writing dissertation in 2 weeks

How To Write A Dissertation Or Thesis

8 straightforward steps to craft an a-grade dissertation.

By: Derek Jansen (MBA) Expert Reviewed By: Dr Eunice Rautenbach | June 2020

Writing a dissertation or thesis is not a simple task. It takes time, energy and a lot of will power to get you across the finish line. It’s not easy – but it doesn’t necessarily need to be a painful process. If you understand the big-picture process of how to write a dissertation or thesis, your research journey will be a lot smoother.  

In this post, I’m going to outline the big-picture process of how to write a high-quality dissertation or thesis, without losing your mind along the way. If you’re just starting your research, this post is perfect for you. Alternatively, if you’ve already submitted your proposal, this article which covers how to structure a dissertation might be more helpful.

How To Write A Dissertation: 8 Steps

• Clearly understand what a dissertation (or thesis) is
• Find a unique and valuable research topic
• Craft a convincing research proposal
• Write up a strong introduction chapter
• Review the existing literature and compile a literature review
• Design a rigorous research strategy and undertake your own research
• Present the findings of your research
• Draw a conclusion and discuss the implications

Step 1: Understand exactly what a dissertation is

This probably sounds like a no-brainer, but all too often, students come to us for help with their research and the underlying issue is that they don’t fully understand what a dissertation (or thesis) actually is.

So, what is a dissertation?

At its simplest, a dissertation or thesis is a formal piece of research , reflecting the standard research process . But what is the standard research process, you ask? The research process involves 4 key steps:

• Ask a very specific, well-articulated question (s) (your research topic)
• See what other researchers have said about it (if they’ve already answered it)
• If they haven’t answered it adequately, undertake your own data collection and analysis in a scientifically rigorous fashion
• Answer your original question(s), based on your analysis findings

In short, the research process is simply about asking and answering questions in a systematic fashion . This probably sounds pretty obvious, but people often think they’ve done “research”, when in fact what they have done is:

• Started with a vague, poorly articulated question
• Not taken the time to see what research has already been done regarding the question
• Collected data and opinions that support their gut and undertaken a flimsy analysis
• Drawn a shaky conclusion, based on that analysis

If you want to see the perfect example of this in action, look out for the next Facebook post where someone claims they’ve done “research”… All too often, people consider reading a few blog posts to constitute research. Its no surprise then that what they end up with is an opinion piece, not research. Okay, okay – I’ll climb off my soapbox now.

The key takeaway here is that a dissertation (or thesis) is a formal piece of research, reflecting the research process. It’s not an opinion piece , nor a place to push your agenda or try to convince someone of your position. Writing a good dissertation involves asking a question and taking a systematic, rigorous approach to answering it.

If you understand this and are comfortable leaving your opinions or preconceived ideas at the door, you’re already off to a good start!

Step 2: Find a unique, valuable research topic

As we saw, the first step of the research process is to ask a specific, well-articulated question. In other words, you need to find a research topic that asks a specific question or set of questions (these are called research questions ). Sounds easy enough, right? All you’ve got to do is identify a question or two and you’ve got a winning research topic. Well, not quite…

A good dissertation or thesis topic has a few important attributes. Specifically, a solid research topic should be:

Let’s take a closer look at these:

Attribute #1: Clear

Your research topic needs to be crystal clear about what you’re planning to research, what you want to know, and within what context. There shouldn’t be any ambiguity or vagueness about what you’ll research.

Here’s an example of a clearly articulated research topic:

An analysis of consumer-based factors influencing organisational trust in British low-cost online equity brokerage firms.

As you can see in the example, its crystal clear what will be analysed (factors impacting organisational trust), amongst who (consumers) and in what context (British low-cost equity brokerage firms, based online).

Need a helping hand?

Attribute #2:   Unique

Your research should be asking a question(s) that hasn’t been asked before, or that hasn’t been asked in a specific context (for example, in a specific country or industry).

For example, sticking organisational trust topic above, it’s quite likely that organisational trust factors in the UK have been investigated before, but the context (online low-cost equity brokerages) could make this research unique. Therefore, the context makes this research original.

One caveat when using context as the basis for originality – you need to have a good reason to suspect that your findings in this context might be different from the existing research – otherwise, there’s no reason to warrant researching it.

Attribute #3: Important

Simply asking a unique or original question is not enough – the question needs to create value. In other words, successfully answering your research questions should provide some value to the field of research or the industry. You can’t research something just to satisfy your curiosity. It needs to make some form of contribution either to research or industry.

For example, researching the factors influencing consumer trust would create value by enabling businesses to tailor their operations and marketing to leverage factors that promote trust. In other words, it would have a clear benefit to industry.

So, how do you go about finding a unique and valuable research topic? We explain that in detail in this video post – How To Find A Research Topic . Yeah, we’ve got you covered 😊

Step 3: Write a convincing research proposal

Once you’ve pinned down a high-quality research topic, the next step is to convince your university to let you research it. No matter how awesome you think your topic is, it still needs to get the rubber stamp before you can move forward with your research. The research proposal is the tool you’ll use for this job.

So, what’s in a research proposal?

The main “job” of a research proposal is to convince your university, advisor or committee that your research topic is worthy of approval. But convince them of what? Well, this varies from university to university, but generally, they want to see that:

• You have a clearly articulated, unique and important topic (this might sound familiar…)
• You’ve done some initial reading of the existing literature relevant to your topic (i.e. a literature review)
• You have a provisional plan in terms of how you will collect data and analyse it (i.e. a methodology)

At the proposal stage, it’s (generally) not expected that you’ve extensively reviewed the existing literature , but you will need to show that you’ve done enough reading to identify a clear gap for original (unique) research. Similarly, they generally don’t expect that you have a rock-solid research methodology mapped out, but you should have an idea of whether you’ll be undertaking qualitative or quantitative analysis , and how you’ll collect your data (we’ll discuss this in more detail later).

Long story short – don’t stress about having every detail of your research meticulously thought out at the proposal stage – this will develop as you progress through your research. However, you do need to show that you’ve “done your homework” and that your research is worthy of approval .

So, how do you go about crafting a high-quality, convincing proposal? We cover that in detail in this video post – How To Write A Top-Class Research Proposal . We’ve also got a video walkthrough of two proposal examples here .

Step 4: Craft a strong introduction chapter

Once your proposal’s been approved, its time to get writing your actual dissertation or thesis! The good news is that if you put the time into crafting a high-quality proposal, you’ve already got a head start on your first three chapters – introduction, literature review and methodology – as you can use your proposal as the basis for these.

Handy sidenote – our free dissertation & thesis template is a great way to speed up your dissertation writing journey.

What’s the introduction chapter all about?

The purpose of the introduction chapter is to set the scene for your research (dare I say, to introduce it…) so that the reader understands what you’ll be researching and why it’s important. In other words, it covers the same ground as the research proposal in that it justifies your research topic.

What goes into the introduction chapter?

This can vary slightly between universities and degrees, but generally, the introduction chapter will include the following:

• A brief background to the study, explaining the overall area of research
• A problem statement , explaining what the problem is with the current state of research (in other words, where the knowledge gap exists)
• Your research questions – in other words, the specific questions your study will seek to answer (based on the knowledge gap)
• The significance of your study – in other words, why it’s important and how its findings will be useful in the world

As you can see, this all about explaining the “what” and the “why” of your research (as opposed to the “how”). So, your introduction chapter is basically the salesman of your study, “selling” your research to the first-time reader and (hopefully) getting them interested to read more.

How do I write the introduction chapter, you ask? We cover that in detail in this post .

Step 5: Undertake an in-depth literature review

As I mentioned earlier, you’ll need to do some initial review of the literature in Steps 2 and 3 to find your research gap and craft a convincing research proposal – but that’s just scratching the surface. Once you reach the literature review stage of your dissertation or thesis, you need to dig a lot deeper into the existing research and write up a comprehensive literature review chapter.

What’s the literature review all about?

There are two main stages in the literature review process:

Literature Review Step 1: Reading up

The first stage is for you to deep dive into the existing literature (journal articles, textbook chapters, industry reports, etc) to gain an in-depth understanding of the current state of research regarding your topic. While you don’t need to read every single article, you do need to ensure that you cover all literature that is related to your core research questions, and create a comprehensive catalogue of that literature , which you’ll use in the next step.

Reading and digesting all the relevant literature is a time consuming and intellectually demanding process. Many students underestimate just how much work goes into this step, so make sure that you allocate a good amount of time for this when planning out your research. Thankfully, there are ways to fast track the process – be sure to check out this article covering how to read journal articles quickly .

Literature Review Step 2: Writing up

Once you’ve worked through the literature and digested it all, you’ll need to write up your literature review chapter. Many students make the mistake of thinking that the literature review chapter is simply a summary of what other researchers have said. While this is partly true, a literature review is much more than just a summary. To pull off a good literature review chapter, you’ll need to achieve at least 3 things:

• You need to synthesise the existing research , not just summarise it. In other words, you need to show how different pieces of theory fit together, what’s agreed on by researchers, what’s not.
• You need to highlight a research gap that your research is going to fill. In other words, you’ve got to outline the problem so that your research topic can provide a solution.
• You need to use the existing research to inform your methodology and approach to your own research design. For example, you might use questions or Likert scales from previous studies in your your own survey design .

As you can see, a good literature review is more than just a summary of the published research. It’s the foundation on which your own research is built, so it deserves a lot of love and attention. Take the time to craft a comprehensive literature review with a suitable structure .

But, how do I actually write the literature review chapter, you ask? We cover that in detail in this video post .

Step 6: Carry out your own research

Once you’ve completed your literature review and have a sound understanding of the existing research, its time to develop your own research (finally!). You’ll design this research specifically so that you can find the answers to your unique research question.

There are two steps here – designing your research strategy and executing on it:

1 – Design your research strategy

The first step is to design your research strategy and craft a methodology chapter . I won’t get into the technicalities of the methodology chapter here, but in simple terms, this chapter is about explaining the “how” of your research. If you recall, the introduction and literature review chapters discussed the “what” and the “why”, so it makes sense that the next point to cover is the “how” –that’s what the methodology chapter is all about.

In this section, you’ll need to make firm decisions about your research design. This includes things like:

• Your research philosophy (e.g. positivism or interpretivism )
• Your overall methodology (e.g. qualitative , quantitative or mixed methods)
• Your data collection strategy (e.g. interviews , focus groups, surveys)
• Your data analysis strategy (e.g. content analysis , correlation analysis, regression)

If these words have got your head spinning, don’t worry! We’ll explain these in plain language in other posts. It’s not essential that you understand the intricacies of research design (yet!). The key takeaway here is that you’ll need to make decisions about how you’ll design your own research, and you’ll need to describe (and justify) your decisions in your methodology chapter.

2 – Execute: Collect and analyse your data

Once you’ve worked out your research design, you’ll put it into action and start collecting your data. This might mean undertaking interviews, hosting an online survey or any other data collection method. Data collection can take quite a bit of time (especially if you host in-person interviews), so be sure to factor sufficient time into your project plan for this. Oftentimes, things don’t go 100% to plan (for example, you don’t get as many survey responses as you hoped for), so bake a little extra time into your budget here.

Once you’ve collected your data, you’ll need to do some data preparation before you can sink your teeth into the analysis. For example:

• If you carry out interviews or focus groups, you’ll need to transcribe your audio data to text (i.e. a Word document).
• If you collect quantitative survey data, you’ll need to clean up your data and get it into the right format for whichever analysis software you use (for example, SPSS, R or STATA).

Once you’ve completed your data prep, you’ll undertake your analysis, using the techniques that you described in your methodology. Depending on what you find in your analysis, you might also do some additional forms of analysis that you hadn’t planned for. For example, you might see something in the data that raises new questions or that requires clarification with further analysis.

The type(s) of analysis that you’ll use depend entirely on the nature of your research and your research questions. For example:

• If your research if exploratory in nature, you’ll often use qualitative analysis techniques .
• If your research is confirmatory in nature, you’ll often use quantitative analysis techniques
• If your research involves a mix of both, you might use a mixed methods approach

Again, if these words have got your head spinning, don’t worry! We’ll explain these concepts and techniques in other posts. The key takeaway is simply that there’s no “one size fits all” for research design and methodology – it all depends on your topic, your research questions and your data. So, don’t be surprised if your study colleagues take a completely different approach to yours.

Step 7: Present your findings

Once you’ve completed your analysis, it’s time to present your findings (finally!). In a dissertation or thesis, you’ll typically present your findings in two chapters – the results chapter and the discussion chapter .

What’s the difference between the results chapter and the discussion chapter?

While these two chapters are similar, the results chapter generally just presents the processed data neatly and clearly without interpretation, while the discussion chapter explains the story the data are telling  – in other words, it provides your interpretation of the results.

For example, if you were researching the factors that influence consumer trust, you might have used a quantitative approach to identify the relationship between potential factors (e.g. perceived integrity and competence of the organisation) and consumer trust. In this case:

• Your results chapter would just present the results of the statistical tests. For example, correlation results or differences between groups. In other words, the processed numbers.
• Your discussion chapter would explain what the numbers mean in relation to your research question(s). For example, Factor 1 has a weak relationship with consumer trust, while Factor 2 has a strong relationship.

Depending on the university and degree, these two chapters (results and discussion) are sometimes merged into one , so be sure to check with your institution what their preference is. Regardless of the chapter structure, this section is about presenting the findings of your research in a clear, easy to understand fashion.

Importantly, your discussion here needs to link back to your research questions (which you outlined in the introduction or literature review chapter). In other words, it needs to answer the key questions you asked (or at least attempt to answer them).

For example, if we look at the sample research topic:

In this case, the discussion section would clearly outline which factors seem to have a noteworthy influence on organisational trust. By doing so, they are answering the overarching question and fulfilling the purpose of the research .

For more information about the results chapter , check out this post for qualitative studies and this post for quantitative studies .

Step 8: The Final Step Draw a conclusion and discuss the implications

Last but not least, you’ll need to wrap up your research with the conclusion chapter . In this chapter, you’ll bring your research full circle by highlighting the key findings of your study and explaining what the implications of these findings are.

What exactly are key findings? The key findings are those findings which directly relate to your original research questions and overall research objectives (which you discussed in your introduction chapter). The implications, on the other hand, explain what your findings mean for industry, or for research in your area.

Sticking with the consumer trust topic example, the conclusion might look something like this:

Key findings

This study set out to identify which factors influence consumer-based trust in British low-cost online equity brokerage firms. The results suggest that the following factors have a large impact on consumer trust:

While the following factors have a very limited impact on consumer trust:

Notably, within the 25-30 age groups, Factors E had a noticeably larger impact, which may be explained by…

Implications

The findings having noteworthy implications for British low-cost online equity brokers. Specifically:

The large impact of Factors X and Y implies that brokers need to consider….

The limited impact of Factor E implies that brokers need to…

As you can see, the conclusion chapter is basically explaining the “what” (what your study found) and the “so what?” (what the findings mean for the industry or research). This brings the study full circle and closes off the document.

