Finishing the PhD: Write a Tiny Text

by Pat Thomson, Patter: https://patthomson.net/2016/10/03/finishing-the-phd-write-a-tiny-text/ 

 

You’ve finally finished your data generation and analysis. What next? Oh, it’s the big text … but working out how to move now, working out how to structure the thesis … well it can feel a bit like trying to fight your way out of a maze.

 

Here’s one strategy that can help.

 

Before you start planning your thesis chapters, it can be a very good idea to map out the overall argument that you are going to make. Once you know the rough shape of the whole picture, the line you are taking and the point you are making, you can then think about the best way to stage the text. You can focus on the choreography, knowing where the argument is going.

 

You can get a grip on the big picture by writing a Tiny Text - your first go at a thesis abstract.

 

Now, a thesis abstract is not the same as a research proposal - it doesn’t create the mandate for the study, leaving the reader to find out what happens later. A thesis abstract is a miniature version of the whole. It is, if you like, a mini-me. Because of this, the Tiny Text that can help you, a lot. The thesis abstract follows the same kind of moves that you make in the thesis itself.

 

Here is a rubric that might help you construct the first version of the thesis abstract - it’s one that helps you to structure the thesis. Your final version might be  a little - or even a lot - different. That’s because writing the thesis itself always produces some refinement of the argument, and often the structure too.

 

But you have to start somewhere, and a Tiny Text can help you to sort out the big argument before you plunge back into the detail.

 

So - the rubric uses a five paragraph structure. You start however with five sentences. These are not elegant sentences, but are designed to get the point that you want to make across. 

 

The first sentence addresses the broad context. This locates the study in a policy, practice or research field. 

Example: Secondary school arts are in trouble, as the fall in enrolments in arts subjects dramatically attests. 

 

The second sentence establishes a problem related to the broad context you have set out. It often starts with But, Yet or However … 

Example: However, there is patchy evidence about the benefits of studying arts subjects at school and this makes it hard to argue why the drop in arts enrolments matters. 

 

The third sentence says what specific research has been done. This sentence often starts with This research … or I report … 

Example: This thesis reports on research which attempts to provide some answers to this problem - a longitudinal study which followed two groups of senior secondary students, one group enrolled in arts subjects and the other not, for three years. 

 

The fourth sentence reports the results. Don’t try to be too tricky here, just start with something like ... This study shows, or Analysis of the data suggests that … 

Example: The results of the study demonstrate the benefits of young people’s engagement in arts activities, both in and out of school, as well as the connections between the two. 

 

The fifth and final sentence addresses the So What question, and makes clear the claim to contribution. 

The study not only adds to what is known about the benefits of both formal and informal arts education, but also provides robust evidence for policy makers and practitioners arguing for the benefits of the arts. 

 

These five sentences form the basis of a five paragraph abstract. They are the topic sentences for each paragraph. And the idea is for you to simply add the relevant detail to each sentence. This helps you to think about what material has to go together.

 

You will probably need to have a few goes at the five sentences. It may take you a while to write the abstract so you get down all of the key points that you want and need to make.That's because you are compressing two years worth of thinking into a small set of words.  And you will probably need to modify your initial five sentences further as you go along.

 

You might want to generate the five sentences and then the first draft of the five paragraphs using separate timed-writing sessions (pomodoros). That free writing will give you a set of stuff you can work on and refine.

 

Once you have your Tiny text, and you know the overall argument of the thesis, the question you next need to consider is - What is the best way for me to present this case? What structure will make the argument work?

 

And at this point - see using a storyboard to plan the thesis structure.

 

There’s  more about thesis abstracts here, looking at the final - not a planning - version.

 

And even more - Barbara and I write a lot about using Tiny Texts in our three writing books. Detox your writing has quite a bit on thesis abstracts.

Here's What You Need to Know About Starting University With Dyslexia

Simulation of dyslexic vision (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

by Harriet Cameron, University of Sheffield, The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-starting-university-with-dyslexia-50035

Going to university can be a test for anyone, fresh, or not-so-fresh from school. Students are not only expected to adapt to independent study and increased reading loads, but they also have to learn as soon as possible how to “do” the kind of academic writing and academic talk their given field demands. And for those students with dyslexia, this can be particularly challenging.

