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Managing Graduate Writing Projects

Types of Projects Research proposals Articles for peer- reviewed journals Thesis or dissertation Literature reviews Book chapters Conference papers

Before Writing What is the purpose of your project? Who is your audience? What is your scope? (What can you realistically accomplish in the time given?) What are your deadlines? What does the final product look like? Consider the following questions:

Audience and Purpose For each project, who might the audience be, and what is the purpose? Dissertation or thesis Journal article Grant proposal How do the audience and purpose affect the content, tone, and style of a writing project?

Scope of Topic Too big: Academic dishonesty Too narrow: First-year student athletes plagiarizing in an English 104 class in 2009 Just right: Faculty perceptions of student plagiarism at a single institution *Your scope will be limited by time, available resources, and study type. What might be an appropriate scope for a dissertation?

Develop a Timeline Divide the project into manageable sections. Work backward from the date the project needs to be completed. Finish screening articles Literature review draft Finalize literature review Finish methods section Finish results and discussion Send article draft to chair 10/01/139/17/138/31/138/22/137/31/137/15/13

Examine the End Product Review your target publication(s) for style. Structure Language and tone Citations Point of view Passive vs. active voice Verb tense

Researching Library Databases There are thousands of academic articles located here. TAMU Libraries There is an extensive collection of books, newspaper articles, magazines, and journals.

Research Tips Use Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) effectively. Ex. Cowboys AND Texas NOT football Know truncation symbols and wildcard characters. Ex. wom?n = woman, women, womyn Search for phrases rather than individual words by using quotation marks. Ex. “magical realism” vs. magical realism Also consider asking your chair for suggested reading, developing inclusion/exclusion criteria (no conference papers, only papers written in English, etc.), and/or meeting with your subject librarian. Taken from

Whatever the subject, there’s a librarian for that. Each subject librarian has a contact page. You can use resources on their page or chat, , or meet in person with them.

Take careful notes. Keep track of all of your sources. Avoid plagiarizing. Make a distinction between direct quotes and paraphrased information in your notes. Better yet, summarize the main points of the article in your own words.

Annotated Bibliography Summarizes each work separately Literature Review Interweaves sources by topic, idea, or theory Demonstrates your knowledge of literature and critical understanding of a topic, idea, or theory Is usually done as a prerequisite to a literature review Demonstrates your critical understanding of various texts *Establishes a need for your research Background Research

Managing Citations How can you keep track of your citations? RefWorks  Free through TAMU Endnote  Free through TAMU Spreadsheet  Organized by publication date, author, etc. Note cards  Summaries of sources with citation

Literature Review Looking at previous literature will help you refine your research topic. Purpose: Use previous works that address your research question to show a gap in the literature or present the opportunity for additional research. Demonstrate how you are adding to the academic conversation.

Literature Review How do I know when to stop? Saturation You are finding the same sources using a variety of relevant search terms. Tangents You are finding and reading sources outside of your project’s scope. Timeline Because of time limitations, you need to stop searching and start writing. *Or your chair tells you to stop!

Outlining Outlining might help you break up the project into smaller sections. You can use headings and subheadings to organize your outline and your final product. Use your outline to construct a timeline or daily task list.

Visuals Refer to all figures and tables in the text, even if they are in the appendix. See the Thesis Manual and journal requirements for more guidance on captions/labels for figures and tables. Be aware of copyright guidelines.

Read what you have before you write or revise more. Divide your project into manageable chunks, and make a list of tasks to do each day/week. Join a writing group (in person or online). Schedule time to write. Reward yourself when you complete a section on time. Make regular appointments at the University Writing Center. Writing Strategies

Pomodoro Technique ® FocusWriter OmmWriter TreeSheets yWriter5 StoryBook Experiment with Different Software

Writing Center Services Dissertation and Thesis Jump Start Workshop Graduate Writing Groups The DATA (Dissertation and Thesis Assistance) Program Dissertation and Thesis Writing Retreat International Student Workshops Online and face-to-face consultations

Revise “The first draft reveals the art; revision reveals the artist.” —Michael Lee

Revising Allot ample time to revise your work. Remember that even professional writers have editors. The Thesis Office will give you revisions based on format. Your committee will give you more content-based revisions. The Writing Center can help with the rest.

Receiving Feedback Where can find you find feedback? Chair/Committee Writing Center consultant Peers Learn your weaknesses so that you can more effectively edit your own work. Find graded writing projects and identify patterns in comments/markings.

Recommended Resources Get Lit: Writing Literature Reviews Dr. Candace Schaefer workshop-video/ Handouts, Videos, and More: Dissertations & Theses Tips from the Thesis Office Dr. Laura Hammons tips/thesis-office-presentation-spring-2009/

For More Help… Visit our website or call us to schedule an appointment. We can help you at any stage in the writing process!

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