Let’s recap – how to write a dissertation or thesis

You’re still with me? Impressive! I know that this post was a long one, but hopefully you’ve learnt a thing or two about how to write a dissertation or thesis, and are now better equipped to start your own research.

To recap, the 8 steps to writing a quality dissertation (or thesis) are as follows:

• Understand what a dissertation (or thesis) is – a research project that follows the research process.
• Find a unique (original) and important research topic
• Craft a convincing dissertation or thesis research proposal
• Write a clear, compelling introduction chapter
• Undertake a thorough review of the existing research and write up a literature review
• Undertake your own research
• Present and interpret your findings

Once you’ve wrapped up the core chapters, all that’s typically left is the abstract , reference list and appendices. As always, be sure to check with your university if they have any additional requirements in terms of structure or content.  

Psst... there’s more!

This post was based on one of our popular Research Bootcamps . If you're working on a research project, you'll definitely want to check this out ...

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20 Comments

thankfull >>>this is very useful

Thank you, it was really helpful

unquestionably, this amazing simplified way of teaching. Really , I couldn’t find in the literature words that fully explicit my great thanks to you. However, I could only say thanks a-lot.

Great to hear that – thanks for the feedback. Good luck writing your dissertation/thesis.

This is the most comprehensive explanation of how to write a dissertation. Many thanks for sharing it free of charge.

Very rich presentation. Thank you

Thanks Derek Jansen|GRADCOACH, I find it very useful guide to arrange my activities and proceed to research!

Thank you so much for such a marvelous teaching .I am so convinced that am going to write a comprehensive and a distinct masters dissertation

It is an amazing comprehensive explanation

This was straightforward. Thank you!

I can say that your explanations are simple and enlightening – understanding what you have done here is easy for me. Could you write more about the different types of research methods specific to the three methodologies: quan, qual and MM. I look forward to interacting with this website more in the future.

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions 🙂

Hello, your write ups is quite educative. However, l have challenges in going about my research questions which is below; *Building the enablers of organisational growth through effective governance and purposeful leadership.*

Very educating.

Just listening to the name of the dissertation makes the student nervous. As writing a top-quality dissertation is a difficult task as it is a lengthy topic, requires a lot of research and understanding and is usually around 10,000 to 15000 words. Sometimes due to studies, unbalanced workload or lack of research and writing skill students look for dissertation submission from professional writers.

Thank you 💕😊 very much. I was confused but your comprehensive explanation has cleared my doubts of ever presenting a good thesis. Thank you.

thank you so much, that was so useful

Hi. Where is the excel spread sheet ark?

could you please help me look at your thesis paper to enable me to do the portion that has to do with the specification

my topic is “the impact of domestic revenue mobilization.

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Write your thesis in 2 weeks: effective strategies for short-term thesis completion.

Embarking on the journey to write a thesis in just two weeks can be a daunting task, but with the right strategies and a solid plan, it is possible to complete this academic milestone successfully. This article provides a comprehensive guide to effective short-term thesis completion, offering practical advice on everything from laying the groundwork and managing time, to writing, revising, and preparing for submission. By following these strategies, students can navigate the intensive process with confidence and efficiency.

Key Takeaways

Develop a clear understanding of thesis expectations and requirements to ensure a focused approach to research and writing.

Create a detailed work plan and schedule, breaking down the thesis into manageable tasks with strict deadlines to maximize productivity.

Leverage time management tools and techniques to prioritize tasks effectively, and organize research materials for easy access and use.

Implement a robust drafting and revision process, incorporating feedback and peer review to enhance the quality of the thesis.

Understand the submission process, including formatting and defense preparation, to ensure a smooth completion and transition to post-submission stages.

Laying the Groundwork for Your Thesis

Understanding the expectations and requirements.

Before diving into the thesis writing process, it's crucial to grasp the full scope of expectations and requirements . This involves a comprehensive understanding of the academic standards and the specific guidelines set by your institution. Begin by reviewing the official requirements, which often include the expected structure, citation style, and the level of analysis or argumentation required.

To ensure you're on the right track, consider the following points:

The importance of integrating quantitative evidence and sophisticated arguments.

The necessity for information and technological literacy.

Familiarity with various formats for presenting your arguments, such as words, tables, or graphs.

Remember, a well-defined thesis is not just about the content; it's also about presenting it in a way that aligns with academic conventions and expectations.

Lastly, don't overlook the practical aspects of thesis preparation, such as understanding funding needs, proposal organization, and the timeline for completing each section of your work. These elements are just as critical as the intellectual components of your thesis.

Developing a Clear Thesis Statement

A clear thesis statement is the backbone of any compelling thesis. It should present your main argument straightforwardly , serving as a guide for both you and your readers. To ensure clarity and focus, your thesis statement should address a particular aspect of your topic, avoiding vagueness and over-generalization.

When crafting your thesis statement, consider the following steps:

Identify the core question your thesis aims to answer.

Reflect on the specific angle or perspective you bring to the topic.

Condense your argument into a single, concise sentence.

Test the specificity and clarity of your statement by asking for feedback.

Remember, a well-developed thesis statement not only provides direction for your research but also sets the stage for a persuasive and coherent argument.

Refining your thesis statement may require several iterations. Be prepared to revise it as your understanding of the topic deepens and as you receive input from advisors and peers.

Creating a Detailed Work Plan and Schedule

A well-structured work plan and schedule are crucial for the successful completion of your thesis within the ambitious timeframe of two weeks. Start by establishing a working schedule that includes daily goals and benchmarks to measure your progress. This will help you stay on track and adjust your plan as needed when you encounter obstacles.

Week 1-2 : Initial Research and Topic Refinement

Week 3-4 : Literature Review and Methodology Outline

Week 5-6 : Data Collection and Analysis

Week 7 : Drafting the Thesis Introduction

Week 8-9 : Writing the Main Body (Chapters/Sections)

Week 10-11 : Conclusion and Abstract

Week 12-13 : Revision and Peer Review

Week 14 : Final Edits and Formatting

Anticipate difficulties and be prepared to work with them. It's essential to remain flexible and adapt your schedule to the evolving nature of your research. Regularly assess your progress against the established benchmarks and adjust your plan accordingly.

Remember, the key to a successful short-term thesis completion is not just hard work, but also smart planning. By breaking down your tasks into manageable chunks and setting clear deadlines, you can maintain a steady pace and avoid last-minute panic.

Mastering Time Management and Organization

Prioritizing tasks and setting realistic deadlines.

To write your thesis in a mere two weeks, prioritizing tasks and setting realistic deadlines is crucial. Begin by identifying the most critical components of your thesis and allocate more time to these areas. Break down your thesis into smaller, manageable tasks and set deadlines for each. This approach ensures that you make consistent progress and don't become overwhelmed by the enormity of the project.

Week 1: Research and Outline

Week 2: Drafting and Revising

Remember, the key is to stay on track with the deadlines you set for yourself. Adjust your schedule as needed, but always aim to meet or beat your deadlines to maintain momentum.

By setting intermediate deadlines for each task, you create a sense of urgency and accountability, which can significantly enhance your focus and productivity.

Utilize the academic calendar to your advantage, as students are generally responsive to structured schedules. Incorporate weekly goals that align with your thesis milestones, ensuring that each week brings you closer to completion.

Utilizing Time Management Tools and Techniques

In the race against the clock to complete your thesis, embracing effective time management tools is crucial . One such technique is the Pomodoro Technique , which involves setting a timer for focused writing bursts followed by short breaks, enhancing your creativity and productivity.

To systematically apply time management strategies, consider the following steps:

Embrace the Pomodoro Technique: Set a timer for focused writing bursts, then take short breaks.

Align with the academic calendar: Utilize inherent planning tools and respond to assignment deadlines.

Break down your thesis into subtopics: Treat each as an individual assignment to make consistent progress.

Remember, the key to effective time management is not just the tools you use, but also the consistency with which you apply them.

While tools like the Pomodoro Technique can boost focus and efficiency, integrating these strategies into a structured schedule can compound their effectiveness. By aligning with the academic calendar and treating each section of your thesis as a separate milestone, you can maintain momentum and stay on track.

Organizing Research and Resources Efficiently

Efficient organization of research and resources is pivotal for the successful completion of your thesis within a tight timeframe. Develop a systematic approach to managing your information, ensuring that everything you need is easily accessible and logically structured. Start by categorizing your resources into relevant topics and subtopics.

Similar articles

Cited by other articles

Links to NCBI Databases

Use tools like reference management software to keep track of your citations and bibliographies. For instance, EndNote 20 can streamline the process of organizing your literature review and managing your references. Additionally, consider using software like G*Power for statistical analysis planning, such as determining appropriate sample sizes.

By maintaining a clear and organized workspace, both physically and digitally, you can minimize distractions and enhance your focus, leading to more productive writing sessions.

Writing and Revising Your Thesis

Drafting your thesis with focus and efficiency.

When the time comes to draft your thesis , efficiency and focus are paramount. Begin by breaking down the thesis into manageable sections, each with a specific goal. This approach not only simplifies the writing process but also helps maintain a clear direction throughout your work.

Outline each chapter before writing.

Allocate time slots for each section.

Set daily goals for word count or pages.

Remember, the quality of your draft is as important as the pace at which you write. Aim for clarity and conciseness in your initial drafts to facilitate easier revisions later on.

Utilize the feedback from your advisors and peers to refine your draft. Incorporate their insights to strengthen your arguments and ensure that your thesis meets the required academic standards. By staying organized and adhering to your schedule, you can produce a comprehensive and well-argued thesis within the two-week timeframe.

Incorporating Feedback and Peer Review

Once you have a draft of your thesis, it's crucial to engage in the peer review process. Peer review acts as a critical checkpoint before finalizing your document. It's a time to receive constructive criticism and to view your work from a fresh perspective. To make the most of this phase, follow these steps:

Complete a second reading of your peer's draft to identify strengths and weaknesses.

Make comments on the margins, focusing on areas that can be improved.

Discuss potential problems and alternative strategies with your peers.

Incorporate changes into your draft based on the feedback received.

Remember, the goal of peer review is not to rewrite your thesis but to refine it. It's about polishing your work and ensuring clarity, coherence, and scholarly rigor.

After incorporating the initial round of feedback, consider seeking additional insights from faculty members or experts in your field. This can be done during later stages of the review process, where more specialized advice can be invaluable. Use the feedback to revise your grant proposals or thesis chapters, and prepare for subsequent discussions or presentations.

Strategies for Effective Revision and Editing

Effective revision and editing are crucial for refining your thesis and ensuring clarity and coherence. Develop a systematic approach to revising each section of your thesis to maintain a consistent quality throughout. Start by addressing the larger structural issues before focusing on sentence-level details.

Review the organization of your chapters and sections for logical flow.

Check for clarity in your arguments and the relevance of your data.

Ensure that your writing is concise and free of jargon.

Correct grammatical errors and check for proper citation formatting.

Remember, revision is not just about correcting mistakes, but also about enhancing the strength of your argument and the overall readability of your thesis.

Incorporate feedback from peers and advisors diligently. They can provide valuable insights that you might have missed. Use their comments to guide your revisions and consider creating a checklist to track changes.

Lastly, allow time for multiple rounds of editing. A rushed job can overlook subtle errors and weaken your thesis. Patience and attention to detail during this phase will pay off in the quality of your final submission.

Overcoming Common Obstacles

Addressing procrastination and motivation issues.

Procrastination and waning motivation are frequent challenges in the thesis writing process. Stay aware of your motivation levels and take proactive steps to rejuvenate them, ensuring you avoid burnout and maintain a steady workflow. To combat procrastination, consider the following strategies:

Break down your thesis into smaller, manageable tasks.

Set clear, achievable goals for each writing session.

Reward yourself for meeting targets to maintain motivation.

Use productivity tools to track progress and stay focused.

Remember, consistency is key. Regular short sessions are often more productive than irregular, lengthy ones.

It's also beneficial to understand that motivation fluctuates and it's normal to have periods of lower productivity. During these times, it's crucial to adjust your schedule and tasks to accommodate your current state, rather than forcing an unrealistic pace.

Managing Performance Anxiety and Stress

Completing a thesis in a short timeframe can often lead to heightened performance anxiety and stress . It's crucial to acknowledge these feelings and address them proactively. Here are some strategies to help manage stress during this intense period:

Recognize the signs of stress early and take action.

Break down tasks into manageable chunks to avoid feeling overwhelmed.

Engage in regular physical activity to reduce tension.

Ensure adequate sleep and nutrition to maintain energy levels.

Practice relaxation techniques such as deep breathing or meditation.

Remember, managing stress is not about eliminating it completely but learning to cope with it effectively. By incorporating stress management techniques into your daily routine, you can maintain a healthier state of mind and improve your overall productivity.

Additionally, workshops and support groups, like those offered by Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), can provide valuable skills and community support. For instance, CAPS' weekly sessions on topics such as 'Managing Performance/Test Anxiety' and 'Confidence Boost' can be instrumental in building resilience.

Staying Consistent and Maintaining Confidence

Maintaining a consistent work ethic and keeping your confidence high are crucial for the successful completion of your thesis in a short timeframe. Developing a routine and sticking to it can help you stay on track and avoid the pitfalls of procrastination. Regularly review your progress and adjust your schedule as needed to ensure you are meeting your goals.

Week 6: Confidence Boost

Week 7: Creating Consistency

These steps, as part of a structured program, can significantly aid in building the confidence and consistency needed for your thesis journey. Qualitatively, participants in similar programs have reported a notable increase in confidence and motivation, which can be attributed to the structured guidance and mentorship provided.

Remember, the journey of thesis writing is not just about the end product but also about the personal growth and empowerment you experience along the way.

Finally, make the most of your thesis supervision . Manage feedback effectively, plan your meetings strategically, and navigate any challenges with resilience. This approach will not only help you maintain consistency but also bolster your confidence throughout the thesis writing process.

Final Preparations and Submission

Formatting and preparing your thesis for defense.

As you approach the final stages of your thesis journey, formatting and preparing your thesis for defense becomes crucial. The visual presentation of your work should not be underestimated; it reflects the quality and professionalism of your research. To ensure your thesis meets the required standards, consult the comprehensive guidelines provided on the 'Preparing to Graduate' page, and familiarize yourself with the submission timeline available on the GEPA Dissertation/Thesis Submission page.

Start by reviewing the formatting guidelines specific to your institution.

Gather all necessary co-author permission letters if applicable.

Attend webinars and workshops, like the 'SPRING GRAD DISSERTATION/THESIS SUBMISSION & FORMATTING WEBINAR', to gain insights into the submission process and formatting nuances.

Remember, the earlier you start preparing the formatting of your thesis, the smoother the process will be. Proactive preparation can prevent last-minute hurdles and ensure you meet all submission deadlines.

Incorporate the advice from the PhD Dissertation Defense Slides Design : show why your study is important, emphasize your contribution, connect your projects, and tell a compelling story. Keep your slides concise to maintain the attention and interest of your audience.