Dyslexic students are normally no different to their non-dyslexic peers in their understanding of their academic subject, but dyslexia can make things like reading course books, writing essays and remembering lecture points harder to do. And there can also be difficulties for dyslexic students in getting their words and ideas across in seminars and tutorials.

These things are hard partly because of specific cognitive difficulties with processing particular kinds of information, and partly because of the way schools and universities tend to structure and assess learning - through non-interactive lectures and timed, written examination. And because there is a lot of disagreement about what dyslexia actually means in terms of cognitive function, it can also be difficult to agree on what to do about it, in practice.

Grade driven learning

In today’s society being academically literate is particularly valued - with the most successful learner often seen as the one who gets the highest grades. High grades are often thought to go hand-in-hard with hard work, meaning lower grades are often thought to imply a lack of effort and a lack of academic ability - the twin-evils of “laziness” and “stupidity”.

But part of the challenge for dyslexia and learning isn’t so much that dyslexic people can’t keep up with complex ideas, it’s more that they may need to approach tasks in a different way to get the learning to make sense, and to “stick”.

So when a student with dyslexia finds their learning preferences don’t fit so well with the learning environments on offer, they will often use additional study aids - such as speech-to-text software, mind-mapping applications and “read and write text help” - in addition to attending regular tutorials with a specialist teacher to work on their academic literacy.

Having dyslexia can make learning difficult at university. Antonio Guillem/Shutterstock

But sometimes dyslexic students (and their peers) feel that using additional study help gives them an an unfair leg-up. This means that although dyslexic students have a right under the law to make use of things - like extra time in exams and specialist tuition - doing so can be a threat to their sense of self-worth and academic identity.

In other words, they can feel like they are not really “intelligent” if they can’t do the work without making use of adjustments. This can lead dyslexic students to play down their difficulties, and to refuse help. And students with dyslexia will sometimes try to go it alone, so to speak, to work hard and “just deal with it” - even though they will be disadvantaged by this approach. This can leave dyslexic students in a lose-lose situation.

Peer support?

Working out when to access support at university is further complicated by the uncertainty of how the students and staff they come across will react to a disclosure of dyslexia. Media representations of dyslexia have tended to be rather sensationalist, and often follow the “dyslexia as a myth” line without care for the details of the studies which they refer to.

Attitudes towards dyslexia among academic staff can also vary, and peers can react in unexpected ways - saying things like “that’s ridiculous, why do you get a printer just because you’re dyslexic?”.

Dyslexic students have to be ever-ready to explain what dyslexia means and how it affects them to whomever needs to know. They may need to declare it to their personal tutor one day, to an exams invigilator another, and to their housemate the next. And in each case they need to guess how their declaration will be received - which can be exhausting.

Dyslexic students may also find themselves stuck between contradictory ideas about who they are as a dyslexic, and what they should be doing about it. And in this sense they internalise the apparent “common-sense view” that they are solely responsible for the difficulties they experience.

Rethinking dyslexia

So, to dyslexic students who have just begun their university education, it is time for you to rethink the concept of disability - because it is not a dirty word. The disabling aspects of dyslexia are not inside you, but rather they are part of a particular educational set-up and learning environment.


 Don’t let dyslexia hold you back. Syda Productions/Shutterstock

To tackle this, work out which situations at university put you at a disadvantage compared to other students, and make use of any adjustments you need to help you. It’s not an unfair leg-up, it’s simply a small step towards evening the playing field.

You should also make use of specialist dyslexia tutors, because they not only there to help you develop academic skills and confidence, but more importantly they can also help you critically reflect upon what dyslexia means for you and your learning.

And finally, remember you are not to blame for some of the difficulties you may experience in university learning, so be kind to yourself. These difficulties are nothing to do with how worthy you are, or how “clever” you are - and you belong at university just as much as anyone else does.

Harriet Cameron, Academic Director: specific learning difficulties in higher education, University of Sheffield

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.