Authoring a PhD: How to Plan, Draft, Write and Finish a Doctoral Thesis or Dissertation. Palgrave Study Guides.

Palgrave Study Skills

by Patrick Dunleavy

"Authoring a PhD Thesis" involves the development of creative ideas, working out how to organize them, writing up from your plans, upgrading your text, and finishing it speedily and to a good standard. It also includes being examined and getting your work published. This title provides a huge range of ideas and suggestions to help you cope with both the intellectual issues involved and the practical difficulties of organizing your work effectively. It is a useful and time-saving aid for doctoral students and their supervisors, and should also interest anyone writing creative non-fiction.

Genres: Writing, Academia, Nonfiction, Education, Research, Academic, Self Help

297 pages, ebook

First published April 28, 2003

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very useful guide full of pragmatic (though not dogmatic) advice for the dissertation writer. I wish I had come across it (or at least its advice) earlier in my doctoral career, but this book still provides plenty of worthwhile guidance even for people who have already successfully filed and defended their dissertations. The author is more than sufficiently humble about the utility and generalizability of what he has to say, as well. There were times where I felt specific examples would have made the book slightly more accessible and there were certain things that seemed more relevant for UK readers than US, but none of these will prevent me from highly recommending it to many writers, perhaps even those who are doing book-length projects that aren't dissertations.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good for what it is, but nothing fantastic. This book will not particularly tell you how to write a dissertation, but it will give you a few pieces of solid advice and functions as a nice little pep talk.

It's enjoyably and breezily written, and I enjoyed the fact that Patrick Dunleavy quoted everyone from Michelangelo to Thomas Aquinas to Eddie Izzard to Emperor Palpatine.

[Ming Wei · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a very useful book, really helpful and helpful, guides you through all the process of producing a thesis, in easy to follow terms. The information within this books pages does really improve your own end output thesis. The front cover is a bit plain, but this does not do the book justice regarding how much it can help you. A treasure of a book, very useful, no editorial issues that I could find. Nice book length.

[J.F. Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've clicked 'I'm finished' but in truth, this is the sort of book I probably won't ever really finish with: some of the best writing advice I've ever read, structured in a calm and methodical way. A nugget or gem on every page. If you're thinking about writing any sort of non-fiction, this would be an excellent place to start. Suspect my copy is going to be read to death...

[Matthew Shifflett · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first got to grad school, we had to read six or seven of these types of books for one week's assignment. This is the best I found. This is a book to be dipped into periodically...because it describes the entire process, from choosing a topic to finishing and defending, only part of the book will apply to you at any given time. The author is a professor of economics at the University of London who has sat on committees for a number of students from a variety of disciplines. Far preferable to the folksy, vapid cheerleading of other similar books, many of which have titles like "How to Write a Dissertation in 15 minutes a Day."

[Elari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of all the books I checked out on dissertation writing, this one had the lowest rating and the most pompous title and cover page (can't find the latter on GoodReads). I decided it wasn't worth my time, yet I don't know how and why I eventually started reading it. As it turns out, my snap judgement couldn't have been more wrong. Authoring a PhD still sounds awful to my ears, but the book was greatly useful and entertaining.

[Tara Brabazon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a solid guide to 'how to write' a PhD. The word 'authoring' is a bit awkward, but makes sense in the context of this book. There is attention to the 'craft' of academic writing.

It is a useful book. The challenge is that - in the desire to be transparent to explore the nature of writing - the resultant analysis is a bit generalized and vague.

But for students wanting an introduction to doctoral writing, there is a good foundation here.

[Julien V · Rating 2 out of 5]

*sigh* Well, this dissertation is not going to write itself, is it?

This book has, beyond its patronizing tone, some good commonsensical ideas. However I have no common sense. And Dunleavy didn't stop me being a lazy-ass, either (not that I thought he could!)

[Kevin Maples · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've ever read on how to plan and structure your writing. Even if you are only writing a short paper for college level, this book is extremely helpful.

[Marielena · Rating 2 out of 5]

That was not a bad book, but I have to admit that I didn't find it sufficiently useful, at least for my work - it might have been that by the time I read it I was already too much down the road of my PhD journey, and as a result, much of the content was not relevant to me. Another disadvantage is that it is also (inevitably) quite outdated, in particular when it comes to tech tools (provided that it was published 20 years ago, this is not a big surprise). There are still useful insights and helpful advice on its pages (e.g., having a "running outline" of the thesis that you share with your profs to verify that everyone is on the same page or ideas on how to plan ahead for your thesis submission and your viva), so I wouldn't discourage people from reading it, but I also guess that there are better books on the thesis writing process out there (unfortunately, I cannot say that I've read any on the topic that are good enough to recommend - but I still be believe there are!)

Who recommended the book to me: I don't even remember; I think I was just browsing books on thesis writing, and this one got decent Goodreads reviews? Something of the sort.
I would recommend to: people interested in the thesis writing process (preferably at the start of their PhD). It's not a 'must-read', but it's decent enough to browse through.

[I'm Not · Rating 1 out of 5]

IMHO, only those who have already finished their PhD can find this book useful.

[Walnut Li · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is a guide to avoiding pits. I personally like it very much. It taught some points that the supervisor/Prof. did not tell.