Understanding Submission Deadlines and Requirements

Meeting the submission deadlines for your thesis is crucial to ensure a smooth completion process. Different institutions have varying deadlines, often tied to the end of the academic semester or specific dates within the subsequent semester. For instance, the Cornell Graduate School policy requires the thesis to be submitted within 60 days of the final exam.

It's essential to familiarize yourself with the specific deadlines and requirements of your institution. Full details are typically available on the graduate school's website, along with resources such as webinars and FAQs to guide you through the process.

To avoid any last-minute hurdles, here's a checklist to keep in mind:

Confirm the final submission date and time for your thesis.

Ensure that you have completed all necessary forms and applications by the due date.

Attend any mandatory submission and formatting webinars offered by your institution.

Schedule preliminary and final review appointments if required.

Remember, adhering to these guidelines is not just about meeting a deadline; it's about respecting the process and giving your work the professional presentation it deserves.

Post-Submission: What to Expect and Next Steps

After the submission of your thesis , a period of waiting begins. It's essential to understand what comes next and how to navigate the post-submission phase. Here's what you can generally expect:

Review and Feedback : Your thesis will undergo a review process, which may involve peer feedback. This is a critical time to be receptive to constructive criticism and ready to make necessary revisions.

Timeline Awareness : Be aware of the timeline for responses from your committee or funding agencies. Deadlines for submission often coincide with the end of the semester, but responses may come in the subsequent semester.

Preparation for Defense : If your program requires it, begin preparing for your thesis defense. This includes understanding the format, anticipating questions, and rehearsing your presentation.

Remember, the submission is not the end of your journey. Use this time to reflect on your work, consider potential improvements, and prepare for the next steps in your academic or professional career.

Finally, stay informed about the formalities. Full information on submission and formatting is typically available on your institution's 'Preparing to Graduate' page. A detailed timeline for the process can also be found on the relevant submission page. Keep these resources handy to ensure you meet all post-submission requirements.

In conclusion, writing your thesis in just two weeks is an ambitious endeavor that requires meticulous planning, unwavering dedication, and effective time management. By leveraging the strategies discussed in this article, such as setting clear goals, maintaining motivation, utilizing procrastination tools, and managing performance anxiety, you can navigate the intense period of thesis completion with confidence. Remember, consistency and well-being are crucial to sustaining focus and producing quality work under tight deadlines. While this guide provides a structured approach, it's important to tailor these strategies to your individual needs and circumstances. With the right mindset and tools, you can transform the daunting task of short-term thesis completion into a successful academic achievement.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can i attend thesis preparation workshops if i'm defending in a future quarter.

Yes, attending thesis preparation workshops earlier can be beneficial for understanding the formatting and organization of your thesis or dissertation.

Is it possible to incorporate peer review feedback into my thesis within the two-week timeframe?

Yes, allocating specific time for incorporating peer review feedback into your schedule is crucial and can be managed within two weeks with focused effort.

How can a course-based approach assist in meeting thesis submission deadlines?

A course-based approach provides structure, sets intermediate deadlines, and integrates time management tools that align with academic calendars, aiding in timely completion.

Can I schedule a preliminary appointment for my thesis defense early on?

It is not recommended to schedule a preliminary appointment too early. It is more beneficial to have a complete and formatted thesis/dissertation before the appointment.

What are the deadlines for submitting my dissertation or thesis?

Submission deadlines vary by institution, but it's essential to understand and adhere to these deadlines well in advance to ensure timely submission.

How can I manage time effectively while writing my thesis in such a short period?

Utilize time management tools, create a detailed work plan with daily goals, and prioritize tasks to focus on the most critical aspects of your thesis first.

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How to tackle the PhD dissertation

Finding time to write can be a challenge for graduate students who often juggle multiple roles and responsibilities. Mabel Ho provides some tips to make the process less daunting

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Writing helps you share your work with the wider community. Your scholarship is important and you are making a valuable contribution to the field. While it might be intimidating to face a blank screen, remember, your first draft is not your final draft! The difficult part is getting something on the page to begin with. 

As the adage goes, a good dissertation is a done dissertation, and the goal is for you to find balance in your writing and establish the steps you can take to make the process smoother. Here are some practical strategies for tackling the PhD dissertation.

Write daily

This is a time to have honest conversations with yourself about your writing and work habits. Do you tackle the most challenging work in the morning? Or do you usually start with emails? Knowing your work routine will help you set parameters for the writing process, which includes various elements, from brainstorming ideas to setting outlines and editing. Once you are aware of your energy and focus levels, you’ll be ready to dedicate those times to writing.

While it might be tempting to block a substantial chunk of time to write and assume anything shorter is not useful, that is not the case. Writing daily, whether it’s a paragraph or several pages, keeps you in conversation with your writing practice. If you schedule two hours to write, remember to take a break during that time and reset. You can try:

• The Pomodoro Technique: a time management technique that breaks down your work into intervals
• Taking breaks: go outside for a walk or have a snack so you can come back to your writing rejuvenated
• Focus apps: it is easy to get distracted by devices and lose direction. Here are some app suggestions: Focus Bear (no free version); Forest (free version available); Cold Turkey website blocker (free version available) and Serene (no free version). 

This is a valuable opportunity to hone your time management and task prioritisation skills. Find out what works for you and put systems in place to support your practice. 

• Resources on academic writing for higher education professionals
• Stretch your work further by ‘triple writing’
• What is your academic writing temperament?

Create a community

While writing can be an isolating endeavour, there are ways to start forming a community (in-person or virtual) to help you set goals and stay accountable. There might be someone in your cohort who is also at the writing stage with whom you can set up a weekly check-in. Alternatively, explore your university’s resources and centres because there may be units and departments on campus that offer helpful opportunities, such as a writing week or retreat. Taking advantage of these opportunities helps combat isolation, foster accountability and grow networks. They can even lead to collaborations further down the line.

• Check in with your advisers and mentors. Reach out to your networks to find out about other people’s writing processes and additional resources.
• Don’t be afraid to share your work. Writing requires constant revisions and edits and finding people who you trust with feedback will help you grow as a writer. Plus, you can also read their work and help them with their editing process.
• Your community does not have to be just about writing!  If you enjoy going on hikes or trying new coffee shops, make that part of your weekly habit.  Sharing your work in different environments will help clarify your thoughts and ideas.

Address the why

The PhD dissertation writing process is often lengthy and it is sometimes easy to forget why you started. In these moments, it can be helpful to think back to what got you excited about your research and scholarship in the first place. Remember it is not just the work but also the people who propelled you forward. One idea is to start writing your “acknowledgements” section. Here are questions to get you started:

• Do you want to dedicate your work to someone? 
• What ideas sparked your interest in this journey? 
• Who cheered you on? 

This practice can help build momentum, as well as serve as a good reminder to carve out time to spend with your community. 

You got this!

Writing is a process. Give yourself grace, as you might not feel motivated all the time. Be consistent in your approach and reward yourself along the way. There is no single strategy when it comes to writing or maintaining motivation, so experiment and find out what works for you. 

Suggested readings

• Thriving as a Graduate Writer by Rachel Cayley (2023)
• Destination Dissertation by Sonja K. Foss and William Waters (2015)
• The PhD Writing Handbook by Desmond Thomas (2016).

Mabel Ho is director of professional development and student engagement at Dalhousie University.

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4 Strategies for Completing Your Dissertation

Students take about eight years to complete a doctoral degree — twice the time of a bachelor’s degree. Also, the average age of a doctoral student is 33. Many doctoral students work full-time and have families and outside responsibilities than can make completing a dissertation an impossible task. In fact, almost half of all doctoral students complete their course work but not their dissertation.

This article explains how to avoid the dreaded doctoral degree attrition — by being your own manager, surrounding yourself with wise people, developing a professional relationship with your chair and creating good habits. You can increase your odds of finishing your dissertation by following these four steps.

No. 1. Practice time management, be organized and meet deadlines.  Time management is essential. Make two-week deadlines for every part of the dissertation process, including reading, writing, edits and meetings. Set your own goals for dates on writing your proposal, defending your proposal, seeking IRB approval, conducting your research, conducting your analysis, writing chapters and preparing for your defense. Create deadlines for each week and always stick to them.

Once you start dissertating, don’t spend fewer than 10 hours a week researching, writing, editing and  repeat . Schedule this time in. Dissertating now becomes your priority and routine. Cut out extra noise in your life. Trying to be a rock star at work, doing PTA work for your kids or committee work, teaching extra courses, taking lunch breaks, working out and sleeping all need to get cut out of your life. I’m kidding … OK, only a little. Make your dissertation a priority to be done in a year. Dragging this out even longer will make you feel like you are scratching your nails on a chalkboard.

Organize a folder on your cloud drive that has subfolders for chapters, presentations, tables, figures, meeting notes and example dissertations. You might create at least five drafts of every chapter, so this will help keep you organized.

Know your graduate school’s deadlines. There is the defense notification deadline, the abstract deadline, the application to graduate deadline, commencement RSVP, regalia purchases at the bookstore deadline, the defense deadline, submission of dissertation for formatting review and the defer commencement walk deadline (optional). Oh, and you need to complete forms for all these deadlines. Knowing all this information — and your faculty or staff liaisons in the graduate school and your college — is important. It is not your chair’s job to remind you.

No. 2. Surround yourself with wise and supportive people.  Get your life partner on board with you. Let your partner read this article and let them say to you, “I love you, I support you, I’m right here to help you to the finish line.” Then specifically outline what you need from your partner. I told my husband to do all the dishes, take out all the trash, take our son to school, grocery shop every Saturday (I wrote the list), help me prepare meals on Sundays and let me shower once a day in peace. I also let him know I’d need to write on some Sundays, so he’d better prepare for life as a single dad. You need a “unicorn partner,” so turn yours into one for a year.

Second to your life partner, get your boss on board with you. I told my boss I was ready to finish and asked him to give me one working day a week to complete my dissertation. He agreed, and I promised him I would always put work first, use lunch breaks if needed and come in to work early.

Before bothering your chair with questions, first ask other sources — such as your other doctoral candidate friends or your graduate school writing center — and research answers online. Also ask your doctoral friends for their favorite statistical analysis books. This will help you with references for your methodology chapter.

Hire a tutor if you are deficient in one area, like statistics, before bothering your chair with endless minor questions. It’s not their job to teach or reteach you statistics. For example, I hired a graduate student that knew STATA statistical software and paid him $400 cash for 16 hours of consulting. We met for four hours every Friday for a month.

Also, get help editing the final draft. Hire a professional editor if needed. In addition, have a staff member in the graduate school writing center help you. After staring at this document for more than a year, you are bound to make a few extra spaces, forget a comma or spell “from” as “form.” Get it perfect, and get it right … just one last time.

Read/skim at least 10 different dissertations using the methodology you like — whether quantitative, qualitative or mixed methods. Then pick your top three favorites. Do not plagiarize, but use the structure of your favorite dissertations as a guide for your own. This isn’t rocket science — don’t reinvent the wheel.

Finally, attend a dissertation proposal and defense. That will help you see the room, prepare you for what you need to bring, help you understand the flow of the process and help ease your fears.

No. 3. Develop a professional relationship with your chair.  Understand your department chair has a research agenda, courses to teach, service committees to deal with and a plethora of other dissertating students just like you. You are a small part of their life. Don’t take advantage of this, because you will wear them out for future students.

Have a solid conversation with your chair at least once a year, either face-to-face or on Skype. Get your check-ins with your chair down to every two weeks and make good use of their time and expertise for the 20 minutes you have their attention. Remember, meetings with your chair are effective by phone or online. Learn Zoom and Skype for Business.

When your chair says, “You might want to …,” “investigate …,” “maybe I suggest …,” know that isn’t really an invitation to intellectually debate. Don’t argue — rather, write down what they have to say, and go do it. At this point, your chair has listened to you and is giving you words of wisdom, not merely making suggestions. Take notes in every meeting with every committee member, then come back to your desk and type out your notes. This information is crucial to how you will prepare for your defense.

No. 4. Create excellent dissertation habits.  Before you solidify your topic, you need to research. Don’t bore your chair with endless conversations about what you could research. Simply present your chair with three ideas, and then let your chair pick one.

Save research articles on Mendeley or a system that works for you. I eventually printed out my 100-plus sources and put them in binders alphabetically.

The next step is to write an annotated bibliography of at least 30 peer-reviewed articles. Create at least three headings of general topics you are going to talk about. Then write a draft of your literature review. Present this to your chair and ask them about theories to use. Then go with the suggestions you receive and just start writing.

Take care of yourself physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Close the door to social media to simplify your life. Write when it’s a good time of day for you. Carry a notebook and pen to write things down, as you will start obsessing over your dissertation.

Know your APA manual; keep it close. Refer to it often. Also, keep the book  Complete Your Dissertation or Thesis in Two Semesters or Less  with you at all times. Read it often.

When presenting your proposal and your defense presentation, practice out loud at least five times. Type out what you will say in the notes section of your PowerPoint. Ask a recently graduated professor whom you respect for a copy of their PowerPoint, and use it as a template.

No single piece of advice will help you complete your dissertation, but these suggestions may help. Know that, in the end, completing your dissertation is worth it. You may finally feel like you have a seat at the table, and others finally listen to your wisdom and insight. A raise and promotion may even come your way. Good luck.

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Dissertation Strategies

What this handout is about.

This handout suggests strategies for developing healthy writing habits during your dissertation journey. These habits can help you maintain your writing momentum, overcome anxiety and procrastination, and foster wellbeing during one of the most challenging times in graduate school.

Tackling a giant project

Because dissertations are, of course, big projects, it’s no surprise that planning, writing, and revising one can pose some challenges! It can help to think of your dissertation as an expanded version of a long essay: at the end of the day, it is simply another piece of writing. You’ve written your way this far into your degree, so you’ve got the skills! You’ll develop a great deal of expertise on your topic, but you may still be a novice with this genre and writing at this length. Remember to give yourself some grace throughout the project. As you begin, it’s helpful to consider two overarching strategies throughout the process.

First, take stock of how you learn and your own writing processes. What strategies have worked and have not worked for you? Why? What kind of learner and writer are you? Capitalize on what’s working and experiment with new strategies when something’s not working. Keep in mind that trying out new strategies can take some trial-and-error, and it’s okay if a new strategy that you try doesn’t work for you. Consider why it may not have been the best for you, and use that reflection to consider other strategies that might be helpful to you.

Second, break the project into manageable chunks. At every stage of the process, try to identify specific tasks, set small, feasible goals, and have clear, concrete strategies for achieving each goal. Small victories can help you establish and maintain the momentum you need to keep yourself going.

Below, we discuss some possible strategies to keep you moving forward in the dissertation process.

Pre-dissertation planning strategies

Get familiar with the Graduate School’s Thesis and Dissertation Resources .

Learn how to use a citation-manager and a synthesis matrix to keep track of all of your source information.

