Critical Review on "Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day"

The process of writing your dissertation is inherently complicated. There is no easy way to write your dissertation, and there are no shortcuts. But there are several tactics that you can employ and make the whole process of writing orderly, simple and pleasant. Writing a dissertation is similar to running in a marathon, and it requires a lot of stamina and motivation. Motivation is always in short supply when it comes to writing your dissertation. It is because dissertation writing entails going through extensive research.

Writing a dissertation can be a difficult endeavour, but Dr Joan Bolker has helped hundreds of PhD candidates get through it. Bolker assists writers who face writer's block. Bolker acknowledges that a dissertation involves more than just writing. In the book "Writing your dissertation in fifteen minutes a day", Dr Bolker discusses themes like building your writing method, coping with problems with your advisor, and dealing with interruptions. Writing your dissertation is not intended to be a self-help or therapy book, but it provides guidelines on effectively writing your dissertation. This article will critically review the book "Writing your dissertation in fifteen minutes a day".

Write Your Dissertation with Joyful Anticipation

Dr Bolker argues in her book that most of the students feel overwhelmed by dissertation writing. She asserts that the first step of dissertation writing is to imagine yourself writing your dissertation at every stage. Students need to develop this imagination to encourage them to approach their dissertations with excitement and curiosity. She claims it is pertinent to see yourself as someone capable of committing to scholarship.

Start Small

Writing your dissertation in fifteen minutes a day does not imply that you will finish it in fifteen minutes. It means, that you shouldn't go longer than fifteen minutes at first. She focuses on the following fundamental things while writing a dissertation:

Choosing Your Topic

The first step of writing a dissertation is selecting a suitable topic that matches your interests. You should select such a topic that you enjoy reading. You can also consult your research supervisor and university professors to narrow your topic.

Doing Research

The next step is to do research on the selected topic, but it does not necessarily have to be a tedious activity. According to Dr Bolker, research is not just collecting data and swallowing it. Research necessitates that your mind interacts with the material, ask questions, and act on it in such a way that the material becomes a useful finding of your research.

Getting Started on Writing

Make a Mess

An important piece of advice that Dr Bolker gives is first to make a mess and then clean it up. She argues that the approach to dissertation writing by making an outline with Roman numerals is redundant. At first, you should write about whatever makes sense to you and let the thoughts flow naturally without any constraints.

When you start writing, your first goal should be to make a mess—to say whatever comes to mind, on or off the subject. You should not worry about whether your ideas are connected logically. You should rather play with your subject like you used to play with mud pies. You should not focus on the fine details of the work at this stage. Spell poorly if that's your natural inclination, and forget about grammar and punctuation. According to the author, many writing barriers arise because individuals aren't used to writing in the dirt. They believe that writing is a neat and tidy job which is not true.

Making a mess does not necessarily mean that you write chaotically. You should write from the perspective of creating a rough sketch rather than focusing on the end product.

Write for Ten Minutes Every Day

The author argues that it is essential to develop an addiction to writing by learning to write for ten minutes every day. She argues that it's true that you won't be able to finish a thesis if you simply write for ten minutes a day, but it's a good place to start. Despite the title of this book, she recommends starting with ten minutes of writing per day. It is an effective strategy to get you started quickly and effortlessly. Once you've mastered that, you can progress to fifteen minutes of writing and, eventually, far longer periods of time.

Set Daily Writing Goals

The next step is to figure out how you'll set your daily writing target. According to the author, the best method is the "many pages method". The many pages method enables you to write quickly. The many pages method involves the following steps:

• First, determine your natural daily page count by picking a number at random, generally between three and six pages
• The second step is to start writing the chosen number of pages every day for a week
• After writing these pages, you will come to a point where you start getting tired. The author recommends that at this stage, sketch out what ideas you want to develop or follow when you pick up writing the next day

Dr Bolker argues that initially, much of the writing done in this manner will be junk. It means that it will not appear in your original dissertation draft. But it will be a crucial part of it, and freewriting in this manner will help develop your ideas and arguments. These pages will make up the zero draft, the first substantial part of your dissertation. You must keep writing every day to accumulate those pages and progressively focus on them. You will have to date them and preserve them in a notebook, a computer file, or a physical file where you can see them.

Conclusion

Writing your dissertation in fifteen minutes a day is excellent advice to university students. Dissertation authors require sound, practical counsel and an assurance that they are not alone in their challenges. The author's insistence on devoting oneself to dissertation writing makes the entire process of writing a delightful journey. This book is a useful guide for students to stop worrying about their dissertation writing.