A complete, step-by-step, practical overview of the process of writing successful theses and dissertations

Every year, thousands of graduate students face the daunting—sometimes terrifying—challenge of writing a thesis or dissertation. But most of them have received little or no instruction on doing it well. This book shows them how in ways no other book does. It combines the practical guidance and theoretical understanding students need to complete their theses or dissertations with maximum insight and minimum stress.

Drawing on her extensive research and experience advising hundreds of graduate students, Dr. Irene Clark presents a solid overview for the entire writing process. Clark shows how to apply innovative theories of process and genre and understand the writing process for what it is: your entrance into a conversation with the scholarly community that will determine your success or failure. This book offers useful strategies for each phase of the process and in every discipline: from choosing advisors and identifying topics through writing, revision, and review. Coverage includes

·   Getting started: overcoming procrastination and writers block

·   Understanding the genre of the thesis or dissertation: connections between function and form

·   Speaking the “language of the academy”

·   Identifying topics, and transforming them into workable research goals

·   Writing compelling proposals: understanding the proposal as argument

·   Developing and revising drafts