Skim other dissertations from your department, program, and advisor. Enlist the help of a librarian or ask your advisor for a list of recent graduates whose work you can look up. Seeing what other people have done to earn their PhD can make the project much less abstract and daunting. A concrete sense of expectations will help you envision and plan. When you know what you’ll be doing, try to find a dissertation from your department that is similar enough that you can use it as a reference model when you run into concerns about formatting, structure, level of detail, etc.

Think carefully about your committee . Ideally, you’ll be able to select a group of people who work well with you and with each other. Consult with your advisor about who might be good collaborators for your project and who might not be the best fit. Consider what classes you’ve taken and how you “vibe” with those professors or those you’ve met outside of class. Try to learn what you can about how they’ve worked with other students. Ask about feedback style, turnaround time, level of involvement, etc., and imagine how that would work for you.

Sketch out a sensible drafting order for your project. Be open to writing chapters in “the wrong order” if it makes sense to start somewhere other than the beginning. You could begin with the section that seems easiest for you to write to gain momentum.

Design a productivity alliance with your advisor . Talk with them about potential projects and a reasonable timeline. Discuss how you’ll work together to keep your work moving forward. You might discuss having a standing meeting to discuss ideas or drafts or issues (bi-weekly? monthly?), your advisor’s preferences for drafts (rough? polished?), your preferences for what you’d like feedback on (early or late drafts?), reasonable turnaround time for feedback (a week? two?), and anything else you can think of to enter the collaboration mindfully.

Design a productivity alliance with your colleagues . Dissertation writing can be lonely, but writing with friends, meeting for updates over your beverage of choice, and scheduling non-working social times can help you maintain healthy energy. See our tips on accountability strategies for ideas to support each other.

Productivity strategies

Write when you’re most productive. When do you have the most energy? Focus? Creativity? When are you most able to concentrate, either because of your body rhythms or because there are fewer demands on your time? Once you determine the hours that are most productive for you (you may need to experiment at first), try to schedule those hours for dissertation work. See the collection of time management tools and planning calendars on the Learning Center’s Tips & Tools page to help you think through the possibilities. If at all possible, plan your work schedule, errands and chores so that you reserve your productive hours for the dissertation.

Put your writing time firmly on your calendar . Guard your writing time diligently. You’ll probably be invited to do other things during your productive writing times, but do your absolute best to say no and to offer alternatives. No one would hold it against you if you said no because you’re teaching a class at that time—and you wouldn’t feel guilty about saying no. Cultivating the same hard, guilt-free boundaries around your writing time will allow you preserve the time you need to get this thing done!

Develop habits that foster balance . You’ll have to work very hard to get this dissertation finished, but you can do that without sacrificing your physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. Think about how you can structure your work hours most efficiently so that you have time for a healthy non-work life. It can be something as small as limiting the time you spend chatting with fellow students to a few minutes instead of treating the office or lab as a space for extensive socializing. Also see above for protecting your time.

Write in spaces where you can be productive. Figure out where you work well and plan to be there during your dissertation work hours. Do you get more done on campus or at home? Do you prefer quiet and solitude, like in a library carrel? Do you prefer the buzz of background noise, like in a coffee shop? Are you aware of the UNC Libraries’ list of places to study ? If you get “stuck,” don’t be afraid to try a change of scenery. The variety may be just enough to get your brain going again.

Work where you feel comfortable . Wherever you work, make sure you have whatever lighting, furniture, and accessories you need to keep your posture and health in good order. The University Health and Safety office offers guidelines for healthy computer work . You’re more likely to spend time working in a space that doesn’t physically hurt you. Also consider how you could make your work space as inviting as possible. Some people find that it helps to have pictures of family and friends on their desk—sort of a silent “cheering section.” Some people work well with neutral colors around them, and others prefer bright colors that perk up the space. Some people like to put inspirational quotations in their workspace or encouraging notes from friends and family. You might try reconfiguring your work space to find a décor that helps you be productive.

Elicit helpful feedback from various people at various stages . You might be tempted to keep your writing to yourself until you think it’s brilliant, but you can lower the stakes tremendously if you make eliciting feedback a regular part of your writing process. Your friends can feel like a safer audience for ideas or drafts in their early stages. Someone outside your department may provide interesting perspectives from their discipline that spark your own thinking. See this handout on getting feedback for productive moments for feedback, the value of different kinds of feedback providers, and strategies for eliciting what’s most helpful to you. Make this a recurring part of your writing process. Schedule it to help you hit deadlines.

Change the writing task . When you don’t feel like writing, you can do something different or you can do something differently. Make a list of all the little things you need to do for a given section of the dissertation, no matter how small. Choose a task based on your energy level. Work on Grad School requirements: reformat margins, work on bibliography, and all that. Work on your acknowledgements. Remember all the people who have helped you and the great ideas they’ve helped you develop. You may feel more like working afterward. Write a part of your dissertation as a letter or email to a good friend who would care. Sometimes setting aside the academic prose and just writing it to a buddy can be liberating and help you get the ideas out there. You can make it sound smart later. Free-write about why you’re stuck, and perhaps even about how sick and tired you are of your dissertation/advisor/committee/etc. Venting can sometimes get you past the emotions of writer’s block and move you toward creative solutions. Open a separate document and write your thoughts on various things you’ve read. These may or may note be coherent, connected ideas, and they may or may not make it into your dissertation. They’re just notes that allow you to think things through and/or note what you want to revisit later, so it’s perfectly fine to have mistakes, weird organization, etc. Just let your mind wander on paper.

Develop habits that foster productivity and may help you develop a productive writing model for post-dissertation writing . Since dissertations are very long projects, cultivating habits that will help support your work is important. You might check out Helen Sword’s work on behavioral, artisanal, social, and emotional habits to help you get a sense of where you are in your current habits. You might try developing “rituals” of work that could help you get more done. Lighting incense, brewing a pot of a particular kind of tea, pulling out a favorite pen, and other ritualistic behaviors can signal your brain that “it is time to get down to business.” You can critically think about your work methods—not only about what you like to do, but also what actually helps you be productive. You may LOVE to listen to your favorite band while you write, for example, but if you wind up playing air guitar half the time instead of writing, it isn’t a habit worth keeping.

The point is, figure out what works for you and try to do it consistently. Your productive habits will reinforce themselves over time. If you find yourself in a situation, however, that doesn’t match your preferences, don’t let it stop you from working on your dissertation. Try to be flexible and open to experimenting. You might find some new favorites!

Motivational strategies

Schedule a regular activity with other people that involves your dissertation. Set up a coworking date with your accountability buddies so you can sit and write together. Organize a chapter swap. Make regular appointments with your advisor. Whatever you do, make sure it’s something that you’ll feel good about showing up for–and will make you feel good about showing up for others.

Try writing in sprints . Many writers have discovered that the “Pomodoro technique” (writing for 25 minutes and taking a 5 minute break) boosts their productivity by helping them set small writing goals, focus intently for short periods, and give their brains frequent rests. See how one dissertation writer describes it in this blog post on the Pomodoro technique .

Quit while you’re ahead . Sometimes it helps to stop for the day when you’re on a roll. If you’ve got a great idea that you’re developing and you know where you want to go next, write “Next, I want to introduce x, y, and z and explain how they’re related—they all have the same characteristics of 1 and 2, and that clinches my theory of Q.” Then save the file and turn off the computer, or put down the notepad. When you come back tomorrow, you will already know what to say next–and all that will be left is to say it. Hopefully, the momentum will carry you forward.

Write your dissertation in single-space . When you need a boost, double space it and be impressed with how many pages you’ve written.

Set feasible goals–and celebrate the achievements! Setting and achieving smaller, more reasonable goals ( SMART goals ) gives you success, and that success can motivate you to focus on the next small step…and the next one.

Give yourself rewards along the way . When you meet a writing goal, reward yourself with something you normally wouldn’t have or do–this can be anything that will make you feel good about your accomplishment.

Make the act of writing be its own reward . For example, if you love a particular coffee drink from your favorite shop, save it as a special drink to enjoy during your writing time.

Try giving yourself “pre-wards” —positive experiences that help you feel refreshed and recharged for the next time you write. You don’t have to “earn” these with prior work, but you do have to commit to doing the work afterward.

Commit to doing something you don’t want to do if you don’t achieve your goal. Some people find themselves motivated to work harder when there’s a negative incentive. What would you most like to avoid? Watching a movie you hate? Donating to a cause you don’t support? Whatever it is, how can you ensure enforcement? Who can help you stay accountable?

Affective strategies

Build your confidence . It is not uncommon to feel “imposter phenomenon” during the course of writing your dissertation. If you start to feel this way, it can help to take a few minutes to remember every success you’ve had along the way. You’ve earned your place, and people have confidence in you for good reasons. It’s also helpful to remember that every one of the brilliant people around you is experiencing the same lack of confidence because you’re all in a new context with new tasks and new expectations. You’re not supposed to have it all figured out. You’re supposed to have uncertainties and questions and things to learn. Remember that they wouldn’t have accepted you to the program if they weren’t confident that you’d succeed. See our self-scripting handout for strategies to turn these affirmations into a self-script that you repeat whenever you’re experiencing doubts or other negative thoughts. You can do it!

Appreciate your successes . Not meeting a goal isn’t a failure–and it certainly doesn’t make you a failure. It’s an opportunity to figure out why you didn’t meet the goal. It might simply be that the goal wasn’t achievable in the first place. See the SMART goal handout and think through what you can adjust. Even if you meant to write 1500 words, focus on the success of writing 250 or 500 words that you didn’t have before.

Remember your “why.” There are a whole host of reasons why someone might decide to pursue a PhD, both personally and professionally. Reflecting on what is motivating to you can rekindle your sense of purpose and direction.

Get outside support . Sometimes it can be really helpful to get an outside perspective on your work and anxieties as a way of grounding yourself. Participating in groups like the Dissertation Support group through CAPS and the Dissertation Boot Camp can help you see that you’re not alone in the challenges. You might also choose to form your own writing support group with colleagues inside or outside your department.

Understand and manage your procrastination . When you’re writing a long dissertation, it can be easy to procrastinate! For instance, you might put off writing because the house “isn’t clean enough” or because you’re not in the right “space” (mentally or physically) to write, so you put off writing until the house is cleaned and everything is in its right place. You may have other ways of procrastinating. It can be helpful to be self-aware of when you’re procrastinating and to consider why you are procrastinating. It may be that you’re anxious about writing the perfect draft, for example, in which case you might consider: how can I focus on writing something that just makes progress as opposed to being “perfect”? There are lots of different ways of managing procrastination; one way is to make a schedule of all the things you already have to do (when you absolutely can’t write) to help you visualize those chunks of time when you can. See this handout on procrastination for more strategies and tools for managing procrastination.

Your topic, your advisor, and your committee: Making them work for you

By the time you’ve reached this stage, you have probably already defended a dissertation proposal, chosen an advisor, and begun working with a committee. Sometimes, however, those three elements can prove to be major external sources of frustration. So how can you manage them to help yourself be as productive as possible?

Managing your topic

Remember that your topic is not carved in stone . The research and writing plan suggested in your dissertation proposal was your best vision of the project at that time, but topics evolve as the research and writing progress. You might need to tweak your research question a bit to reduce or adjust the scope, you might pare down certain parts of the project or add others. You can discuss your thoughts on these adjustments with your advisor at your check ins.

Think about variables that could be cut down and how changes would affect the length, depth, breadth, and scholarly value of your study. Could you cut one or two experiments, case studies, regions, years, theorists, or chapters and still make a valuable contribution or, even more simply, just finish?

Talk to your advisor about any changes you might make . They may be quite sympathetic to your desire to shorten an unwieldy project and may offer suggestions.

Look at other dissertations from your department to get a sense of what the chapters should look like. Reverse-outline a few chapters so you can see if there’s a pattern of typical components and how information is sequenced. These can serve as models for your own dissertation. See this video on reverse outlining to see the technique.

Managing your advisor

Embrace your evolving status . At this stage in your graduate career, you should expect to assume some independence. By the time you finish your project, you will know more about your subject than your committee does. The student/teacher relationship you have with your advisor will necessarily change as you take this big step toward becoming their colleague.

Revisit the alliance . If the interaction with your advisor isn’t matching the original agreement or the original plan isn’t working as well as it could, schedule a conversation to revisit and redesign your working relationship in a way that could work for both of you.

Be specific in your feedback requests . Tell your advisor what kind of feedback would be most helpful to you. Sometimes an advisor can be giving unhelpful or discouraging feedback without realizing it. They might make extensive sentence-level edits when you really need conceptual feedback, or vice-versa, if you only ask generally for feedback. Letting your advisor know, very specifically, what kinds of responses will be helpful to you at different stages of the writing process can help your advisor know how to help you.

Don’t hide . Advisors can be most helpful if they know what you are working on, what problems you are experiencing, and what progress you have made. If you haven’t made the progress you were hoping for, it only makes it worse if you avoid talking to them. You rob yourself of their expertise and support, and you might start a spiral of guilt, shame, and avoidance. Even if it’s difficult, it may be better to be candid about your struggles.

Talk to other students who have the same advisor . You may find that they have developed strategies for working with your advisor that could help you communicate more effectively with them.

If you have recurring problems communicating with your advisor , you can make a change. You could change advisors completely, but a less dramatic option might be to find another committee member who might be willing to serve as a “secondary advisor” and give you the kinds of feedback and support that you may need.

Managing your committee

Design the alliance . Talk with your committee members about how much they’d like to be involved in your writing process, whether they’d like to see chapter drafts or the complete draft, how frequently they’d like to meet (or not), etc. Your advisor can guide you on how committees usually work, but think carefully about how you’d like the relationship to function too.

Keep in regular contact with your committee , even if they don’t want to see your work until it has been approved by your advisor. Let them know about fellowships you receive, fruitful research excursions, the directions your thinking is taking, and the plans you have for completion. In short, keep them aware that you are working hard and making progress. Also, look for other ways to get facetime with your committee even if it’s not a one-on-one meeting. Things like speaking with them at department events, going to colloquiums or other events they organize and/or attend regularly can help you develop a relationship that could lead to other introductions and collaborations as your career progresses.

Share your struggles . Too often, we only talk to our professors when we’re making progress and hide from them the rest of the time. If you share your frustrations or setbacks with a knowledgeable committee member, they might offer some very helpful suggestions for overcoming the obstacles you face—after all, your committee members have all written major research projects before, and they have probably solved similar problems in their own work.

Stay true to yourself . Sometimes, you just don’t entirely gel with your committee, but that’s okay. It’s important not to get too hung up on how your committee does (or doesn’t) relate to you. Keep your eye on the finish line and keep moving forward.

Helpful websites:

Graduate School Diversity Initiatives : Groups and events to support the success of students identifying with an affinity group.

Graduate School Career Well : Extensive professional development resources related to writing, research, networking, job search, etc.

CAPS Therapy Groups : CAPS offers a variety of support groups, including a dissertation support group.

Advice on Research and Writing : Lots of links on writing, public speaking, dissertation management, burnout, and more.

