Writing effectively during your PhD

 Writing effectively during your PhD

 

Trying to cover everything will make your work seem diluted and the point you are trying to make will not be as strong as it needs to be. Sitting on the fence, or writing passively will make your work seem less convincing and actually, pretty descriptive. Descriptive is not the point. 

 

Position and perspective is the basis of the argument. It does not mean you are biased. Your opinion should reflect your engagement with, and embeddedness within the academic literature of the field 

 

The take-home message, or outcome, is the most important thing of all when you are writing a thesis. If you know the end destination, you can walk the reader through the points you are making. It often helps to imagine who your target audience is, or what the reader is like. You can go as far as to create a complete profile for this person, to make your message clearer. Give them a name, age, description, what their background is and what they want to gain from reading your paper. 

 

If you find that writing a chapter might be unclear in your mind, the structure is often the problem. Mind maps are good for getting ideas out of your head and onto the page, but when you are aiming for a plan, draw a starting point, and endpoint and fill the blanks linearly. Easier and clearer for you and therefore, your reader. Aim for the endpoint. What is your endpoint? What is your ‘so what?’

Ensuring Covid safety in the Library.

 Perfect. Perfect manifestation and perfect chance to do what I need.

 

Working from the library, well I say working, I am making sure people have their masks on properly and are socially distancing themselves from each other. May 2021. We are not far off of being out of lockdown. But this library is open, I am the person being paid to ensure Covid safety but at the same time, I can continue with my research. Wonderful.

Walking up and down and round and round takes about 1500 steps. So, I work for an hour, walk the steps, enforce what I need to, go to the loo, remove my mask, drink a bottle of water and get back to my desk to sit for another hour of research.  Today, it’s ethics, 

 

This is the perfect job. Working at home was less productive than it should have been.  So, I’m counting my blessings for sure. 

 

The sun is streaming into the light brick building today. As I walk, I see historic photos all around of a naval time gone by. Beautiful.

 

“erm…” I began,

“Yeah, listen up, before you need to get all aggy, innit, I am just….gotta ask him summin innit,” the student said as he saw me approaching with my clipboard and lanyard of officiality around my neck.

“and that mask needs to be up over your nose,”

He fiddled with it a bit, “ahh yeah, sorry about that,” his London accent shone through.

“What you studying?” I asked and before he had a chance to answer I continued, “ not biomedical sciences? Else you would know that a virus goes in your nose, and out of it,” his mate sniggered behind me.

“Yeah, no not Biomed, I’m one of the ones saving the lives innit.”

“Pharmaceutical science? Yeah well, let's hope that saves lives shall we?” 

His mate chucked and sniggered, They both did. They know, like me, that we just don’t know enough about these things right now. But we have to do what we can.

 

Science library. Feels a bit like a bit of me. Then I wander on and stumble to the area labelled, “Journalism, Psychology, Philosophy,” that’s a bit of me too.