use of your time and the resources and technology available. It will include practical tips on how to organise your writing and help ensure your writing is acceptable to supervisors and examiners. There are practical exercises and opportunities for questions and answers. The workshop is run by Dr Trevor Day, a professional writer, trainer and writing coach.
Transferable skills
Writing a doctoral thesis is an unparalleled opportunity to develop high-level skills that will serve you well, whatever career path you take. The process of project managing the writing and publishing of such a large communication develops skills that find application in a wide range of occupations. Although the focus is on the doctoral thesis, the course explores approaches to designing documents and unlocking writing potential that apply to all manner of written communications, from posters and web pages to reports and proposals.
This workshop addresses the following RDF subdomains:
- Knowledge base (A1): academic literacy
- Creativity (A3): argument construction
- Personal qualities (B1): perseverance, integrity and self-reflection
- Professional conduct (C1): IPR, copyright and attribution
- Research management (C2): project planning and delivery
- Communication and dissemination (D2): communication methods and publication
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course you should be able, or better able, to:
- explain the nature of a thesis
- apply your understanding of the writing process to better overcome blocks to writing
- use strategies such as IPACE and SMART to plan your thesis and your thesis writing
- begin to apply such strategies to your thesis
- practise different approaches to thesis-writing
- check that you are using a wide range of technologies to make your thesis-writing more efficient
Related workshops
This course complements the half-day courses - How best to read a research paper, Thinking and writing critically, and How to write a research paper.
Booking a place
Please note - if you book a place you are required to attend the whole of the session. If you are unable to commit to this, please cancel your place in plenty of time and let another student attend. Please arrive promptly to the session and remember to sign the attendance sheet.
Speaker profiles
Dr Trevor Day
Dr Trevor Day is a writing specialist, with a research and teaching background in science and social sciences. He is author of Success in Academic Writing (Palgrave Macmillan) and has written many books, research articles, review papers, and newspaper and magazine articles, in different genres.
Who should attend
Doctoral students