How to be a Good Graduate Student: Marie DesJardins’ essay talks about several phases of the graduate experience, including the dissertation. She discusses some helpful hints for staying motivated and doing consistent work.

Preparing Future Faculty : This page, a joint project of the American Association of Colleges and Universities, the Council of Graduate Schools, and the Pew Charitable Trusts, explains the Preparing Future Faculty Programs and includes links and suggestions that may help graduate students and their advisors think constructively about the process of graduate education as a step toward faculty responsibilities.

Dissertation Tips : Kjell Erik Rudestam, Ph.D. and Rae Newton, Ph.D., authors of Surviving Your Dissertation: A Comprehensive Guide to Content and Process.

The ABD Survival Guide Newsletter : Information about the ABD Survival Guide newsletter (which is free) and other services from E-Coach (many of which are not free).

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Graduate College

4 strategies for completing your dissertation.

Almost half of all doctoral students complete their course work but not their dissertation. Sarah Schwintz gives some concrete advice for increasing your odds of finishing yours.

Students take about eight years to complete a doctoral degree -- twice the time of a bachelor’s degree. Also, the average age of a doctoral student is 33. Many doctoral students work full-time and have families and outside responsibilities than can make completing a dissertation an impossible task. In fact, almost half of all doctoral students complete their course work but not their dissertation.

This article explains how to avoid the dreaded doctoral degree attrition -- by being your own manager, surrounding yourself with wise people, developing a professional relationship with your chair and creating good habits. You can increase your odds of finishing your dissertation by following these four steps.

No. 1. Practice time management, be organized and meet deadlines. Time management is essential. Make two-week deadlines for every part of the dissertation process, including reading, writing, edits and meetings. Set your own goals for dates on writing your proposal, defending your proposal, seeking IRB approval, conducting your research, conducting your analysis, writing chapters and preparing for your defense. Create deadlines for each week and always stick to them.

Once you start dissertating, don’t spend fewer than 10 hours a week researching, writing, editing and repeat . Schedule this time in. Dissertating now becomes your priority and routine. Cut out extra noise in your life. Trying to be a rock star at work, doing PTA work for your kids or committee work, teaching extra courses, taking lunch breaks, working out and sleeping all need to get cut out of your life. I’m kidding … OK, only a little. Make your dissertation a priority to be done in a year. Dragging this out even longer will make you feel like you are scratching your nails on a chalkboard.

Organize a folder on your cloud drive that has subfolders for chapters, presentations, tables, figures, meeting notes and example dissertations. You might create at least five drafts of every chapter, so this will help keep you organized.

Know your graduate school’s deadlines. There is the defense notification deadline, the abstract deadline, the application to graduate deadline, commencement RSVP, regalia purchases at the bookstore deadline, the defense deadline, submission of dissertation for formatting review and the defer commencement walk deadline (optional). Oh, and you need to complete forms for all these deadlines. Knowing all this information -- and your faculty or staff liaisons in the graduate school and your college -- is important. It is not your chair’s job to remind you.

No. 2. Surround yourself with wise and supportive people. Get your life partner on board with you. Let your partner read this article and let them say to you, “I love you, I support you, I’m right here to help you to the finish line.” Then specifically outline what you need from your partner. I told my husband to do all the dishes, take out all the trash, take our son to school, grocery shop every Saturday (I wrote the list), help me prepare meals on Sundays and let me shower once a day in peace. I also let him know I’d need to write on some Sundays, so he’d better prepare for life as a single dad. You need a “unicorn partner,” so turn yours into one for a year.

Second to your life partner, get your boss on board with you. I told my boss I was ready to finish and asked him to give me one working day a week to complete my dissertation. He agreed, and I promised him I would always put work first, use lunch breaks if needed and come in to work early.

Before bothering your chair with questions, first ask other sources -- such as your other doctoral candidate friends or your graduate school writing center -- and research answers online. Also ask your doctoral friends for their favorite statistical analysis books. This will help you with references for your methodology chapter.

Hire a tutor if you are deficient in one area, like statistics, before bothering your chair with endless minor questions. It’s not their job to teach or reteach you statistics. For example, I hired a graduate student that knew STATA statistical software and paid him $400 cash for 16 hours of consulting. We met for four hours every Friday for a month.

Also, get help editing the final draft. Hire a professional editor if needed. In addition, have a staff member in the graduate school writing center help you. After staring at this document for more than a year, you are bound to make a few extra spaces, forget a comma or spell “from” as “form.” Get it perfect, and get it right … just one last time.

Read/skim at least 10 different dissertations using the methodology you like -- whether quantitative, qualitative or mixed methods. Then pick your top three favorites. Do not plagiarize, but use the structure of your favorite dissertations as a guide for your own. This isn’t rocket science -- don’t reinvent the wheel.

Finally, attend a dissertation proposal and defense. That will help you see the room, prepare you for what you need to bring, help you understand the flow of the process and help ease your fears.

No. 3. Develop a professional relationship with your chair. Understand your department chair has a research agenda, courses to teach, service committees to deal with and a plethora of other dissertating students just like you. You are a small part of their life. Don’t take advantage of this, because you will wear them out for future students.

Have a solid conversation with your chair at least once a year, either face-to-face or on Skype. Get your check-ins with your chair down to every two weeks and make good use of their time and expertise for the 20 minutes you have their attention. Remember, meetings with your chair are effective by phone or online. Learn Zoom and Skype for Business.

When your chair says, “You might want to …,” “investigate …,” “maybe I suggest …,” know that isn’t really an invitation to intellectually debate. Don’t argue -- rather, write down what they have to say, and go do it. At this point, your chair has listened to you and is giving you words of wisdom, not merely making suggestions. Take notes in every meeting with every committee member, then come back to your desk and type out your notes. This information is crucial to how you will prepare for your defense.

No. 4. Create excellent dissertation habits. Before you solidify your topic, you need to research. Don’t bore your chair with endless conversations about what you could research. Simply present your chair with three ideas, and then let your chair pick one.

Save research articles on Mendeley or a system that works for you. I eventually printed out my 100-plus sources and put them in binders alphabetically.

The next step is to write an annotated bibliography of at least 30 peer-reviewed articles. Create at least three headings of general topics you are going to talk about. Then write a draft of your literature review. Present this to your chair and ask them about theories to use. Then go with the suggestions you receive and just start writing.

Take care of yourself physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Close the door to social media to simplify your life. Write when it’s a good time of day for you. Carry a notebook and pen to write things down, as you will start obsessing over your dissertation.

Know your APA manual; keep it close. Refer to it often. Also, keep the book Complete Your Dissertation or Thesis in Two Semesters or Less with you at all times. Read it often.

When presenting your proposal and your defense presentation, practice out loud at least five times. Type out what you will say in the notes section of your PowerPoint. Ask a recently graduated professor whom you respect for a copy of their PowerPoint, and use it as a template.

No single piece of advice will help you complete your dissertation, but these suggestions may help. Know that, in the end, completing your dissertation is worth it. You may finally feel like you have a seat at the table, and others finally listen to your wisdom and insight. A raise and promotion may even come your way. Good luck.

Sarah Schwintz is senior director of student services for university programs at Texas Tech University.

Source:  https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2019/10/16/advice-successfully-finishing-your-dissertation

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Can I Write A Dissertation In Two Weeks? (Quick Answer)

by  Antony W

January 31, 2022

Imagine this:

Your dissertation is due in about 14 days. It’s 8,000 to 10,000 words long assignment and you haven’t written even a single word yet.

You know you should have started sooner, but the year has been quite tough for you. What do you do? Is two weeks even enough to write a dissertation this long?

You can write and complete a dissertation in two weeks if you dedicate yourself to working on it every day. Provided you’ve done your research and you already know what you want to talk about, it should be easy to put the words down.

You don’t have to fret if you seem already late with the project.

Sometimes being paranoid and scared of what would happen now that you’re running out of time can easily result in a writer’s block ,  which can make it even more difficult to complete your work.

In this guide, we give you some tips that you can use to complete your dissertation in just 14 days.

How to Write a Dissertation in 14 Days

1. start with proper planning.

The best way to write a comprehensive dissertation in two weeks is to write down a plan first.

Students who write 2,000 words in one sitting do so because they’ve mapped out their plans in a way that allows them to achieve such major milestones.

In your plan, determine what you need to include in the assignment, the right order to include them, and the number of words for each section.

Spend at most 4 days doing further research and reading, and then the next 5 to 7 days writing 1,000 to 2,000 words a day.

Make sure you’re sticking to the plan from the first to the very last day. Two weeks is a short time, so you can’t have time for procrastination in your plan.

With a high degree of discipline, it should be easy for you to use the plan to write the entire dissertation within the limited period.

2. Write Every Day and In Bits

The golden rule to getting a 10,000 to a 15,000-word dissertation completed in just 14 days or less is to write every day and do so in bits.

Rather than trying to write 4,000 words or more once, try to limit yourself to completing 2,000 words a day without fail.

You will need effective study habits   to get this done in good time. That means writing in a space free from distraction so you can meet your daily target.

If you can’t focus in your room, for example, go to the park, local library, or school library and write from there.

If your director or supervisor expects you to complete a 10,000-word dissertation, and you limit yourself to writing 2,000 words a day, you’ll finish writing in just 5 days.

That means you’ll have at least another full week to proofread, edit, and crosscheck your work for clarity, authenticity, and comprehensiveness.

There are days when you won’t hit the 2,000 words mark, and that’s completely fine, especially if you can write half that word limit.

The key thing here is to develop the habit of writing every day and, in the end, still have enough time left to do your editing. 

3. Write Section by Section

Two weeks is a limited time to write a dissertation fast. So you have to lay the foundation early after research to complete the project in good time.

Lay out each section and heading of the assignment, starting with the question, followed by objectives, and then the layout.

The layout of your dissertation should be as follows, exactly in the order presented below:

• Introduction
• Literature review
• Methodology
• Discussion and analysis
• Limitations
• Conclusions
• Recommendations
• Bibliography

Laying out your assignment in sections simplifies the project, especially since it allows you to add content with ease as you continue to write.

It even helps to break the monotony of sitting through hours of writing because you can focus on another section when you feel lost in one.

There’s no specific formula for writing each section, except to make sure you spent at least an hour in each section.

As long as you’ve done prior research and you know exactly what you’d like to say, this shouldn’t be a problem at all.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. what is the hardest part of working on a dissertation .

The hardest part of working on a dissertation assignment is the literature review section.

It’s also the most important part of the project that should take most of your time to research and write.

Be sure to check out our guide on how to write a literature review   if you need a refresher.

2. How many words should a dissertation have?

While there are several factors that determine the length of a dissertation ,  the assignment can be between 8,000and 15,000 words long.

Check with your director or supervisor to be sure of the expected word count because some programs have a variation in word count.

3. How many hours should you spend on a dissertation?

The answer to this question really isn’t black and white. In other words, how much you spend writing your dissertation depends on when you started working on the project.

If you’ve done in-depth research early and you already know what you want to write down, spending at least 4 hours a day working on the assignment can get you to finish the work in the shortest time possible.

Assuming you write 2,000 words every day, you should take about 10 days to complete your dissertation. 

Final Thoughts

There’s more to writing a dissertation than meeting the number of works. You have to research your topic thoroughly and make sure you get the structure and flow of the assignment right. 

Remember that you have a limited time already, so you cannot afford the luxury of procrastination.

Every day you delay brings you closer to failing the dissertation and missing the doctorate degree.

So spend a lot of your time researching, writing, and consulting until you get the work done. 

Don’t hesitate to ask for assistance if you feel stuck somewhere along the way. The team at Help for Assessment to guide you in any way you need.

Also, you can hire our dissertation writing service to get a team to work along with you so you get your dissertation completed within the 14-day period.

About the author 

Antony W is a professional writer and coach at Help for Assessment. He spends countless hours every day researching and writing great content filled with expert advice on how to write engaging essays, research papers, and assignments.

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Thesis and Dissertation: Getting Started

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The resources in this section are designed to provide guidance for the first steps of the thesis or dissertation writing process. They offer tools to support the planning and managing of your project, including writing out your weekly schedule, outlining your goals, and organzing the various working elements of your project.

Weekly Goals Sheet (a.k.a. Life Map) [Word Doc]

This editable handout provides a place for you to fill in available time blocks on a weekly chart that will help you visualize the amount of time you have available to write. By using this chart, you will be able to work your writing goals into your schedule and put these goals into perspective with your day-to-day plans and responsibilities each week. This handout also contains a formula to help you determine the minimum number of pages you would need to write per day in order to complete your writing on time.

Setting a Production Schedule (Word Doc)

This editable handout can help you make sense of the various steps involved in the production of your thesis or dissertation and determine how long each step might take. A large part of this process involves (1) seeking out the most accurate and up-to-date information regarding specific document formatting requirements, (2) understanding research protocol limitations, (3) making note of deadlines, and (4) understanding your personal writing habits.

Creating a Roadmap (PDF)

Part of organizing your writing involves having a clear sense of how the different working parts relate to one another. Creating a roadmap for your dissertation early on can help you determine what the final document will include and how all the pieces are connected. This resource offers guidance on several approaches to creating a roadmap, including creating lists, maps, nut-shells, visuals, and different methods for outlining. It is important to remember that you can create more than one roadmap (or more than one type of roadmap) depending on how the different approaches discussed here meet your needs.

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How to Write a Dissertation in Ten Days or Less

Published by Owen Ingram at January 27th, 2023 , Revised On April 19, 2024

Can you Complete your Dissertation in Ten Days?

Most students struggle at some point with deadlines, and we regularly get asked questions such as ‘Can you write a dissertation in a month?’ and ‘Can you write a dissertation in three days?’ We do not judge why you are in this situation, we’re here to help you get your dissertation done. The answer to the questions is yes. But of course, the less time you have, the more pressure you are under.

How Long Does it Take to Write a 10,000-word Dissertation?

This is a common question, as is “How long does it take to write a 7,000-word dissertation?” There is no figure in hours or days that answers this; it differs for everyone.  “Is it possible to write a 10,000-word dissertation in two days?” Well, yes. But you will only find out if you can do it when the two days are up. You need to get started immediately, follow our advice and use our dissertation guides . But we are not claiming it’s easy.

Can I Complete my Dissertation in 3 Days? How Fast do I Need to Write?

If you have to produce 10,000 words in ten days, you have to average 1,000 a day. If you have two days, then 5,000 per day and if you work on it for 12 hours each of those days, you need to turn out 417 words per hour. A tall order, but it can be done. Do not let panic or pressure overwhelm you; and remember, it is perfectly acceptable to ask for help . You can stop asking your friends ‘How quickly can you write a dissertation?’ You are going to show them how quickly.

Can I Really Produce 10,000 Words in a Week?

How long d oes it take to write a 10k word dissertation? To give you some perspective, most people speak this many words in a day with no effort. You probably have more than enough words in your notes. It will make a big difference if you have your research project results analysis done already. If this is the case, you ‘only’ need to write them up. If you already made a good start but you are having trouble progressing, maybe you just need to focus on writing up your findings or certain chapters or areas.