[Heather Browning · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone about to begin researching/writing a PhD thesis, this book provided a useful start-point for thinking about overall structure and how to approach the project. I'll probably refer back later on in the writing and editing process. As a general guide for the social sciences and humanities, it obviously contained much that wasn't useful for my specific discipline, which is a limitation the author acknowledges. Additionally, much of the basic writing advice seemed unnecessary. Presumably someone at the PhD level has already done a substantial amount of writing and developed sophisticated writing skills, although perhaps his own experience with doctoral students suggests otherwise.

[Ed Barton · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book provides a good overview of the dissertation process - ranging from selection of a topic through to post-doc publication strategies. Written from a British perspective, but applicable to any "written" doctorate, the suggestions are practical and actionable. More importantly, from my perspective, was the "inside baseball" elements and strategies around the oral defense, the suggestions on formatting, and the recurring theme that done is better than perfect. A good read that is surprisingly easy to read as well.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a lot of talk around the office that people don't like this book and don't find it useful. But I liked it and find it useful.

Of course not all of it is highly relevant for every PhD author and every PhD thesis, but if you read it carefully I really think there are some gems in there which I found very useful and motivating.

The book is also very understanding to the plight of writing a "big book thesis" and is therefore really encouraging. If I read this in the evening, I get a lot written the next morning. Works - if you ask me.

[Paul Waring · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well worth a read if you're thinking of writing a thesis. As with all these books, you might not agree with everything single point, and the author makes it clear that it is not a set of iron rules to be applied mechanically (e.g. I disagree that having your supervisor in your viva 'undermines your status as an independent professional'). There is, however, plenty of good advice, and I wish I'd had this to hand when writing my thesis.

[Audrey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book hard going to be honest and not as helpful as I thought it would be. The book is difficult to dip in and out of and for that reason I found it difficult to get to what I wanted easily. It could have been structured in a more user friendly way. Not everyone wants to read this sort of book from A to B so that's why only 2 stars.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good information, clearly set out and well researched. Dunleavy suggests using this book to dip in and out of rather than following it to the letter. I am thinking of doing a PhD at somepoint in my life and this has got plenty of good advice on how to avoid missteps and pitfalls from beginning to finish and beyond.

[Anjar Priandoyo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book summarizes what PhD is. I read it during my first year and re-read again in the last year. At first, it seems that I did not understand, but along the time, I start to understand this book. Chapter 1 on Becoming an Author is very good to help to get a vision. Chapter 2 is what Thesis is. Good reference.

[Dora · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is something every mentor and every PhD candidate should read before and during the doctoral process. It's fully of useful tips regarding writing, presenting and even publishing work. And what I found most useful were the psychological tips which are meant to help cope with the difficulties of the writing, research and overall hard and long work that stands behind a doctoral degree.

[Nik · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a good read with lots of honest good ideas, but it reads like a pompous heavy load book. When it comes to learning about authoring a PhD, simple advice is always the best. This way is not a book I would read in a day, but I guess that is what academia is all about.

[Evan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reads a lot like a thesis, which is probably appropriate but does mean it's overly detailed and very dense. Made up of very hefty chapters with few subheadings. Helpful advice in there, though.

3 Stars = liked it

[Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really good book so far

[Wendelle]

Fairly strong, unwavering opinions and set of advice for those at least faintly curious about the Phd process in social sciences or humanities

[George · Rating 1 out of 5]

The best thing you can do when authoring a PhD is the opposite of whatever Patrick tells you.

[Mohammed Ghaïth · Rating 5 out of 5]

"It is important to remember that authoring is not a leisure activity,
but work. You need to be fit and well to do authoring properly, just as much as for more physically demanding jobs."

Honestly, I should pat myself on the back for finishing this book.

Delivered in a format as dense as that of mathematics undergraduate textbooks, Authoring a PhD comes compact with quotes from all across the literature-for-mind; a.k.a. philosophy, mainly, to kindly, scrupulously, and honestly guide you through the journey of authoring a research work: be it a thesis, a book, an article, etc.

Although not comprehensive of all disciplines, and relatively dated to someone living past 2020, a book like this cannot be less than recommended!

[Giulia93 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book goes through the main challenges that novice authors face when starting to write a PhD dissertation. It is divided into sections that aim at helping the reader developing a habit of writing in order to be able to produce a text at a PhD level. It does not provide easy to follow, mechanical steps that will magically help in getting a dissertation done, but the book provides useful insights on how to start, improve, submit and then publish and academically valuable text. The book is divided into clear sections tackling one issue at the time, going from a macro to a micro perspective. All in all, the book is a nice read for those novice authors approaching the writing of a PhD dissertation. However, some points might already be familiar to those who already have some experience in academic writing.

[Nils · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book gives a lot of advice about the actual writing of scientific texts. Even for people who are already 1-2 years into a PHD, the book still offers some useful insights and assistance. For example, tips are given on how to introduce or end paragraphs and what size each chapter should be.

Ideally, one should read the book before starting the PHD or in the process of finding a topic.

[Emily Holmes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished reading this book and found it really good! Its easy to read and realistic, and there was a lot of things in it that I hadn't thought about. Will be recommending it.

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mostly helpful with very specific details.