Thesis and paper writing
Most writing advice for researchers is about discipline. The more useful kind is about structure, because a chapter that will not move is usually a chapter whose job has not been decided.
Updated
Writer's block in a thesis is rarely a shortage of words. It is a shortage of decisions. A discussion section stalls because you have not decided what the finding means. An introduction stalls because you have not decided which of four possible stories the thesis is telling.
So these pages start from the job each chapter has to do, then work backwards to its shape. What an introduction has to establish before a reader will accept the rest. Why a discussion that restates results feels empty. What a methodology chapter is defending, and against whom.
There are also pages on the mechanics that quietly cost the most time: drafting without stopping every two sentences to hunt for a citation, deciding how long a chapter should actually be, and choosing between a monograph and a thesis by publication before that choice makes itself.
How do I structure a PhD thesis chapter by chapter?
The standard shape of a doctoral thesis chapter by chapter, roughly how long each chapter should be, and when in the process to write the introduction.
Read the answer →How do I write a thesis introduction?
What a thesis introduction has to establish, the order the moves go in, and how much of the literature belongs in the introduction rather than the review chapter.
Read the answer →How do I write a discussion section without repeating the results?
How to write a discussion that interprets rather than restates, what to do about findings that contradict the literature, and how honest the limitations should be.
Read the answer →How do I write an abstract for a research paper?
How to write a research paper abstract sentence by sentence, what each sentence has to do, and how a thesis abstract differs from a journal article abstract.
Read the answer →How do I paraphrase a source without plagiarizing?
How to paraphrase a source properly, how different the wording has to be, and when quoting directly is the better choice than rewriting in your own words.
Read the answer →How do I write a methodology chapter?
What a methodology chapter has to contain, how much detail is enough, and how to justify your methodological choices rather than merely describing them.
Read the answer →How do I draft when I keep stopping to look up citations?
How to keep drafting when every second sentence needs a source, which placeholder system actually works, and when to go back and fill the citations in.
Read the answer →How do I write consistently during a PhD?
How to build a writing habit that survives a doctorate, how long a writing session should actually be, and what to do on the days when nothing comes.
Read the answer →Should I do a thesis by publication or a monograph?
How to choose between a thesis by publication and a traditional monograph, how published chapters get stitched together, and the risks each format carries.
Read the answer →How long should a literature review chapter be?
A realistic length for a doctoral literature review chapter, roughly how many sources that comes to, and what to cut when the chapter has run too long.
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