You might think your notes are messy and disorganised or that they lack the right academic sound. Regardless, do not think of this task as producing all 10,000 words, rather, it is laying out your notes, organising them, and giving them a more formal, academic tone.

Can you Write a Dissertation in a Day?

Can you write a dissertation in a day? This is surely the most demanding academic writing challenge. It means 100% focus and work: Type up your notes, ensuring they have an academic/formal tone to them. Keep going, section by section and as it grows, you will start to see your dissertation appear.

Preparing to Write your Dissertation Fast

Prepare to start work.

You know your subject well, and you have probably written many essays on it by now. The main difference is that this assignment is longer. So, let’s get started. You need to prepare well; normal life can be suspended for the time you will spend working. The first preparations to make concern you and where you are going to work.

Distractions and Interruptions

Turn off your phone and avoid TV. If you are really serious, you will really do it. When you procrastinate or allow yourself to be distracted, what do you do? Gaming? Staring out of the window? Baking? Make these things difficult or impossible to do. Be aware of something called productive procrastination. This is when you do something productive but it’s not what you are meant to be doing. Do not mistake activity for productivity. When you find yourself vacuuming around your desk, snap out of it.

I’m Writing my Dissertation all Week. Quiet, Please

Some people can work with music playing, and some need silence. Listening to words, whether sung or spoken, can distract you when producing text. If there is something that will help you, such as instrumental music, use it. Make sure everyone knows what you are doing and ask them to leave you alone (except for bringing you food and drinks). Can someone else handle your duties and obligations for a while?

Create a Work Area

Set up a workplace and de-clutter it. Remove irrelevant books and anything you can fiddle with. Gather all your materials: this means textbooks, notes on paper and in digital form. Your research is likely over, but you will need everything to hand.

Give all materials specific places and keep them there. As you use them, you will remember where they are. Putting them down in different places will mean time lost looking for them, which will add frustration to the work.

Do All of your Legwork Before Starting

Getting up and walking away from the desk unnecessarily uses time you do not have. Do not let shopping trips interrupt your work. If you do not have enough food and supplies in before starting, get them first. Certain foods/snacks can help get you through, maybe you can suspend your usual health regime for a while. You need to feel comfortable in this. But do not overdo the caffeine or sugar .

Make a Work Schedule

Look ahead at your available time and make a schedule. If you work 21 hours on the first day, you might find yourself burnt out the next day. Sleep when you have to, work when you feel good. How long can you realistically work each day? Be careful not to create an unrealistic schedule, you will not keep up to it and will become demoralised. Remember that writing the dissertation is only 1% of your entire course; it is acceptable to get help at this late stage.

Where to Start

Start here – write an outline.

As well as a work schedule, you need a dissertation structure . You may be tempted to think that making an outline for your dissertation is extra work, that it would be quicker to just start writing. That would be like going on a driving tour to every European country with no plan. Without regular destinations, you will drift about aimlessly.

You can save time by focussing only on the main parts of the dissertation. If you run out of time, it will be better if the parts not completed are the less significant ones, although ideally nothing should be left unfinished. This is an exercise in prioritisation: Write the most valuable, points-scoring parts first.

Sacrifices May be Necessary

With a tight time limit, you might have to make sacrifices. People with the luxury of time will spend a day or more on just the table of contents or references section . You might not have this option. The focus has to be on the rapid production of text and its quality; things like detailed formatting and page layout will be secondary.

Prioritising your Order of Work

In the detailed plan below, skip the greyed-out parts to start with. You can use this to create an outline by adding a note under each part of the different sections stating what you are going to include there. This is where the job starts to appear less daunting; 10,000 now becomes 2,000 for this section, 1,000 for that section… The mountain becomes a set of smaller hills. And the introduction section can be written after the body, it is easier and quicker that way.

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Writing the Dissertation Body

When you have an outline, you need to put some meat on those bones and build a body. Working from start to finish may be best (skipping the introduction), but the order you work in is your choice. If your notes are not in order, a quick way to identify notes that apply to the different sections is to mark them with different coloured highlighters as in the table above. This will draw your eyes to the relevant notes quickly. You can do this on your computer screen by highlighting similarly.

After the main body, the introduction is next. This will be easier to write because all the information will be fresh in your mind. What next? The appendices or the parts at the front? This should be your decision based on remaining time.

Good Practices for Writing your Dissertation

Ignore spelling and grammar.

Do not pay attention to spelling, grammar, and language rules at this stage. Attending to spelling and grammatical details as you work will distract you and spoil your flow. Spelling and grammatical mistakes do not matter in a work in progress. You can turn checking functions off until you reach the editing and proofreading stage. Concentrate only on writing up your notes, do not switch between tasks.

Attend to One Part of the Dissertation at a Time

Constantly switching between research, writing, and tidying up the reference section is inefficient. Each time you switch, your mind needs time to catch up then settle into that activity. By focussing, we mean you should do all the analysis in one session until it is finished, all the writing of major sections in another, and sorting out the reference section can be done in one sitting. Less switching saves time and usually turns out a better job.

Take Regular Short Breaks

Save and Back up Routinely

When you leave the desk, click to save your work. Also do this after any burst of writing, and at regular intervals. Back up your work on another drive too. This is one of the most important things you will write. Treat it as the valuable document that it is.

For when you resume work, make sure you know where you left off, highlight it if that helps. When you come back to your work the next day, sometimes you can’t remember where you were; it can be difficult to resume the same line of thought. A habit of Ernest Hemingway was to leave an unfinished sentence to come back to so that he could…

Have a Strict but Simple Method of Noting Sources

Every time you quote or paraphrase something, note the source. Use a simple referencing technique while writing that does not demand much time. One such method is for the first in-text reference, just put (1) after the quote, use (2) for the second and so on. Start a list of sources that correspond to each number. You could highlight the numbers in a specific colour so you can attend to them later and not miss any. Missing just one reference, even accidentally, will still count as plagiarism . Before you start, be absolutely clear whether you are including a reference list or bibliography . Completing your list according to the required style ( Harvard , Chicago, etc.) can be done in one session.

Get a Qualified Appraisal of your Work

You will need someone to read your finished work. Having it read by someone unfamiliar with the subject and the structure of dissertations will be unproductive. Ideally it should be someone who understands the topic. And these days that person need not be physically present; you can email your draft to someone to get an opinion on changes & improvements .

Writing your Dissertation in Days

We are not going to sugar-coat the task of producing a dissertation in days rather than months and weeks. It is not easy, and regardless of what caused you to have such a short time remaining, it puts all your work in jeopardy. When someone asks us “Can I complete my dissertation in three days?” we have to answer yes, you can, but… It depends on the individual, how much work you have done so far, your personal circumstances, your other obligations, how much of those three days can you dedicate to the task.

How to Write a Dissertation Fast Checklist

Frequently asked questions, can i write my dissertation in under a week.

The short answer is yes but there are several factors to consider that may help or hinder you. Few people have the support around them to allow them to drop all commitments and focus on just one task. Also, few people will have taken on such a large a task in such a short time before, and might become overwhelmed.

The dissertation is where your study course culminates; all the time, effort, and expense you have invested should come to fruition here. This might not be a good time for  maybe I can do it . Maybe you can make it to the bank before it closes. No? Oh, well, you can go tomorrow. Maybe I can write 10,000 words in a week. If the answer is no, the consequences are more serious.

This guide and all the other  dissertation guides  on this site are here to help you with every aspect of dissertation writing. You can also contact us directly through the chat box or Whatsapp.

I have to write my dissertation in three days. Where do I start?

Start by getting organised. Gather all the materials you need, create a work area, get rid of distractions, and if possible, delegate any obligations or chores to someone else for the duration. Then read this guide from the start. If you need further help when you are deep into the writing, just ask us. We exist just for this purpose. Our team and expert writers have handled almost every kind of dissertation emergency.

Can I do my research, analysis, and write my dissertation in ten days?

The more time you have, the better. But carrying out the research and analysis in such a short time will be very demanding. It can be done though; our team can do this in under a week. You would need a great level of support around you and an impressive level of determination and focus. If you supply the determination, we can provide the support .

What helped you finish your dissertation quickly?

To finish your dissertation quickly, prioritise tasks, set realistic goals, maintain a consistent work schedule, minimise distractions, seek feedback from advisors regularly, and break down the writing process into manageable chunks. Use effective time management techniques, such as the Pomodoro Technique, and stay organised with thorough planning and research strategies.

You May Also Like

Learn everything about Realistic Research papers and how to write a Realistic Research paper in our comprehensive guide.

The best font for a dissertation is clear and readable, such as Times New Roman, Arial, or Calibri, typically in size 12 for the main text.

Not familiar with how to proofread and edit your dissertation? Find out the best tips and do’s and don’ts of proofreading and editing a dissertation here.

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How to write a whole research paper in a week

Writing up a full research article in a single week? Maybe you think that’s impossible. Yet I have done it repeatedly, and so have students in my courses. This is an exceptionally joyful (even if demanding) experience: being so productive just feels great! You are not wasting any time, and a paper produced in one go is typically coherent and nice to read. Even if you are a slow writer, you can write a whole paper in a single week — if you follow my strategy. Read below about what you need to prepare and how to approach this project.

I wrote my first scientific research article in 7 days. It started as a desperate effort to stop my procrastination and “just do it”. But I was surprised what a positive experience it was: focused and efficient, I was making daily progress, feeling motivated and content. Finally, the fruits of my hard work were gaining shape — and they did it so quickly!

I realized it was highly effective to write up a paper like this: writing for the whole day, every day until the first draft was finished. My writing project was firmly present in my mind — I didn’t lose time catching up with what I have written in the last session. Since I was not doing anything else, my wandering mind settled in very fast, and I was getting into a routine. The daily progress was clearly visible and motivated me to continue. And the result was a coherent paper that was easy to revise.

Meanwhile, this paper-a-week approach is my favorite. That’s how I write my papers, and that’s what I teach to students. In on-site courses young scientists draft a whole paper in 5 days, writing one major section per day. At the beginning of the week, many participants have doubts. But at the end of the week, they are all excited to see how much they managed to write in just a single week.

If you would also like to try out this approach, then read on about the necessary preparations, the optimal setting, and a productive writing strategy.

If you would like to get support during the preparation, drafting and revising of your research article, check out my online course Write Up Your Paper .

Prepare well

• First, think about your audience and pick a suitable journal . This is an important step because the audience and journal determine the content & style of your paper. As a reference, pick two recent papers on a similar topic published in your target journal.
• Create a storyline for your paper. What is the main message you want to convey, and how are you going to present your results?
• Put together all the results that you need to present your story convincingly: collect the necessary data, finish analyses, and create figures and tables.
• Select and read the relevant background literature as well as studies you want to compare your work with. As you read, note down any point that comes to your mind as something to be mentioned in the Introduction or Discussion section.
• Draft a preliminary Abstract : it will help you keep the direction and not get distracted by secondary ideas as you write the individual sections.

Depending on how complete your results already are, you might need 2-4 weeks to finish all these preparations. To help you keep an overview, I created a checklist with detailed steps that you need to take before you attempt to write up your paper in a week. Subscribe to our Newsletter and get your copy of the checklist.

Reserve a whole week for writing

Now, writing a paper in a single week is a serious business. You can’t do it if you don’t focus solely on the writing and create good writing conditions. Therefore, I recommend the following settings:

• Find a place where you can write without distractions. I have written my first paper over the Easter holidays when there was nobody in the office. You might choose to write at home or in a library. Though if possible, the best is to go for a retreat: removing yourself from your everyday settings immensely helps focus on the writing.
• Cancel (all) social obligations for the week. While it’s crucial to relax in the evening, you want to avoid disturbances associated with social events. Anything that makes your thoughts drift away from your work because it requires planning, exchanging of messages with others, or simply because it’s too exciting is better left for some other week. On the other hand, a quiet meeting with a good friend over a glass of wine or beer might be just the perfect way to unwind and rest after a productive, yet exhausting day of writing.
• Get support from the partner, family or friends — if possible. It’s best when you don’t need to run errands, cook and clean during this week. If you live alone, you can probably easily arrange yourself for undisturbed work. If you live with other people, ask them for consideration and support.

What I described above are the *ideal* conditions for undisturbed writing. But don’t give up if you can’t create such conditions for yourself. Work with what is possible — maybe it will take you 7-8 instead of 5-6 days but that’s still a great result, right?

Do you need to revise & polish your manuscript or thesis but don’t know where to begin?

Get your Revision Checklist

Click here for an efficient step-by-step revision of your scientific texts.

Maybe you think that you can never ever draft a research article in a single week. Because you write so slowly, producing only few paragraphs per day. Well — I agree that if you don’t optimize your writing strategy, it would be hard to impossible to write up a whole paper in a week.

• Separate the processes of writing and revising. That’s the most important principle. Resist the urge to revise as you write the first draft. Moreover, don’t interrupt your writing to look up missing information. Work with placeholders instead. This allows you to get into the state of flow and proceed much faster than you can imagine.
• Start your writing day with 10 minutes of freewriting . Write without stopping about anything that comes to your mind. This helps you to warm up for writing, clear your head of any unrelated thoughts, and get into the mood of writing without editing.
• Take regular power breaks. I recommend to follow the Pomodoro technique : write for 25 minutes and then take a 5-minute break. After 3-4 such sessions take a longer break of 0.5-1 hour. During the breaks get up, walk a bit, stretch, look around, and breathe deeply. These breaks help you sustain high focus and productivity throughout the whole day.
• Eat and sleep well. What you are doing is similar to a professional athlete. So take care of your brain and body, and they will serve you well.
• Reward yourself. Every day celebrate the progress you have made. You have full right to be proud of you!

Write the individual sections in a reasonable order

If you have written a research paper before, you have probably realized that starting with the Introduction and finishing with the Discussion is not the ideal order in which to tackle the individual sections. Instead, I recommend the following procedure:

• Start with the Methods section. This is the easiest section to write, so it’s great as a warm-up, to get into writing without the need to think (and procrastinate ;)) too much. Look at your figures and tables: what methods did you use to create them? Then describe your methods, one after another.
• Results section: Writing the Methods section refreshes your memory about the research you have done. So writing the Results section next should not be too hard: Take one display object (figure or table) after another, and describe the results they contain. While you do so, you will come across points that need to be discussed in the Discussion section. Note them down so you don’t forget them.
• Introduction : When your results are fresh in your mind, you are in a great position to write the Introduction — because the Introduction should contain selected information that gives the reader context for your research project and allows them to understand your results and their implications.
• Discussion : When you have taken notes while writing the Results section, the Discussion section should be quite easy to draft. Don’t worry too early about the order in which you want to discuss the individual points. Write one paragraph for each point , and then see how you can logically arrange them.
• Abstract and title : On the last day, revise the preliminary Abstract or write a new one. You could also take a break of a few days before tackling the Abstract, to gain clarity and distance. Generate multiple titles (I recommend 6-10), so that you and your co-authors can choose the most appropriate one.

