GRADstory: Writing a PhD dissertation

A PhD dissertation is an intimidating task for anyone, even someone like Cael, whose MA thesis was, in their own words, “quite long”!  The experience writing an MA thesis had given Cael an idea of how to organize a large writing project, though they acknowledge the longer dissertation did require a more careful approach.  

Cael describes that getting started, the proposal and proposal defence were both helpful in organizing initial ideas and getting early feedback. At this stage though, and in initial dissertation writing, it was important to Cael to “[keep] an open mind to how the ideas would develop and change over time” as this can “[lead] to insights you may not have anticipated”. Writing, as Cael points out, is a creative and even spontaneous process where ideas can “grow, shift, develop, and sometimes change completely”! 

Thought keeping an open mind was important to Cael, creating structure and organization was also part of their process. Cael started with a rough outline that included main sections and ideas, and then focused on each section one at a time. After finishing research for each chapter, Cael would write a more detailed outline of the sections within the chapter, but from there says “you can usually write any section in any order that appeals to you”, though they typically like to write linearly. After finishing up a draft of a chapter, Cael would then send it onto their supervisor who provides comments that Cael would integrate back into their main document in Scrivener (their word-processer of choice) to avoid flipping between multiple documents. To keep from getting bored with the process, Cael also explains they switch between working on editing previous chapters and drafting the next.  

This structured approach has supported Cael in the dissertation writing process, but it still hasn’t been without struggle. They explain, “for me the biggest hurdle I’ve had is being a source of motivation for myself and working through theoretical challenges alone during the pandemic”. To address this challenge, Cael spends time talking with her cohort and supervisor about both ideas and struggles. They also are aware that they work best with others, so take advantage of opportunities available to do so, including Dissertation Boost Camp (offered through the Writing and Communication Centre) and Lake Shift. Lake Shift, in particular, provided Cale with an opportunity to connect with students across Ontario deadline with many of the same difficulties, and has been able to continue to connect with these peers through virtual Zoom work sessions.

When asked about what advise they would give to other PhDs, Cael indicates they’ve seen that some grad students are afraid of relying on their support networks, but highlights that “everyone needs support from time to time, and a PhD is far too daunting to work on without that support.” Finally, Cael encourages others to focus on things outside of the PhD as well. They explain, “Sometimes being a PhD student/candidate is all consuming; it takes up a lot of time and energy. It’s important to skill hold onto hobbies and interests, other avenues of the self, that are important to you, though”.