Drafting and writing a dissertation

Beginning to write Writing helps you to think: write early, write often Be prepared to delete, change, edit, re-edit Using notecards/bits of paper helps you plan and to shift ideas around Align your points with primary sources and secondary sources – try out different structures Make sure that all of your points help to forward the argument of the section and whole – lose them if they don’t! Research, planning and writing work in a feedback loop

Beginning to write Start with sections you are most confident about No effort is wasted, even if you write text that is not used in the end Keep returning to the overall plan: adjust it if necessary Take time to explain and introduce people, institutions, concepts, themes etc Don’t assume knowledge in the reader

Introductory sections The introduction needs to: Introduce the topic Explain its significance with reference to existing scholarship (historiography/ literature review) Outline your argument and how you will make it: What primary sources you are using What structure you will present Each section needs its own introduction and conclusion too Come back to all introductions and conclusions after you have written the rest

Writing is rewriting Editing is easier to do on paper, if you can print out Take sufficient time between writing and re-reading Make sure that: All ideas and information are introduced in a way that an uninformed reader can follow Your argument and structure are clearly signalled The content of each section and each paragraph is presented logically: each is self-contained but flows on from the previous and to the next

Formatting and referencing Put footnote numbers after the full stop.1 You can include more than one citation per footnote; separate with a semicolon Do not put quotes in italics (unless they are used in the original) If a quote takes up more than three lines, separate it from main text with an indentation Check your quotes carefully Follow the style guide provided for references and formatting

Rules for Writerers Verbs HAS to agree with their subjects. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction. Avoid cliches like the plague. (They're old hat.) Also, always avoid annoying alliteration. Be more or less specific. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary. Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies. No sentence fragments. Contractions shouldn't be used. Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.

Rules for writerers One should NEVER generalize. Comparisons are as bad as cliches. Don't use no double negatives. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc. One-word sentences? Eliminate. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake. Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary. Parenthetical words however should be enclosed in commas. Never use a big word when substituting a diminutive one would suffice. Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them. Understatement is always the absolute best way to put forth earth-shaking ideas.

Rules for writerers Use the apostrophe in it's proper place and omit it when its not needed. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know.” Resist hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it correctly. Puns are for children, not groan readers. Who needs rhetorical questions? Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement. Avoid "buzz-words"; such integrated transitional scenarios complicate simplistic matters. And finally... proofread carefully to see if you any words out.