Just do it!

Once you have written the whole draft, let it sit for a week or two, and then revise it. Follow my tips for efficient revising and get your revision checklist that will guide you step-by-step through the whole process.

Now I am curious about your experience: Have you ever written up an academic article quickly? How did you do it? Please, share with us your tips & strategies!

Do you need to revise & polish your manuscript or thesis but don’t know where to begin? Is your text a mess and you don't know how to improve it?

Click here for an efficient step-by-step revision of your scientific texts. You will be guided through each step with concrete tips for execution.

7 thoughts on “ How to write a whole research paper in a week ”

Thank for your guide and suggestion. It gives to me very precious ways how to write a article. Now I am writing a article related to Buddhist studies. Thank you so much.

You are welcome!

excellent! it helped me a lot! wish you all best

Hi Parham, I’m happy to hear that!

I have never written any paper before. As I am from very old school.

But my writing skill is actually very good. Your help is definitely going to help me as this has inspired me alot. Will let you know, once done. I really like the outline that you have given. Basically you have made it so easy for me .

Hope fully will be in touch with you soon.

Thanks and ki d Regards, Shehla

Dear Shehla, that sounds great! I’m looking forward to hearing about your paper!

Comments are closed.

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I can't write my Masters dissertation and it's due in 2 weeks, in despair over it

StupendouslyStupid · 23/08/2019 20:05

Sorry defer prob wrong word in this context, head full of A levels students making uni choices. What I mean is if they even let me take a break I think I'd have to take a full year so basically delay everything by 2 years not 1. I don't think I could re join next year.

You poor thing. Maybe don't make a decision on deferring yet. You sound lile you're panicking and looking for a quick fix. I think you just need to start writing ideas down on a plain piece of paper (set a timer for 3 mins as the pressure might help you focus). Then just start. It's because it's so huge it seems daunting but (and this is my Dad's saying), just take one bite of the elephant... then you've started. Very best of luck.

Have you written anything yet? How many words are we talking?

I’d ask for the extension, you could do it in three weeks. What is the word limit? The best way to tackle a large project like this is to break it in to chunks. Don’t look it as an entire piece until near the end.

• Plan out sections - then do subsections.
• Try and write an outline for each section.
• When you are really tired fix the layout and do the references, you will be shattered by the end so if you have this finished in advance you will cry tears of joy.
• Remember a good thesis is a finished thesis. Do the best you can, take each day as it comes.

Hello OP. I don't know if it helps but when I'm struggling is to write against a timer. For example, in 45 minute sections. I often find thoughts are coming and the flow of writing has started. Before you start, can you section the work and spend an hour making bullet points for each section. It may be worth spending a greater proportion of your time on the sections with greatest weighting. Turn your phone onto flight mode so you are not disturbed. Good Luck!

How many words and what sort of project? Is there anything you can reuse from your proposal, if you did one? Two weeks is totally doable if you’ve done the actual work and all that’s left is to write it up. My advice is to have a large glass of wine and start typing away at whatever section is the easiest. Editing and refining can come later but I think it’ll get you in a better mindset if you get something down.

University lecturer here – I've supervised a number of students through difficult dissertations. and when I was younger, I also struggled with not being able to complete/submit written assignments. My key advice is: don't try to get it right, just get writing. The point isn't to write something you're proud of, it's to get the words on the page. If after that you have the time and the energy to turn those words into something better, then do so. But first just throw a bunch of words on the page so you have a first draft. Don't think or worry about the quality, just type. The point of the first draft is to get words on a page. Everything follows from that. Good luck!

You can do it in 2 weeks if you have done the actual research? What type of dissertation is it? Topic? The hardest part is starting typing. I bet once you start it will all flow.

Go and talk to your university, ask for a defferal, take the pressure off yourself. Take 48 hours, sleep look after yourself don't think about it. Structure is everything in a dissertation. Do you have a well defined research question? At the end of the day that is all you are trying to answer. So; Introduction and literature review, what are you doing, why is this important, what has been done before, what is the gap in the research. How does your dissertation fit into this. Research, what approach are you taking, why is this appropriate, how can you be sure your results will be valid, triangulation etc, what are the limitations to your approach, what could you do about those, what was outside of your control Results, what have you found out Discussion- Answer your research question? How do your findings relate back to the previous research in the literature review, what do you recommend, where should research go next? Maybe you can't answer the question, fine say that. What else would be needed?? Summary and Conclusion If you have done the research then you will have plenty to say. Just try bullet points to start with, get the structure right then just pad it out. Just be really clear on your research question to start with. You can do this.

I strongly agree with riotlady's advice to make wine your friend. Whenever I was struggling with my PhD thesis, I poured myself a very large glass of wine, took a huge sip, and just started typing. Work your way through half a bottle of wine, type the entire time, and make a judgement later about the quality. But just get typing (and drinking). During the PhD years, I tried as much as possible to take advantage of the reduced inhibitions that came from drinking. For example, if I felt a little bit tipsy in the evening I would sneak off to my computer and bash out a few paragraphs, not worrying about the quality but just trying to get words on the page. My motto was: might as well do this when I'm drunk, otherwise I'll have to do it when I'm sober.

Extension is a good idea rather than deferring. You are probably trying to write a great dissertation (obviously why wouldn’t you!) but this is where you get into the ‘perfection is the enemy of good’ territory. It is so much easier to edit and rewrite pieces. So just write a crappy version of your dissertation in the coming week and then have 2 weeks editing and rewriting. Why sort of length are you thinking it will be?

You can absolutely do this. Get the weeks extension. Then plan, plan, plan. What is your argument? What’s the best structure? Map that all out before you start. Them set yourself a word limit/sections to be covered everyday and stick to that rigidly. I agree with a PP, don’t aim for perfection. That will paralyse you. Words on a page, polish later (build in that time). Aim for 100% done at 60/70% of the quality you’d like. This is much better than the other way around.

You can do it! As PPs have said if you know what you want to say and you've done the research the actual writing up is very very possible in the amount of time you have. I wrote the last third of mine on the day it was due in and got a distinction for it, and if I can do it so can you. The key is to stop worrying about structure and footnotes and just get something down on paper. What do you think? Why do you think it? What other ideas did you consider and reject? Don't worry about tidying it up for now, just get it written down straight from what's in your head, no notes.

Need to read posts properly but see a few people have asked how many words, it's 10 thousand words. Confidence is shot as I did the sitting down and banging out a chapter before and my supervisor made it clear it didn't cut the mustard so I think part of it is I just feel embarrassed by my own ideas and opinions which is really unhelpful. Supervisor is a kind person and we get on quite well so wasn't trying to be spiteful either.

My PhD supervisor swore by writing with bottle of whiskey to hand. It wouldn’t have worked for me (I would have just fallen asleep) but I can see why it’s helpful for some.

Firstly - deep breath, it's gonna be OK. A dissertation is a massive undertaking and anyone that has written one, would have had the same moments of absolute terror and panic. Good news, you have over two weeks! The way it was suggested to me - I'm guessing you already have a topic? I'm also going to assume that you've done most of the reading/literature reviews (what others had said)? In that case, congratulations, you have already done more than you probably expected. In a 8000 word dissertation, around 1000 will be your intro, 3000 your literature review, then you findings/the main bit 3000 and finally a 1000 conclusion. Write your conclusion first - what have you concluded as a result of doing the research? Now write the introduction, what are you going to try and prove? As you have already written the conclusion, you should find that your intro tailors itself back to your conclusion automatically. Now the literature review - what have others said about your hypothesis? So all you now have to do is the middle 3000 bit, which is the research you would have done towards the hypothesis. You can probably do this in just over a week. That gives you a couple of days to then put it away completely. Then it's time to review and edit. Contrary to belief, a Masters doesn't have to be full of long words. As long as it reads well, makes sense and answers your question. And remember - absolute worse, If you have already completed 120 Masters credits (which again I am assuming as you are at the dissertation stage) - it means you could, even now, exit with a Post Graduate Diploma. You are gonna be OK.

Have I done the research? Honestly, I don't even know. I've read so much stuff. Sometimes I think I've understood and have those moments of YES! That really helps me argue my point! Then sadly a lot of the time I read stuff, have to read several times because my brain is so slow and still feel I haven't grasped what the writer is on about. I just feel so thick.

OP have you done the research? If it's just the writing up (and I know, it's not 'just') and you could get an extension, it's doable. Other posters have given good advice. I'm a bit surprised tho - what have you been working on with your supervisor? You mention writing one draft chapter? Is that all the supervisor has seen? Anyway .. I assume you have a lit review done from earlier in the year? So that's one part of the process done. I would then decide on a structure for each section / chapter. What I'd then focus on is the research element. Did you interview people? Do surveys? Focus groups? Primary research? Whatever original research you did, write it up now. Like a pp said, don't worry about style / being perfect, get it on paper Make an appointment ASAP with your supervisor and be really honest about where you are at. Get their advice. Also consult your university's library web site and check what guides they have on researching & writing, ditto university's Writing Centre. This is my area of work and most of these guides are very practical and will give you direct steps to take. If you haven't done original research and in-depth reading - re-consider submitting your thesis and consider taking a Grad Dip / PG Dip Instead. There's no point in submitting rubbish for the sake of it. Good luck 💐

Placemarking because I need to finish mine in the next academic year and I’ve had similar struggles with my essays so far ... good luck!

Sorry cross post! When I asked about research though, I mean original research, not reading. For example, interviews / surveys / gathering data / consulting primary sources. This is distinguishes a thesis from a long essay.

Can you pay someone to do it?

Assuming you are taking the piss @lucylouis 🙄🙄

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You can do it!! I feel the same, am on 11000 of 15000 and am struggling. But set little writing goals and rewards for doing 200 words (cup of tea , 5 minute wander around). Keep to what you want to say and just get it down. They can’t mark nothing but will give credit for what is there. If they accepted you onto a masters course then you have the ability. Just go for it!

If you like we can spur each other on? I'm also writing mine atm and am way behind where I should be due to hyperemisis.

My approach when I have writers block like this is to put each idea on a notecard. The smaller the ideas the better, but they don’t all have to be the same. You might have things like Law passed 1973 is relevant Talk about the social implications of x and maybe link it to y Make sure to mention that J is important Then once you have all those pieces floating around in your head written down, you can start shuffling cards until you can start to see an outline If you have done your prep, you can finish this in two weeks and especially three. You just have to find some way to start. I like my notecards, other people like to just type freeform, wine can help (but only for the first draft).

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How to Delete a Page in Word for Your Thesis/Dissertation? [For Students]

Writing today involves more than just putting words on a document; it requires management across various digital intricacies that can suddenly throw you off course. As a writer who spends hours working with document processors, I've learned how to solve those unexpected digital problems, like unwanted blank pages that appear without warning.

If you're a student dealing with those pesky blank pages just when you're about to submit an important assignment or thesis, it can be incredibly frustrating. In this article, I'll demonstrate to you how to get rid of those unwanted pages and keep your work neat and presentable.

Common Problems About Deleting a Page in Word

Blank pages can be a real headache. They sometimes appear out of nowhere, and other times, trying to delete them messes up your formatting. These are among the most common issues when it comes to deleting pages in Word, enough to make you want to tear your hair out.

1.Deleting a Blank Page Caused by a Table

If you're working on a thesis dissertation, you're likely to include tables to present and organize data. However, when using Microsoft Word, you might find an extra page appearing unexpectedly, and your table could be the reason behind it. This occurs because tables in Word end with a paragraph mark. If the table is at the bottom of a page and there's no room for the paragraph mark, Word automatically adds a new page. This can be frustrating when you're aiming for a polished, professional document. The good news is that you can resolve this issue with a few simple steps to keep your thesis looking its best.

2.Deleting Blank Pages in the Middle of a Document

Stray paragraph marks, page breaks, and section breaks are just a few reasons why extra pages appear in a document. This can be especially problematic when these unwanted pages appear in the middle of a long document, such as a thesis or a report. Deleting these extra pages can eventually be a massive pain in the back, especially when you need to maintain a consistent layout throughout the document.

How to Delete an Extra Page Caused by a Table

A simple backspace is clearly not going to help you as you try to remove the annoying extra page. But believe it or not these methods and steps on how to remove and delete blank page in Word, is actually pretty simple:

Reduce Paragraph Mark Font Size to Remove Blank Page After Table

A somewhat simple method to remove a blank page in Word caused by a table is by altering the font size, so let's explore this method:

Step 1 : First, open the document in Microsoft Word where the extra page was added due to a table.

Step 2 : Now, let's activate the paragraph marks by going to the “Home” tab and then clicking on the “Paragraph Marks” icon to show paragraph marks in your document.

Step 3 : You will see a single paragraph mark on the blank page, select it using your mouse.

Step 4 : Now, in the “Home” tab, reduce the font size in the “Font” section. You might want to reduce the font to as little as '1' to remove the blank page.

This method is viable and can be considered as a quick fix to remove blank pages caused by tables in Word documents.

Apply the Hidden Text Attribute

If you're wondering how to remove a blank page in Word, one approach involves hiding the unwanted page rather than completely deleting it. This method doesn't actually remove the page but makes it invisible when printing or sharing the document. It's a quick workaround, but keep in mind that the blank page still exists in the document structure. Here's how you can hide the blank page:

Step 1 : First, let's open the document in Word, and then click on the "Paragraph Marks" icon in the "Home" tab.

Step 2 : Next, let's select the paragraph mark on the blank page using the cursor and then right-click to open the Context menu.

Step 3 : Now, click on the "Font" option to open the Font dialog.

Step 4 : In the Font Dialog, go to the "Effects" section and then tick the "Hidden" checkbox, and then press "OK" to exit.

Step 5 : After that, hide paragraph marks by clicking on the "Paragraph Mark" icon in the Home tab.

Step 6 : Now you will see that the blank page has been hidden in the document.

Step 7 : However, if the blank page is still not hidden, head over to the "File" menu in the top left.

Step 8 : Now click on the "Options" button in the left side panel.

Step 9 : In the Options dialog, go to the "Display" tab on the left panel and then make sure the "Hidden" checkbox is unchecked. Click "OK" to exit the Options dialog.

This method is effective because by default, hidden content cannot be viewed and is not printed as well. However, they do occupy some extra space in the hard drive or cloud.

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How to Delete a Blank Page Amid Your Work in Word

Losing formatting while trying to remove a blank page from your document can be insanely frustrating, and it feels like hours of effort have gone to waste.To help you tackle this problem without losing all your hard work, I've outlined the steps below on how to delete a blank page in Word . These instructions are designed to be simple and easy that work across various platforms, including mobile, Windows, and Mac. For the demonstration, I'll use WPS Office, a free software that's fully compatible with Word documents and even allows you to convert files to PDF without affecting the format.

Using Navigation pane

Using the navigation pane provides a more comprehensive view of your entire document, allowing you to see all the pages at once. Let's take a look at how to delete pages in Word using the navigation pane.

