Why are dissertations so hard




















While writing a PhD Dissertation is definitely a long and drawn out process, it can be done in two months or less. You have to be dedicated to researching and writing it and discipline and meet deadlines for yourself, but it can be done in the allotted time. Every student wants to know how to write a thesis in a month. But before sharing the tips that I have used in my academic journey, we first need to ask: is it possible to write a thesis in such a short amount of time?

The answer to this question is yes! You absolutely can write a thesis in 30 days. The trick is to not make it even harder by avoiding the work itself. However, from the analysis of over PhD theses, the average thesis length is between 80, and , words. A further analysis of PhD thesis shows the average number of pages to be The longest PhD thesis was written by historian Joachim Schuhmacher, regarding the development of sailing. His thesis, originally contained 2, pages, but was shortened to 2, pages and is even mentioned in the Guinness World Records.

The thesis was submitted at the University of Konstanz in Germany. The average time it takes to complete a PhD is just over 8 years. What happened be as specific as possible when you sat down to write? For most dissertation writers, the inability to develop and maintain a daily writing practice is due to one of three things: 1 technical errors, 2 psychological obstacles or 3 external realities.

Technical Errors: Dissertation writers often struggle to establish a daily writing practice due to several technical errors.

As soon as you identify the error, the work-around is clear. Regrettably, a quick tip, trick or hack will not eliminate psychological obstacles, but we can loosen their grip by increasing our awareness of their existence, reframing them and experimenting with behavioral changes. External Realities: Lastly, I would be remiss if I did not recognize that sometimes the inability to maintain a daily writing practice results from an external reality that is beyond your control.

The truth is that life events occur that directly impact the amount of energy we have to write. To state the painfully obvious, neither self-isolating nor surrounding yourself with negative peers will help you develop a consistent daily writing habit.

What you need most is a positive community that supports you through the ups and downs of writing a dissertation and celebrates your successes every step of the way. Every small win builds momentum, and seeing other people succeed makes it seem possible for you, too. I love your questions, so keep posting them on my Facebook page or email me at [email protected].

Expand comments Hide comments. We have retired comments and introduced Letters to the Editor. Share your thoughts ». About Contact Subscribe. Career Advice. Dear Kerry Ann. How to Finish Your Dissertation. Kerry Ann Rockquemore gives advice for getting past the three biggest obstacles to completion.

But a brutal editing down to the word count has left much of that early material at the wayside. If you're using a university or library printer, it will start to affect your weekly budget in a big way. If you're printing from your room, "paper jam" will come to be the most dreaded two words in the English language. Don't even try and give up biscuits for Lent, they'll basically become their own food group when you're too busy to cook and desperate for sugar.

Even if you're super-organised, plan your time down to the last hour and don't have a single moment of deadline panic, you'll still find that thoughts of your dissertation will creep up on you when you least expect it. You'll fall asleep thinking about it, dream about it and wake up thinking about.

You'll feel guilty when you're not working on it, and mired in self-doubt when you are. It's worth the hard work to know you've completed what's likely to be your biggest, most important, single piece of work. Be proud of it. Ten things I wish I'd known before starting my dissertation. Take off two weeks to prepare for job interviews. But then start writing again. Academic work is always a balancing act between various pressures, and you have to get used to carving out time for writing next to all of your responsibilities.

To that end Claim writing time by learning to say no. But say yes sometimes too. As I said above, taking breaks is essential. Next time someone asks you to go for a beer, close your computer and say yes. Carve out little bits of writing time. As I mentioned in my previous post , dissertation writing is a marathon, not a sprint. Writing often happens in little bits spread out over time.

No matter how busy you are, take the time to write for half an hour a day. You can find half an hour somewhere. Get up early if you have to. If you write about a page a day, you can finish a chapter in a month.

Stop making excuses. There will always be a million reasons to not write. There will always be reasons not to write. Read everything you can. Read this post. Read the one I wrote in August. Read this one by Kaitlin Gallagher about PhD thesis project management, or the one she wrote on sucstress.

Read this post by Amy Rubens about Exit Strategies. Browse our dissertation or productivity tags. Read this book , or this book , or this book. Or this one.



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