Step 1 : In Microsoft Word, go to the View Tab and check the "Navigation Pane" checkbox in the Show section.

Step 2 : The navigation pane dialog box will appear on the left side of the screen. Click on the "Pages" tab to see an overview of the pages in your document.

Step 3 : Now simply scroll through the navigation pane, select the Blank pages, and press the "Backspace" or "Delete" key on your keyboard to delete the blank page from your document.

It was as simple as that. I can tell you were about to lose your cool because, as a writer, I've been there too, spending countless hours getting frustrated over something that seems trivial but isn't—like deleting a page. But once you know how, it's really simple. Knowing how to operate on a navigation pane is especially important when you're working on a thesis, where there are so many pages, and having a clear overview of your content is crucial.

The navigation pane can be a lifesaver, not just for deleting unwanted pages but also for quickly checking if everything is in order. It lets you easily skim through your document, ensuring you haven't missed anything or have extra pages hiding in plain sight.

How to Delete a Page with Text in Word

If you find an unwanted blank page in the middle of your thesis, you can remove it by following these methods to delete a page with text in Word:

1.Removing page break

Page breaks are simple shortcuts provided by Microsoft Word to insert a new page into the document. Without them, you'd need to press Enter repeatedly to begin a new page. However, these page breaks can sometimes go unnoticed and result in blank pages in a document, which may look undesirable in a thesis or dissertation. Here are the steps to remove the blank pages caused by page breaks in a document.

Step 1 : In Microsoft Word, go to the Home tab and click on the "Paragraph Marks" icon in the Paragraph section.

Step 2 : Once the paragraph marks are enabled, scroll down to the blank page in your document. You will see "Page Break" written in your document.

Step 3 : Either select it with your cursor or place the cursor right after the page break and press "Backspace" to remove the empty page from your document.

2.Use the Shortcut Ctrl+G and Navigation Pane

Now, let's suppose there are some empty pages in the document, and there are no page breaks or section breaks. Instead, a new page was created by pressing the "Enter" key on the keyboard several times. If there is such a blank page in your document, there is a simple method to quickly find the blank pages, select all the text on the blank page, and then delete it from the document. Let's look at the step-by-step process of deleting pages in Word:

Step 1 : So, let's open our thesis in Microsoft Word, and at the bottom left on the status bar, click on the "Page" option to open the navigation pane.

Step 2 : Now, in the Navigation pane, identify the blank pages in your thesis and click on them to select the page.

Step 3 : Next, press the shortcut key "CTRL + G" to open the "Go To" feature in Microsoft Word.

Step 4 : In the "Go to what" pane, click on "Page" and then in the "Enter page number" field, enter "\page".

Step 5 : Now, click on the "Go To" button, and you will notice the entire page has been selected in the background.

Step 6 : Simply "Close" the "Go To" dialog by pressing the "Esc" key on your keyboard, and then press the "Backspace" key to remove the blank page.

Students working on a thesis can breathe a sigh of relief with these methods. Removing blank pages in Word is simple and straightforward, making it easier to maintain a clean and organized document. Not only will these methods help you get rid of unwanted pages, but they'll also give you a better overview of your entire thesis, allowing you to focus on the content without worrying about formatting issues.

Use WPS AI to Polish Your Writing

WPS Office has done a great job by establishing a name for itself by offering a free, user-friendly alternative to expensive office software, providing a range of tools that are ideal for students across various fields. Now, with the introduction of WPS AI, it's making student life even easier by generating accurate content, providing writing assistance, and helping to refine English in a tone that suits your writing style. If you're a student looking to lighten your workload and improve the quality of your work, WPS AI could be a valuable addition to your toolkit. Start with WPS AI and see how AI can ease the burden of your academic tasks.

Converting Your Thesis/Dissertation to PDF Without Losing Format

It's definitely not rare to experience formatting issues when you convert your thesis to PDF at the last minute, especially when you're preparing for submission. This is a peak frustration moment, as you thought you were all set, but now your document looks like a messed up pile of jumbled words. To avoid this stress, I'll guide you on how to effectively convert to PDF using WPS PDF to ensure that your formatting stays intact. By following these simple steps, you'll get a perfect PDF version of your thesis without the hassle and worry.

Step 1 : First, open the Word document using WPS Office, then navigate to the Menu located at the top left corner of the page.

Step 2 : Within the menu, choose "Save as" and then opt for "Other formats" from the menu that appears.

Step 3 : Within the Save as options, switch the file type to "PDF" in the "File Type" field, and then click on "Save" to save your document as a PDF.

FAQs about Deleting a Page in Word

Q1. how do i delete an extra page in word for mac.

Here are the methods for deleting a page in Microsoft Word on macOS, based on whether the page is at the end or in the middle of the document:

1. Delete Blank Page at the End :

Step 1: Place your cursor at the start of the blank page.

Step 2: Press the Delete key.

Step 3: The entire page, including text and formatting, will be removed.

2. Delete a Specific Page in the Middle: To delete a specific page within your document, use the Navigation Pane :

Step 1: Navigate to the "View" tab within Microsoft Word.

Step 2: Select the Navigation Pane; a sidebar will display on the left.

Step 3: Within the Navigation Pane, you'll find thumbnail previews of each page.

Step 4: Look for the page you want to delete.

Step 5: Right-click on the thumbnail of that page.

Step 6: Choose "Delete" from the context menu. The selected page will be deleted.

Q2. How do I Delete an extra page in Word after a section break?

To delete an extra page in Word after a section break, follow these steps:

Step 1 : Within Microsoft Word, navigate to the Home tab and select the "Paragraph Marks" icon located in the Paragraph section.

Step 2 : After enabling paragraph marks, scroll through your document until you reach the blank page. You'll notice the presence of "Section Break" written in the document.

Step 3 : Use your cursor to select the section break or position the cursor immediately after it, then press the "Backspace" key to eliminate the empty page from your document.

Q3. How do you Delete a page break in Word that won't Delete?

Here is a straightforward guide on how to delete a page break in Word :

Step 1 : Go to the "Home" tab.

Step 2 : Click "Show/Hide" to reveal non-printing characters like paragraph markers, section breaks, and page breaks.

Step 3 : Double-click on the page break you want to delete to select it.

Step 4 : Press the "Delete" key on your keyboard to remove the selected page break.

Wrapping Up: Removing Extra Pages in Word

This guide may seem overwhelming, especially with so many methods to choose from, but it has the solution to whatever problem you face regarding an extra page in Word that you need to remove. With these tips, you should be able to get back to submitting your paper with full confidence. If you're a student working on an important assignment, WPS Office is the perfect choice, thanks to its AI-backed capabilities and direct export to PDF, which keeps your formatting intact. Download WPS Office today for a seamless experience and to streamline your student life!

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Hush money trial judge raises threat of jail as he finds Trump violated gag order, fines him $9K

Donald Trump has been fined $9,000 for repeatedly violating a gag order that barred him from making public statements about witnesses, jurors and some others connected to his New York hush money case.

El expresidente Donald Trump ante el tribunal penal de Manhattan antes de su juicio en Nueva York, el martes 30 de abril de 2024. (Justin Lane/Pool Foto vía AP)

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Former President Donald Trump speaks to reporters at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (Victor J. Blue/The Washington Post via AP, Pool)

Former President Donald Trump leaves the Manhattan Criminal Court in New York, NY, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (Victor J. Bluel/The Washington Post via AP, Pool)

Former President Donald Trump leaves the courtroom following the day’s proceedings in his trial at Manhattan criminal court in New York, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (Justin Lane/Pool Photo via AP)

Former President Donald Trump talks to reporters as leaves the courtroom following the day’s proceedings in his trial at Manhattan criminal court in New York, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (Justin Lane/Pool Photo via AP)

Former President Donald Trump speaks with the media as he leaves the courtroom following the day’s proceedings in his trial at Manhattan criminal court in New York, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (Justin Lane/Pool Photo via AP)

Eric Trump listens as his father former President Donald Trump speaks with the media leaves as he leaves the courtroom following the day’s proceedings in his trial at Manhattan criminal court in New York, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (Justin Lane/Pool Photo via AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump was held in contempt of court Tuesday and fined $9,000 for repeatedly violating a gag order that barred him from making public statements about witnesses, jurors and some others connected to his New York hush money case. If he does it again, the judge warned, he could be jailed.

Prosecutors had alleged 10 violations, but New York Judge Juan M. Merchan found there were nine. Trump stared down at the table in front of him as the judge read the ruling, frowning slightly.

What to know about Trump’s hush money trial:

• Trump faces jail threat over gag order. Follow today’s live updates .
• A guide to terms used in the Trump trial.
• Trump is the first ex-president on criminal trial. Here’s what to know about the hush money case.
• Trump is facing four criminal indictments, and a civil lawsuit. You can track all of the cases here.

It was a stinging rebuke of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee’s insistence that he was exercising his free speech rights and a reminder that he’s a criminal defendant subject to the harsh realities of trial procedure. And the judge’s remarkable threat to jail a former president signaled that Trump’s already precarious legal standing could further spiral depending on his behavior during the remainder of the trial.

Merchan wrote that he is “keenly aware of, and protective of,” Trump’s First Amendment rights, “particularly given his candidacy for the office of President of the United States.”

“It is critically important that defendant’s legitimate free speech rights not be curtailed, that he be able to fully campaign for the office which he seeks and that he be able to respond and defend himself against political attacks,” Merchan wrote.

Donald Trump as he returns from a break during his trial at Manhattan criminal court, April 26, 2024, in New York. (Dave Sanders/The New York Times via AP, Pool)

Still, he warned that the court would not tolerate “willful violations of its lawful orders and that if necessary and appropriate under the circumstances, it will impose an incarceratory punishment.”

With that statement, the judge drew nearer the specter of Trump becoming the first former president of the United States behind bars.

“This gag order is totally unconstitutional,” Trump said as court adjourned after a day that included testimony from a Hollywood lawyer who negotiated two of the hush money deals at issue in the case. “I’m the Republican candidate for president of the United States ... and I’m sitting in a courthouse all day long listening to this stuff.”

Trump is used to having constant access to his social media bullhorn to slam opponents and speak his mind. After he was banned from Twitter following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by his supporters , Trump launched his own platform, where his posts wouldn’t be blocked or restricted. He has long tried to distance himself from controversial messages he’s amplified to his millions of followers by insisting they’re “only retweets.”

But he does have experience with gag orders , which were also imposed in other legal matters. After he was found to have violated orders in his civil fraud trial, he paid more than $15,000 in fines.

Trump also is subject to a gag order in his federal criminal election interference case in Washington. That order limits what he can say about known or reasonably foreseeable witnesses in the case and about court staff and other lawyers, though an appeals court freed him to speak about special counsel Jack Smith, who brought the case.

Tuesday’s ruling in New York came at the start of the second week of testimony in the historic case, which involves allegations that Trump and his associates took part in an illegal scheme to influence the 2016 presidential campaign by purchasing and then burying seamy stories. The payouts went to a doorman with a torrid yarn; ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal, who had accusations of an affair; and to porn performer Stormy Daniels, who alleged a sexual encounter with Trump. He has pleaded not guilty and says the stories are all fake.

Trump deleted, as ordered, the offending posts from his Truth Social account and campaign website and has until Friday to pay the fine. The judge was also weighing other alleged gag-order violations by Trump and will hear arguments Thursday. He also announced that he will halt the trial on May 17 to allow Trump to attend his son Barron’s high school graduation.

Of the 10 posts, the one Merchan ruled was not a violation came on April 10, a post referring to witnesses Michael Cohen and Daniels as “sleaze bags.” Merchan said Trump’s contention that he was responding to previous posts by Cohen “is sufficient to give” him pause on whether the post was a violation.

Merchan cautioned that the gag order “not be used as a sword instead of a shield by potential witnesses” and that if people who are protected by the order, like Cohen, continue to attack Trump “it becomes apparent” they don’t need the gag order’s protection.

Cohen, Trump’s former attorney, has said he will refrain from commenting about Trump until after he testifies. On Tuesday, he said in a text message to The Associated Press: “Judge Merchan’s decision elucidates that this behavior will not be tolerated and that no one is above the law.”

In other developments, testimony resumed Tuesday with a banker who helped Cohen open accounts, including one used to buy Daniels’ silence. Trump’s attorneys have suggested that the payments were aimed at protecting his name and his family — not influencing the outcome of the presidential election.

Jurors also began hearing from Keith Davidson , a lawyer who represented McDougal and Daniels in their negotiations with the National Enquirer and Cohen. He testified that he arranged a meeting at his Los Angeles office during the summer of 2016 to see whether the tabloid’s parent company American Media, Inc. was interested in McDougal’s story. At first they demurred, saying she “lacked documentary evidence of the interaction,” Davidson testified.

But the tabloid at the behest of publisher David Pecker eventually bought the rights, and Davidson testified that he understood — and McDougal preferred — it would never be published. Asked why American Media Inc., would buy a story it didn’t intend to run, Davidson said he was aware of two reasons.

“One explanation I was given is they were trying to build Karen into a brand and didn’t want to diminish her brand,” he said. “And the second was an unspoken understanding that there was an affiliation between David Pecker and Donald Trump and that AMI wouldn’t run this story, any story related to Karen, because it would hurt Donald Trump.”

As for Daniels, the October 2016 leak of Trump’s 2005 “Access Hollywood” tape — in which Trump bragged about grabbing women sexually without asking permission — had “tremendous influence” on the marketability of her story. Before the video was made public, “there was very little if any interest” in her claims, Davidson told jurors.

A deal was reached with the tabloid for Daniels story, but the Enquirer backed out. Though Pecker testified that he had agreed to serve as the Trump campaign’s “eyes and ears” by helping to squelch unflattering rumors and claims about Trump and women, he drew the line with Daniels after paying out $180,000 to scoop up and sit on stories. Davidson began negotiating with Cohen directly, hiked up the price to $130,000, and reached a deal.

But Daniels and Davidson grew frustrated as weeks passed and instead of the money, she got excuses from Cohen about broken computers, Secret Service “firewalls” and the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.

“I thought he was trying to kick the can down the road until after the election,” Davidson said.

While Cohen never explicitly said he was negotiating the deal on Trump’s behalf, Davidson felt the implication was clear.

“Every single time I talked to Michael Cohen, he leaned on his close affiliation with Donald Trump,” Davidson said. Plus, he figured that Trump “was the beneficiary of this contract.”

The GOP presidential hopeful is charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection with the hush money payments. The detailed evidence on business transactions and bank accounts is setting the stage for testimony from Cohen, who went to federal prison after pleading guilty in 2018 to campaign finance violations and other crimes.

The trial — the first of Trump’s four criminal cases to come before a jury — is expected to last for another month or more.

AP AUDIO: Judge holds Trump in contempt, fines him $9,000 and raises threat of jail in hush money trial.

AP correspondent Julie Walker reports Donald Trump is being held in contempt of court for violating a gag order in his hush money case.

___ Long reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Zeke Miller in Washington and Jill Colvin in New York contributed to this report.